Wishiniwasfishin

Thanks for your reply. This thread was intended to make us "really think" what If! To me, it's just another cop-out to say that you will pack up your bags and leave if in fact the "wild native steelhead" can't make it. That kind of attitude is why we never get anything done as fishermen. What about all the other fishermen that are left here holding the bag? How about the poor fishermen that can't afford to pack-up his bag and head to Canada?

It appears to me, that people are so afraid that wild fish may loose out to hatchery fish and therefore they refuse to see what is really happening. If this board can't even come up with ANY kind of management plan how in the hell do we expect our fish mangers to do it?

For me, their must be a "happy medium" solution that will address some of the "wild fishery" concerns and some the "hatchery supplementation" concerns if we are going to continue the full meaning of "sport fishing". Their will always be "splitting" of these two user groups, so let's try to deal with that. Wouldn't it just make since to put every effort into saving what's left of the true runs of "wild native steelhead" in the few river systems that truly can support them?

Wouldn't it also make the same kind of since to identify those other river systems and manage them in another fashion? For the vast majority of other river systems that can't really support wild native runs anymore, why not manage them for harvest with ample "hatchery supplementation"?

To me, reality is simple, we will never have "wild native" steelhead or salmon runs like we once had before. It just won't happen! Too many people, too much pollution, too much of everything to ever go back to what made these "wild fish" thrive before. So lets face it, things will change, and most likely not for best. So let's figure out what our options really are before the managers do it for us. We all know what that will look like… don't we?

Since no one else has any ideals, I'll through this one out for this board to complain and ***** about.

Take any river system you want to use as an example. Why not charge a separate user fee for certain river systems? You could have one user fee that would allow you to fish in rivers that were only managed for wild catch and release. No user fee, no fishy! Those that want to promote wild fish can have their way and they will pay dearly for what ever it costs for its management. Those who want to "bonk" and kill fish will pay a fee to fish a river system that is managed for harvest only. In the rivers that are used for harvest only management, use private fish farmers. Private fish farmers can produce fish and still make a good profit at 1/3 the price that our current hatcheries are doing it for. It would take all the politics out that part of fish management. Now WDFW wouldn't like that would they, but we would have plenty of fish for harvest.

The "wild fish" guys could go crazy with their rivers, and the harvest minded guys could go crazy "bonging" and harvesting fish tell their hands ran bloody. And here's another BIG PLUS, you could develop these fisheries on rivers that didn't have any Indian fishing rights. Just think, they couldn't get their 50% of our fish anymore! What a shame!!!

I know that there are tons of things that are wrong with this ideal, but at lease I am trying to figure out other options. Just think what you guys can do if you put your heads together and THINK.

OK, now start your thinking process, and unpack those damn bags!!!

The ones that need to start packing its bags are "WDFW"!!!!

Cowlitzfisherman

Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????