Here's hoping you have an hour to spare this Saturday on behalf of your salmon fishing opportunities!


WHEN: March 24, 10 a.m.-noon

WHERE: WDFW Mill Creek Office, 16018 Mill Creek Blvd., Mill Creek, WA

WHAT: Puget Sound Recreational Fisheries Discussion:

WHY:Public discussion of management objectives and preliminary options for Puget Sound marine and freshwater sport fisheries.

There is a lot at stake for us at this meeting!
Baker Lake Sockeye, Area 9 summer chinook opening date and much more.

I hope to see a full meeting room this Saturday!

Good on you for going TJ, I will be there if I can.


Fishy

Can't make it. Gotta work.
Very interested in the baker lake sockeye opening date tho. Keep me posted please.

I can make it.

Had a fishing trip planned for Sat, but I may cancel it and go to the meeting.

Ouch!!!

They(WDFW) usually meet with the commercial fisherman on the same day as they meet with the sportees.

Some PSA concerns/questions for the NOF meeting at Mill Creek tomorrow.

Questions to be asked of DFW folks running the meeting (likely Pattillo):

1. What is the department’s expectation for the 2012 sport sockeye fishery on Baker Lake? Can we expect to harvest as much or more than the 8,600 taken by sports last year at Baker Lake?
2. What steps is DFW taking to reduce the harvest imbalance whereby the sports only got about 35% of the sockeye harvest last year?
3. Will sports be able to begin fishing earlier than July 23 – opening in 2011? What might be the earliest opening? How many sockeye have to be captured at the Concrete trap for a fishery to be announced?
4. What is the stated tribal fishing intent for 2012? Is this level of effort more or less than in 2011?
5. Will there be any means of assessing the strength of the 2012 run before significant fishing occurs by the tribes or sports anglers?



Main points to be made Saturday:

1. Baker Lake sockeye fishing has exploded as it has become arguably the most popular salmon fishery in Puget Sound. This likely will spur fishing license sales as did the Lake Washington sockeye fisheries, if it is not degraded by unwise management actions.
2. Sports anglers want to be able to catch our share of the harvestable number of sockeye. More sockeye into Baker Lake sooner, allowing an earlier opener, along with perhaps a four fish bag limit, could result in a significantly higher percentage of the sockeye placed into the lake being harvested.
3. There needs to be fairness and balance in setting the regulations for the 2012 sockeye fishery. That was not the case in 2011.
4. A good compromise would be limiting tribal gill netting in the lower Skagit below the mouth of the Baker River Concrete to no more than four days per week. This would still allow the Swinomish tribe to catch its share of the sockeye by gill nets. If they fell a little short they could top out by taking sockeye from the Concrete trap as did the Upper Skagit tribe last year. More sockeye to the Concrete trap sooner would allow an earlier Baker Lake fishery. Also, the significant tribal by-catch of ESA listed Chinook and perhaps steelhead that occurred last year would be avoided or at least reduced. A sports fishery would be possible on the three day weekends for the lower Skagit that avoids gear conflicts.
5. Everyone needs to cooperate to achieve results that are equally beneficial to the tribes and sports.

This is where you should be also John, they are proposing a cut in plants of kokanee to one of you favorite lakes!!!!!!!!!!


Just a heads up.

Fishy

I got a kids game..but would someone please mention that the Skagit River Catch and Release Fishery exist further . Dam...Jan 31st is too frkn early.
I drive by my river every day and just stare and remember how good Feb & March used to be. Also, how bout the Sauk in April ....and how bout a Sockeye fishery on the lower Skagit this summer. Thx just my ten bucks.

I hear you.

If we don't get this opportunity for sockeye in the Skagit, given the low forecast for coho, we're looking at a very tough summer.

I'll be there and I'm hoping that there will be very few empty seats!

I'll report back tomorrow!

I’m going to the meeting.

If nobody asks the questions about Baker Lake I will, I spent a great deal of time up there last summer and had a great time.

A more producitive morning that I had thought.

I count approximately 60 folks from the public at the meeting. I thought there were some good discussions and most folks got the chance to express their views on a pretty wide range of fisheries though the Baker Lake sockeye opportunities clearly dominate much of the interest/discusxion. A ncie foundation laid for the next NOF meeting on the 28th at Lynnwood.

The folks from the State seemed to be pleased with the turn out and it was nice to see some new faces for some of these discussions!

Tight lines
Curt

I'll have to try and make it to the next one.

I felt it was a good meeting, not like one I went to a few years ago where the WDFW
staffers said, this is the way it is, you can't comment. I came away from this meeting feeling that the WDFW staff were really interested in our concerns.

There were several PP'ers there, I wish I'd have had the opportunity to say hello to all.
Especially Curt whom I have the highest respect for for his wisdom on fisheries issues.

Thanks Nelly for posting the notice, several of us wouldn't have been there, just because we would not have known about it.

I am going to make an effort to help the WDFW folks how to better communicate with us.

I hope some of you can make the meeting at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Lynnwood on Wednesday.

Good to see a big turnout, lots of intelligent things brought up. So often these meetings can devolve into a non productive bitch fest. Not good for the sportees.

It was nice to see everyone there and it appeared everyone’s comments, suggestions and questions were listened too and given a good degree of respect and consideration.

I bailed on a seat in a boat to go to the meeting, the boat landed one Springer and several Steelhead, all in nice sunny weather, I think I made the correct choice though.

Thanks to all those that made it and for representing all of us that fish here in the region.


Fishy