Perhaps it's time to give up buying a salt water license too. With the fee increases projected by the legislature it's not worth the time and money. You will be spending more for less when it comes to licenses.

Salmo g pretty much nailed the issue!

The largest driver in our angler dissatisfaction is the constantly shrinking pie that increasing numbers of fishers hope to share. That pie is shrinking as a direct result that society as a whole are making and will continue to make unless sufficient pressure is created to reverse that shrinking process.

There is plenty issues and action to take WDFW to task but to continuing to focus the blame for the shrinking pie on WDFW does little but continue to enable special interest to continue to erode the processes supporting robust anadromous fish populations.

Curt

Ocean conditions are not the greatest but why do the Quinault, Queets, and Salmon rivers get good returns? Why are NorCal rivers rebounding? There's alot of other factors that affect escapement like preditation of smolts by birds, other fish, marine mammals, etc. Overfishing may have something to do with it. Even hatchery practices like power outages, disease, smolt size. Regulatory affects like the ESA which limits amounts released. Habitat, logging practices, pollution... I'm not as smart on this as most of the biologists or those who work at the hatcheries here on this forum.

Rampant development, special interest groups, sportfishing $ that doesn't amount to anything in the grand scheme of things, and no unity of stakeholders killed salmon and steelhead fishing. It's deeply saddening to remember how good things were even 20yrs ago, and how fast it goes. I've made peace with myself that it's over, and time to move on. I believe there will be tokenary special opening salmon fisheries with quotas, where hordes of fisherman show up and reach quota in 3 days and it closes...a far cry from 2 month long seasons of the past.

Fishing in general will remain great for warm water species and trout, so not all is lost.

For those of you still fighting the good fight, thank you, however, life's too short to beat your head against the wall

The closure of the North Fork Stilly is what pisses me off. They could have easily made a floating line only and unweighted fly restriction on an already fly fishing only river. Then they leave the Tulalip Bubble open to any chinook, hatchery or wild, with a 2 salmon limit.

Steelheadman,

The Quinault, Queets, and Salmon get significant returns of hatchery salmon and steelhead because the Tribe stocks huge numbers of hatchery fish, using, wait for it - OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY (OPM). Although coastal rivers tend to get higher SAR (smolt to adult recruits) than either Puget Sound or Columbia River, the rate of return is also down out on the coast due to ocean conditions. If you go upstream on the Quinault or Queets from where the hatchery fish are stocked, you will find that returns of wild salmon and steelhead tend to be chronically under-escaped. So there you have it, the two reasons why those rivers are getting larger returning runsizes of hatchery, not wild, fish. Don't care about wild fish, and having a large amount of OPM to spend.

NorCal rivers are rebounding due to decreases in ocean exploitation of their salmon and gradually improving habitat in basins like the Eel River that was destroyed by massive flooding over 50 years ago in 1964. Also, the salmon and steelhead from those NorCal rivers migrate to and forage in a different area of the ocean than do WA salmon and steelhead.

You don't have to be especially smart to figure this stuff out. Just have information.

Sg

Now we know, it's all because the treaty tribes call the shots regarding what NT fishing seasons we get in PS and tributaries. And WDFW apparently has no plan nor intention to develop a plan to get out from under the tribes' coercion.

If it wasn't for my nephews asking me to take them fishing I probably wouldn't care and just stick to my BC fishing trips. Even a slow trip up there is better than no season here.

Has anyone heard if we will get the Skagit C&R season that we are supposed too or should I just plan a trip to BC now?

What I have heard is that WDFW does not have the money to enforce/monitor that fishery. Now, if we all go to the Leg, ask for higher fees, and such then they can give them the money to have the fishery.

Popular fisheries and popular hatcheries will now (as they have been on the past) listed on the "cut" list due to lack of money in an effort to squeeze more.

Am I alone is seeing how “transparent “ it is that hatchery and sports seasons/opportunity are the first to be reduced when the department talks about fee increases or else? Ummmm...how much of a salary increase did Ron Warren get for his ridicules “ appointment” to the newly created Director of Fish Policy position? Please...at least kiss me if you’re gonna $&@k me!

You are not alone...If you check my posts over MANY YEARS, you'll see that I think WDFW upper 25%, need to be thinned out. I can't believe how many NEW POSTIONS have been created in the recent past....

No to any budget increases, until the ships rights itself....if not then we all go down together...…

I am pretty sure that the practice of putting popular activities on the block has been going on since the late 80s-early90s and probably longer than that.

Ah GH early 80's with Simpson but Senator Owen put a stop to that. Forever in Willapa as every budget cycle Nemah or Naselle on the block for just about as long as Sid was in the Senate. I am sure it is the same everyplace. When it comes to budget ethics and honesty have never been high on WDFW's list .

I do remember one session, though, when the Leg fought back. Every salmon hatchery was line item budgeted. Which meant that WDF could not shift it around. That actually may be something that folks should consider when contacting their legislators. Make parts of the WDFW line item. Each hatchery, specific fisheries (put Skagit C&R as a line item, etc.). Kind of extreme, but if you can't trust WDFW to follow intent, don't give them the wriggle room.

Wonder how many in the upper management positions are close to retirement or could go at anytime?

Willapa Bay...…..Lot's of the above discussion/comments have to do with areas/river systems that have to do with co-management, WDFW and Tribal, closed meetings, tribal muscle used in negotiations.

Willapa is a classic of a policy gone wrong, wrong, wrong. Is there a fix????? Well "feed the Orca" might speed up the process.....Forks Ck. hatchery, Willapa River, will increase Chinook production "to increase food for the Orca.

I predict that there will be a fight for the "right to fish" for these returning fish.....Off coast toll fisheries, charter fisheries, sport fishing, NT gill net, tribal fishing will all have their hand out "for their share".

MSY, Maximum Sustainable Yield, needs to be put on hold for 2-3 cycles. What has been going on, MSY, is not working, time to go to Plan B.

WDFW seems to forget who they work for, taxpayers, takes PDR's to get information that should be given by a simple request. PDR's have cost WDFW big dollars over the years because they(WDFW) didn't feel or want the general public to know how the decisions were/are being made....shame on WDFW.

Brent K, Carcassman,

Regarding Skagit steelhead CNR season, Susewind committed to the Commission at the June meeting that he would find money for the 2020 season, but 2021 is contingent on the supplemental budget request in this Legislative session that begins tomorrow, Jan. 13.

WDFW is asking for $26 million supplement. $2.5 million is for "fishery monitoring." Inslee is asking for license fee increases. I'm asking everyone to bombard their legislators and especially those on the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee every 2 weeks through the session. Tell them "no" to license fee increases because WDFW has been cutting sport fishing seasons when tribes demand it, not for conservation like the Department first claimed. Then tell them you support the additional $2.5 million for monitoring because without it many sport seasons will be closed. I'm also telling them that I oppose the remainder of the supplemental request because the Department keeps throwing sport fishing under the bus. I realize that several sport orgs and advisory groups are on board with the entire $26 million.

There are a lot of major changes I'd like to see at WDFW, but an experienced lobbyist reminded me that you can only eat an elephant one bite at a time.

Which brings me to another point. How much money and time is being spent FIGHTING the stakeholders in the current ongoing lawsuit over Open Meeting Act Violations by the Department?

Seem's insane that, instead of correcting the issues and actually working with the stakeholders to be transparent, above board and bring EVERYONE to the table to really work on fixing the problems, they chose to fight in court to keep things secret!!!

We gave them every opportunity to "come clean". All we initially asked for was for a LIVE VIDEO FEED OF THE TRIBAL/WDFW NORTH OF FALCON NEGOTIATIONS! They gave a lot of lip service, all the while pissing on the over 9,000 stakeholders who have signed the petition to date.

Someone read the petition and started looking into things at the Department and as a result, TWO LAWSUITS are now working their way through the courts!

WHAT A WASTE OF OUR MONEY>>>WE ARE BASICALLY GIVING OUR MONEY TO THE DEPARTMENT FOR THEM TO USE IT TO FIGHT US IN COURT!!

WAY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO "BUSINESS AS USUAL" KELLY SUSEWIND!


If any of you have not yet seen, or signed the petition, please do. It is active and we are still fighting for our right to be an equal partner in Co-management!

CLICK HERE:Open North of Falcon Tribal / WDFWNegotiations

Also, Please follow Salmo's advice and reach out to your legislatures and those that are on the committees Express your frustration but be constructive and ask them to help. If you're one of there constituents, ask for a meeting. Go talk to them one on one and let them see how much you care about your sport and your fish.

In a conversation about something totally different that was mentioned. A number of folks are leaving and the years totaled between them add up to around 300. I know of 3 hatchery division staff that are going book out early on minimum age / service.

You think these guys now have no institutional memory? Just wait the skill level in the next few years after the boomers retire will make the present staff look like geniuses. Just sayin.

Bay wolf,

I hammered on that point at the Commission meetings in Oct. and Dec., that they shouldn't be making us pay for both sides of the lawsuits. I said when someone asks for documents or data, just give it to us. We already own it.

There's another Commission meeting next Fri. and Sat. I'm thinking of attending to ask them what their plan is to have the Stillaguamish River open to sportfishing in 2020, since they don't have one unless something's changed since last month.

Sg