I have been hearing about the great King run that comes into the Skagit this time of year, and for the last few days have been seeing some very nice fish (25 lb.+) rolling in the river close to home.

My "problem" is this. People are essentially targeting these fish...releasing them after catching, yes, but still targeting them.

The regs show "release Chinook"..NOT "catch and release Chinook". To me this means DO NOT FISH FOR THEM.

My thoughts are this: If we let these fish continue to spawn in big numbers, soon enough we will have a very healthy population and a nice fishery as a result...(akin to the Pinks in the Snohomish system now)

Sure, I also understand that in 95% of the cases a CnR fish continues on its merry way and still makes lots of babies...but..we still come back to the issue of no season, and folks targeting these fish...oft times blatantly, bragging about it afterwards.

Am I being to particular here? I WANT a healthy, legal fishery for these big brutes, but if we continue to harass the existing runs it could take longer before the FnG Bio's are satisfied with the numbers enough to set an actual fishery.

Please let them be...don't target them...then you can come back and take one home for the BBQ!

My rant for the month of July.

Mike B

My first trip on the Skagit learning to row my home built wood drifter was summer steelheading (Thanks again Coho!) about 5 years ago. While running a particular drift we happened into a King that might have gone 20lbs, maybe more like 15. Nice fish though, none the less. With Coho's expert rowing, we were able to gingerly bring this fish in and release him as quickly as possible. We were watched by several people camped along the river as we released the fish without him ever leaving the water. The witnesses said "Yall aint gonna let that go are you?" To their dismay, we did. This will always be a Beautiful memory, and I hope that someday I may be able to take my children to the same place and keep a Chinook. Many of these fish are coincidentaly caught, some intentional. Hope they all live to fight another day.

Kyle:

I have never caught one of these fish in the Skagit...but believe me, it is tempting. I sit on the deck and watch them rolling just across the river..BIG fish..not like the Sockeye which were in the 6-12 lb. range...these guys make a heck of a wake when the jump and roll!

Maybe I'm ignorant, but I have to think these wildlife biologists have some smarts, and know what they are doing. When they say there is enough for a season, then I'll be in there with the rest of the crowd fishing for them..but until then (in my thinking) it's hands off.

99.5% of the posters and visitors to the PP board are straight up fishermen (and ladies), and the majority of the ones targeting these fish are probably locals...but they are not ignorant of the laws....they just choose to ignore them, and there is not sufficient enforcement personell to police the entire river.

I caught a 35 lb. springer in June on the Hoh, and can't wait to get into another one...but I'll be glad to wait on the ones here in the Skagit if a season is in the future.

Mike

It really pisses me off to hear of so many people fishing for kings on the Skagit. I haven't fished it this summer, but I have seen it first hand in previous years. What makes it worse is that some of the people doing it are open about it and should know better, like guides and shop employees. I have lost some respect for a couple of guys, who I thought were very good anglers, because of their choice to fish for Skagit kings.
There have been rumors in the past about the Skagit being closed to all fishing because of this problem. Maybe that's what it takes.

If I remember correctly the WDFW states that the CNR mortality on kings is around 15% or more.

Coho an expert on the oars??? or is that expert on the kicker now :p

Tight lines

Kevin

Mike,
I totally agree. People should not be targetting Kings when they cannot be legally retained!

Kyle,
Something very similiar happened to me last Sept. I was fishing for Coho and Pinks @ Fort Casey when I dieled into a teener King. 15 spectacular minutes later the tourists had all gathered around and where stunned and amazed as I promptly released her. Funny how the released fish are always the most memorable.

Yep, Coho an expert on the oars. Oh yeah, he has joined the realm of the sled jockey!!! Master of kickers he is!

Haa--only in the mud puddles.

my thoughts on the kings in the Skag.

Mike B, not sure how long you have lived on the Skag, but after fishing it many years in the summer I have incidentally hooked kings while fishing with spoons, spinners, steelhead drift gear. Not targeting them---at times difficult to keep the "endangered" fish off. This is a fishery that should have been opened at least this year. Many of those kings are hatchery and no fisherman can retain. You would be amazed at the number of redds in the river late summer. It is a good thing. Another good thing is that is well watched by the game dept., but I do feel a season that would allow fisherman to retain X# hatch kings. OR build up the summer runs in that river—it’s a resource that needs attention.

Coho:

This is our first year here...moved in to our place last Oct (just before the flood!)

I signed a petition at Northern Sales in Mt. Vernon to help get us a season on these beauties..they had a TON of signatures on it, but I don't think it can happen for another year or two...who knows?

I would love nothing more than a nice season..maybe 1 kept per day, 5 per year?

Mike

This fishery has been brought to the attention of the WDFW and they said they were going to consider it next year. Lots of people are taking the time to let them know we want a King fishery in the river due to all the surplus fish at the hatchery. At the Mill Creek NOF meeting they said they would be discussing it with the "co-managers".

Mike B

Your right about what is going on in the upper Skagit; buy there is a worst problem going on in the lower Skagit (mouth to Woolley). There you will see more people fishing for the kings then you can imagine.

I was born and raised in Mt. Vernon and I have seen this first hand!

Coho -
If you are interested in the relative numbers of hatchery and wild chinook in the Skagit river you may wish to view the following web site from the North of Falcon Process -

http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/northfalcon/chinook.htm

Rmember that the forecast numbers are for the total run prior to any fishing. Once the fishing imapcts are factored in (including catches in BC and Alaska) only about 2/3 of the forecast numbers reach the river.

While there are decent numbers of hatchery spring chinook returning to the Skagit the numbers of hatchery summer and fall fish (those returing now) is quite low (less than 3% of the summer/fall total run). Anyone fishing in the middle and/or lowere Skagit at this time of year will be catching almost entirely wild fish. Once the various marine fisheries have had their impacts there will not be enough wild chinook to met either the fall or summer escapement gaols.

There has been discussion of the potential for a limited fishery targeting hatchery spring chinook. It would likely be limited to the upper river (Rockport to the Cascade) and the month of June. The limited season of course would be designed to reduced to the ESA wild spring and summer/fall stocks. with this river fishery or any others that you or other anglers maybe interested in it is important that folks get involved in the North of Falcon salmon season setting process. In the past river fishers have been later absence from those discussion with the result that when seasons are crafted you get just the leavings. If you don't get in involved don't whine about the lack of opportunity.

Tight lines
S malma

I refuse to target a fishery that is release only. Incidental mortality only lengthens the time it takes for a fishery to rebound to fishable levels. I feel the same way about steelhead runs.