My wife and I fished the Bogacheil River over Thanksgiving weekend. Most of the folks at the hatchery and down along Goodman Road (I believe that is the name). We did run afoul of one person however who made up for all the nice people. He enlilghtened me to the following:
1. Fly fishermen are not welcome in the Forks area.
2. Fly fishermen cause all the problems on the river including ruining the spawning beds
3. A fly-fishing group is attempting to stop the catching of wild steelhead (some truth here although he could not identify the group).
4. If sportfishermen don't take more native steelhead the Quileutes plan to take more. This may or may not be true, I don't know.
Since the guy was brandishing a fillet knife (he was filleting a hatchery steelhead as he lectured me) I chose to fish elsewhere.
What I do know is that I've fished the Olympic Peninsula for more than fifty years and during that time have:
1. Supported local businesses by dropping a lot of money in Forks and peripheral areas.
2. Been a reasonably good citizen who does not foul the river banks with empty cigarette packages or beer cans.
3. Made my own choices on which fish I keep -- or release in accordance with the regulations.
4. Enjoyed the largely wide open spaces left on the Hoh River for my type of fishing, which has been for the past ten years or more, only fly-fishing.
It is too bad that a few people tarnish the experience we all attempt to enjoy during our winter fishing. I don't blame any one geopgraphic area (Port Angleles for instance) for producing these inconsiderate, loud-mouthed, borderline illiterate louts. They are everywhere and since most of them have kids who will be brought up in the same borish manner, we will have to learn to live with them, at least during "hatchery brat season."

Les Johnson