Saturday, 7/17, 2 fish limit. 1 day only!

Get your boat in line now, let the madness begin!

Kev

i guess 1 is better than none

They should have made it two day's during the week instead of one day during the weekend.Oh well like said above one is better then none.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

Looks like area 11 is gonna be a lot less crowded this Saturday.

Hmmmm..... One day sockeye madness... 4 days Neah Bay... One day sockeye... 4 days kings, silvers, lingcod, rockfish....

HELP! I can't make up my mind!!!!!


YEAH RIGHT! Neah Bay here I come...

It's not on the web site. Did you call?

Still not decided on if I'll be there or not...

They got it up now. It's true, 1 day only.


July 12, 2004
Contact: Steve Thiesfeld, (360) 902-2715
or Doug Williams, (360) 902-2256


Lake Washington sockeye fishery set for July 17

OLYMPIA - A one-day recreational fishery for sockeye salmon in Lake Washington has been set for Saturday, July 17, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

The fishery was announced Monday after state and tribal salmon co-managers reviewed updated weekend counts of sockeye from the Ballard Locks and agreed to update the strength of the sockeye run estimate to 385,000 fish. The spawning escapement goal for Lake Washington sockeye is 350,000 fish.

Even with an expected strong angler turnout, fisheries managers anticipate the total catch of Saturday's fishery to stay within the non-treaty share of 17,500 fish. In 2002, the last year a recreational fishery was conducted, sport fishers caught an average of 12,000 fish per day during the three-day fishery.

Fishing will be allowed from one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset. There will be a two-sockeye daily limit, with sockeye retention limited to those fish measuring at least 15 inches. All other salmon must be immediately released unharmed. No fishing will be allowed within 100 yards of the floating bridges. Additionally, waters within 1,000 feet of the mouth of the Cedar River in Renton will be closed to all fishing.

Anglers must have a freshwater fishing license and salmon catch record card. Kept salmon must be immediately recorded on the catch record card. Under freshwater fishing rules, anglers may only fish with one rod and must stop fishing once their personal daily limit is caught.

Contributing to the harvestable surplus of sockeye this year is the temporary sockeye hatchery facility on the Cedar River. According to WDFW research, hatchery fish accounted for 20-25 percent of the sockeye caught in the 2002 Lake Washington sport fishery.

WDFW maintains a Lake Washington sockeye salmon website, at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/sockeye/counts.htm on the Internet.

I got a buddy whos spent the last 2 months tricking his sled out with downriggers fishfinders etc...all for one whole day....TOO funny! You guys have a blast....

DOGOFF!

Hey, if I catch a king and it's gonna die anyway... ...then I can keep that one just like the tribes were okayed to do with their nets right?


Just checking.

One day is a season :rolleyes: Too bad my off days are in the middle of the week Oh wait that's a good thing One day what a joke.

One whole day! Twenty four hours? or form sunup til sundown?
I wonder if they can spare them after the tribes have been nailing them outside the locks.
This is pitiful, you guys have a great time..................Fishy.......

1 Day,, What a joke.. What Happened to the 50/50 split.. As allways we take it in the shorts

You can kiss this zipperlip goodbye.

I don't know, with all these one-day stands I feel so cheap and dirty. Think I'll go take a shower.

The whole lake is open this time, so plenty of non-crowded water to fish. I plan on being on and off the water with a boat load of sockeye by 6 am.

Cigar

Where can we find the official fish count from last night for the 200 indian boats? Gill nets.....200 boats.....how many fish? 17.500? are they done?

Grandpa's crystal ball says there will be a huge participation on Saturday and it will be determined that the sports fishers caught their quota....then as counts rise again the tribes will get another fishery in the middle of the night with no fish checkers....then we sports fishers will get a BONUS day in mid week.

If this doesn't motivate all of you to join the RFA and donate to the sports fishing PAC nothing will. What a pitiful situation.

I feel like I just spent the last 2 weeks in a cell with a big man named Buba. I can not believe how this state treats us fishermen.
1 stinking day! That's a f%$#ing slap in the face guys. It makes me want to puke!
I really don't think I'll even bother wasting my time.

What happens to the $120K the WDFW got for enforcement? Don't tell me it costs $120K to enforce a one day fishery!

This is bogus. I know that it is a run that is largely supported by the tribes, but you know they took way more than 17,500 on Sunday!

SA

Have fun on the lake everyone. Elliot Bay will be a lot less crowded for me!

I'll be going out to fish my sockeye, and probably ferry buddies for the day, then fish Elliot bay the next morning.

I hope you all realize that they can only open it for one day because of the current allocation forecast and the take rate sportfishermen will take per day once opened.

And for anyone from the WDFW reading, you owe it to the public to make sure adequate measurements are in place for the Indian netting, and post those numbers as public information, in a timely fashion, just the same as sportfisher's creel. Take that from your 120K.

Heck, if they count all day at the locks they should be able to count at night when they fish, um, excuse me, net too! ........They should be damn good at it by now!

I still don't understand why we would get fewer days than in 2002. The counts are way ahead of 2002 (run to date) so why are we only getting 1 day? WDFW's news release even says that the estimated harvest won't take the entire estimated surplus. I will be calling WDFW tommorow, and will expect reasonable, science based answers to this question. Perhaps others should do the same.

How do they count sockye at night?

In response to SkyGuy's post, we all need to call the State and request the #'s the tribe took, and how they got these #'s, time to put a lot of pressure on the State and have them come up with some answers, Doug

Brat Bonker, They have Stevie Wonder count for them.
Anybody have the right number to call to rag on the state?

Ask them why there will be less days to fish in 2004, which has a higher run prediction (385,000), than in 2002 that had a run total of 381,000.

Waino,

Sorry to report the tribe already netted Elliot Bay too.

Cigar

Doug Williams
Public Relations-WDFW
600 Capitol Way N.
Olympia, WA USA 98501-1091

Doug's number-(360) 902-2256

This is where inquiries and complaints about the Sockeye program can be directed.

It takes 3 minutes to call him or type a letter. your choice!

The last time we had a sockeye season I saw the aftermath of the tribes netting. Every conceiveable boat , some barely floating, out there harvesting as many as possible. I saw many catches going into the back of old pickup trucks...I would say a huge percentage of the catch is in no way counted. Try calling the Muckleshoots and asking for the count by boat.

I know they are responsible for much of the success of this run but why is it so hard to play by the rules? People would respect that. As it is now there is nothing but distain for the tribal nets and mistrust for the "comanageers" and that is too bad. So much good could come of a better relationship.

here is the email for the director of WDFW

director@dfw.wa.gov

Send a couple of emails to explain our frustartions. And maybe some answers.

Let the cannonball run begin!!! Have fun out there, and most of all be safe...lol

Winterun.

I've been hearing rumors of the sockeye limit being reduced to one, or even an outright emergency closure. Anybody hearing the same?

I haven't heard any roumers like that. But then again the WDFW hasn't posted the numbers for the last few days.

Always someone that has to get the mobs going with the rumors .

Literally, The Tribes have been really busy fishing, er... netting and probably havent had the time to post the numbers. I know about 10K came through Monday, we will have to wait and see the actual numbers. I spoke to a buddy WDFW 15 minutes ago and they said there is no plan at this time to change the season at all.

Rumor

Delaying the publication of the numbers at this critical stage certainly fuels speculation. Here is my Conspiracy Theory:

I think WDFW is figuring out how to spin the numbers before they post them. There are 2 interesting scenarios:

1. the counts are way high, such that WDFW has to either justify their comical 1-day sport fishery, or add a day or two

2. the counts are way low, such that WDFW has to cancel the 1-day season or risk blowing the 350,000 goal

I can't imagine WDFW cancelling the one day fishery at this point. I think they would take it in the shorts way too much. More likely they would just let the escapement number be low.