first of all, when is pushing for rules that extend the season bad for fishing? the charters clearly want more days to fish, and though i am on the side of the charters, i truly don't see how longer seasons have a negative impact on the private angler. as for closing areas to extend seasons, it seems greedy to dismiss that because it makes your fishing harder. a 14 day season was a huge hit on not only the charters, but the entire north coast sportfishing economy. let us find ways to extend the season.

i have been to halibut meetings where the only people there were charter representatives, and the proposals that we were 100% opposed to passed anyways because wdfw was taking into account the private sports anglers (not one of which showed up). before the c-square was reopened, we clearly said it was going to have an impact on the season length, along with setting aside quota for a later opening. the halibut management of the past few years has been dominated by private boat interests, and the result has been shorter and shorter seasons.

you could limit the number of days at neah bay (which are already limited to 5 a week), but what days do you cut. to have the most impact, you'd have to cut friday and saturday (which i'm sure private boats would oppose for valid reasons). if you cut weekdays, it would have such a negligible impact on the quota that wouldn't give us more fishing days.

as for not limiting at the new open area, i have never come back without a limit, and the fish average 50-70 lbs. you cannot with a straight face tell me the fish aren't bigger. private boats typically don't fill limits statistically, so if the fish are bigger, the quota impacts are bigger.

as for the charter operator in question. you might as well mention pete's name since you make it so obvious. for me, i guess i realize that without the initial charter operators starting the halibut fishery out at neah bay... this discussion would be mute. how many have read articles describing how to catch halibut by charter skippers (like tom young)? how many follow charter boats (you won't admit it, but a large number do)? this certainly doesn't mean that the charters should get all the fish, and i have never heard any of them (including the ones you badmouth) say the private anglers shouldn't have access. of course, there have been pushes (supported by certain charters) to have the "non-local" charters pushed out of neah bay.

i won't be able to make the january meetings, but i do suggest you go. go with an open mind though, and talk to the charters to get their positions. we don't want to kick out the private anglers, but we are concerned about our ability to fish and the economy of town and port.

i think you are way off base when talking about firing people. in my dealings with the people responsible for our saltwater seasons, i have felt support to keep us open and fishing. do you realize how hard they fought to keep us fishing for halibut due to yellow-eye bycatch issues? did you enjoy king fishing in august off neah bay last summer? they aren't perfect, but i see the trouble they go through to keep us fishing (and i didn't even mention the fight for us to keep fishing for canadian halibut).

i still believe that the halibut fishery should open may 1 and run through the end of the entire quota. first, i think this would give people flexibility in scheduling their halibut fishing, so all the pressure doesn't happen during the first week of the season.... and it would certainly lengthen the season.

chris bellows
http://www.fly-fishing-neahbay.com