Part of my morning was spent thusly

Beautiful weather.....beautiful fish.....



and even when they piss all over you...



It's still important to handle with the greatest of care.



Peace, you bastards.....now let me fish.

Yeah thats the reality. It still sucks. I planned my yearly vacation for next week, thinking that I would be able to fish with my two boys for Hatchery kings in 9&10. I get 2 days Sunday , Monday. Maybe set a season limit for each angler if this is what is going down now. We are being penalized for "encounters with sub legal fish and doing the "right release" with barbless, no over the gunnel, "soft nets", etc. Talking to other fisherman friends, encounters with "wilds" in area 10, few and far between. People fishing in Northern area 9, report weeding through many shakers to get their limits. This reporting, penalizes a vibrant fishery we've already worked hard to earn. Its go time now and WDFW shuts it down. I've been waiting years for , as you put it, "our kids and grandkids will have a "set season". Finally, The state says we have until 8/31 and they close 12 days early. RIP

Are all you salty dogs going to stop fishing now? Nope..didnt think so..

All those Chinook fishermen will still go out and fish....now chasing Coho, where we will still see the nearly the same percentages of wild Chinook encounters as before, but now you wont be able to keep the hatchery Chinook one might hook.
In reality, will the perceived impacts on wild Chinook decrease because of the closure? Not very much if at all the way I see it.
The only real change is sportfishermen wont be able to retain hatchery Chinook...which really only benefits our "co-managers" because more of those fish will end up in their nets.
I'm of the opinion that this fact is a factor behind the decision..follow the money.

Sky-Guy -
Are you suggesting the State should have ignored its advisors and closed MA 9 and MA 10 totally until September first?

That certainly sounds like the option if people are going to continue to target kings for catch and release.

Nope..I'm saying that in my opinion, the closure will have little effect reducing incidental encounters with wild Chinook..so they might as well have left it open to allow taxpayers to continue to harvest the fish they paid to fish for.

I'm curious Smalma..do you know specifically who is on the Advisory committee and who they represent? Does a list exist online somewhere?

"Ill blows the wind that profits nobody." Shakespeare

Perhaps we blue collar right wingers in MA 11 might get a few more biters.

Sky-Guy -
I'm sure there exists a list somewhere but generally the committee is made up from folks across Puget Sound and the coast and includes some from various sport groups (PSA, CCA, etc), from the charter industry, the recreational fishing and boating industries as well as an independent or two for spice.

They typically are regulars at NOF meetings (on hand to help others with history, the process, and technical info) and in additional typically take part in several conference calls to deal with emerging issues as well as several meetings outside of the NOF process. Unless you count the coffee at some meetings they take part on their own dimes.

If you are interested in a more detailed list or seeing about joining the party you might contact WDFW (P. Patillio or staff) . The other way to get involved would be at the NOF meetings where the advisors are introduced. Those meetings are also a good way to express an interest in becoming an advisor as openings occur.

BTW -
At the Everett launch today by mid-afternoon twice as many coho (up to 12#) had been checked as Chinook.

Curt

I'll give you a suggestion, Smalma. See what you can do with it. Close the Salmon fishing down Tuesday thru Thursday....every week. Too many fisherman have access to the fish during the week and that allows fewer days for people who can only fish weekends. There are just too many people not working, especially in the Summer Months. Maybe something can be done there (without a million dollar study?).

Slab Happy -
What about the poor guy whose "week-end" is Tuesday and Wednesday? With so many folks working odd shifts and work weeks not sure a couple day a week closure works very well unless those closed days rotate through the season.

There are lots of way to insure that the fishery can be extended so that the full season is more likely. Some ideas that I have heard include weekly or season Chinook limits (say 4 per week or 10 per season), different size limits, gear restrictions, return to only 1 Chinook in the daily limit etc. Some are more practical than others.

Another option that folks might consider is restructing the region's seasons so that enough wild fish impacts are available for that summer fishery to carry it the full season length. Of course that means less fishing somewhere else or at a different time of year. In each of those options it really comes down to what our collective priorities are and where we want to invest those wild fish impacts in fishing opportunities.

Finally for those that are concern about the lack of the quality data used to make decisions anglers might consider making wider use of volunteer trip reports (VTRs).

Hopefully folks will think some about these issues and either attend NOF themselves or pass their ideas and preferences along to those that are involved in that season setting process. As is often the case we collectively get out of the system what we are willing to put into.

Food for thought
Curt

I like most of what you say.....
I have issue with "What about the poor guy whose "week-end" is Tuesday and Wednesday?"

My response would be to that question......Where would the most impact be? It certainly doesn't appear to have been a consideration with the majority of working contributors....i.e.,......Monday thru Friday workers.

The rest......I wouldn't really like, but would comply with...especially the one fish thing.......as in first fish over the minimum size.

NOF......might work well in some regions of the State....in Region 6, after cowboy and tribal "shares" and a Marine area bay fishery, the up river fishermen gets "whats left over". A gill net season, that starts earlier, in September, and goes longer, mid November is not something that that benefits the "in river" sport fisherman.

I do feel sorry for the small boat or no boat fishermen in many areas of the State.....salmon fishing opportunities are so limited during much of the year.

NOF is only good if the WDFW "models" aren't exceeded.

Glad I'm retired, have boat, and can fish many different methods.....now if I could just be allowed to fish 2 rods, if the areas I fish....

"Ill blows the wind that profits nobody." Shakespeare

Perhaps we blue collar right wingers in MA 11 might get a few more biters.
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