https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efish...Ip9g6OBSqwM4ugc

Fish on...

Todd

Takeaways...

No fishing from a floating device, period, coastwide.

Selective gear rules, coastwide.

Most of the streams look to have about the same season length as usual, except for anything usually open past April 1st...closes on April 1st.

Fish on...

Todd

looks like the tribes are about to make a metric sh!t ton of money...

The tribes don't ever make any sh!t tons of money, metric or otherwise, from steelhead fishing, even in good years, and this will not be a good year.

The Quileute is the only system that has any harvestable fish at all in it, and it's only making escapement by a few thousand.

Fish on...

Todd

you dont think that people will pay guides more to go fish over there, including the ones that can walk into Cook and the likes? boat fishing is still allowed on tribal rivers..


also, all the fish the will not be caught due to it, will be absorbed by the tribes, they have done it before, and will do it again...

and they sell those fish...

None of this applies to the Quinault on the rez, in any event, and those guides have no problem fishing every fishable day already.

As noted above, the only river with harvestable wild steelhead is the Quileute, and there aren't many, and of course they will catch some and sell them...it's what they do...but they don't make much money at it even when it's good, and it's not going to be good.

Fish on...

Todd

thats what im saying, if people cant fish there, they will pay to go on tribal land, maybe not you, or some of the others here, but tons will...

hell theres walk in guides advertising on the fishing pages all the time, and it will increase, as well as people wanting to go catch fish...

that equates to money in the pocket...

and Quileute, are you saying just that river, or the system (Bogy, Duc, Calawah)?

The Quileute system is the only one making escapement, and most of those fish are going up the Sol Duc...so the dude that nets there at the mouth of the Sol Duc will get some, as will the guys that drift nets down at Richwine...but that's about it.

The Quinault guides are booked solid all year...this won't change that any.

Fish on...

Todd

I wonder what the bank etiquette will be like? Or, does that even exist in our state.?

At least up in Canadia, the unwritten rule of thumb is to take a cast take some steps. Take a cast, take some steps. Work your way down a run. If you're new to the run, you start at the top of the run. You do not low-hole people on a run. If you hook a fish (landed or not), you move back up to the top of the run.

Does that even happen on places like the Hoh that are lined with fly flinging Jesus Looking Freaks and Ascot Wearing Salmo's of the world?

Pretty sure the local coastal guides are going to use their boats to take their clients to the most popular locations and set up camp.

Just ask yourself - what would Fly do??

Personally, I think bobber dogging from shore would be a good tactic. Cast at the head of the hole and run that float right down the middle of the run as you walk down at river speed down the river.

Shoredogging!

I feel for the guilds but they’ll either adjust or move on. Sol Duc will gain the most from no boat fishing as banking is tough at best anyway. A step in the right direction (says a dyed in the wool egg goo guy) another chapter let’s hope it’s not the last. Too many people to little resources.

Defund Inslee's Puppets known as WDFW!!!!!
They have failed for decades but will continue to cash checks far beyond their work days.

This is some of the best news I've heard all year. I fish this way most of the time anyway.

I havent read but does this include old folks that want to go with a friend or guide whom may be in a wheelchair or what about disabled folks? You would think you could fish "on anchor". I personally enjoy finding a spot and working it over. The choo choo train of boats in places like the sol duc would be dramatically influenced...

Since we are all too stupid to actually make an attempt to save our resources, why not implement a pay to play for each river? This is in addition to the annual required fishing license.

$25 a day to fish one particular river. You can pay by the day, week, month, or season. No fishing from a boat is allowed.

$100 a day to fish one particular river from a boat.

Established guides would either be to absorb this cost, or pass this one to someone who really wants to catch a wild steelhead. Many guides would not participate and thus reduce the amount of guided pressure on the river.

Once more, I'm super glad I don't own a boat.

Jeez Paker, did I pee in your Cheerios or something?


I read the new regulations and realized that I won't be directly affected at all since I wade fish even when using a boat. I use barbless hooks and don't use bait, and release all wild trout and most hatchery ones too. There could be indirect effects though. Anglers in boats who usually drift on past where I'm fishing might now be inclined to stop and share the run if it looks to be easily wadeable. I'm OK with that; it's an imperfect season. And a lot of the places I fish aren't wade fished by most sane fishermen.

Maybe you'd like to take a page from Quebec's salmon management book? Public rivers are managed by the ZEC. Some rivers have pretty small salmon runs, like 2,000 fish, sometimes even less. But they allow fishing, without over-fishing. Every river is divided into "beats." You have to have a Quebec fishing license, and then you buy a day ticket for a beat. Each beat is limited in the number of rods that can fish it each day. Some rod days are sold in advance through a lottery that begins in January I think. The balance of the rod days can be purchased up to the date of fishing. About the cheapest non-resident day ticket is about $50, but that's usually for crappy water or season. Decent tickets start at about $75 and go up from there.

On some rivers, a non-resident angler must fish with a guide - which keeps local fishing guides employed. On other rivers you can fish without a guide. It's possible to arrange 5 days of fishing for an all in cost around $2,600 for travel, lodging, licenses and fees.

Oh, and it's all catch and release fishing for wild Atlantic salmon.

I hope every gravel bar is filled shoulder to shoulder so the spey crowd can see what they had.

Those rivers don't need selective gear regulations, not the issue.

Get rid of the hatchery plants where there are native steelhead and the natives will thrive in time. The hatchery fish are the #1 demise of the native populations...

Just my .02...

Keith

Yup. This just makes everyone else fish the way I've been doing it for years. No loud objections from me. I'm a little concerned there won't be enough productive bank water to go around, but that should be eased by the fact that not as many people are going to pay guides to stand in line like everyone else at the honey holes.

Counterpoint to Evo's "concerns:"
I think it would be a good thing if the QIN profited from this. I've been preaching for years that the tribes could make a lot more money for the nation by premier guiding than they do gillnetting steelhead. Being the exclusive provider of that service should give them a huge advantage over the NT guides, who have to park their boats and get clients out to fish.

Too bad we can't convince the tribes to quit allowing sport harvest of wild fish. That could turn out to be one hell of a gotcha as more people start booking tribal guides to get the premier experience. Many guided anglers are all too excited to bonk everything they catch, so I don't think we can count on goodwill protecting the fish... Oh, well. If they do start profiting more from guiding, perhaps it will change their views on the potential of C&R fisheries. Perhaps....

Nope. I don't eat Cheerios or something.

Once again I'm just pointing out that we (as a recreational angling group) are just allowing the state to cut our throats as we all sit back and bask in our slow and eventual deaths. Matter of fact we seem to enjoy it, as we've done this over and over again.

We allow restriction and restriction after restriction on our rivers. Some even pat themselves on their back, on a "job well done.", but yet the end result hasn't changed.

The wild steelhead resource continues to dwindle away to extinction.

Fishermen are truly selfish people that absolutely do not care about the fish they are supposedly attempting to "save" because if they did care, they'd just stop fishing for wild steelhead.

As I've said before, will someone please turn off the river lights when the last wild steelhead has been caught and killed?

If steelhead fishing is that messed up, or the powers that be are so damn worried about fishing pressure, it's time to close it ALL down. Tribes included.

The runs are *not* healthy. They are *not* recovering and showing no signs of real recovery.

But yet, we are happy to bend over and take another regulation restriction in our efforts to destroy the resource.

Shut it all down. Open it back up only *after* true recovery has happened. If that takes 500 years, so be it.

(Grumble. Grumble. Piss. Moan. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.)