It’s PIKEMINNOW DERBY time! Let’s go eel hunting and kill invasive fish for fun, food and prizes

Press release from TRIB Research:

“If you can’t beat them, eat them”

The Eel River pikeminnow fishing derby is back. The derby is organized by a collaboration of groups working to restore native fish to the Eel River, in part by eradicating invasive Sacramento Pikeminnow. We need your help to remove more pikeminnow this summer! From now through August 31st, anyone with a fishing license (or if you are under 16, no license is required) can fish for pikeminnow on the Eel for a chance to win up to $400 in cash prizes and do your part to help remove these non-native fish-eating (fish-eating) predators.

Pikeminnow were introduced into the Eel River via Pillsbury Reservoir in the late 1970s. They have since spread to all branches of the Eel and are remarkably prolific. They make seasonal migrations in freshwater based on water temperature, prey availability, and spawning preferences. In 2018, The Wiyot Tribe and Stillwater Sciences began a focused effort to monitor the pikeminnow population on the South Fork Eel, develop a better understanding of their prey through diet analysis, and test suppression methods. The collaboration has since expanded to include CalTrout, UC Berkeley, the Bureau of Land Management, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and TRIB Research, all working together to determine best practices for pikeminnow removal. One recent method has been the installation of a channel-spanning weir to limit pikeminnow migration into the upper South Fork Eel. In addition to other factors negatively impacting the Eel River, such as historical overfishing and logging, habitat loss, and the effects of climate change, walleye are now also having a significant impact on native Pacific lamprey, coho salmon, Chinook salmon, steelhead salmon, and Sacramento sucker salmon.

The waters open to fishing in the Derby are from the mouth of the Van Duzen to the confluence of the South Fork with the main stream Eel, and from the mouth of the South Fork to the Humboldt County line (near Piercy) on the South Fork Eel. All current fishing regulations for the Eel River apply to the Derby (including no bait, only barbless artificial attractants). Prize categories are for the most pikeminnow (greater than 6 inches or greater than 12 inches) caught in the contest, the largest fish caught, and a drawing for everyone who enters a fish.

We recommend eating your pikeminnow in the form of fried fish cakes, fish balls in noodle soup, fish tacos or smoking them. Don’t believe the common misconception that pikeminnow are inedible. They are delicious, they just need a little extra care to treat the y-bones.

For more information on how to participate in the derby, visithttps://tribresearch.org/pikeminnow/