Anyone notice in the revised regs for keeping wild steelhead that it allows "natives" in the Green to be retained.

What's the story on that? Are these true natives or naturally reproducing fish with hatchery heritage? I think I heard somewhere that these fish were originally hatchery.

Anyone got any insight?

Which Green River are you talking about.

Yes, sorry to say it is the Green R. in south King County that is going to have to withstand this 2nd injustice, of course netting being the 1st. It would seem a pretty fragile native run , to allow this.

Yes, sorry to say it is the Green R. in south King County that is going to have to withstand this 2nd injustice, of course netting being the 1st. It would seem a pretty fragile native run , to allow this.

Yes, sorry to say it is the Green R. in south King County that is going to have to withstand this 2nd injustice, of course netting being the 1st. It would seem a pretty fragile native- run , to allow this.

Zen,

Despite the risk of getting bashed for advocating harvest of wild steelhead here I will post a paragraph from my written testimony to the Commission. The entire letter is posted on another forum where I am more comfortable stating my views without invoking unsavory emotional response.

"In the Green/Duwamish river system in the Puget Sound region the hatchery production of summer steelhead has introduced a small wild population where no native summer stock had existed and the juveniles of that introduced stock compete for the food and habitat resources with the native winter steelhead. It would be in the best interest of the native stocks to allow harvest of these non-native wild fish as a means of reducing that competition."

It should be the King county Green river. That's the one I assumed WDFW was talking about.

It should be the King county Green river. That's the one I assumed WDFW was talking about.

Our fish managers can work in mysterous ways

I think this is an Unsavory Emotional Response.
WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU DO THAT?
ahem...So it is better to try to reduce the non-native summer run so the native winter run will do better? I guess that could make sense in some paticular instance but if i recall correctly the people fishing(fisher,netter,snagger) cause the decline, not the fish. Just 5 years ago the Green was, for me, in excelent shape with a healthy mix of clipped and unclipped fish. From 4lb hatchery brats to 25lb native/wild superfish. BUT (almost) everyone keeps steelhead everytime. Don't know why, they just do, native or not, even if the regs say not too. Been in many arguments because of these idiots. And that is the problem. Now the Green ain't what it was. Do they not understand that the great fishing they have now is 100% related to fish that didn't hit the smoker or bbq or sold at pikeplacemarket?!

I love the green, grew up on it, and i hope they make it all catch and release or just close it to Steelhead fishing for 10 years. Instead of pussyfooting around trying to make people happy. It's the fish they should be trying to make happy.