For sure, sea lions eat a lot of fish, but they aren't the only problem, and they probably aren't even the major one. If they are truly the major factor limiting sturgeon, why are we seeing record returns of Chinook to the Columbia in the same years we are seeing closures on sturgeon? It seems to be time to start managing pinniped populations, especially near dams, but I seriously doubt that will make a big enough difference in the sturgeon numbers to open up closed fisheries.

Whatever the case, I suspect we're done fishing for sturgeon on the Chehalis. If we do get to fish for them again, it won't be because of any harvest management decisions on the part of WDFW, and it probably won't be because we killed a bunch of sea lions on the Columbia. Much like the salmon are showing us now, if sturgeon do rebound, it will be largely because of natural factors outside our control.

I do miss the sturgeon fishery. I only hooked one fish in about 10 trips (and that one handed my a$$ to me), but it was a fun excuse to go hang out by the river and have a fire at night once in a while.