DFG News Archive

Bay Area Anglers get Early Gift as DFG Plants Extra Fish for Holiday Outings

To help San Francisco Bay Area anglers enjoy quality time with family members out of doors, the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) will provide Bay Area lakes with something many anglers don’t see enough of: larger and more plentiful fish.

With special funding from the Sportfish Restoration Fund, DFG will plant roughly 8,000 fish, an increased amount of 1-pound and trophy-sized, between 1- to 3-pound, rainbow trout at 20 Bay Area fishing sites.

“This increase in stocking, which the Department synchronizes to work with holiday family-oriented events, is in addition to the regular stocking these lakes receive from DFG or the local park agencies,” said Ethan Rotman, DFG’s Fishing in the City coordinator in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Rotman said the following lakes would receive special supplemental fish plants the last two weeks of December.

• In the East Bay: 1-pound trout will be planted in Contra Loma Reservoir in Antioch, Lake Elizabeth in Fremont, Shadow Cliffs in Pleasanton, Hidden Valley Lake in Martinez, Dover Pond in Fairfield, Hilltop Lake in Richmond, Heather Farms Pond in Walnut Creek, and Don Castro Reservoir in Hayward. Trophy trout will be planted in Lakeshore Park in Newark, Lake Temescal in Oakland, and Solano County’s Lake Chabot.
• In the South Bay: 1-pound trout will be planted in Vasona in Los Gatos, and Spring Valley Pond in Milpitas; a combination of 1-pound trout and trophy trout will be planted in Lake Cunningham and Cottonwood Lake, both in San Jose.
• In the San Francisco, Marin, and Sonoma areas: 1-pound trout will be planted in Scottsdale Pond in Novato; trophy trout will be planted in Lake Merced in San Francisco and Marin County’s Bon Tempe Reservoir; and a combination of the two will be planted in Lake Ralphine in Santa Rosa.

Anglers interested in receiving maps of where to fish in Alameda, Contra Costa or Santa Clara counties, or in receiving a booklet on fishing the Central Coast Region of California, should call (415) 892-0460, or (707) 944-5506.

Since 1995, DFG’s Fishing in the City Program has worked to improve fishing opportunities close to where people live and work. The Department has accomplished this though increased stocking, habitat improvement projects, learn-to-fish clinics, and rod loaner sites in urbanized areas.

DFG supports the Fishing in the City program through the Sportfish Restoration Fund, a federal excise tax on the sale of fishing tackle and motorboat fuel. The fund helps improve fishing and boating opportunities. The California fishing operation is now the largest program of its kind in the country, serving eight California regions and expanding to serve rural audiences.

“The strength of the program lies in its ability to build partnerships with local communities,” Rotman said. “The Department works with local schools, service clubs, park agencies, lake managers and just about anyone else interested in kids, fishing and clean water.”

For information on how to bring Fishing in the City to your community, call the program at (415) 892-0460, or visit the DFG Web site at www.dfg.ca.gov.