Spot on!!!!

Across the borders they come, increasing, breeding, and moving.

Spot On...

According to the latest polling results, Dave Reichert, a Republician, is beating Ferguson by 2 points.

https://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/202...poll-finds.html

The 9 points of "undecided" voters is what we need to watch. Maybe half those folks are legitimately considering both candidates, but many are just bluffing and will eventually go the direction they normally vote. Young progressives are upset with the Democratic party right now, mostly because the Biden administration failed to seal the deal on the tuition reimbursement thing, and they are making a lot of threats about not supporting Democrats in 2024. I think they're doing it for effect (that won't be realized), and when the chips are down and the only alternative to voting for Democrats is voting for Republicans, they will hold their noses and vote D, putting Ferguson over the top (perhaps after a tribally-funded recount or two). But we shall see.

I don't know much about Reichert. I need to read up. He's a Republican, so I'm sure I will fundamentally disagree with some of his positions, but as long as he's not a total nutjob, I'll give him serious consideration, because the devil we know (Ferguson) is not on the side of sport fishing.

I think Reichert just might be the R who can pull off a win. Other than his anti-abortion stance he's fairly moderate as Rs go these days. If he accepts that being anti-abortion is the one issue preventing him from winning in WA, where the citizens are uber protective of abortion rights, maybe he'll adjust in the interest of winning the election. Reichert is certainly the polar opposite of Ferguson on LE, and WA citizens are becoming fed up with gov't basically legalizing crime. So I wouldn't count Reichert out just yet.

Heads up on the weather and fishing. Around Dec 2nd a storm is forecast and in 4 days we are going to flood stage. There are four flood levels from action to major and it looks to be just flood level which is the second stage. Somewhere arounf 23,000 CFS at Porter and 17,000 CFS on the Satsop. In other words the river is going to blow out big time! At present December looks to be a mixed bag as to rain so we will have to wait and see but the great inland fishing water that started in September is about to come to an end.

One thing is for sure I have never seen WDFW hold their ground when the QIN do not fish before. There is a world of difference between a net fishery and Rec fishery in November. To say I have been a critic of WDFW over the years is an understatement but this time I think staff got it right. It was never fair for the commercial fisheries to hammer the crap out of the fish then opps the recs have to conserve. If we do not make escapement for Coho the Nov caught Rec fish will not be the cause.

No, but the recs will be blamed for taking fish off the grounds.

This was no surprise. It was nice of the Park to let us know early. The Queets is kind of a unique situation. WDFW has no real power. The Quinault's control the Water from the Ocean to the National Park. The fish do not pass through any WDFW controlled area. There is a small piece on the Salmon.

For YEARS the Park & WDFW have been trying to work with the Tribe for both Steelhead & Coho. Both have had a hard time making Escapement. Which is kind of mind boggling when you consider the distance between the Ocean & Pristine Park is small. It sure isn't the Recs taking to many fish. Netting as many days as they do has taken its toll. Yet the Quinault's keep on going.

I got a laugh when I read their Press Release on Coho fishing. Kind of Hypocritical when you look at the facts in general on Salmon & Steelhead. How many fish did they take before they stopped netting? Maybe they realized they screwed up and want to pass the blame if fish don't make it to the grounds.

Why isn't the Tribe clipping their Hatchery Steelhead on the Salmon? I know the Park has asked for years and it has fallen on Deaf Ears. I believe the Park offered to pay for clipping at least 1 year. But why should they?

Right now the Quinault's have a Monopoly on the Queets & Salmon. Why should they change it? There is no incentive. They are rewarded. Want to go with a Tribal Guide for Steelhead until 1/31/24? Salmon R 2, Queets 2. Us ZERO.

One interesting point. Last season on Facebook a # of Tribal members were complaining about the amount of people fishing the Salmon and all the Guides who aren't really Guides. The issues are that there is no room for them to take their kids, grandkids etc. For them to teach the kids as they were taught. Then there were people who posted that Tribal members should be able to make $$ and how would they control the Guides.

Bottom line is until the Tribe, WDFW & Park get on the same page with Escapement #'s we won't be fishing the Queets on a regular basis. As the Hoh & Quileute systems trend recovery the Pristine Queets struggles. Maybe it's time to put pressure on the Tribe to come to an agreement with WDFW & Park. Right now the difference of Escapement goals on the Queets is pretty wide.

Just remember. They love your $$$$ and they love their Monopoly on Winter Steelhead.

There is a Wild Card in all this. What will happen if the review that is happening about Listing various Coastal Steelhead Rivers under ESA lists the Queets. How will the Quinault's deal with that? Will they blame us or Man Up and change their ways until things recover.

WDFW stepped in on Skykomish Coho a few years ago and curtailed Coho fishing. They were listed as Over-Fished and WDFW did not want the Feds to List Them as Threatened or Endangered.

This year the river was opened back up when more Coho than forecast made it in.

I wonder if the state has any record from years back, when they had us mark wild and hatchery fish. It would be real interesting to see how many were taken on average, on the Queets and Salmon before January. For that matter, on any of the other rivers that the state is closing.

It reminds me of a few years back when the state closed the Nisqually for chum, but the tribe netted. On a good year the recs take around 200 fish. In the end the tribe took just over 5000. I talked to the state later and they were glad they closed it as the chum just barely made escapement. The 200 fish were probably within margin of error.

Krijack. I know the Park has compiled data going back Decades showing Sport Catch & Tribal Catch.

I haven't seen it or asked for it, but I know that there has been a continues decline for decades. There is some belief that if things continue Status Quo it could lead to extinction of the Queets Wild Steelhead. An escapement goal of 2,500 fish is not a lot for a Pristine system like the Queets. It will be interesting to see how many days the Tribe nets & how many make it back to the Spawning Grounds.

Punch card records go back before there were any hatchery steelhead in the Queets. Wild steelhead enter the Queets, and have been caught, every month of the year. Queets steelhead were quite possibly the most diverse population in the state.

I did a quick search this afternoon and found this interesting article. https://wildsalmoncenter.org/wp-content/...puget-sound.pdf


While taking note of who the study was by, it still has some real interesting data points. One of the most interesting is this statement From 1905 to at least 1927, a fish cannery was in operation on the Queets River
(Cobb 1930). Steelhead were listed as canned in less than half the years from 1912 to
1927 when there was a record of how many cases of each species were packed. As
indicated previously, steelhead brought higher prices sold fresh and it was the preferred
market. Because of that, most steelhead probably were not canned but sold for the fresh
market. Therefore, they may not have always shown up in the commercial catch record.
Nevertheless, in 1923, 1,500 cases of steelhead were packed at the Queets cannery (Cobb
Historic Steelhead Abundance 104
1930) with each case containing 48 one pound cans (72,000 lbs). Myers (2005) indicated
that although 50% wastage is figured for chinook during canning, because steelhead are
smaller and thinner wastage may have been ~70%. This would mean that 240,000
pounds of steelhead had been processed by the cannery on the Queets River (the nearby
Quinault and Hoh Rivers had their own canneries). The average steelhead in the Queets
River tribal catch in 1934 weighed 9.8 pounds (hand written notes in the data sheets from
Taylor 1979). The steelhead catch processed at the cannery in 1923 would have been
24,490 steelhead. If harvest was 50% of the run size, the return would have been 48,980
steelhead; if harvest was 30% of the run size, the lower end of the harvest range used by
Myers (2005), the Queets River return would have been 81,633 wild winter steelhead >>>>



The numbers of salmon mentioned in the Queets system is mind boggling. An interesting read for sure if someone has the time.

Winter steelhead season news release

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WADFW/bulletins/37da305

Hopefully, we will hear good news about the Grays Harbor rivers soon...

12/10/23



I'm thinking, what you see it what "we get".


About 40+ years to late for steelhead. The merge of WDG and WDFW in 1995-96, kinda sealed the fate of Wild Steelhead in this area of the state. The out pouring from this merger, pro commercial salmon, closeness to the population centers, lots of "bucks" to buy boats, pay for guides, tribal netting, led to the downfall of the fish that many want to chase, even over salmon....

You gota make a choice.....head North, above Queets or head South, Willapa area or the other areas along I-5. Price of fishing, gas.... going up...

I'm not sure why anyone thinks there is something in the works. This is exactly what they did last year, shut down salmon early and then kept it closed. WDFW facebook page will now have lots of "opportunity" posts. Stocker trout, perch, pikeminnow, clams, etc. More diversion that nobody cares about.

Co-mismanagement.

And the QIN net on. . .
fb

are they netting? They were out the whole month of November

They couldn't have been netting in these high water conditions so far in December.