Find Out The Hottest Fishing Spots In California From Anglers
Sonora, CA — State wildlife officials have announced a new web-based angler survey platform powered by anglers for anglers that includes fishing in Calaveras and Amador counties.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has launched the California Inland Recreational Angler Survey (CIRAS), a web-based platform that allows anglers to submit data about their fishing trips. CIRAS provides immediate access to aggregated sport fishing data through an interactive “Ready to Fish” dashboard. As a crowdsourcing platform, CIRAS requires a high level of participation among the full spectrum of California inland anglers’ fishing interests to drive the quality of fishing information it provides.
The CIRAS platform expands the reach of CDFW’s Angler Survey Boxes (ASB), a network of over 200 metal angler survey boxes located throughout the state. This modern platform will provide anglers with an opportunity to submit and interact with information about any sport fish from any fishable inland or anadromous (fish migrating up rivers from the sea to spawn) water in the state, making data on additional locations and fish species more accessible to the public. Historic data from ASBs will also be uploaded into CIRAS, providing immediate use for those fisheries while anglers begin to populate new locations and species data.
“The CIRAS project represents a new opportunity for CDFW to better understand angler preferences and performance of fisheries, while also allowing anglers to access information to plan their next fishing trip,” said CDFW Fisheries Branch Chief Jay Rowan. “By giving access to information that other anglers have entered into CIRAS, people will be able to see what species are present, catch rates, size distributions, and the time of year others are out catching fish. CIRAS also provides an opportunity for anglers to contribute directly to scientific work at CDFW, which will help us better manage the lakes and streams and improve fishing opportunities.”
The CIRAS platform is currently available for waters within CDFW’s North Central Region, which encompasses all or parts of 17 counties, including Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lake, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento (east of Interstate 5), San Joaquin, Sierra, Sutter, Yolo (north of Interstate 80), and Yuba. It will later be expanded statewide. The platform requires internet connectivity to submit angling data, but CDFW plans to incorporate offline functionality in future phases. The CIRAS complements more intensive assessments conducted by trained staff and encourages anglers fishing in CDFW’s North Central Region to contribute catch information using this new platform.
