By JIM MATTHEWS
www.OutdoorNewsService.
Do you know someone who has quit hunting or fishing in California in the past decade? We all do. I like to say that fish and wildlife exists today in California in spite of the department of Fish and Game, not because of its efforts. It all relates to the DFG budget manipulation and mismanagement of funds. The agency’s decline starts and ends with wildlife that support hunting and fishing programs getting an increasingly short end of the budget stick.

How sportsmen fare in the DFG budget: Sportsmen are responsible for about 45 percent of the DFG’s annual budget through the payment of license and tag fees and federal excise taxes, yet only 21 percent of the DFG’s budget is spent on game and fish programs today. Once upon a time, these programs received 100 percent of that money. Even if we include all DFG law enforcement activities in this percentage pie that benefits the wildlife and sportsmen who pay the freight (and wardens should not be completely paid for by license fees), we still only get 35 percent of the total budget. Many in the agency correctly argue that many “other” DFG programs indirectly benefit fish and game programs. But it could just as reasonably be argued that many of these “other” programs are counter-productive and often directly at odds with good game and fish management programs.

How much federal funding does the DFG lose: Of the $71 million received in federal funds by the DFG, the two biggest allocations come from a pair of landmark laws that charge excise taxes on sporting equipment and allocate it back to the states. The state’s allocation of Pittman-Robertson funds (excise taxes on sporting arms and ammunition) is a little over $11 million each year. Based on the allocation system for P-R funds, which is derived from a state’s land mass and population compared to other states, California should be receiving about $36 million annually from this fund.

We lose most of these funds because our state can’t or won’t come up with the mandatory 25 percent matching funds for projects in game programs or game lands because the money is allocated to “other” programs — programs apparently far more important than game programs even through hunters are getting a pittance of their investment back in wildlife research, management, and enhancement.

We are receiving the maximum allocation from in Dingell-Johnson fund (excise taxes on fishing tackle and boats) at just over $20 million each year, but much of that money has been earmarked for salmon and steelhead hatcheries in solid on-going programs for decades. The DFG would have to make a concerted effort to screw this up.

The bottom line is the DFG loses over $35 million a year in lost federal funding because it won’t support game and fish programs to a higher level.

How much has the DFG lost because of declining hunting and fishing license sales: Annual resident fishing license sales dropped below 1 million for the first time in 2011. Annual license sales were around 2.2 million annually in the late 1970s and into the 1980s. If the DFG grossed about $40 million on all fishing license sales in 2011, my simple-minded math tells me we’d have at least $80 million selling the same numbers of licenses today that we sold in the late 1970s.

In the late 1960s and in 1970, we were selling about 700,000 hunting licenses. In 2011, we sold about 240,000 annual licenses. That’s $9.5 million in annual license fees and a total of $21.2 million for all tag, stamp, and application fees paid by those 240,000 hunters. If we still had 700,000 hunters in California, the total revenue would have to be in $60 million range.

These license sale losses have accumulated while the state’s population has skyrocketed. If license sales had grown proportionally with the state’s population since 1970, just imagine what the revenue for the DFG would be like. The bottom line is that DFG has effectively sliced its sporting funding in half through lost license sales. This is what happens when you ignore game and fish programs and sportsmen.

Total lost revenue: What is a conservative estimate on how much money the DFG could – should – be bringing in on hunting and fishing license revenue with a good, aggressive game and fish management program? Licenses, tags, and stamps brought in $61 million in 2011. We should have over $140 million coming in. Federal excise taxes are currently $71 million today. We should receive at least $105 million. So instead of $185 million, the income should be more like $245 million. If there had actually been growth in the number of license holders, growth in concert with the state’s population which has doubled since 1970, the revenue would be in the $500 million range.

A final reminder: The DFG’s total annual budget today is right around $400 million, including all the non-game, vegetation, and invasive species programs, law enforcement staff, oil spill prevention and response teams, and on and on. But remember, game and fish programs are just 21 percent of that current budget.

Is it any wonder more and more hunters and fishermen are giving up on California?

The solution: The reality of the world is different today than four decades ago when the DFG was flush with money and did everything it wanted for sportsmen and more. There was even money left over to do non-game and endangered species work with sporting money back then. Today, the agency has more lawyers and administrators than it does scientist because it spends as much time in court than it does in the field.

It’s time for everyone who enjoys wildlife and wild places to pony up instead of sportsmen paying the lion’s share of the bill. There are two parts to the solution. First, all hunting and fishing license dollars need to be rededicated to only game and fish programs. This would blow a huge hole in other parts of the DFG budget, and those other programs are important and need funding. Second, the DFG needs a new, permanent funding mechanism for its other programs.

There are two valid models that could accomplish that goal. The first alternative is an annual outdoor user fee. Everyone who does anything from bird watching to hiking to mountain biking on any public land would have to have an annual license and the money would go to the DFG which manages those natural resources for those users. Just like hunters and fishermen pay a fee, other outdoor users would also have to pay the fee to enjoy those same resources. The second alternative is an added state sales tax on outdoor gear to fund the DFG’s broad range of conservation programs statewide, paid for by everyone in the state who buys a wide range of wildlife or outdoor-based products, from wild bird seed to binoculars to backpacking and mountain climbing gear. One is a simple user fee, and the other is an excise tax. Your call.

All I know is that hunters and fishermen shouldn’t have to keep funding far more than they receive. We deserve Crowley Lake-style trout management in waters all over the state. We need more tule elk on public lands. We need more desert water sources for wildlife. We need a lot of things for the state’s hunted and fished game species. Instead of being discriminated against each time we dig into our wallets, we need to see a return on our investment instead of excuses for dismal management.

2. Diamond Valley Lakeís striped bass and largemouth bass bites get equal billing in the No. 2 pick this week. A DFG trout plant this week means both will be on a swimbait bite. Hurling the big swimbaits could net a big striper or a big largemouth. Check with the staff at Last Chance Bait and Tackle in Hemet for an update on this bite at 951-658-7410.

3. Castaic Lake cranked out trout at 11.5 and 10.9 this week. These were both big swimbait fish and last weekís rainbow trout plant and warmer weather has these big fish up on the prowl. The bite isnít hot, but the chance of getting a double digit largemouth is a real possibility. Check with the marina for an update at 661-775-6232.

BLACK BASS: Most of the lakes in the region are moving into a pre-spawn bite very early this year. Three patterns are worth noting. First, the warm weather has some fish up in less than 10 feet of water cruising around. This is especially true in lower-elevation waters like Lower Otay, Perris, Diamond Valley, and Casitas. Cachuma and Santa Margarita have also been improving. The early fish are usually bigger fish, too. Second, in lakes getting trout plants there are some bigger bass on trout-like swimbaits. This is best after DFG plants (because these trout are usually smaller than the fish from the private hatcheries). Last, the deeper water bass bite is pretty good for finesse anglers who know how to fish ice jigs, jigging spoons, and small plastics. So, that means you need to be prepared to fish from top to bottom. Top bet is probably Diamond Valley with the fish in eight to 30 feet, mostly feeding on sculpin right on the bottom in good cover.

STRIPED BASS: The striper bite broke open on bigger fish at Diamond Valley this past week with fish to nearly 30 pounds reported in pretty fair numbers, mostly on big swimbaits. Elsewhere, the striper bites all are very spotty right now. There are still fish showing at all the usual places — Castaic, Pyramid, Skinner, and Silverwood — but there are two types of action. There are some bigger fish up chasing trout in the top 20 feet of the water column or in water from 40 to 80 feet hanging on structure or under balls of bait. Itís usually bigger fish on the trout and smaller, school-size fish in deep water where they are showing on cut baits. Keep an eye on the trout plants and fish within the first two or three days after a plant. A sleeper pick would be the California aqueduct near Taft, which has been producing a decent number from four to eight pounds. On the Colorado River, there have been a few quality fish to 20 pounds or better at Willow Beach. Havasu is fair in the main body of the lake and toward the dam and the fish are still focused on shad.

PANFISH: The Salton Sea tilapia bite was improving again until this weekís cold snap, but the action is still pretty fair on sunny, warm days. Top picks for crappie in a scanty field are Cachuma Lake, with a fair bite on quality fish over a pound, and Lake Silverwood off the marina docks. The Perris panfish bite is tougher again this week, but the redear anglers are still getting fish. Few other panfish bites are of note in this region. On the Central Coast, Lopez and Santa Margarita have been producing some quality crappie, but no big numbers, and these bites have slowed.

CATFISH: There continues to be reports of some nice catfish at Lake Skinner, but it seems like all the reports are coming from one angler with fish over 10 pounds each week. The Colorado River and local drainage ditches slowed with the annual drawdown of these canals, but the canals are back up, and thereís been fair action in the main river on channels. Flatheads are very slow but a few good fish were reported this past week.

LOS ANGELES: Alondra Park Lake, Belvedere Park Lake, Cerritos Park Lake, Downey Wilderness Park Lake, Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, La Mirada Lake, lake in Hollenbeck Park, Lincoln Park Lake, MacArthur Park Lake, Puddingstone Reservoir, Pyramid Lake.

ORANGE: Carr Park Lake, Eisenhower Park Lake, Greer Park Lake, Huntington Central Park Lake, Laguna Lake, Ralph Clark Regional Park Lake.

SAN DIEGO: Chollas Reservoir, El Capitan Lake, Lindo Lake, Lower Otay Lake, Morena Reservoir, Murray Reservoir.

SAN BERNARDINO: Mojave Narrows Regional Park Lake, Seccumbe Park Lake, Silverwood Lake,
Yucaipa Regional Park Lake.

RIVERSIDE: Cahuilla Lake, Diamond Valley Reservoir, Perris Reservoir.

INYO: lower Owens River below Tinemaha Reservoir, lower Owens River from Stewart Lane to Laws.

FRESNO: Avocado Lake, Kings River below the Pine Flat Reservoir, San Joaquin River below the Friant Dam, Woodward Park Lake.

KERN: Brite Valley Reservoir, Hart Park Lake, Lake Truxton, Lake Woollomes, Ming Lake, The Park at River Walk lake.

MARIPOSA: Lake McClure, McSwain Reservoir.

MONTEREY: El Estero Park lake.

STANISLAUS: Modesto Reservoir, Woodward Reservoir.

TULARE: Murry Park pond.

TUOLUMNE: Don Pedro Reservoir, New Melones Lake.