17. BAIT BAN ON ANADROMOUS HIGHWAYS - BRIEFING:
At the request of the Commission, Department staff will brief the Commission on the implementation of a potential bait ban on all "anadromous highways" from April 1 to December 1 of each year.

From PRELIMINARY AGENDA FISH AND WILDLIFE COMMISSION June 6-7, 2003

Lovely huh? Amazing what you can find while browsing the WDFW site.

Sounds like maybe the WDFW is starting to wake up...that period of time is critical to juvenille salmonid surville, and the mortality of released fish with bait on parr and smolts is huge!

But would I support a blanket ban such as this? NOPE!

...I would support a blanket ban on barbed hooks and stinger hooks during that time period though.

Ive often wondered if this was as big a problem as most make it out to be. Last Sunday I was fishing a local stream on the opener with two of my partner's. We all started out fishing small rooster tails and blue fox's as they have worked well in the past here. After the first few holes all we were pulling out were smolts. I had some eggs with me and proceeded to fish them with a size two barbless. I could feel the smolts peck at em a time or two but none of them took it all the way. I went on to catch four very nice adult resident bows, all released unharmed. While my buds continued to tag smolt after smolt. Thought that was kind of interesting.

I dont think the blanket ban on bait is good at all, Ive seen more smolts killed with tiny trebles than with a single hook with eggs or shrimp. Gotta agree with Sparkey on this, maybe selective gear rules is more the way to go, rather than outlawing bait.

I dont think I could stand looking at stacked kings or cohos and not being able to lob some eggs at em.

RL

Sparkey,

Ya. I can go along with barbless. I don't use stinger hooks either.

Hey wait! I hardly ever use eggs or shrimp! That's right, I am into scents. But scents are baits.

Aunty

That is very interesting!

I wonder what weasel or group of weasels are lobbying that one?

The things that we are spending our WDFW funds on! And we are all sitting here wondering and arguing WHY WE CAN NOT AFFORD TO HIRE MORE GAME INFORCEMENT!

How much time, money and efforts has WDFW already put into this effort? Just think what they can do with just a "little bit more" money!! If passed, how much more will this little trick cost us to inforce? It never seems to end!

And we wonder why WDFW is so screwed up, broke and raising our license fees every year.

Good job Aunty on informing our board. Thanks for spending your time to help keep us all informed on what WDFW and "others" are really up to.

Cowlitzfisherman

This bait ban idea is starting to stink a little. The WT supporters for the most part support C&R and usually fly fishing only. Since they argue that hatcheries are only good for producing fish for the greedy then it follows that banning bait would be next. Fly fishing only rivers, or what I call Boutique Fishing is real popular with the avid WT supporter. Now that I know that Lisa Pelly is a WT member things seem more fishy than ever. But I am a redneck, paranoid, right wing conspiracy nut so what do you expect?

Speaking of spending.... does anyone keep track of how much WDFW is spending on land aquisitions?

I was afraid to start adding it up today. I know where a big chunk of money is going.

Empire building in deed.

Hmmmmm...land aquisitions such as land that can be turned into access areas, boat launches and other areas that will allow the public to conitue to access their rivers??????

I dont know about you but I am definately against the privatization of our rivers and other waters.

Bait ban, this really Sucks, I am with CF on this Wonder what special interest group got this on the agenda?

Ok.... I sorta added it up. Looks close to 8 million for a one year period. Feb 02 to Feb 03.

And it isn't all river access for sporties. You want the list Sparkey?

Who needs bait to catch summer steelhead? I'll give you a hint - jig and float. Here's another, small spinners. Here's another, silver hilton fly, fished on the swing, just below the surface. You don't need bait this time of year, which makes a bait ban fairly non-onerous, if it meets some other reasonable objective.

The briefing is probably a public meeting, why don't you go and listen to what is being said before you pass judgement?

I suspect, but don't know for a fact, that the bait ban is being considered to decrease mortality of both smolts and released fish. How is this a bad thing? Further, I suspect that they are considering this as a way to give more people a chance at fewer fish, given the budget crisis.

Another rule added to an already impossible list of things to enforce... how about doing at least an adequate job enforcing the rules we ALREADY have.

Silver Hilton,

I fail to see how your jig is any less lethal than my corky and yarn with shrimp oil on it. Depending on HOW you fish that small spinner, you could be far more dangerous than I am with a gob of eggs.

I am beginning to understand Cowlitzfisherman's point when it comes to F&W studies. Depends on who's point of view you want to reinforce. :rolleyes:

SH,
I suppose it wouldnt be so bad if it was only summer steelhead season, but the proposed ban would run from APR 1- DEC1. I dont use bait too much for summer runs, but fall/spring salmon is an entirely different story.

RL

Yeah, and when the bait ban doesn't work (They know it wont) then it will be "no fishing from April to Sept"........
I just dont trust them, after all, they were the genius's that thought up th "Single, barbless hook only in Puget Sound"..... For trolling, using downriggers for salmon it isn't a problem, but for bottomfish jigging or even tossing species-specific buzzbombs (Hot pink for humpies) it is rediculous......

MC

Two fishing trips ago folks in my boat caught smolts on everything. K-15's, clatter tads, jigs, spinners, corkies and yarn, and bait. Notice that the first five offerings were plastic or metal, not bait?

Kind of like coming up with a new gun law. Sounds good to some, but is it really effective?

id be all for barbless hooks on rivers, but banning bait goes way overboard in my book. sounds like some flyfishing lobby has an agenda

Bait ban?

That means I wont be able to use my smelly jelly or the infamous lunker lotion. That really sucks. Dont them dummies realize how many more smolts are killed with spinners and spoons.(dont believe me? I will bet you I can kill more smolts than you in one hour at the barrier. I wll throw a spoon and you can throw eggs or shrimp. I will win.) They might as well just outlaw fishing in this liberal ass state!

I saw a dumarse at the barrier once he was catching smolts with a spoon and putting the in his pockets. If bait so great for smolts how come he was throwing a spoon?

In some rivers the wdfw has limited the size of hook you can use to 3/8s. does that mean they want more smolts caught? They just dont think before they make these stupid regs!

lures kick butt I catch more of everything besides sturgeon on lures.

The poor smolts will starve to death without fishermens discarded eggs and shrimp! (not really I am just thinking of excuses to keep using bait)

Bring it on youll be preachin to the pope.

It all boils down to values. It is as simple as that!

I dont have any problem with Boutique Fishing as you put it...there is something that brings so much more to the 'experience' when one is fishing an untouched quiet river.

But to each his own...some people enjoy their sled parades, garbage, hordes of people, noise, racket and whatever they have to put up with just to have that chance at large numbers of fish.

Am I saying one value is more righteous then another? No! But I will certainly fight for the 'experience' that I am after.

Last summer, I got tired of the crowds and spent a good amount of time, hopping around the upper stretches of a few certain rivers chasing after rumors of large trout and looking for where a certain race of summer steelhead headed to as they were nowhere to be found in the lower river.

I had a blast!

My photo colletion from that summer does not include as many fish as usual but it is filled with pictures of beautiful scenary and such, scenary and surroundings and peace and quiet that are so much more difficult to find on certain rivers loaded with hordes of meat fishermen.

BUT then again...you will see me up there at Reiter on the opener at first light, racing for my rock amongst a hundred other people or so...I enjoy that sort of thing just like the rest of you but just in moderation!

Like I said though, to each his own!

Sure!