| Mike
went on to say me that post fledging when the dependency
ends will be the end of summer at which time it is assumed
that these eagles run or pack (don’t remember
the verbiage he used) with more eagles and migrate to
the Northwest around the Columbia River area for the
Fall to catch (literally) the salmon run. When the salmon
run depletes in late October, they typically return
to Bass Lake. Mike assumes this because the original
female eagle #31 that was spotted in Bass Lake in 1999
(I believe) was actually spotted at the Columbia River
eating a salmon on a streambed by a fisherman and the
tag number was reported to the fish and game.
Bass
Lake Eagles Nesting Again in 2005!
March
25, 2005 - According to Bass Lake Wildlife Biologists
Ron Cummins and Mike Smith, the eagles are nesting again
this year. Ron and Mike had a telescope on them early
morning of March 25th and witnessed one of the adults
turning the eggs over in the nest.
The
eagles are in the same nest as last year which is still
across the lake from Ducey’s near the point off
The Forks beach.
The
biologists have also witnessed the return of several
Ospreys to Bass Lake.
Bill
Campeau
Bass Lake wildlife biologist Ron
Cummings (left) and Mike Smith, check the eagle
aerie to record development of the two hatchlings
that seem to be developing well. |
Second
eaglet discovered at Bass Lake
Bass
Lake has two bald eagle hatchlings, the discovery of
a second eaglet in the aerie having been made more recently
by Ron Cummings, wildlife biologist at the Bass Lake
Ranger District headquarters, and Mike Smith, a bald
eagle specialist who checks out eagle conditions and
development over a wide area of California.
The
two young birds now stand nearly 12 inches high and
are into their transition or secondary down period.
According to Smith, they will soon begin to develop
flight plumage.
However,
they will continue to stay in the nest at least another
five to six weeks.
It
is important, Smith stressed, that a wide berth be given
the birds at this critical time in the development of
their young. “The parents get edgy and extremely
nervous and if their immediate area is encroached upon
or disturbed they could abandon the babies. That is
why closure of an area of a radius of one-quarter mile
around the nest tree must be respected by everybody.”
All of Forest Road 7S24 and the portion of Goat Mountain
Trail from the Forks Campground, and the road paralleling
the Bas Lake campground along Road 222 is included.
PG & E has posted its land with “no trespassing”
signs on the uphill side of Road 222 and Madera County
has marked “no parking” along the county
road. The closure will continue until August 1, according
to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The closed area
restricts entry by persons for recreation, woodcutting,
and projects for vegetation management and other work
activities.
 The
two eaglets are the first to be born in Bass Lake in
three years. In 1999, eagles produced three hatchlings
in a nest that the eagles “expropriated”
from an osprey. But the eagles did not fare well in
the following years. It is believed the original male
is still here.
Smith
said that the eagle population fell dangerously low
during the 1960s when less than 100 birds were counted
in California. Today, that number has risen to about
480.
Smith,
whose love for bald and golden eagles is apparent in
conversation, is just one calculus class away from his
masters degree at Fresno State. He earned his B.A. degree
from Loyola University before it became Loyola-Marymount.
Cummings received his biology degree from Oregon State
University, worked with wild birds in the Peace Corps
in Ecuador for two years and has been with the U.S.
Forest Service since 1988.
Eagles
feed their young a fish diet. They rip and shred the
fish, which the hatchlings gobble down. One of the parents
usually is either in the aerie or nearby.
The
history of Bass Lake's eaglets
The
story of bald eagle #31 – the female that
produced Bass Lake’s first eaglets –
is a heart-warming saga of a creature saved by
wildlife biologists and striving to make its way
in a contaminated world. It is recorded by Mike
Smith, an eagle specialist, who would like to
think #31 is still alive. If she is, she would
be 11 years old.
Two
weeks after hatching on a lake near Pit River
in Northern California, she was taken from her
nest by biologists and moved to Santa Catalina
Island, as part of an Institute for Wildlife Studies
project to reintroduce eagles to the island. Once
relatively abundant on the island, the eagles’
habitat was ruined by DDT. Thirty-five days before
her arrival, biologists removed a DDT-addled egg
from an active bald eagle nest and replaced it
with an artificial one. At the end of the normal
35-day incubation, the eaglet replaced the artificial
egg.
Twelve
weeks later, just before fledging, biologists
again entered the nest and fitted the bird with
orange tags and the number 31. Soon afterward,
#31 ranged far and wide, leaving Northern California
to migrate north. She was seen – as #31
– on the Columbia River atop a salmon carcass.
During the winters of 1995, 1996 and 1997 a bald
eagle with orange tags was seen at Millerton Lake.
And then, in 1998, #31 and her mate were observed
building a nest at Bass Lake. Normally bald eagles
do not become sexually mature until the age of
five, so maybe these two were still trying to
figure things out. In February 1999 both the male
and #31 worked on the previous year’s nest
and an eaglet was hatched. Again in 2000 the pair
returned to their commandeered nest and by late
June two healthy eaglets fledged and they departed
after a brief period of local wandering and exploration.
Yet another eaglet was hatched in 2001, this time
in a new nest. This year’s pair has the
two young birds, but #31 has vanished.
Bald
eagle mortality can range as high as 80 percent
during the first year of life, most deaths caused
by gunshot, collision, poisoning and electrocution.
As a Mono Indian told me, “My friend, sometimes
it’s not easy being an eagle. They work
hard.”
In
many ways the next chapter in the life of #31
is in our hands. I believe that when we respect
eagles and the wild places they inhabit, they
thrive. So let’s celebrate this magnificent
survivor and all the members of her species as
they slowly draw back from the brink of extinction.
If we give them the space, they’ll take
it from there.
|
Fishing
at Bass Lake
Fishing
licenses and gear for all your fishing needs can be
purchased at the Pines Market.
 Bass
Lake a Sleeper for Winter Kokanee and Trout
Reproduced
by permission of the Fish Sniffer, the number one western
fishermen’s newspaper.
The
first fish hit about two hundred yards from the launch
ramp. Haskell, my fishing partner for the day, pulled
back hard and set the hook. "Look at that!"
he said as the bright kokanee jumped out of the water
and did an aerial dance. The fish took off in a wide
circle away from the boat and Haskell hung on.
Our
day had begun back in Fresno, with us trying to decide
if the downpour there was enough of a deterrent to abandon
our planned day of fishing. We made the decision to
go for it and by about eight o'clock we were at the
launch ramp.
It
was a solid rain, but there was no wind and the lake
was calm. The south ramp, even this time of the year,
is solid concrete well into the water and the floating
dock makes this lake one of winter's more accessible
fisheries in the Sierra Nevada. We launched with ease.
Bass
Lake, at an elevation of about 3500 feet, is the ideal
destination for anglers seeking trout or kokanee, especially
during the uncrowded fall and winter seasons. The lake
is surrounded by big pines and off in the distance are
the steep mountains that lead to Yosemite. There is
a definite serenity here.
Haskell's
kokanee proceeded to pull away and the drag on his small
Garcia bait-casting reel released the line without a
hitch. We were both using new seven foot Angler's Touch
rods and the action had the rod bent over at about a
forty-five degree angle to the water. These rods have
a stiff backbone but a real sensitive taper and are
ideal for sensing the light taps that are common with
kokanee and for hauling in the occasional lunker trout
as well.
"Feels
like a nice fish," Haskell said, and just as he
got the words out of his mouth the kokanee did another
leap. Its sides were like chrome with a gray stripe
running the length of its body. The fighter seemed to
expend its last bit of energy on the leap and soon Haskell
had it beside the boat. I netted the fish and our first
catch of a thirteen-inch kokanee was securely placed
on the stringer.
Bass
Lake, as the result of a successful stocking program
by the Department of Fish and Game, has plentiful populations
of rainbow trout and to a lesser degree, kokanee salmon.
It is also home to largemouth and smallmouth bass, catfish,
carp, crappie and bluegill.
The
lake is extremely busy during the warm months with water
skiers, jet skiers and swimmers. There are hundreds
of cabins situated around the lake and on its northeast
shore sits the elegant Pines Resort. With all the excellent
accommodations, it is no wonder that the lake is often
crowded.
Its
moderate elevation also creates fairly warm surface
water conditions during the spring and summer months,
when the trout and salmon go deep. But this time of
year, the trout and salmon are right on top, cruising
around in a zone from surface to fifteen feet.
My
rod suddenly did a double take. I set the hook on the
second bite and felt the power of a heavy rainbow. When
the fish are shallow, you can almost always tell the
difference between a trout and kokanee before actually
seeing the fish by the way it tries to elude the boat.
Trout will generally dive or stay below the surface
at first, whereas a kokanee will usually break water
and start to circle within the first minute or so of
the battle. My fish was definitely a trout.
He
had taken my orange Humdinger and was diving straight
for the bottom. I let him take line and kept a constant
pressure on his pull. It worked. He turned and did a
parallel run beside the boat. Slowly I gained some line
back on the reel, then the fish surfaced, saw the boat,
and took off again. This time his run was noticeably
shorter and as I reeled in, I could feel his strength
slipping away. Haskell lowered the net and fish number
two was a fat fifteen-inch rainbow.
It
was 8:30. Not bad for a Monday morning.
We
continued finding success by slow trolling, about 1.5
mph, in a constant lazy "s" pattern. Our four-pound
test P-line was tied directly to the lure and we tried
to let out at least one hundred and fifty feet of line.
This speed and rigging placed our lures at about five
to ten feet below the water's surface.
By working a pattern that ran parallel to the northern
shoreline, and about a hundred feet out, we stayed in
water around eighty feet deep. Almost every strike came
while heading east to west in a zone that ran from one
point to another, a length of about five hundred yards,
After traveling that direction through the zone, we
would pick up a few strikes and/or fish, and then we
would reel in, make an abrupt turn, head back to the
eastern point, and start the slow troll again.
We
landed one fish after another and had caught a total
of nine nice fish when we decided to take a break around
eleven. What a life!
The
afternoon proved to be as good as the morning. Haskell
and myself continued using the small orange Humdingers
and the action stayed consistent. We finished the day
with thirteen trout, three kokanee and one three-pound
largernouth bass being caught. We kept our mixed limits
of trout and kokanee and were set for the fish fry to
follow.
The
rain had never let-up, but with no wind and temperatures
in the mid forties, the conditions were very acceptable.
Only one other boat made an appearance. All day long
we had seen scores of ducks and as we looked to the
east we saw four small deer that had wandered out of
the forest and were feeding on grass along a beach area
between coves.
 As
we motored towards the launch ramp, a Bald Eagle with
its dark black body and vivid white head and tail feathers
swooped down not fifty yards from our boat, plucked
a ten-inch trout from the water with its talons, and
glided gracefully to its perch in a tall pine. I was
beginning to think that all of this was part of a National
Geographic Special.
After
loading the boat I walked over to a lone figure sitting
on the bank. The gentleman told me that he was a frequent
fisherman at Bass Lake, and showed me two fat rainbows
he had caught while soaking green Power Bait.
"I
usually catch two or three by noon and then call it
a day," He said. "I work the areas around
the sheriff's tower and this spot, by the southern launch
ramp. Power Bait works the best, but sometimes I'll
add a salmon egg to the mix. If it is real slow, sometimes
that does the trick."
The
decision to tough-out the weather had been one of my
better decisions of recent memory. The hours spent had
provided incredible scenery, a limit of twelve to fifteen
inch trout and salmon, a real bargain for brunch, great
company and, in general, one heck of a day.
Bass
Lake is a real treat any time of the year, but with
little angling pressure and an abundance of aggressive
fish on the bite during the winter, it is nothing less
than spectacular!
Bass
Lake is located off Highway 41 approximately 45 miles
north of Fresno and 14 miles south of the entrance to
Yosemite National Park. It is a year round recreation
area with a definite four seasons. Summer days can be
very warm, and light snowfall can be expected in the
winter, but the roads are always kept clear.
There
are a multitude of private cabins available and boat
rentals are offered from spring until fall.
|
