Emergency Closures for Queets Dranaige

Due to a record low return of wild steelhead to the Queets River, both the Salmon and Clearwater will close early this year and both rivers will go under wild steelhead C&R immediately.

What I dont get...is what they are leaving the Queets open to wild fish kill??!?!??!?!?!

Queets River Emergency Regs

I hope this is not a indicator for the coast.I spent 3 days on the lower Sol Duc without even a nibble.3 boats floated by asking me if I had done anything?I have never done real well this early down low but the river doesn't get much better than it was this weekend.
Did anybody do better?

And these river were deemed healthy enough to allow harvest-what are we down to 15 now, I guess it just makes a stronger case for SWR. The reason the WDFW did not include the Queets is because it is under the National Park Regs. I'm sure the National Park will follow suit. It will be nice to see those fish free of a wood sampoo.

I am sure the Quinalts will follow suit and stop netting the lower Queets also

Hmmm thats odd when I fished the Queets and Salmon River hooked around 15 or 16 fish in two days there, I thought it was just the first coming too. Guess Im wrong, by the way I thought the Queets was closed to keeping natives, only fish with less than a 2 1/8 dorsal fin were retainable thats at least what everyone on the bank was going on.

Kore, I'm with you.........anyone wanna place any wagers that the nets are still in???? Sorry, I forgot, gill nets can discriminate between wild and hatchery fish, so all wild fish are released unharmed.

Cleo,

You're right. The duc had that nice greenwater we all look forward to last Saturday. We did the hatchery drift and only came up with one small nate on rags and eggs. Another boat fishing with us got three nates and a stray bogy brat side drifting eggs. We were hoping to get into a mess of Snider fish since they were thick in there earlier in the week.

Chalking it up to kinda high water and still a bit early. After (if ever) this storm things could be good again.

Bruce

The Duc Always has a blah time this time of the year! It gets a few early then tapers till the middle to the end of the month! Nothing new, See it every year!

Bob D

Thats what I hoped I would hear.I have never done any good this early,but keep trying.I also put down my spoons and fished eggs,rags and worms.Figured I would try the more conventional down lower,early!Alot more work than my spoons but fun.

Swell!