BY MERIT McCREA SACRAMENTO — On April 19, the California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved the regulations adopted March 26 by the California Fish and Game Commission which conforms our state waters regulations with those in federal waters which went active April 1. At this writing, Department of Fish and Wildlife staff is hard at work updating web resources to reflect the change. The basics are the waters from Point Lopez, Big Sur, south to the Mexican border are open all-depth for rockfish now. The vermilion sub-bag limit is now 2 fish from Cape Mendocino south to the Mexican borde ..read more

BY MIKE STEVENS MAMMOTH LAKES— A year ago, Western Outdoor News published a month-by-month predictor of how the 2023 Eastern Sierra trout season would play out following the unprecedented madness brought on by the previous record-breaking winter. The absurd snowpack impacted every month of last season which made it a year like no other, and it’s highly unlikely we see another one like that again. Barring a last-minute mega-blizzard, this season will be a welcome return to normal. Since it now seems like “normal” is something we haven’t experienced for a while, here are the monthly predictions ..read more

By JODY ONLY LAKEPORT– The 2024 WON Bass Clear Lake Open was set for mid-April, smack in the middle of the spawn, and every phase of it, showed up for the anglers at the big bass fishery. The three-day, shared-weight event presented Clear Lake at its finest and its finickiest as 354 anglers competed for the heaviest 15-fish tournament total. If you wonder how that kind of juxtaposition played out, read on. The first day’s news flew through the fishing community. Not one, not three; but no less than six, limits broke 30-pounds. That’s right, a team could not even take a spot in the top-5 with a ..read more

Eastern Sierra prime for epic opener BY ERNIE COWAN MAMMOTH LAKES—Opening weekend for the 2024 general Eastern Sierra Trout season will be all about quantities. There should be less snow and ice, more open water, more fish, and at press time, predictions for lots of nice weather. That’s the amount of what’s needed for a very, Merry Fishmas. As always, when dealing with the High Country, things can change quickly, but there seems to be a level of optimism this year as the clock clicks down to Fishmas. From Lone Pine to Bridgeport, a check by WON found the veterans of opening days were feeling g ..read more

BY MIKE STEVENS Hiker bit while protecting dogs, same coyote threatened another dog walker that morning MAMMOTH LAKES— Mammoth resident Dakota Snider put in six miles in the Owens Valley with a couple dogs before making one last stop in the hills behind Mammoth Airport before heading home. Fifteen minutes after arriving, he and the worn-out dogs encountered an aggressive coyote, and by early evening he was receiving his first round of rabies shots and reliving what happened that afternoon. No stranger to spending time outside, especially in the Eastern Sierra, Snider puts off-the-beaten path m ..read more

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BY BOB SEMERAU VENTURA —In the fight game, you just must have a plan. And that plan will either knock ‘em dead or maybe land you on the mat. This year’s Western Outdoor News-Ventura Harbor Sportfishing-Rockfish Rumble (RFR) showed amazingly differing results for all the boats in the competition. Ventura Harbor Sportfishing owner-operator and legendary sportboat captain, Tucker McCombs, sent out three boats to go the distance and fight for a win in the 2024 WON RFR. Scheduled as an early season bout, the 2024 iteration of the WON-RFR, had boats fishing down to 100-fathoms, or 600-hundred-feet ..read more

By JIM MATTHEWS The Catalina Island Conservancy is moving forward with a plan to eliminate all mule deer on the island despite protests from most island residents, the City of Catalina, animal rights groups, and broad coalition in the hunter-conservation community. The Conservancy hopes to begin the lethal removal of all deer beginning this fall, even though it has not prepared an environmental impact report, as required by state law, and has no permit from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) at this point in time. The consortium of diverse groups is prepared to sue the Conse ..read more

Austin Bonjour Wins 2024 WON Bass Clear Lake Open Joe Mariani finishes second, Anthony Madrigal wins AAA Division Crown. By Dan O’Sullivan LAKEPORT, Calif. – April 19, 2024 –– Opportunity knocked – Austin Bonjour answered. After taking a little more than a two-pound lead on the second day of the tournament, Bonjour, the 30-year-old pro from Templeton,Calif. knew that he had to perform on the final day.  With warm and mild conditions remaining on the lake, and waves of massive Clear Lake largemouth bass moving, he knew his lead was tenuous. He knew that all he had to do was locate quality ..read more

Austin Bonjour Takes over Command at WON Bass Clear Lake Open, Nick Klein holds in Second Place Damon Motley leads AAA division as Clear Lake fish are on the Move. By Dan O’Sullivan LAKEPORT, Calif. – April 18, 2024 –– While the mild breezes and warm temperatures at Clear Lake remained for day two of the 2024 WON Bass Ranger Boats Clear Lake Open presented by Mercury, those mild conditions may have played havoc with the leaderboard.  Ideally, stable conditions are the friend of a tournament angler, but when prespawn bass are looking towards spawning beds, a little change in weather can k ..read more