I gather this spring Chinook fishery is closed now? Pretty short opener?
Just drove from the "bridge of the Gods" to Hoods Port on 14 and counted over 50 gill nets on the Washington side, pretty sad.

Guess that's what happens when you don't hand your impacts over to the O/G industry, you get to fish!

So, sportsman get to keep one "marked Hatchery fish" to protect the native run and the 50+ gill nets get to keep how many "marked Hatchery fish" and how will they released the natives?

GBL - You can't possibly drive from the Bridge of the Gods to Hoodsport, WA via SR 14. Bridge of the Gods in in the Columbia Gorge and Hoodsport is on Hood Canal.

But you can drive from the Bridge of the God's to Hood River, OR. Maybe that's what you meant. If so, those were tribal gill nets. That is the Zone 6 fishery, which is Tribal. Tribal and recreational anglers split the incidental take of ESA fish (each get about 1% incidental take). The tribes don't release native fish. They keep them for their own use, and sell them if they catch enough. Since they're catching spring Chinook, it's likely for the use of the Tribes. I don't think they've gotten enough for commercial sales.

The recreational anglers release native (unmarked) fish as a way to increase their harvest of hatchery fish. It's called a mark-selective fishery (MSF). Without it, recreational anglers would not be allowed to harvest as many as they do.

OK got me,,,Hood River or really Whit Salmon!
Still very troubling to see that many gill nets in such a short stretch or river.

50 gill nets is almost nothing compared to the number you'll see in the fall.

Check it again in September and October. Particularly this year. The run of fall Chinook (Upriver Brights) might set records. This is the money-fish for the Tribes so they will be out in force. They depend on those fish as a means of economic stability. And if the run comes in as expected, the Tribes may have more fish than they can handle. They might complain about the depressed market for fresh fish, but they won't complain about poor fishing.

last years fall king run was very large. It was rumored that injun gillnets were sinking. this is not hard to believe when the nets can be in the soak for 48 hours with out being checked.

I've heard of injun dump areas where they dump salmon that don't make grade from the buyer. they drive into areas and just dump the culled salmon in woods.

I've talked with injuns who take pride in their catch. others who really don't care, they just do it because it's their tribal rights to do so.

To bad, still not right for Indian gill nets to take whatever they want, dump culls or whatever else they do wrong to the resource.
Don't much like white commercials either, not in Washington or Alaska.
Of course I have been against Indian gill netting since standing on the court house steps protesting dipstick Bolt and his stupid decisions.

there would be no salmon in the Columbia if it wasn't for the injuns. every hatchery in the Columbia basin was built for the injuns when the dams went in. By the way the original plans for bonni dam was to NOT have any fish ladders on in it. the fish ladders were a after thought to the plans.

so in all likely hood what grand coulee did to the runs above it, bonni dam could have did the same thing.

Not quite Brewer, but you're close.

Many of the hatcheries on the Columbia were built below Bonneville Dam. So they were not intended for the Tribes since the Tribes fish entirely above the dam. That has since changed since the 1940's, but originally the hatcheries were for the non-Tribal commercial fishery which was entirely below Bonneville Dam.

You are correct that the original plans for Bonneville Dam had NO fish passage facilities. The intent was to rely on hatcheries below the dam to supply whatever fish would be lost from above the dam. The outcry from the commercial fishermen convinced the Corps of Engineers to build fish ladders. Remember, in the 1940's recreational angling didn't exist in any sizable amount. And nobody cared much about the Tribes. Indeed, they were completely ignored given that they had zero political power or influence. It was the commercial guys who strongly opposed the dams, and pushed for fish ladders and more hatcheries. Those measures didn't stop the fish populations from crashing (and the commercial fishing industry with it). But whatever meager protections were built, it was because of the efforts of the commercial guys.