Kalamabama - I agree this is sick! I fished the lower Kalama and the North Fork Lewis (near the hatchery) this weekend and both rivers were loaded with snaggers. I fished hard but didn't get a strike all weekend. The snaggers did well with their corkies and big hooks. I admit they generally throw back the fish hooked by the tail or fins but if they're hooked anywhere near the head, they're in the fish box. I'm not blaming the snaggers for my bad luck since I often get skunked without any snaggers in sight. However, it's very disturbing to see such a beautiful river with lots of cohos and Chinooks treated like trash. I don't usually get real steamed about a few people snagging but it's gotten out of hand. There's more than just a few people doing it.

To make matters worse, I stopped by the fish trap near Modrow and talked with the WDFW techs that were emptying it. They are not expected to get enough fall Chinooks to meet the needs of the upper hatchery. Yet they have allowed a "sport" fishery in the lower river. Even the WDFW techs were puzzled as to why they opened the fishery. My advice is to close the lower river for fall Chinooks since they can't get enough for the hatchery and those fish aren't being caught by sport anglers. They are being removed from the river by snaggers. I saw several nice Chinooks (20+ lbs) snagged by the gills and removed from the lower river. It's time this stopped!

I'm glad I'm not the only one concerned about this.


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MSB