PORTOLA ??? For the second time this year, the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) will inspect anglers at a Lake Davis checkpoint. The checkpoint, scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 12 will be conducted between the hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Of the 71 vehicles inspected at the first checkpoint on May 20, a total of five anglers were caught transporting pike. Two of those pike were still alive. All five of the pike were confiscated.

Anglers catching a pike at Lake Davis, the only body of water in California where pike are known to exist, are instructed to kill it immediately and then remove its head. They are then asked to turn it over to a local DFG official ??? either at the reservoir or at the Portola office ??? or at the participating local stores, Grizzly Store at the lake, and Dollard's Market in Portola.

DFG often uses checkpoints to help educate the public about laws, regulations, and resource conditions. Checkpoints can also prevent, discourage, and allow for the detection of violations, and apprehend violators of fish and game laws. Additionally, checkpoints can serve to facilitate the gathering of biological and statistical data related to fish abundance, health and range, and user group demographics.

Lake Davis was chemically treated for the non-native, predatory northern pike in 1997. The pike were rediscovered there 1999. The pike population has adversely affected the trout fishery and ecology of Lake Davis. Should pike escape or be moved from Lake Davis, they have the potential to do irreversible damage to the aquatic ecosystem and fisheries in the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary and its watershed, as well as potentially harm other areas of California and the region.