You need to follow a little more closely phishinman, because you obviously missed the gist of everything I have ever published on selective fishing and the merits of C&R.

In any fishery, the basic principle I have always advocated is to conduct fisheries only upon designated target stocks that are capable of tolerating some level of harvest, without harming the health of that stock or the health of other non-target stocks that could potentially be impacted by the fishery. Whatever method is employed in prosecuting that fishery ( net, trap, hook and line), it must meet a basic standard that allows for the live capture and unharmed release of the vast majority of non-target stocks captured by that method.

A gillnet does not meet those criteria. Similarly, the current "selective" ocean fishery for hatchery coho, as currently prosecuted, also fails the test. As I said earlier, current practices by all fishery participants in aggregate probably results in release mortalities of 60-80% across the board for ocean coho. I thank AuntyM's acknowledgment of the special care I personally give to the fish I release, but I too must acknowledge that even with the best of care, a significant number of ocean coho will die after release. Coho are an exceedingly fragile species that is easily stressed, and extremely intolerant of de-sliming and de-scaling in ocean conditions. Far too many of these fish are gut- or gill-hooked, particularly while mooching, that the incidence of mortal bleeders is unacceptable when using the standard tandem salmon/octopus-hook style of rigging that dominates the fishery.

Mark Cedergren and I have been in discussions since last winter to jump start a pilot project to "test drive" circle hooks in the Westport charterboat fleet this year. At my urging, Gamakatsu was kind enough to donate a supply of hooks just for this purpose. However, because of logistics and health concerns, Mark was unable to devote much time to the project. Once the fishery was in full swing, it became apparent that fishing was less than stellar, and we could find no willing captains that would risk trying the unproven circle hooks on paying clients when they were already having such difficulty limiting their boats with salmon. In short, the project never really got off the ground.

WDFW's darling of selective fishing for ocean coho has become so politicized that it is unlikely to disappear. The charters like it because it helps to extend their season. If it were "keep-the-first-two-caught" they would quickly gobble up their allowable impact on wild coho and the season would be closed in just a few days.

What is sad is that WDFW bases the wild coho impact from selective fishing on a release mortality of only 10%. OK, maybe if all the fish were lip hooked, never put in an abrasive net, never touched by human hands, and all were released with a de-hooker without ever removing the fish from the water (valuable guidelines all anglers should strive to emulate). But anyone who has any on-the-water experience with this fishery knows damned well that just ain't the way it goes most of the time.

All too often, it goes more like this:

"Wow, that's a nice one... quick get the net!"

Thrash, thrash, roll, spin, tangle, tangle.

"Damn the hooks are all buggered up in there! Get him aboard."

Lift, thrash, thrash.... de-slime, de-scale in the net.... THUD..... flop, flop.... de-slime, de-scale all over the abrasive boat deck.

"Geez, wouldn't you know it, he's got too many damned fins. Get the pliers.... damned that trailer is in there good.... did you mash that barb?"

Flop, head bang, more slime and scales on the deck

"Damn, now he's bleedin'.... ain't that a shame we gotta throw him back?"

Five minutes later.... belly SMACK as the fish is thrown overboard..... rollover.... belly up.... blood pumping with every stroke of the gill plates

We've all seen it..... WAY too often!

If selective fishing is to become a viable practice, more education needs to happen. Californians mandate the use of circle hooks for mooching to virtually eliminate the incidence of gut- or gill-hooking. Everyone needs to have a de-hooker on board to be able to release wild coho with a "no-touch" technique. If charters must net a fish to release it, they must use a soft knot-free mesh that is much less likely to de-slime and de-scale the fish. There is no need to bring a fish aboard to remove a hook.... ask any rookie who has knocked a fish off, and he'll tell you a landing net is potentially one of the best de-hooking devices ever created!

Until these things come to pass, the current fishery needs to be exposed for what it is.... wanton waste of the very wild coho WDFW is purportedly trying to conserve.

If this August 29 decision is truly based on the realization of that simple truth, then WDFW should be frank enough to disclose it.