CDFW News

CDFW Pilot Program Seeks to Establish Bass Fishery at Gibson Ranch

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 09:42:51 GMT

Sacramento County Park Pond Stocked with Smallmouth, Largemouth and Spotted Bass

Responding to angler interest in more close-to-home, warmwater fishing opportunities, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has stocked smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass into the park pond at Gibson Ranch (YouTube) in Sacramento County.

“We understand that most of California’s licensed anglers live in urban, metropolitan areas so creating diverse angling opportunities close to home is really important to keep these anglers engaged,” said Farhat Bajjaliya, a CDFW Fisheries Branch supervisor. “Creating a new fishing opportunity at a place like Gibson Ranch allows these anglers to get out close to home in a really beautiful area, a nature-like setting, and, hopefully, catch something.”

Gibson Ranch is a popular, 355-acre Sacramento County park located near the rural community of Elverta but still less than 15 miles away from downtown Sacramento. CDFW’s pre-stocking evaluations of the 7.5-acre Gibson Ranch pond showed an abundant food supply – including sunfish, crayfish and bullfrogs – to support the three types of black bass introduced. CDFW will continue to monitor the pond to see how the bass fare and how anglers respond to the new fishing opportunity.

Michael Mamola, a fisheries biologist with CDFW’s North Central Region, said many shallow farm ponds like the one at Gibson Ranch offer quality warmwater fish habitat, including the opportunity for natural reproduction.

“We had the perfect water body with great habitat that didn’t have a lot of fish in it,” Mamola said in choosing Gibson Ranch for the pilot effort.

The stocking (YouTube) was also fortuitous with the bass coming from Lake Berryessa by way of the International Sportsmen’s Exposition (ISE) in Sacramento in January. CDFW annually gathers bass and other local fish species for the ISE’s massive, 5,000-gallon aquarium demonstration tank. After the ISE, several dozen bass were diverted for stocking at Gibson Ranch.

“We got the fish into Gibson a few months before they were ready to spawn,” said Mamola. “So all those fish we put in are going to be staging in the shallow water, getting ready to build their nests, lay their eggs and, hopefully, create that next generation of bass.”

Angler observations shared through the California Inland Recreational Angler Survey (CIRAS), Fishing in the City events and other public outreach efforts helped CDFW better understand local interest in close‑to‑home, warmwater fishing opportunities. Based on this input and CDFW’s broader fisheries assessments, Gibson Ranch will rejoin the Fishing in the City program and is slated to receive seasonal catfish and trout plants to complement the black bass fishery and support year‑round angling.

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Media Contacts: 
Michael Mamola, CDFW North Central Region, (916) 375-5485
Peter Tira, CDFW Communications, (916) 215-3848

Line Up Some Summer Fun on Free Fishing Days

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 09:56:43 GMT

Summer is in full swing and that means pool parties, barbecues, camping trips and Free Fishing Days!

This year you can catch an opportunity to fish throughout California without a fishing license on two Free Fishing Days — Saturday, July 5, and Saturday, Aug. 30 — and you might also catch a rainbow trout, largemouth bass or Kokanee salmon. It’s a great excuse to relax next to a beautiful lake or river and enjoy the great outdoors, and you might go home with tasty fish to throw on the grill.

For those new to fishing, this is a chance to explore a rewarding and exciting new hobby. For licensed anglers, this is a chance to introduce or reintroduce someone else to the joys of becoming an angler. Free fishing days are also a perfect time for former anglers to return and reconnect to the activity.

Children 15 and younger can fish for free every day of the year in California, but Free Fishing Days offer a time when families and friends can experience the hobby together.

Those interested in fishing California’s lakes, streams and rivers can find information aboutinland fishing locations and species on the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) website. Information is also available about year-round free fishing opportunities found on specific piers, jetties and breakwaters along the coast. Other helpful tools for anglers include the fish planting schedule, fishing guide and Recruit, Retain, Reactivate (R3) Program resources.

A variety of offerings are also available from CDFW’s Fishing in the City program, which focuses on teaching Californians how and where to fish in metropolitan areas. General information about the Fishing in the City program can be found on the CDFW website.

Dozens of bodies of water across the Golden State await anglers with catchable-size trout recently stocked by CDFW hatcheries staff.

Some of those waters include Big Bear Lake in San Bernardino County, Stoney Creek in Tulare County, Shaver Lake in Fresno County, Silver Lake in Amador County, Lake Almanor in Plumas County and Burney Creek in Shasta County.

All fishing regulations, such as bag and size limits, gear restrictions, report card requirements, fishing hours and stream closures remain in effect. CDFW encourages potential anglers to check rules and regulations for each water they plan to fish.

For new anglers who get “hooked” on fishing, be sure to purchase an annual sport fishing license. Revenue generated from license sales helps conserve fish populations and habitats while supporting California's longstanding angling opportunities for future generations. Annual sport fishing licenses are now valid for a full 365-days from purchase. More information on licenses, validations and fees can be found on CDFW’s sport fishing licenses web page.

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Media Contacts:
Krysten Kellum, CDFW Communications, (916) 825-7120
Taylor Williams, CDFW R3 Initiative, (916) 203-1362

CDFW Returns Sacramento Perch to Namesake City, County for Urban Fishing Opportunity

Tue, 07 Jan 2025 12:57:24 GMT

Media Note: Download video, photos and interviews involving the return of Sacramento Perch to Sacramento.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has returned California’s only native sunfish – the Sacramento perch – to its namesake city and county, recently stocking 3,000 mostly juvenile fish into a pond at Granite Regional Park to create a unique urban fishing opportunity.

Granite Regional Park is already part of CDFW’s Fishing in the City Program and receives regular stockings of rainbow trout in the winter and channel catfish in the summer to provide fishing opportunities for urban and suburban residents.

While those stockings will continue, Sacramento perch could complement those offerings with a year-round fishery at the small, former quarry pond surrounded by office buildings, soccer fields and parking lots.

“It’s an experimental, pilot effort,” said Max Fish, a Senior Environmental Scientist within CDFW’s Fisheries Branch. “We’re trying to assess whether the fish do well in the pond first and foremost and, if so, whether anglers enjoy this unique experience to interact with a heritage fish being brought back to the Sacramento area for the first time in many decades.”

Once found in abundance within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Clear Lake in northern California, Sacramento perch have been displaced from their historical range as the result of habitat modification and competition from non-native sunfish, including bluegill and green sunfish, that were widely introduced into California in the early 20th century.

Today, Sacramento perch are a “Species of Special Concern” in California and are found in only about two dozen isolated waters mostly in remote parts of northern California and along the Eastern Sierra. Where they exist in abundance, notably at Crowley Lake and Bridgeport Reservoir in Mono County, Sacramento perch support popular sport fisheries and are especially prized for the table. The state record Sacramento perch was caught at Crowley Lake in 1979 weighing 3 pounds, 10 ounces.

Prior to the December stocking at Granite Regional Park in Sacramento, CDFW fisheries biologists surveyed the pond and found only small numbers of non-native sunfish to compete with the perch. Although Sacramento perch struggle to reproduce in the presence of non-native sunfish, CDFW is experimentally stocking older juvenile and adult fish, which have shown to coexist more successfully.

CDFW acquired the Sacramento perch from Livermore-based M4 Aquatics. While the majority of stocked fish were juveniles about 6 months old and 2 to 4 inches in length, about 150 of the perch were over a year old and of “catchable size” of 6 inches in length or more.

“These fish are special for a number of reasons,” said Richard Muñoz, Fishing in the City Coordinator for CDFW’s North Central Region. “These are warmwater fish we can plant pretty much year-round. And they represent an opportunity to provide more equitable access to fishing opportunities for folks who may not have had access to these fish before.”

Sacramento perch can tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions, including waters with high alkalinity, salinity, cold temperatures and warm temperatures, which make Sacramento perch a good candidate to establish sport fisheries in some urban park ponds and communities historically underserved by CDFW’s fish planting efforts.

The stocking of Sacramento perch into Granite Regional Park is part of a comprehensive effort by CDFW to strengthen existing populations, expand its range and introduce the native species to more anglers statewide. Other actions within this effort include:

** The translocation of Sacramento perch between Biscar Reservoir in Lassen County and Bridgeport Reservoir to increase the genetic diversity of both populations.

** Reestablishing source populations of Sacramento perch within its historic range in the Sacramento Valley. Refuge populations recently have been established at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area and at the Woodland Regional Park Preserve, both in Yolo County. While these new populations are closed to recreational fishing, they may provide fish for future stocking opportunities elsewhere and future translocations.

** The stocking of Sacramento perch into the recently renovated Lindo Lake, San Diego County, to establish the first population in Southern California and create another unique urban fishing opportunity. That effort has been complicated by the illegal introduction of black bass and other non-native sunfish into Lindo Lake.

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Media Contacts:
Peter Tira, CDFW Communications, (916) 215-3858
Max Fish, CDFW Fisheries Branch, (916) 203-2993

Free Fishing Day is on the Way as Summer’s End Nears

Wed, 21 Aug 2024 10:53:38 GMT

There’s one last chance this year to cast your line into a California river, lake or bay without a fishing license, and that’s Saturday, Aug. 31.

On Free Fishing Day the public can fish throughout the state with no fishing license required. Earlier this summer on July 6 unlicensed anglers enjoyed the first of the two Free Fishing Days.

Free Fishing Day is a low-cost opportunity to give a new hobby a try. For licensed anglers, it’s a great time to introduce or reintroduce someone to the joys of the sport of fishing — watching that bobber suddenly jiggle, then dive out of sight; feeling the tap-tap-tap of a bass as it takes the worm on the end of the line; or netting a big trout as it’s reeled into the boat.

Free fishing days are also a perfect time for former anglers to dust off their fishing poles and tackle and reconnect to the activity.

Children 15 and younger can fish for free every day of the year in California, but Free Fishing Days offer a time when families and friends can experience the hobby together.

Those interested in fishing California’s lakes, streams and rivers can find information about inland fishing locations and species on the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) website. Information is also available about year-round free fishing opportunities found on specific piers, jetties and breakwaters along the coast. Other helpful tools for anglers include Recruit, Retain, Reactivate (R3) Program resources, the fishing guide and the fish planting schedule.

Bodies of water across the Golden State await anglers with catchable-size fish stocked by CDFW hatcheries staff.

Some of those waters include the Owens River in Inyo County, Reyes Creek in Ventura County, San Joaquin River in Madera County, Huntington Lake in Fresno County, Twin Lakes in Mono County, Halsey Forebay in Placer County, Lake Davis in Plumas County and Baum Lake in Shasta County.

CDFW encourages potential anglers to check rules and regulations for each water they plan to fish. All fishing regulations, such as bag and size limits, gear restrictions, report card requirements, fishing hours and stream closures remain in effect.

For new anglers “reeled” into the sport of fishing, it’s easy to purchase a sport fishing license online. Revenue generated from license sales helps conserve fish populations and habitats while supporting California's longstanding angling opportunities for future generations. Annual sport fishing licenses are now valid 365 days from the date of purchase. More information on licenses, validations and fees can be found on CDFW’s sport fishing licenses web page.

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Media Contacts:
Krysten Kellum, CDFW Communications, (916) 825-7120
Taylor Williams, CDFW R3 Manager, (916) 203-1362

Free Fishing Day: Get Hooked on a New Adventure

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 10:18:37 GMT

The first of California’s two free fishing days in 2024 is coming up following the Independence Day holiday.

On free fishing days — which land on Saturday, July 6, and Saturday, Aug. 31 — the public can fish throughout the Golden State without a fishing license.

For those new to fishing, this is an opportunity to explore a rewarding and exciting new hobby. For licensed anglers, this is an opportunity to introduce or reintroduce someone else to the joys of becoming an angler. Free fishing days are also a perfect time for former anglers to return and reconnect to the activity.

Those interested in fishing California’s lakes, streams and rivers can find information about inland fishing locations and species on the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) website. Information is also available about year-round free fishing opportunities found on specific piers, jetties and breakwaters along the coast. Other helpful tools for anglers include the fish planting schedule, fishing guide and Recruit, Retain, Reactivate (R3) Program resources.

Children 15 and younger can fish for free every day of the year in California, but Free Fishing Days offer a time when families and friends can experience the hobby together.

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Media Contacts:
Krysten Kellum, CDFW Communications, (916) 825-7120
Taylor Williams, CDFW R3 Program, (916) 203-1362