steelheadaddict01,

I have no problem with a bait/barb ban in the upper river. Say, Heisson bridge upstream. As far as the entire river, yeah I have a REAL problem with it. Quite frankly, I think it's a crock of sh!t.

Hell, I say close ALL FISHING above Moulton Falls year round. I can't begin to tell you of all the horror stories I've heard concerning the upper river and it's tributaries (all of which, are closed to fishing).

The main excuse, er reason, was to protect native smolt/trout. Small spinners and flies will catch and kill more juvenile steelhead than guys who are targeting steelhead using bait. Why? The vast majority of fisherman, winter or summer, use hooks size 1 or larger. Size 1 hook in tandem with a sandshrimp, eggs, prawn, whatever is a bit much for a smolt to fit in it's chops, let alone swallow it. However, it does happen once it in a great while. Heck, it even occasionally happens with large spinners/spoons as well (Hooked 3 smolts out of one hole this past March on the upper Kalama with a 2/3 oz. Mor-Tac Stilly with a 2/0 hook). If a person targets small trout, he can do a lot of damage with a small size 1 or 2 spinner, or even small flies. So much for your bait ban.

I do agree with the "no trout" rule, as I have seen too many kids, and even adults, catching and killing smolt, and just not on the EF of the Lewis. So instead of a bait ban, why not just make a hook restriction? No smaller than a size 1 or even a 1/0 (gap measurement, due to the varying sizes between brands of hooks) and no bigger than a 2/0 (again, gap measurement). This isn't too complicated, considering the "non-bouyant lure restriction" during certain fisheries statewide already has a "gap measurement" rule. I haven't fished in Oregon for a number of years now, but I thought they have a rule similar to what I'm suggesting on certain rivers??

James