Canada has a rather effective tool to help wild steelhead in a total C&R fishery. No fishing from the boat. You can use the boat to get anyplace you want but you have to get out of it to fish. This accompliches a couple of things. First of all, it makes it so you can't pull plugs. Wild fish are stupid for those things up there, and locals will beat your ass if they see you doing it. A few years ago there was one river in the Skeena system that still allowed fishing from a boat. Some guys from the states were pulling plugs and catching 25-30 fish a day. We saw them at the launch one morning, and they were telling us that they had been jacked up several times by people who were pissed that they did this day in and day out. It really caused a commotion in town. The next year, they changed the law and included this river in the boat ban.

This would not mean fly fishing only. Single barbless with no bait. Spoons, pink worms, jigs... anything.... Just get out of the boat to do it if its total C&R

most of the "no fishing from boats" that happens up here is due to non-boaters hating the fact that they are being out fished by those in boats. They usually get the placed closed after some one "catches too many" compared to the bankies. It almost never has anything to due with fish management but all to due with jealously. Happened on the Gold river this way,and on the Thompson river this way when one boat caught what was deemed too many by the regular anglers.

I have fished the Thompson many times. If I could run a set of plugs through there... I would clean up for sure.

I also have a boat, two in fact and still see this as an equalizer in favor of the fish. I have no issues with pulling plugs and love doing it, just not on a river thats only got wild fish in it only.

a hook is a hook. as long as it is barbless where it is fished from and what it is hanging on does not seem to matter. i would argue that fishing from the boat and not the bank would be better for the fish becouse it lessens the chance of being banged on rocks and sand. this seems to me to be a attempt at my way vs the wrong way by the canadians and also by you b-run. i know that you think its a good idea but i just do not see the difference . a hook in the mouth is a hook. i for one do not support c and r . if the system can not with stand a one fish aday limit then close the damm thing or plant more fish. oh yet i do not beleive in the magical wild fish. they all fight the same and taste great.

i have a novel idea for helping wild fish. i'm just not going to fish for them where they're in danger of being wiped out

Jacked up for pulling plugs? This may seem outlandish but I believe we are headed down the same road. Too many jealous dufuses out there that (just like liberals) want everything for themselves and use fish conservation to get what they want whether it really helps the fish or not.


Kinda like the ACLU and the Rainbow coalition suing in the name of civil rights, taking away freedom of religion,and freedom of expression. unless of course your a flaming gay marching down public streets in a parade with your whips an leatherware kissing on your "life partner" more accuratly described as a butt buddy.

Micro,

Sometimes your grasp of the political realities of the U.S. leave me at a loss for words...and as everyone knows, not much leaves me at a loss for words

Fish on...

Todd

Wow.. Micro... you started out O.K and then I think you called me a leather wearing Butt ranger or something... You obviously don't know me. You should come over to my house and talk about it. Pretty sure the second I open the door you would be willing to have a resonable conversation... Can you clarify your statement there... I am a *** ?? or people who think like me are ***s?? people with opinions are ***s ??? You go from fishing to homos like they have something in common...

I believe that prior to 2000 the Green River (King County) was restricted to bank fishing only. No fishing from a boat. Not sure if this was to help the run or for some other reason. Heres a thought and I am sure I am more guilty than the average fisherman. When I bank fish I have a tendancy to want to work a lot of water, especially during low water conditions. This can mean I will walk for miles and in the process cross the river multiple times no doubt damaging redds. I feel bad knowing this has probobly happened more than once. However a boat banging down a tail-out is doing the same thing.
Who's to say that it's a bad idea. Maybe restrict boating to normal and higher flows. Mandatory educational classes about ways to leave no impact. Before we start shooting down ideas lets get a bunch out in the open. There are a lot of smart people on this board and I am sure collectively we are a lot smarter then we sound.

Micro, I would recommend only one cup of coffee per day. You are going to blow a gasket.

Hey eddie

Maybe No COFFEE!

miro thanks for making me look fairly normal.
j
I do think that one fish limits or closeres every other year are a brtter idea then c and r. I also think miro is right when he saids that fish conservation is being used as a excuse for limiting some of our freedoms in this land. many mlies of trials have been closed across thje west in the name of conservation. and many groups work to buy public land and make it off limits to the public, unless you pay them. as far as attacking gays we part ways. I sent my time in the usmc to protect every ones right to freedom not just everyone who agress with my beliefs. miro this country did just fine with out the words under god in the pledge for about 180 years before macarthy got it stuck in there. pray at church not at school.

i also think spell check would be a great feature for the next up grade. it will make me appear better educated.

Micro If you decide to run for mayor you got my vote . To bad some just cant seem to see the writing on the wall.

I got a great idea the good of wild steelhead.. Don't hit them on the head with sticks...

Maybe I'm the one who will sound ignorant here, but Micro...

If you changed that picture of you holding up that big old bass to one w/ a salmon, I might take you a little more seriously Kitsap's not that far south!

I'm not serious. Nice fish Micro - I think it's the guys catching them on TV w/ their Nascar uni's that do it to me.

I wonder how long it'll be before people start trying to make it illegal to fish with hooks. They'll be trying to claim that the real satisfaction in fishing isn't the fight or catching a fish to eat, but rather, the simple satisfaction of knowing you tricked a fish to bite your lure.

Probably never!

I don't know. I've had people tell me that if they have a big fish hooked and it's taking longer than expected to land (10 minutes was the number I was given by said person), they will break their own line to prevent the fish from tiring out. Honestly, the only next step is fishing hookless.

Actually Jacob, I think tricking the fish into taking your offering IS half the fun. Isn't that why its called fishing....?

Why do the anti-WSR folks only have two options when it comes to wild fish?

Option 1: Catch and bonk

Option 2: Close it completely

It seems the big stink from the anti's is the "loss of opportunity", yet they only can come up with two options, other than WSR/CNR, both of which have less opportunity than WSR/CNR.

Just for the record, I feel that bonkers are lessening MY opportunity, be leading us down the path of kill or close. Closed seasons, of course, have no opportunity (which doesn't seem to bug the anti-WSR guys...even though they complain that WSR takes away their opportunity ), and bonk seasons will reach an allowable impact 10 to 20 times faster than will WSR, if WSR ever reaches the impact level.

I'll show you a couple jealous doofuses...how about...

"If the Indians are gonna net 'em, then I'm gonna bonk 'em. They're just going to end up in a net, anyway"

and...my favorite anti-WSR/CNR reason...

"If I can't bonk 'em, we should just close it down"

Now there are a couple jealous doofuses for ya, Micro.

Fish on...

Todd

Todd, I realize that you probably don't have time to read everything before you make judgements like that. Here's something that I posted a couple days ago in response to KK. Does it sound like I think there are only two options? Sometimes it sounds like you think there is only ONE option and that is statewide mandatory WSR. Some of you guys just want to see the season open all the time, for as long as possible so that you can catch and release the same fish over and over again, without regard to the impact it is having on the fish. You would like to pretend that it is good for the fish. Hogwash! It is good for you and your desire to keep fishing, but thats about it.

--------------------------

"Bruce...you often have rhetorically asked the same question, 'what is best for the fish', No sport, tribal or commercial fishing would, logic dictates, be best for the fish, A no brainer, ya think?"

Yep. In some cases this would be the best option. Especially if you really care about the resource.

"Would you rather 'err on the side of the fish' only to the extreme of no fishing,and to the exclusion of any other potential solution?"

Of course not.

"Can the need to be right (on both sides) be so blinding as to preclude any other possible solution, or combination of solutions?"

Some people don't want to see any other solution besides a statewide blanket ban. This is a key point and all along I have been saying that other possible solutions are available. I've seen many possible solutions posted here on this board but most of the time those ideas fall on deaf ears. Ideas such as slot limits, reduction of harvest i.e. tags, Guide restrictions etc and sometimes the current management policy is working and does not need to be "fixed".

"Maybe Dan S. is on to something here? I too, would rather fish than eat fish, and if those are the ONLY two choices this issue affords,,,,,,,,,,,,well Bruce , I firmly beleive you are in the minority."

Who said there were only two choices? Why must an Angler choose to either eat fish or just fish, why can't we do both. That is what the majority of Anglers want to do. Many Anglers enjoy sitting down at the dinner table with their family and their days catch as much as they enjoy the act of catching it. It's been that way since man first started fishing *gasp! eat steelhead, how barbaric, I only eat salmon and dead chickens!*. Of course sometimes thats just not possibe and in some cases only two choices do exist, but in other cases I tend to beleive better management options are availabe and should be used before WSR is mandated. WSR should be a last resort and/or used selectively. If you think I'm in the minority here, well then we disagree.

so you feel the bonkers themselves do that or the way the state manages the fish ? certainly you cant say it`s the states fault for the way they manage the fish because you never seem to have a problem with the way they regulate cnr fishing, that is unless there are "2" wdfw`s, one for the bonkers and one for the cnr fisherman.

Bruce,

You're right...I did miss that post...however, I doubt it would be too hard to find many examples of when you stated that if we need to have WSR, then we should just stop fishing and shut the rivers down.

I don't think that the wanting to sit down with your family and eat your catch example is all that compelling, either...it's been pointed out repeatedly throughout these threads, but wild steelhead comprise something like 3% of the harvest of steelhead in Washington...there are tens of thousands of steelhead harvested to eat every year...tens of thousands of them without adipose fins. This doesn't even count the hundreds of thousands of salmon that are caught and eaten, either.

None of us are going to miss out on eating our catch with our families and friends if we don't eat wild steelhead. You said you've never harvested wild steelhead...but you seem to know about eating fish that you caught. Looks like you're doing just fine without eating wild steelhead...

Fish on...

Todd

how do you know ?

Oh yea, just because I choose not to eat them means that no one else should either. Sorry Todd I don't buy into that. I don't think I have the right to tell someone else what they can or can't do simply because that's what I do. Under certain circumstances I most likely would take one home. Just because I haven't doesn't mean I wouldn't. I see no reason why you, I or anyone else should have the right to tell the next guy that he or she is less of an Angler or that we are some how better than them because they choose to keep a fish.

If the resource can sustain a limited harvest then a limited harvest should be allowed. This issue won't stop at wild steelhead, it will be something else next. Sport fisherman are tired of taking in the rear, largely in part because of special interest people like you.

This statewide WSR ban doesn't protect wild steelhead it protects you and your desire to keep fishing for as long as you want. That's really what this is all about and I find the manner in which WSC and the commission went about it appalling.

Todd you have said that WSC is working on a plan that would support the harvest of wild steelhead. How is that coming along?

Bruce,
This is an interesting discussion and you bring up good points, as does Todd.

I don't fish for steelhead much, but do tend to lean towards restrictions requiring wild fish to be released until the population can sustain harvest again. (sounds like you do too Bruce) But with regard to WDFW, I might not always like how they manage the resource, but that's our problem. (angling community) WDFW is managing the resource for the state as a whole and future generations, not for only today's angler. I don't think those who support wild steelhead release are only doing it for selfish reasons. It sounds like you do.

Todd, now that I wrote that, I also don't think all who oppose WSR see the issue as having only 2 options, but I get the impression you have lumped everyone into one category.

Good debate, but IMHO, you two are not as far apart on this issue as you think you are.
JD

BTW: Us saltwater steelhead fishermen have been practicing WSR for years. It's not that different really because I can't seem to catch 'em wild or hatchery.

I feel guilty enough eating a wild coho in area 9 when just up the straights they have to release them. Same fish, but once they cross pt. wilson, they can be harvested. I leave the resource up to the state to manage, with my input of course.