Week before last they allowed emergency openings for commercial netting, for Kenai sockeye. Now, guess what, they don't have enough for their escapement. Look who suffers, the sport fishermen.

Fishhead5

* * KENAI RIVER SOCKEYE SALMON SPORT FISHERY CLOSED * *
Tuesday, July 31st, 2001

SOLDOTNA, Alaska -- The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announces the closure of sockeye salmon sport fishing in the Kenai River drainage except in the Russian River and that area from the confluence of the Russian and Kenai rivers downstream approximately 1800 yards to the powerline. Fishing for sockeye salmon, to include catch-and-release, is prohibited effective 12:01 a.m. on Thu. Aug. 2, 2001, and shall remain in effect through Dec. 31, 2001, unless superseded by subsequent emergency order.

Anglers can still fish for sockeye salmon in the fly-fishing-only waters of the Russian River and the confluence of the Kenai and Russian rivers downstream approximately 1,800 yards to the powerline.

Passage rates of sockeye salmon to the Kenai River have declined rapidly and the department can no longer confidently project a return of 2.5 million fish as previously thought. The "Late Run Kenai River Sockeye Salmon Management Plan" directs the department to manage late run sockeye salmon stocks to achieve an optimum escapement goal (OEG) of from 500,000 to 1,000,000. To date, approximately 1.5 million Kenai River sockeye have returned, of which 900,000 have been harvested commercially and 100,000 harvested in the personal use dip net fishery. The remaining 500,000 fish have passed the sonar, of which 100,000 have already been harvested in the sport fishery upstream of the sonar. Without reductions in sport harvest potential, it is likely that the department would not be able to meet the minimum OEG of 500,000 fish by the end of season. It is therefore necessary to close the Kenai River sockeye salmon sport fishery in order to provide additional protection for late run Kenai River sockeye salmon stocks. Commercial fish ing has been and will continue to be restricted to maximize passage of remaining Kenai River sockeye.

What's new?

Just wait until the gill nets get done working the Columbia River for "record numbers" of returning coho. We will hear the same old story again, i.e. the run was not as strong as we thought it was!

Cowlitzfisherman

Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????

I'm getting so sick and tired of the same story over and over.... when is the government going to pull there heads out of each others arssses and stop the slaughter. I'm about ready to move to Florida, I hear they have banned net fishing and the once declining species are making a comeback.

Can you say dipnetters? The drift fleet and upper CI setnets haven't been on Kenai fish for over 2 weeks. The openings you talk about are a 1/2 mile strip on the beach in the Kasilof section. The dipnetters say they took 100,000. That's 20,000 + permits averaging 5! Try multiplying 20,000 x 25 minumum! There's your escapement. Try educating yourself before you point fingers. The commercial industry is the least of your worries now. Don't forget about the Kenaitz. They are pushing for Bolt #2. It's easy to blame others when you aren't limiting out. How'd the kings get through all those nets anyhow?

Your right fishhead the fish and game people seem to be ruled by Politics instead of common sence. A few years ago they let the Commercials net Sturgeon in the Columbia Because of the Declining Stocks of Salmon Now there seems to be a shortage of Sturgeon. Who are the Commercials going to point fingers at this time? Its seems to allways be someones elses fault.
BAN ALL NETS
Ramprat

Hey Doug, more unfair crap is falling on us sportfishers. If you haven't already read Joe's (Superfly) thread about the sportfishers taking it in the backside again due to Indian influence, it is a very revealing thread! - Steve

The commercial fishermen took 900,000 Sockeye. I wonder what the bycatch was on the kings. I was up there when the nets went in, it shut the river down. No Kings and no Sockeye until they came out. The dipnetters didn't seem to have much of an impact on the fish. You can BS some of the people, but it's pretty hard to BS the people that spend a lot of time on the rivers and see what the nets do. Its really pure and simple. Nets go in the river, no fish in the rivers...... Nets come out, fish in the rivers.

Fishhead5

I can back my BS with facts. The only gillnets in the Kenai are the 6x6 gillnets the dipnetters use. One guy brought in 800 lbs of fillets to Echo Lake another 400 in one day. 20,000 permits and you say that doesn't have an effect. People need to look beyond the tips of their rods if anything is going to get accomplished. That's why i joined the WSC. The few guys i know there base their comments on biology not emotion and here say. I release all nates. I hope you do. Comparing the nets in Cook Inlet to Wash. rivers is comparing apples and oranges. I spend more time on the rivers than you think. Here's a few things on the Kenai you probably will have a hard time comprehending. The biggest red returns came off 400-600k escapement. 86,87,88,89 and 92 1-2+ million escaped. 93-2000 the runs were depressed. Could there possibly be any coorelation? Last year the board let 15-20 million pinks spawn in the lower river. Could that possibly hurt anything? Keep stuffing 800k-1 mill.+ in the Kenai, but be careful what you wish for. I hope it turns out well for you. Good luck.

tks, your really missed the whole point of my post. The game dept. guessed at the size of the run, allowed extra days for "commercial netting" Then have to an emergency closing. Why didn't they give them one extra day, check the numbers, give them another extra day then check the numbers again? Common sense doesn't seem to play a part in their decision making process. Here or there. That was my comparison between the 2 states. I sat and listened to the locals up there ***** about the same things we ***** about here.
I don't know what the optimum number of fish that should be in the river to get the most back, wasn't my point. I helped one family of 4 clean 56 sockeye from their subsistence fishing, another family of 3 clean 28 and one other family of 2 clean 25. Don't know if they had too many or not. I know that there were still lots of fish jumping in Big eddy, Honeymoon and out in front of River Quest when the dip netting was going on. Those are the only facts that I have to go on. What I see and what we catch.

I do release all nates.

I do know that I'm going fishing tomorrow because the nets are coming out.

Fishhead5

I got another question about the Kaseloff if you are interested.

I guess i did. After hearing it for 6 weeks, being shut down while the bag limit was increased and dipnetting going on 24-7, boats being vandalized and the few who were blatantly poaching not being checked i felt i needed to respond. I took it as i was doing something illegal. There are quite a few locals there who are really hurting. I have no problem with guys like Bob trying to make a living or you coming up and taking whats legal or personal use as long as it's under control. The way of life for a lot of people is gone. Just hard to deal with sometimes. Sorry if i mistook your post. I think everyone has had questions at one time on how it is managed. I can give you a 27 year commercial perspective on the Kasilof. Bob obviously will have a good one from the inside.

Now for your next problem. I heard they were suplementing the kings on the Kasiloff with some hatchery fish. From what I understand they aren't letting the smolts imprint long enough. Alot of those fish are coming back into the Kenai which will bring the size of those fish down. They won't fin clip them either so they can tell for sure.
Have you heard anything about this?

Fishhead5

The only hatchery fish i know of are the ones that return lateMay early June. I haven't heard of any others not to say there aren't. The size of the Kenai fish are smaller now. I think this is due to yes, the nets during the hayday of the red fishery and the pursuit of the trophy king up river. I think but may be wrong that when there are selective regs in the kenai you can still retain fish over 52 inches. Seems backwards. Thats the catch22 When the reds need to be harvested the kings pay the price.