I have lived in Grays Harbor since 1968.....this was before the "Bolt Decison".

Pre Bolt Decision:

Remember those days of 3 fish steelhead limits on the Humptulips???

Remember when the Humptulips was also in the "TOP 10 rivers, for winter run"???

Remember the days of "before dam" on the Wynoochee River, when many small high teen or low 20# steelhead were released in hopes of the 25+ pounder???

Remember the days when native coho were "everywhere" and dumbies like me, pulling plugs, in late December could catch 2 big chromer bright silvers in just a few minutes.

Post Bolt Decision: 1974

The 100's of meetings, attended by 100's of sportspeople, non-indian gill netters, state WDF people and others. The hours and hours of discuss and cuss, of trying this way and that way to "get rid of the indian nets" in the rivers. All to no avail.........here we are in 2004, 30 years after....still fighting the wars and battles that have been fought and lost, 100's of times. Bottom line is that the WDF just doesn't have the "authorize to ban nets", hell we can't get the WDF to cut the netting season to less than 5 days a week in the Chehalis River and the Humptulips River, until April 15th........wow, something is really wrong here.

To stir the pot a little........maybe the hope is in the "farm raised fish"???? drive the price so low that the commerical value does not make it worthwhile to fish. Its interesting to note that as the price of commerical fish goes down, that there are more News reports about the negative impact on the envirement and health concerns.......makes me wonder if the commerical fishing community isn't behind many of these reports........ya think????

Aunty---I can remember at a meeting in the past.....I suggested going back to fish traps, in the lower river, releasing the hatchery fish up river to be netted on and port caught, but truck the "wild fish" to the upper areas of the rivers to be allow to spawn in the wild. A WDF biologist, Dick Stone, said " he didn't want anything to do with a project like that"

"Worse day sport fishing, still better than the best day working"