10 happY Years I
LIVeWeLL
t can be tough on pros living
life out on the tournament
trail, especially if they have to
leave their families behind for
extended periods. Birthday and
anniversary celebrations are
often replaced by practice out-
ings and rules meetings.
Cody Meyer knows what it’s
like. The California angler’s wife,
Keri, and daughter, Brooke,
don’t often get to tag along with
the superstar when he hits the
road. Yet, the fact that Cody was
in Upstate New York during the
couple’s 10th wedding anniver-
sary didn’t stop Keri from show-
ing her affection for her hus-
band. She had a bunch of bal-
loons sent over to the day-two
weigh-in at Lake Champlain, to
be delivered to Cody by FLW
Weighmaster Chris Jones.
Cody went on to make the
top-10 cut and earn $16,000 – a
pretty nice anniversary prize.
crIsIs In the caLIfornIa deLta
c
by Colin Moore
22
alifornia bass fishermen and
conservation groups are being
mobilized in an effort to alter a
bill introduced in the U.S. Senate by
Diane Feinstein that they say con-
tains language detrimental to the San
Francisco Bay-Delta estuary’s bass
fishery.
Titled the “California Long-Term
Provisions for Water Supply and Short-
Term Provisions for Emergency
Drought Relief Act,” S.2533 ostensibly
relates to federally managed water
projects in the Central Valley and else-
where, but also contains language that
would protect salmon in the vast estu-
ary at the expense of non-native
species. The latter group includes large-
mouth and smallmouth bass, striped
bass, and various types of panfish.
“S.2533 is a death sentence for sport
fishing and will accelerate the collapse
of all the fisheries, including salmon, in
the Bay-Delta estuary,” contends
Conservation Director John Beuttler of
Allied Fishing Groups, the organization
that represents a consortium of individ-
uals, fishing clubs and groups. “It will
have devastating financial impacts on
the money these fisheries generate for
Northern California, the Delta, San
Francisco Bay and the state’s economy.
A 2013 California Department of Fish &
Wildlife report estimates these fisheries
generate $500 million annually to the
state’s economy.”
According to Beuttler, Feinstein’s
bill as currently written contains one
word that his organization wants
stricken: “invasive.”
“Instead of calling these other fish
species ‘non-native’ and leaving it at
that, the bill’s language makes them
vulnerable to removal,” says Beuttler.
“We agree that bass and other species
are non-native, but a lot of them were
stocked in the Delta deliberately for
the public good, and that’s exactly
what they are: part of the public’s
very valuable natural resources.
“As it is now, S.2533 would give
fishery management agencies the
green light to kill any non-native
species, rationalizing that they are
competing with native salmon for food
and habitat. We want a stipulation in
the bill to prevent the authorization
and funding of programs to remove
and eradicate non-native species.”
Beuttler says he and others have spo-
ken to Feinstein’s staff about the changes
they propose, but without success. They
hope to have better results with U.S.
Congressman John Garamendi, D-
Walnut Grove, who has introduced a
companion bill in the House.
Costa FLW Series Western Division
angler Bobby Barrack is circulating a
petition asking that the bill’s language
be amended. The online petition can be
accessed at alliedfishinggroups.com.
For more information about the
efforts of the Allied Fishing Groups, con-
tact Beuttler at [email protected],
or visit alliedfishinggroups.com.
fLWfIshIng.com I august-september 2016