Drumming up support for a scenic oasis such as the McCloud or the mighty Klamath seems like a no-brainer. Fighting against the senseless slaughter of such self-evidently beautiful sport fish as salmon or steelhead seems commonsensical. But how deep do our conservation roots run? The true test of our fly-fishing ethics is when we’re asked to respond to the destruction of a less-than-picturesque place. Will we defend the death of a more common species, even a so-called “invasive” species, such as carp (never mind the fact that carp often predate the introduction of brown trout to our country and are widely valued in Europe and Asia)?
The Kern River in Bakersfield was killed last September, and the fly-fishing community needs to know. It may not be the picturesque McCloud or scenic Owens, but it still deserves our protection. As a fly angler who’s spent years on its banks, I’ve seen firsthand the life it supports—smallmouth bass, carp, crappies, frogs, birds, and countless insects. This is a call to action to help restore a river, and a community, that’s been deeply impacted.
As a teacher, I had the privilege to fish our urban river almost every single day during the sweltering summers, usually donning my wading boots and fishing vest by 5:30 a.m. to beat the baking Bakersfield sun, even fishing 47 consecutive days in a row last summer. During those mornings, I waded almost every inch of the urban river, from the weir at Riverwalk, under the overpasses of Calloway and Coffee, to the sandy stretches under Interstate 99 near Beech Park, all the way to Hart Park and Rancheria Road, before the river rages its way from Kernville down the canyon.
At that time, I learned firsthand how beautiful this river can be and how many precious creatures live and thrive in a healthy river and its surrounding riparian zone: birds, trees, insects, flowers, and, of course, my favorite, fish.
“Life grows where water flows,” as the signs say up and down the farms on the I-5. I won’t pretend to understand the complex bureaucracies of water politics in California, especially in the agricultural heartland of the Central Valley. I’ll never know the true reasons Judge Charles Poochigian made the executive decision to ignore the superior court’s earlier ruling, as well as Fish and Game Code 5937, that has restored a modest and minimal flow to our river and allowed life to flourish in our city for these past eighteen months. Nor do I understand why Bring Back the Kern’s appeals to their ruling were denied. They say it’s for construction purposes, but tell that to the rotting carcasses littering the now dry river bed.
Perhaps the judge didn’t intentionally know the effects of his ruling and assumed the river was barren and devoid of flourishing life.
I write to inform the public that it was most certainly not. If it was done out of innocence, I personally and cordially invite the judge to meet me any weekend morning at what used to be my old favorite fishing spot under Coffee Road to see the carnage this ruling has caused.
Bottom photo: Fish left to senselessly die. Photo by CSUB Biology Professor, Antje Lauer
All I’m certain of is that stopping the flow of our river hurts us all. It dries up our already desert-like city, it robs its citizens of recreation and natural beauty, and it senselessly kills innocent creatures. Please bring back our Kern.
BACKGROUND
A 2023 preliminary injunction required the City to leave some water in the river to protect fish, but a 2024 appeals court decision overturned that protection. The river was again fully dewatered, resulting in a massive fish die-off in Bakersfield.
In spring 2025, the plaintiffs’ appeal to protect fish was denied. Bring Back the Kern asked the California Supreme Court to review the decision in hopes of protecting fish before the full trial begins later this year.
The organization and a coalition of advocates have a trial set for late 2025 in Kern County Superior Court to decide if the City of Bakersfield’s management of the Kern River—on behalf of water rights holders—is illegal based on the argument that it dewatered the river and killed fish.
If you’d like to get involved and help restore and maintain fish flows through Bakersfield, please donate or join the Bring Back the Kern mailing list and volunteer team.
