OUTDOOR NOTES / RICH ROBERTS : Farmers, Anglers Find Solution to River War

“The war’s over between the farmers and the fishermen,” said Jim Wieshaupt as he watched a dredge suck sediment from the bed of the East Walker River near Bridgeport, Calif.

Weishaupt is the manager of the Walker River Irrigation District, a group of 560 downstream Nevada farmers with 80,000 acres to irrigate. When the drought forced them to drain Bridgeport Reservoir in 1988, the sudden rush of sediment destroyed the first mile or so of the river’s blue-ribbon fishery.

Then a court ruling forced them to fix the damage, saying that while they had a right to the water, under state law they had no right to kill California fish.

After the court fights and aborted attempts at dredging by hand and other primitive means, the district found the answer in a Kentucky-based firm that specializes in separating solids from liquids.

For the first 1.2 miles below the dam--at a cost of $400,000 to the farmers--the firm is picking up the sticks, stones and sediment, while leaving spawning gravel at the bottom. Workers are pumping the sludge through a six-inch pipe to settling ponds near the dam.

No big deal, according to Dan Farrar, the regional manager and job foreman. He examined the problem one day and started work the next, June 22. With a crew of four men working 12 hours a day, six days a week, the job was 80% completed by last weekend.

Sightings indicated the big German brown trout already were returning. As proof, the night watchman caught one weighing 5 pounds 2 ounces.

John Sully, a consultant hired by the California Department of Fish and Game to oversee the work, said: “The important thing is that the ecological system is re-establishing. There are insects back in here now.”

Weishaupt said: “The farmers are happy, the fishermen are happy. Are you happy, John?”

“I’m happy,” Sully said.

Less happy is Rick Rockel, a Bridgeport businessmen and CalTrout streamkeeper, who estimated that the stream’s four-year down time cost his community millions in tourist revenue. He also would like to see more of the stream dredged.

“But I guess this is as good as we’re going to get,” he said.

One of Weishaupt’s subordinates grumbled, “All this over a few fish, and nobody cares that the farmers are losing their shirts.”

But Weishaupt said most farmers have changed their attitude.

“Now we have to figure out the best way to manage this for the future, to the best interests of both.”

However, there could be another concerned party on the horizon. The Paiute Indians downstream are starting to talk about their share of the water, too.

Briefly

SALTWATER--Tuna, yellowtail and dorado--the most prized gamefish among Southland anglers--remain in abundance along the west coast of Baja California, and fishermen aboard overnight trips out of San Diego are averaging almost four fish a day. The 24-hour trips at Fishermen’s, H & M and Point Loma cost between $87 and $135, and 1 1/2-day trips out of the landings range from $150 to $190. Meanwhile, yellowtail and dorado continue to show beneath kelp paddies north of the border, and an occasional tuna is being taken at the outer banks. Top catch: a 218-pound bigeye tuna, caught seven miles southwest of Newport Beach by Randy Ratliff of Redondo Beach.

Cabo San Lucas: Blue marlin activity has dropped. The fish are averaging between 175 and 300 pounds. Bill Nasse and sons Bill and Jim of Los Angeles reported the following in three days aboard Tortuga III: Three blue marlin weighed, two released and two lost. The group also caught seven tuna and two dorado. The largest blue marlin of the season is a 660-pounder caught earlier this month by Greg Lewis, 19, of Los Angeles aboard the Minerva II.

East Cape: Dorado and tuna very active. Blue marlin scattered throughout region, most fewer than 300 pounds. . . . La Paz: Dorado providing plenty of action inside the bay, averaging between eight and 35 pounds. Some blue marlin are being caught outside. Sailfish good off Isla Ballena. . . . Mazatlan: Sailfish and tuna are fairly active, and an occasional blue marlin is being caught, with the top fish a 271-pound blue taken by California’s John Martinez.

POACHING--Oxnard resident Eric Courtney, 32, was sentenced to 90 days in jail, fined $2,500 and ordered to pay $13,947 in restitution for 20,275 pounds of red sea urchins poached and sold to commercial fish markets. Courtney was cited by John Wilcox, a California Department of Fish and Game warden, in August of 1991, but disappeared, only to surface in Montana, where he was arrested on an unrelated charge and extradited to California to face misdemeanor poaching charges.

ADVENTURE--Flying-Hi Enterprises at Seaport Village and Shoreline Village in Long Beach has announced the only parasailing-for-two operation on the West Coast. The Skyrider, a floatable chair that permits flying without getting wet, gives the passengers a view of Los Angeles Harbor from 400 feet up.

BENEFITS--The Ventura Kiwanis Club will hold its second annual Calico Bass tournament Aug. 1-2 to benefit the Casa Pacifica Home for Abused Children. The first tournament raised $3,000 for the home, which is being built for children that have been traumatized through abuse, neglect or abandonment. First prize is a trip for two to Cabo San Lucas, and the entry fee is $30. Details: (805) 650-1255. . . . Raahauge’s Pheasant Hunting Club in Norco will stage a benefit sporting clays event Aug. 8 for the wife of Western Outdoor News guns and hunting editor Steve Comus. She has multiple sclerosis. Details: (800) 773-4868.