Weighted flies banned on the N. Fk Stilly

The WDFW announced yesterday that the use of weighted flies will be banned on the N. Fk. Stilly from the 20th of August through the 15th of October. The decision was made because some anglers have been targeting wild chinook salmon schooled up in a few deeper holes in the river which is at extreme low, warm levels. Sadly, most of these fish are being foul-hooked and the regulation change is to prevent subjecting them to any additional stress. C'mon guys, wise up! You all know that it's illegal to deliberately fish for salmon of any kind in the North Fork. If the harassment of chinook doesn't stop the remaining option is to close the river entirely.

That is what T-400's are for. I tend to wonder who called in the 'incidents' of these fishers targetting ESA listed chinook. Enforcement officers are very rare on the Stilly...

Some certain someones out there calling in false reports to get their way???

Weighted flies should be banned year round. Return the Stilly to fly fishing only waters like the regs say. Get rid of the jig fishermen who stretch the rules for their own pleasure and the detriment of the fish.

Don't you think the regs on the N. Fork Stilly are a bit odd already with split shot illegal one day during the season then anything goes with bait...right at midnight in November/December or whenever that is? Also, I did run into an enforcement officer about 2 weeks ago on the N. Fork that was really giving myself and my father-in-law a bad time. After checking for license etc. he started in on how we couldn't be fishing out of a boat above the Hwy. 530 bridge after Aug 1. We told him that we weren't fishing out of the pontoon boats, only using them to float the river then get out and fish. After an extended discussion he finally said "well I'll give you the benefit of the doubt this time." I just about lost it. This guy couldn't find anything else to do with his time except wait for us at the bridge (I think we were the only ones on the river), ask us about where our vehicle was parked, ask us "if we ever read the regs". Amazing. -Old Chum

Leave the nookie love birds alone!

Well I'll admit it--I'm guilty of using a super heavy weighted fly and strike indicator to fish some of the slower and/or deeper holes on the Stilly--most of the steelhead I've c+r'd this year have come to sparse size 8 lead eye egg-sucking leech patterns. Still, I've always kind of shook my head and grumbled at the guys who fish over kings with such a set-up--don't they know those are chinook? This summer I've seen guys fishing spinning gear (no they didn't have a disability), using eggs and a corkie right along the 530, found empty and half-full shrimp containers during the fly season at a couple of spots, and found fish guts along a salmon hole. From what I've heard and seen most of the offenders are locals. It's hard to maintain any degree of enforcement when the locals' sentiments run against the officers.

It's easy to say they should close it completely--after all, there don't appear to be (m)any hatchery fish around (all of the ones I've c+r'd have been those small Deer Creek natives-- a couple of them with net marks) and without brats there's little sense in offering a summer fishery...My sentiments lean toward a closure, just to protect the chinook, but Dennis Dickson raises a valid point when he says "Closed waters are a poacher's waters."

This is the first year I tried the weighted fly and indicator routine, and found it productive, if a bit more boring to fish than a sinktip. I'd still rather hook a fish on the swing than anything, but right now all my favorite runs have emptied of water (and current) and are showing all their rocks...I've pounded that upper river and found only rocks, an occasional dolly or sucker, and more rocks, and have decided not to fish it again until after a rain. I hope someone else has done better...

I guess all this is by way of saying I'm willing to abide by the rule and shelve my heavy flies, but I'm disappointed that it's necessary, and whether they decide to keep the river open or close it isn't as important as the decision to patrol it and enforce the regs.


On an unrelated note, I drove by the mouth of the Cascade River the other day and noticed a couple of (tribal?) guys fishing the first hole up--in closed waters. I expected to see them using a net, but they were using rods and reels...is this some sort of tribal privilege? Just curious...