WDFW working on new freshwater regs

WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/

September 19, 2017

Contact: Craig Burley, 360-902-2784
Steve Thiesfeld, 360-902-2662

WDFW proposes simplified freshwater fishing
regulations, seeks public comment

OLYMPIA – State fishery managers are seeking public comment on a proposed package of simplified recreational fishing regulations for freshwater species, such as steelhead, trout and warmwater fish.

As part of that effort, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has scheduled six workshops to discuss the proposed changes with the public.

To review and comment on the proposed rules, visit WDFW's webpage at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/rule_proposals/. Comments will be accepted through Nov. 30. For a hard copy of the proposed rules, please call 360-902-2700.

Since last summer, state fishery managers have been working to simplify Washington's fishing regulations for freshwater species, including steelhead, trout, warmwater fish, sturgeon, shad and carp, said WDFW Director Jim Unsworth.

"For years, we've heard from people about how our regulations are complex – even for some of the most seasoned anglers – and act as a barrier to people trying to take up the sport," Unsworth said. "So we've been developing a set of regulations that will be easier for all anglers to understand."

This is the first year of a three-year effort to simplify sportfishing regulations throughout the state. Next year, fishery managers are scheduled to work on salmon fisheries in marine and freshwater, while fisheries for shellfish and other marine fish will be addressed in 2019.

"We're excited about this effort and look forward to discussing our first year of proposals at upcoming meetings with the public," Burley said. "This is a great opportunity for anglers and others to help us make our recreational fishing regulations more user-friendly."

The public workshops are scheduled for:

Spokane: 6 to 8 p.m., Sept. 26, Center Place, 2426 N. Discovery Place, Spokane Valley.
Ephrata: 6 to 8 p.m., Sept. 27, Grant County Public Works, 124 Enterprise St. SE, Ephrata.
Selah: 6 to 8 p.m., Sept. 28, Selah Civic Center, 216 S. First St. Selah.
Mill Creek: 6 to 8 p.m., Oct. 3, WDFW Region 4 headquarters, 16018 Mill Creek Blvd., Mill Creek.
Ridgefield: 6 to 8 p.m., Oct. 4, WDFW Region 5 headquarters, 5525 S. 11th St., Ridgefield.
Montesano: 6 to 8 p.m., Oct. 5, Montesano City Hall, 112 N. Main St., Montesano.

Changes proposed this year would apply to freshwater throughout the state, with some exceptions. Some of the changes include:

Standardizing the statewide season for rivers, streams and beaver ponds to the Saturday before Memorial Day through Oct. 31.
Eliminating mandatory steelhead retention in most waters.
Reducing the complexity of regulations – such as daily limits, size limits and seasons – in lakes and ponds.
Standardizing regulations in rivers and streams for bass, channel catfish, and walleye. Under the proposal there would be no daily limit or minimum size for those fish.

The public will also have the opportunity to provide testimony on the proposals during the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission's meeting Dec. 8 and 9 in Olympia. Check the commission's website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/meetings.html for details on the meeting.The commission, which sets policy for WDFW, is scheduled to vote on the proposals during a meeting in January.

It will be interesting to see how they pull this off. The genesis of complexity was to provide maximum "opportunity". Will simplicity bring us less opportunity but more consistency and ease of understanding? Or, will some levels of conservation be abandoned to make it simpler?

So this just means everything is gonna close October 31.

Im so sick of this. Oct-Spring is the fishing I enjoy most.

Make it really simple. Statewide, year-around, single barbless hooks, artificial lures, Catch and release.

Then, open kill seasons when and as appropriate.

One of the problems with trying to offer full opportunity is that anglers have to know what it is they are catching.

This season, based on conversations with some samplers, we had Chinook identified as either coho or pink in order to retain them when Chinook was closed.

I find it at least a bit curious that a hunter has to be able to identify species, sex, or count antler points before shooting. An angler, with the fish in hand, is unable to ID it. Now, I know that some individual fish are hard to ID, having made a few "interesting" IDs in the past, but we seem to hold anglers to a very low bar.

Don't think that's exactly what this means, but it's a question someone needs to ask. My guess is that they plan to keep the same regulation paradigm for freshwater salmon and winter steelhead, which is to say this move will do nothing to solve the issues with complexities anglers have complained about for years. It may establish some simple, general rules for waters that don't have special regulations....

Hint for WDFW: Yes, there are reasons why there are fewer people getting into freshwater angling, but confusing regulations sit far below quality of opportunity relative to economic contribution on that list. Want more anglers? Give us more of the fish some of us actually moved here to fish for; not spiny rays and planter trout.

Let's simplify our regulations.....


......by changing all of the regulations.



Yep. That sounds like the DFW we all know and love!

WDFW could take a page from Michigan... or we could just have more public meetings that fewer and fewer people attend...

michigan plant 25 million fish so far this year

And Michigan, even if Michigan puts those into the Great Lakes I doubt that they are supporting "others" like AK, BC, and the Treaty Tribes. Economically, WDFW is in a bind. To plant more fish they need more money. More money means higher license fees. When your license buyers get (maybe) 1/4 of the harvest, or less, you have plant a whole lot of fish to overcome that. Add in the very poor ocean conditions and it is probably not cost effective.

Piper -

Are you suggesting that WDFW slash its hatchery production?

Believe in recent years they have released something like more than 70 million steelhead/salmon (coho and Chinook) and 12 million trout.

Threads like this do illustrate how far WDFW's creditability has fallen and how much work they need to begin to recapture support from its major users, the State's fishers. This simplification of the pamphlet might represent a baby step forward but that remains to be seen.

Curt

I believe that it was over 100,000,000 in chum alone some years and the Lake WA sockeye hatchery itself was built for 35,000,000.

Between 1952 and 1987 the WDF released over 4 billion fry, fingerlings, and smolts.....no idea how many game fish were released by the WDG

WDF was either the first or second largest hatchery system in the world. WDG would have added quite a bit to that.

that is exactly what I'm saying, if they really want to increase the numbers of fisherman...

50% of 50% of the 70 million salmon/steelhead in which only .5% return and you have to fish them the on the dozen days its open or when they are actually there and a river is fish-able...

fvck yes, I'd rather have a world class bass and walleye fishery in half the lakes in Washington even if they are only open 6 months a year... i've spent more money in Idaho fishing this year, than the 2 weeks of salmon fishing that we were so gracious to receive from the FWDFW...

who gives a fvck about trash fish or fish that you cant even fish for...

those were the glory years of fishing salmon and steelhead in the northwest... I wonder why?

Why even close freshwater seasons for bass, walleyes and stocker trout? Having a "trout opener" is beyond stupid. Makes ZERO sense. It should be open year round, like most states. The two rod stamp is also just incredibly dumb and nothing more than a blatant money grab. Git' yer chit together WDFW.

If you are a kid in Skagit County and just now getting your drivers license, it is almost a given that you have never seen a wild steelhead from the river that shares it's name with the county.

Opening Day is, simply, created to sell licenses. Those here who are chronologically gifted, even more than me, remember when OD was a Big Thing. The papers (remember those?) covered it with stories leading up to it, pictures from the day, and reports from all the lakes as WDG did creel checks on most all lakes and reported it the papers the same night. There were Fishermen's Breakfasts that were fundraisers for local charities. It was about selling licenses, which is what supported the agency.

Back in my youth, and still today, there is more to fishing and hunting than the simple act of catching. OD is a social event. I think WDFW has lost sight of the fact that there is much more to resource catch/release/harvest than just the simple encounter.

I can understand that a youngster from Skagit has not killed a wild steelhead but if they haven't seen one, they haven't been looking.

Walk some streams in March/April/May.

I think WW's point is that there has been no opportunity to fish for wild steelhead during that young person's fishing life. Spawning surveys are a different kind of opportunity, maybe the wave of the future.

I understand the point, but there is difference between seeing and catching.

And, that is one of the problems we are coming into in conservation. I have somewhat convinced a few non-hunting birders that it might be better for the environment if we hunted shorebirds (at least plover and curlew sized), cranes (including Whoopers) and swans (including Trumpeters). To hunt, you need large populations which require large tracts of habitat. To simply see (tick off on a list) you need a lot less land.

Hate to be the grammar cops but the streams are not, to my knowledge, closed to walking. Just like in the post from WW he said "seen" when he meant "caught". You meant "angle", not walk.

I agree that WDFW has made a mashup up management but if you wanna see steelhead or salmon one needs to look.

FWDFW should set up some public outreach meetings to discuss proper stream walking and spawning fish watching technics.. Hell, FWDFW should capitalize on the future stream walking fish spawning craze and offer up stream walking licenses to help offset the destruction by trampling of native vegetation and salmon and steelhead reds...

Guess I have to agree. I saw salmon Monday, and I even angled for them, but damned if I caught any.

It is interesting that hunters and fishermen often claim, in surveys, that the number one reason that they go out is to be in nature. Catching/killing is almost always way down on the list.

If that were the case, then rods, reels, and guns are not needed and open seasons aren't either.

Back in the 1980s there was an issue with South Sound Chinook wherein the non-Indians were taking more than 50%. Part of the solution was to close much of the Sound to Chinook Harvest. It wasn't closed to salmon fishing, just Chinook killing. C&R was open, coho were open, yet nobody went out. My first encounter with the fact that being out in nature is not more important than killing.

I remember those days. we used to fish the narrows and off the concrete dock on fox island, Chinook fishing was incredible... ironically, even back then the resident coho were usually only 12" long and keeping two just didn't pay when you factor in boat launch fees, gas and bait...

FWDFW fvcked us back then too...

Sounds like fun. Most of what I did was walking creeks. The best was when we did surveys September-June to cover all the species and I walked the same section each week. Got to know the fish really well.

Heres the proposed rule changes in case anybody hasn't seen

http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/rule_proposals/policies.php

Well then, we can play the ultra literal game if you want to. I mentioned drivers licenses - kids without one of those and a car to go along with it will have a tough time accessing a lot of spawning creeks. And, around here a lot of them are behind locked gates and "No Trespassing" signs.

When you surveyed those creeks did you walk to all of them from your house or did you ride a bike? Bus? Train? Boat? Plane? Just how did you get there? Did you skip school to do it?

With a very little effort it's easy to extrapolate from my statement that the kids in the age group I referenced have not had the opportunity to spend a weekend fishing with their parents, uncle, older brother, etc.for wild steelhead. These are the kids that in the not too distant future will be entrusted to "manage" this resource. It will be tough recruiting from a class of youngsters with little to no life experience with fish or fishing. (Super market experience not considered in that last statement in case you want to get literal again.)

I'm not sure what got you interested in fish enough to spend a career working with them. Was it because you were NOT fishing for them when a youngster? If so, I hope you are smart enough to realize that you are the exception and not the norm.

It makes me sad, frustrated, and angry when I think about not being able to fish the Skagit anymore in the spring. My oldest nephew is now 10 years old and is starting to ask me about teaching him how to fish for steelhead. None of the rivers I grew up fishing are open now and may never be open again. I have taken him fishing for dollies a couple of times but it is not the same and it is hard to keep a youngster interested when they are freezing on the river in Dec/Jan. Hopefully he is still interested when he is old enough to go to BC with me.

Eliminate "mandatory Steelhead retention" YES
this anti fishing law has to go! They lifted it when wild runs were weak?


Eliminate "must keep trout caught on bait" YES
I have been saying this is the dumbest rule for years. You can catch ESA listed Salmon all day long on bait, but we are supposed to count hatchery trout towards limit when fishing for something else?

10 fish Kokanee. YES
Most lakes are over planted on the westside.

"Dumping chum or garbage in ponds to attract fish". HELL NO!!!


I am trying to understand how throwing a blanket statewide on biologists management decisions per lake simplifies anything. I don't think the new WDFW is any smarter than they were. Is the goal to have less people look at the regulations pamphlet?

If they want to simplify regulations then a app to look up the regulations by body of water or gps might do that.

Not that I participate in stocked trout fisheries much anymore, but the mortality rate on those fish hooked on bait is insanely high. Add that to the fact most people don't set the hook quick enough that the fish don't get gut hooked and you can basically say goodbye to holdovers. I primarily fish trout a few months after the last plant since it takes awhile before their meat becomes even somewhat edible (mainly fall & winter when the rivers are either closed or the runs are small) and this rule will pretty much kill off that part of lowland trout fishing.

I don't c&r wild fish all day on any type of gear or bait. I move if I'm hooking more wild fish than I'm comfortable with (unless that run is fairly strong, which isn't the case in scenarios).

Maybe yes, maybe no. Idyho did a study of stream trout with bait, flies, and treble lures. All barbed the bait was circle hooks. Lowest mortality was flies. Only slightly higher was bait. Lures were 3 or 4 times worse. They looked at survival over the summer so it was not short term. Was resident stream trout. Bait does not have to be deadly.