Twitching jigs and low water chinook

Legit or just legitimized snagging?

I’ve seen it work for others and have personally had success.

But others raise the concern that it can be abused when guys get too aggressive in their “twitching” technique... or when ridiculously sized lead heads and hook gaps are employed.

I realize more regulation is the last thing most guys want, and that bad apples already ignore the ones on the books.

If you were FishCzar for a day, what would you do? Ban low water twitching? Regulate hook size and jig weight? Nothing... cuz snaggers are gonna snag regardless of the reg book?

Now you've gone and done it! Expect standup of a Taskforce to determine a minimum water flow for each river; flow hits that cut off and fishing stops. Anyone then found fishing is clearly in violation. And be sure to monitor your river for emergency closures during the day. Another App??

I've probably foul hooked just as many as I have legit hooked in the mouth. Some holes/flows you just can't use that technique without it happening. On the flip side it can trigger a bite when nothing else seems to work.

Unfortunately some people just don't know better. I once helped an oblivious Asian doctor (no relation haha) from Seattle with a brand new e6x and stradic hooking kings, breaking off and just looking bewildered.

I told him to not crank down the drag, use smaller twitching motions, and to consider other methods like fishing eggs, bead, etc.

Current regulations I think are satisfactory, snaggers gonna snag.

Just what we need, more restrictions! You wont stop a snagger.

As long as comanagers make similar rules im down with it. Till then I think everyone should be able to fish like comanagers & commercial fishers.

I've caught a number of chinook while twitching jigs for silvers, but they've almost all been dark males. Not sure if that's biased by the time of year I do it, or if they are mainly the subpopulation that respond to it. I haven't targeted kings by twitching before. I probably won't either, there are other methods that work better for me. Agree, no regs changes, snaggers gonna snag,

fb

Twitching jigs for chinook is a legitimate and effective technique. Where I grew up on the Oregon coast casting a weighted clouser with a fly rod for chrome chinook in tidewater is very successful. A twitched jig is a very similar to presentation and works equally as well.

It also an effective snagging technique if one chooses to use it like that. But I don't think we should be punishing legitimate fisherman for the actions of the ones abusing the technique.

Message heard LOUD and CLEAR.

I was approached as an Advisor to help address this issue.

Thanks for the feedback.

Having spent 30 years in Fish and Wildlife enforcement, I concur with BossMan's comment. There will always be those who will push the envelope. Consistent enforcement and potential loss of license privileges can help weed out the chronic violators.

I only seem to catch kings by accident, but they will eat anything coho will (as long as it sinks), to include jigs.

Low water kings are tough to catch (without eggs), so I don't spend much time trying, but when I have, I've usually seen somebody give up on trying to get them to bite and go to a more "down and dirty presentation" before too long. As has been said, if you outlaw jigs, the snaggers will go to something else and rip on.

If they are really concerned about this, they should put more eyes on the rivers, not more rules on the books. I imagine the handful of enforcement personnel out there are mostly occupied with checking fish at ocean ports that time of year, and we know the Dept. doesn't have budget for more, so I acknowledge the issue....

Why not just enforce the rules we already have?

I agree with this......... Start giving WDFW ammunition to put more restrictions on sport fishermen.

Who knows WDFW could start asking questions/opinions about herring/anchovy/prawns used in fisheries.......just never known !!!!!