Samish River. Has It Finally Happened?

Once & a while I rant. And this is one of them.

I've been fishing it for over 10 years. Over that time I've witnessed the crowds getting bigger & more diverse. I've watched people who didn't care about leaving garbage or not respecting the property change their ways after they realized that we could lose the chance to fish the river. I've watched people speak up & apply peer pressure to reckless newbies. I've watched people take the time to bring garbage bags to the river and parking areas over & over in an effort to do the right thing. I've watched friendships grow with people who would have never met. I've seen the smile on a kids face when dad helped them land their 1st King. I could keep on going ...

Now I'm hearing that the property owners have posted a major portion of the lower river. I was also told today that one area that is open may not stay that way becasue of "problems".

Is this all true? Is the stupidity, recklessness, and disregard by the minority going to ruin it for the majority again.

I know the Ditch is not for everyone and this has nothing to do about fishing methods.

It has to do with respect. I think about the big pile of fish heads, skeletons etc someone left in the lower parking lot late last fall. Why? Why there? Why does the guy & friends driving the new $35k rig have to throw their breakfast garbage in the parking area? Why can't people use the Port A Pottie?

We all know it happends. We've all seen it and I'm sure some of you have done it. The question is, how can we stop it. How do we preserve open river. It's not just the Samish. I see it in Forks, the Snohomish can be a garbage pit in places.

I don't have an answer. Maybe some of you do. I just know our opportunities are shrinking.

Thanks for your time.

which part are they shutting down?

I deal with this 9 months out of the year...the problem is simple...the lack of proper disciplined parenting thats been taking place over the last 10 years or so is catching up with us. And believe me...its only going to get worse as time goes on before it gets any better. It sucks.

I have been worried about this for years as well because it just seems like the Samish gets worse and worse every year.

Thankfully, I always get to know the key land owners and pass them some fish and clean things up for them every once in a while. Knowing someone's first name is a huge plus!

Unfortunatly it's the slobs tha ruin it for all of us. It happens in a lot of the outdoor sports. Hunting slobs are responsible for the closure of a lot of hunting lands as well.
I think I may have noticed another victim of this slobbery. I hope I am wrong. Late last week there was a county/dot? crew putting a gate at the trail in to the Snohomish River under the 522 bridge on Elliot Rd. Right now there is no sign, and you can simply walk around it. I live near there and will keep an eye on it to see if they actually restrict access there. It isn't a WDFW site. I believe it is DOT property.

That spot on Elliot Rd. is exactly what I was thinking of when kevykev mentioned the Snohomish. I hope they don't cut off access there.

Team Cracker: From what I've been told most of the lower river. I had heard rumblings about it for a while and then a couple of weeks back Holiday Market sent out their email news letter. They had a write up in there about it. I suggest you call one fo the tackle shops up there for more info. I called yesterday.

Rickomatic, MPM: I was thinking more down river at the park. I went in off Elliot rd last year for the 1st time. I did see a garbage mess. I used to fish accross the river years ago and walk up to where the Sky & Snoqualmie meet. There was a trail that you can't see now, wide open. The owner got tired of the the crap and put up heavy barbed wire. Now's it's all overgrown and you would never know it used to be an access point.

this has been going on for ever around the grays harbor rivers.. alot of holes that were open have been shut down by land owners cause people just cant take out what they bring in..they leave their trash all over the place..every year a freind of mine has to do alot of talking to his neighbor just to keep a hole open.. but i think time has ran out on that spot..

I need to rant a bit too if you don't mind.....Today I saw more guys down in the first bend of the Samish than I ever have before. 100+ shoulder to shoulder. I just went down to see if anyone had read the regs and it's apparent that nobody does. Wildlife guys could have written 120 tickets without moving out of that one hole. Gotta shake your head. The only moving lures I saw was when any of them gave the big yank. I just had to show my brothers (who I am teaching how to float eggs, so you know which hole I fish) and they were both dumbfounded. I'm not sure what guys are thinking after they read the rules. They must not. I wonder if it will ever be enforced. Probably not. It sure would be a different place if they did. Talk about a revenue stream.

They are only closing access around Thomas road, the lower end stil has open access. I agree float and eggs woud be the most ethical way to fish those kings, but people have figured out you can floss way more of them with jigs, especially when you get 50 guys and one hole, everytime somebody sets the hook the whole herd of fish takes off, thus flossing themselves on more jigs.... I used to fish the Samish quite a bit, (until I got a boat) beleive it or not those guys in the lower hole get a bad rap, but they are about the only ones on the river who for the most part release snagged fish, go up a couple of bends and no snagged fish get returned to the water.

^^
Yeah, its true. Those guys in the lineup are actually pretty good about not keeping snagged fish. They know a few people can ruin it for all of them. They are very vocal about it too. I've seen a few close fights about someone trying to keep a snagged fish in that lower piling hole. But yeah, above there anything goes.

Yeah, I can give you some of that. But if you're fishing illegally, and just happen to snag a fish in the head (which is legal to keep, unless wildlife guys saw your lure and how it came about in its head) can you call it a bad rap? A stationary lure is a stationary lure, whether its a jig (just sitting on the bottom, when it's designed to be under a float) or a corky-yarn and hook or whatever you want to toss sitting on the bottom.

Under the new rules, flossing is a mute point when it results from a lure sitting on the bottom. I'd like to hear an argument against the definition of stationary lure when it comes to a lure (hook) sitting on the bottom next to the piers. Give it your best shot somebody.

I suppose we'll start seeing casting spoons sitting on the bottom now.

Food for thought: Nobody should worry about the quantity of hookups if they started to drift their jigs under a float instead laying them on the bottom. It should be the same amount of catching, right? I mean the kings have been picking the jigs up off the bottom already anyway.....

Are you sure about the Thomas Rd? There were 7 trucks there this morning....

Thomas rd bridge is what I heard from Holiday Market, haven't been there myself as I don't fish i anymore unless I'm despereate for eggs. I am in no way trying to argue that the fish pick up the jigs; they dont.... the guys down there claim they 'move' there jigs slowly now, or they claim there moving when they move about 1 ft/ minute from the tide. I don't think the jigs are a sporting manner to fish and they guys that fish it clai, the fish pick-up the jigs, I don't beleive they do... It was better before the jigs were there everybody fished eggs and the fish actually bit them.... I was just saying that the guys in the lower end actully release snagged fish and punch there fish, don't keep over the limit, ect... a few bends up and anything goes pack out 4 fish, snag, ect.. One of the reasons I don't like to fish there...

Yeah, a guy told me today that every little while he cranks his real a little bit to tighten up his line, and counts that as 'moving lure'.

FYI everybody.

I confirmed with fish and game today about how they see/view the "Stationary Lure" restriction. They define it by this rhyme: "Bait, hook, lure or line, must be moving all the time"

Today by that definition, I'd say there were 180 illegally fishing and 5 or 6 of us legally in the first two bends alone. (of course, nobody in the first bend).
I saw at least 20 kings pulled out of the second bend alone.,

One guy told me today that 'movement' was relative.
Tell that to the judge buddy when you appeal your fine.
(He landed 3 fish himself today, two by the head although with his jig it was outside-to-in hooked for some odd reason)

Something tells me enforcement will be around a bit more often. 200 tickets at 150 a pop. Do the math. 25g in about 2 hours?

Can you imagine what this fishery would be like without the snagging?

I can.
Fair for everybody.

fished it for the first time ever about a week ago. not many fish to be seen.

i was in total amazement when i counted 40+ guys for the day and not a single one of them was fishing legal. the only 2 guys fishing legal were me and my buddie.


holding your rod out next to a piling waiting for a fish to run into your line is not fishing. might as well just put a salmon net in the water and wait for one to swim in.

Hi All
My original post had nothing to do about fishing methods. You should keep it that way.
Unless everyone pulls their head out (including me) and does the right thing on places like the Skok (Everett Herald Article Today) & Samish you won't have anything to wine about unless it's about how there are no places left to fish.
I drove by Sunset on the Samish today. The road was empty. Usually 25+ cars there. LAND CLOSED. Not because of fishing methods. Because of the inconsiderate slobs who leave garbage, crap in the bushes etc and lack respect for the land owner.
The Game Dept knows where the Samish is, they were there a lot last year. I'm sure they will be there a lot this year. They will do their job. We better start doing ours or theirs will be a lot easier.
NO LAND TO FISH, NO FISHERMEN, NO NEED TO PATROL RIVER!!!

The same guys who have no problem snagging fish are the same guys who have no problem leaving their trash behind. They don't care about the rules. They don't care about the resource. They don't care about other anglers.

+1 Please quit leaving used diapers on the Snohomish.

The Skokomish must be slow.

I was on the samish today above the chuckanut road bridge. All the kings in there are very dark (I was not fishing). I saw a guy with a handful of rocks and a club walking up the river chasing kings! I can see it now, "So easy a caveman can do it!"

The lower samish access next year will be by permit only is the rumor I heard. Think you have to purchase the permits also. I have no idea how the landowner is going to enforce that.

It is really sad what that river brings out in people.

As of a few weeks ago it is going to Permit only on the bottom for next year. I'm not sure how they will be doing it either. The big question is what will the upriver landowners do who closed their property this year. WIll they open it or keep it closed.

It still blows my mind the pigs that use our rivers. A few weeks ago I picked up litter in the parking area the landowner allows us to use on the lower Samish. I say litter because I only found a few pieces of paper etc. That is until I got to the toilet paper & sh.. that some pig left. They put multiple Porta Potties in there for a reason.

Things like that are why it is going to Permit & why other areas are being shut down. Personally I hope they do charge and limit and regulate the amount of people who go in there.

That fishery is done for the year. NEXT!!!

Any update as to what pieces of land will be open and how the permits will work?

those of you that fish it can have it... i quit going to that BS fishery years ago and will never go up there for that king fishery every again...

I've never fished it, but I appreciate your contribution and judgement all the same. I hear it can be a total $hit show on a weekend, but tolerable midweek. To each his own, I guess. You've got to earn your stripes somehow.

I hope you called the cops when you saw the knuckle dragger harassing those fish as that is a pretty hefty fine.

I have seen pigs fishing from the bank and out of very expensive boats and it all disgusts me.

Fishy

Major changes to the Skok regs this year but it's not going to work. This fishery brings out every digenerate in the state, easy access to the river and the fish. When you have to post rules to pick up after yourself and add a human wate management section on specific rivers I'll go fish somewhere else.

SKOKOMISH RIVER (Mason Co.) from
mouth to Hwy. 106 Bridge
(834)
ALL SPECIES - Aug. 1-Nov. 30: night closure, anti-snagging rule, and single-point barbless hooks required.
Aug. 1-Dec. 15: terminal gear (hooks, weights, lures, or baits) and line must not be within 25' of tribal gillnets.
We each must clean up after ourselves and pets. Refer to Human and Pet Waste Advisory (page 18).
All Game Fish First Sat. in June-July 31 Catch-and-release.
All Game Fish Oct. 1-Dec. 15 Catch-and-release.
SALMON Aug. 1-Sept. 30 Min. size 12". Daily limit 2. Release CHUM and wild CHINOOK. Only
fish hooked inside the mouth may be retained. Anglers must retain the
first 2 SALMON, if legal to do so, and stop fishing.

Note: You can only retain fish hooked inside the mouth, isn't that what your supposed to do!

End of Rant...............

Are coho closed after October 1?

nah, just left off the later salmon regs. should be business as usual.