I don't hear much on here about Paddock. Haven't been there myself and just curious to know if anyone has anything to offer.
[signature]
My grandpa and I used to fish padlock quite a bit. Used to catch a lot of little crappie, and some nice bass, and some pretty big bullhead cats(2lbs)
[signature]
I have fished Paddock for over 50 years and have seen many ups and downs, I made my yearly trip in to check it out early this year and as has been the case for several years, there was not enough water to sustain a good fishery. We fished but did not catch anything.
[signature]
I miss Paddock and have some great memories of catching big crappie there with my Dad when I was a little kid. I went there last summer and it was really disappointing. I caught a few little bass and people on the shore were catching 10" bullheads. I'm not going back there unless it starts getting managed for fishing, especially with that road.
[signature]
Don't get your hopes up for a return to the good ol days. The ranchers will drain it dry in a heartbeat to satisfy their needs. No way the state can justify putting alot of time and big money into returning it to the kind of fishery that it was back 20 years ago when it can be legally sucked dry again. [frown]
[signature]
Well Dean, the Fish & Game must not of got your message, last year they put in a new boat ramp and two new sets of toilets. The only thing they did not do is to let mother nature know to fill it full of water. [
]
[signature]
Don't know whether to thank them for spending our money on those improvements or not, given the horrible track record over the past 15-20 years in maintaining pool levels conducive to development/survival of a worthwhile fishery. I've hunted and fished that area since moving here in 1990, and can say that under more encouraging long term water conditions such improvements would be justified from my point of view. Thems some barren acres and road access and parking space vic the old ramp sucked, to say the least. The fact that F&G didn't get my message, as you pointed out, doesn't necessarily make this a good decision on their part.
I would love to see that res. come back, but under the circumstances I don't see that happening in the long term. It's been several years now since the F&G put in alot of time and expense trucking in panfish from other bodies of water when the pool level started coming back up. Well, that didn't last long before they threw up their hands and declared salvage fishing rights so the public could harvest fish that would be lost as pool levels once again took an alarming nose dive.
Just my 2-cents worth on the subject....not interested in getting into any arguments or converting anyone to my opinion/s.
[signature]
I agree the water levals have been bad the past 10 years. The weardest thing I seen was when the f&g in 2006 put 27,000 trout in paddock and then again in 2008 they put almost another 10,000 trout. with water as scarce as it is it sure seemed like a waste of fish to me.
Perhaps they know more than I do??
[signature]
I would hope that they do.... and trust that is the case. No way of knowing, as an outsider, what politics, etc. may steer the decision making on any particular issue. And as such, I wouldn't want to fault any biologist not knowing what they're having to deal with within their unique working environment. I trust that in their careers they have to swallow hard at times and just follow the directions handed down to them by higher authorities. Trust me, I suffered the same during a 38-year career working in resources management with the National Park Service. I was quite pleased to get out of the field my last 15 years and work in the national office where I could win a few battles and hopefully do some good for the resources and our valued employees.
[signature]
Well said Dean.
If the State decides to spend money on this fishery they should manage it as a place where fish are able to survive more than a year or two. Apparently, it is not feasible. If they decide the water is more important to agriculture than that's fine too. The farmers and ranchers have legal rights to the water and there is more than one pond in Idaho where we can catch crappie. I'm just not crazy about my tax dollars and license/tag fees being spent on boat ramps and restrooms at a stock tank.
[signature]
Amen to that brother.............
[signature]
Maybe they could spend some of that money on water rights? Pay a certain amout to keep a minumum pool each year to carry over the fish?
Same for Little Camas.............
[signature]
Doubt it..... Don't know if it's changed since the 90's, but back then one rancher [as I recall] had that area pretty well tied up for his range permits and he did pretty well selling a limited quantity of seasonal hunting permits allowing access to whatever land he owned, and government land he had under permit. Nice gig, huh? I purchase access permits for a few years, until he got greedy and changed his program. Switched to a more elite program offering fewer "membership" permits for much higher fees. BTW, when the plug was pulled [literally] to drain the res. I only heard mention of that one rancher as being the cause. Perhaps there were a few other smaller operations...I just never heard them mentioned. Guess what I'm getting at is that it's a
state of affairs the way the grazing permit system can be manipulated by a few and step on the toes of the general public who are the actual land owners.
[signature]
i agree two of my most favorite bodies of water anywhere. awesome fishing in both if we could keep water in them.
it is very frustrating how the ranchers can use the tax payers land and twist it to there advantage. i had a unit 44 buck tag a couple years ago and was amazed by how much land was " locked up " by the leases. i went in to town to complain . as long as they have a lease and have a couple cows on the land i was told to keep out. a couple other instances there was tons of blm land but the ranchers had a small portion of the road leased and wanted big $$$ to open the gate. i always carry current blm maps and turn in all suspected illegaly posted property. we are running out of areas to go.......
[signature]
good for you, and us all, that you take the initiative to report illegal posting. i salute your efforts and hope that others will follow suit and report any suspected irregularities they may observe. unfortunately the blm and other employees are spread thin and can't always keep on top of it. extra sets of eyes will widen their perspective and hopefully reduce abuses of our public lands.
[signature]
Dean (BorntoFish01),
Thanks for your valuable input. As a retired NPS Resources Manager, you provide the rest of us on this site with an informed, educated resource that could only be gained from 35 years in the field. Again, thanks. Mike
[signature]
Mike, thanks for your kind words on my behalf.
[signature]
I used to fish Paddock, and i was going to throw a few things out there about a few years ago, and remembered. wait that was several years ago. well, Ok, that was like 8-10 years ago. man i am old.
i remember fishing Owyhee and IFG had big traps set up at the ramps for anglers to put there crappie in. they were transported to Paddock to try and rejuvenate it. but that was a while back. Loved catching the big blue gill and large mouth. the occasional crappie was a bonus for me. we went to target the largemouth. A chartreuse and white spinner bait with 2 willow leaves was a killer. 5inch chartreuse grubs were awesome as well. The road did suck, but i remember in the bend where the creek and the little slough was, i seen my first cinnamon teal. always an adventure out there.
[signature]