I fish the Yakima hard every year with several years under my belt now, and have noticed the past few years the white fish run is now almost non-existent.

The stretch I fish has a limit of 15 fish per person per day. I do not and will not keep them as I am out for sport and not out for blood, though delicious smoked and canned, but I can't imagine these fish can take such a liberal limit any longer. It angers me when I see "anglers" out fishing for them and just toss them on the banks for the birds and other predators.

I think we are over due for a drastic cut back in bag limit. I do not believe WFDW is actually doing any studies on the water of these fish. The rules are single point barbless with size 14 hooks or smaller only, which are seldom followed. I do not have any problem catching a pile of fish every time out but the whitefish and becoming more and more scarce and I find this troubling.

Is it time to protect these cool fish?
I think so.
This is one of my favorite fisheries and it pains me to see what it has become.

Are there other factors to the decline I am over looking?
Its not just my boat either but most people I talk to.

What are the best options other then talking to bios and having them completely shut it down?

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thanks for reading

Assumptions = Spending almost everyday its open on the water and never seeing a fish and game officer enforcing the rules they were hired to uphold. Just shutting down fisheries seems easier to them then enforcement while driving around their new trucks they get every year.

Personal opinions = Talking with people who have fished the run before I was even alive. Several years under my own belt now to have a good understanding form an assessment and idea of what's going on and what drastically needs to be improved.


If you have a better suggestion to form an opinion and assumption, I'm all ears.

I think it was Aldo Leopold who said something like "The hallmark of intelligent tinkering is to keep all the parts." All the parts.

Assumptions = Spending almost everyday its open on the water and never seeing a fish and game officer enforcing the rules they were hired to uphold. Just shutting down fisheries seems easier to them then enforcement while driving around their new trucks they get every year.

Personal opinions = Talking with people who have fished the run before I was even alive. Several years under my own belt now to have a good understanding form an assessment and idea of what's going on and what drastically needs to be improved.


If you have a better suggestion to form an opinion and assumption, I'm all ears.