Aunty M is right. Solving this problem is up to us. Although I am a newby salmon fisherman, I have been doing pretty well where I fish, and I am often approached by other newbies asking questions (talk about the blind leading the blind!). I am never zipperlipped about what I am doing, and I also encourage other newbies to release nates and not to snag. I haven't seen anyone actually trying to snag, but I have seen many foul-hooked fish retained. Alot of the new fishermen I talk to do not know that keeping a foul-hooked fish is illegal. And many don't even know why nates should be released, even on rivers that allow the retention of wild fish. Until I started following the threads on this and another local board, I was unaware of these and many other issues as well.

Here's an idea. Since the WDFW lacks the manpower to have a presence at every fishing hole, maybe they can offer a program to educate and then "deputize" fishermen on different rivers. Let the ethical fishermen help enforce the rules by giving them a ticket book to issue fines to the idiots out there. If we can have a "citizen's arrest" for other crimes, why not for fishing crimes? It will never happen, just a thought.

Tight lines!