Has anyone put 2 and 2 together yet and figured out why WDFW went along with not having any wild restoration program for the early winter run steelhead? The answer is simple; if you were to have wild native steelhead coming back in early November, you could not have the massive gill net fishery going on in the Lower Columbia for coho at the same time!

Remember how many steelhead they caught in 2002 when they were using coho nets for the tangle net fishery for springers? They took over 20,900 steelhead in the nets and they weren’t trying to get them. That's why WDFW has agreed to do away with our early winter steelhead! If the steelhead, get caught in the Coho net fishery now, it will be OK because they will all be hatchery fish and it won't affect the coho commercial net fishery.

The boys in Region 5 need to spend some time behind bars! This "wild fish" recovery program is nothing more then a joke on the Cowlitz and the jokes being played on you and me!!!

Cowlitzfisherman