What is "salmon snagging"?


Seriously, anytime fish gang up around here your likely to see it. Doesn't happen only in the Fall; thats just about the only time we've had the luxury of large schools of ganged up fish in recent years. Springers in Columbia tribs the last few years are an obvious exception.

Its not even really a "fishing" issue; its a societal/cultural problem. People fish the same way they drive/work/live. Rudeness and greed do not stop at the riverbank. The attitude seems to be "I'm gonna get mine no matter what!" This ain't nothin' new been going on for years. How did the buffalo almost become extinct inside 20 years?

That being said, we really do need to look at how to manage fisheries where large numbers of "surplus" hatchery fish are present.

Put yourself in the shoes of an angler who is not as "expert" as yourself (noted by the fact that he doesn't even have a G. Loomis- or maybe just an older model). He only goes a few times a year, normally when everyone in town says the fish are "in".The guy goes to the river, sees a ton of guys there, and they are hooking some fish. He takes his place at the end of the line. Since the early bite is off, and the fish are entirely spooked from the horde of anglers his chance of hooking one in the mouth may not be all that great. Using legal gear he lands a fish after 3 hours. Its a bright fish, and he's happy. Should he release it because it was not hooked in the mouth?

Downstream the tribe is netting/gutting/chucking. Hatchery is full; any more will become fertilizer. Maybe that fish is better off on someone's table?

At the risk of what's left of my reputation, I'll say the guy who hooks and "plays with" 50 fish in a day -some hooked in the mouth- some not- may be doing the fish and the guys he keeps from sharing the fishing hole much more of a disservice than the guy who keeps the first two he catches and takes them home to eat!