During catch and release season you have to either switch to oars or leave sled at home. is there and logic behind this regulation? i live on the skagit and dont understand why you wouldnt be able to? maybe you guys could clear this up for me.

Its a conservastion method...all Selective Fishery C&R waters are restricted to no motorized boats but on the Skagit they allow them just becuase the river is so large...yet the dont let you fish under power to maintain the convesation goal behind the regulation.

Bob...how's about hooking up Sparkey with his own special spell checker.

Is it just to make it more difficult? To reduce pressure? It can't be to protect spawning beds because ,in the Skagit,we fish far,far from those beds.

I accept the rule but don't understand it. Many on the Skagit don't accept the rule. Okieboy and I saw several boats fishing under power last week. Would be real hard to get caught.

I for one HATE this regulation! It does not make any since to me. I have a sled and talk about a lot of work trying to fish by myself. I do not think it is fair either. If you have a drift boat you can hammer the best slots with plugs but if you’ve got a sled you get the advantage of going through the holes multiple times but your presentation is really fast. (I don’t use plugs but I see lots of drift boat pulling them). Besides, what is the difference of having a full time rower on the oars and one person fishing verses running a motor? I see quite a few people doing that on the Skagit or just plain running a motor and being an outlaw. I love fishing C & R on the Skagit but hate this regulation. I saw somewhere that someone took the state to court over this regulation and the court ruled the state could not legally limit motor use unless it was for conservation use or something like that. I would love to get this rule changed. Besides, all the fish I always catch in the section of river our fresh fish heading somewhere or come backs so it is not like I am fishing on spawning fish very much. Just my two cents.