30.7 pound steelhead was caught on the quinault river last sunday.really big ones are starting to roll in now.

Which guide was this person fishing with?

heard rumor of a 40+ taken from a net in one of the rivers up this way ... didn't see it myself, but I guess it was for sale at Pike Place.

Tandy Charley was the guide. Talked with Tandy, I'll get a pic up as soon as Tandy gets it to me.

[This message has been edited by potter (edited 02-02-2001).]

All I can say is, if a 40-lb steelhead was bought at Pike Place, I hope the purchaser chokes on a fish bone. That's about enough to make me barf.

Agreed Dan I hope the person chokes on it!!TM

SRBC Boyz

Not only do I hope the person chokes on a bone, but I hope that they wrote a bad check so the merchant gets screwed!

40 pounder? c'mon. I think someone had a 40 ouncer...or two.

I think potter hit the nail on the head 40 ouncer more like, but wouldn't you love to see a steelie that big, what all are dreams are made of .

Potter ... don't you think steelies get big elsewhere?? All tackle record is over 42 pounds and I have personally seen fish in the the 35 pound class range on the more northern WA coastal streams ... and another nice thing about them, they're open to the public

Hey potter was just wondering,if you think the river will stay in shape for awhile.I,ve never fished it before,But i have a trip with tandy for tues. the 6th.I,ve got my fingers crossed.My buddie says the river will be out.By the way i,m from muckleshoot.

I was down @ the Pike market yesterday, and among the several iced down nates on display was the biggest damn buck steelhead I have personally layed eyes on....I was guessing it at 30+ but with it's guts yanked out of it, ready for sale, It could have been heavier? I don't know if it was this infamous fish but it really doesn't matter none of those fish should be there !!

There was a doz. or so people around the counter, I mentioned that it was pretty sad to a lady looking them over, she asked why? I breifly told her about the state of affairs with the fisheries, As I suspected she had no idea things where as bad as they are................................................Saw her ten minutes latter having her steelhead tossed up to be wraped?! So even when people know; they don't care.

Fishwhacker, I bet that lady would have left if people were there protesting. Very sad to see big nates like that being killed, just think of the loss to the gene pool. We need to get this waste of the resource on the evening news cast. That would curtail the sale at pike place market.

I have fished with Tandy in the past. He's a good guide and used to be a pretty darn good pitcher in his younger days. I'm trying to understand the Pike Street Market thing as it relates to an individual catching big nates with a guide. My understanding is that the Quinault is a reservation river, not subject to Wash. State fishing regulations. So if an individual catches large nates on that river with a guide should he/she be doing it on a catch and release basis? I would think the person could keep it if they want to in this case and not feel guilty. I trust the Quinaults are interested in preserving their wild run. Also, do the Quinaults sell any of these steelhead for retail sale to the fish markets for the benefit of their tribe? If this is true, should the indian tribes agree to call a moratorium along with the sportsfishermen to stop the marketing of any wild steelhead, to eliminate the demand for it in the retail marketplace? Should hatchery steelhead be sold in the marketplace? Help me better understand the issue. Thanks

I've never fished there, but the Quinault operate their own hatchery, and their sport fishery in the lower river is C&R. In general their fishery management is probably better than the State's. Or at least thats what I've heard. If true, they're entitled to market fish as they see fit.
Sorry, I guess that's the bitter pill of truth, and at least from that point of view, the Quinault Tribe deserves credit.

The other side of the coin is that they only manage their own river, and on their own reservation. However they harvest in the Hump, Chehalis, and other of-reservation waters, and claim the Cowlitz as their accustomed and traditional fishing grounds. That's where I begin to have a problem, (and a reallybig problem over the Cowlitz). We have no way of knowing where the fish are taken, or how, and the lay public doesnt care.
I have to wonder how we'd have to go about re-educating the public, in light of their "help the poor indian" sentiment, or is it just a futile gesture in the order of jousting windmills.
One thing's for sure, they're NOT going to stop eating fish no matter how endangered the species become.

You guys don't have a clue .Do you think there should be a nation inside a nation?TM

------------------
"Just say HELL no to sovereign nation!!!!!"
SRBC Boyz

I agree with TM, there should not be a Nation within A Nation,We all classify ourselves as americans weather it Native- Americans, African-Americans, Mexican-Americans. or just plain old Americans, We should all be treated EQUALLY, As the Equal Footing Doctrine reads, We are all Americans and should be Equal, None above the Law with special privledges, And supported by others Tax dollars

Bob-In the last 20 years over 200,000 steelhead have been processed by the tribal fish house in taholah from the Queets, Quinault, Humptulips, and Chehalis. Not one has been over 35 pounds. Is 40 possible? yes. Is the rumor probable? No

Native Pride-The river is in great shape today. 2/3/01

OLD Rookie3-Ya lost me, sorry

'Head hunter-The lower river is not c&r, it's optional. The Quinaults steelhead off-rez harvest is limited to the Hump, Chehalis, Copalis, and Moclips. On-rez is Queets and Quinault.
No Cowlitz, it's out of the "U & A"

[This message has been edited by potter (edited 02-03-2001).]

There was an article in STS magazine about the all-tackle world record steelhead that Bob mentioned. It was 42 pounds 2 ounces caught by eight year old David White off Bell Island,Alaska. It was blind in one eye and the damage to the eye extended to the pituitary gland causing the fish to never sexually mature. Evidently the fish never got the urge to head back to the river to spawn and just swam around eating and growing until it got caught.

40# is very possible. Every few of years the nets on the Quileute take a fish bigger than 35. Every year there are multiple fish over 30 taken.

I heard of a 35ish taken the day after Christmas but never saw it. But heard it from three reliable sources.

The biggest ive heared taken out of the Quileute was taken april 91 in a net it was just over 37#.

I heard of a 38# taken on the Hoh a few years ago.

So I do believe in 40# steelhead and this year might be the year we see it.

A couple of years back there was an article in STS that mentioned (no joke) a 50+ pound steelhead caught in commercial nets, up in Alaska. If my memory serves me right, I believe it contained a picture of it. I've got a picture of (36) pounder caught in the Quinault a few years back. Yes! These fish can get huge. How many fish have you lost that you suspected to be a monter? You just never know. That's a big part of the thrill of hooking a steelhead. You just never know how big it might be!%$#!!

exstream is correct.

The fish was caught in a commercial salmon net in the Babine, if I remember correctly. The fish barely fit length-wise in the revival tank so they knew the length of the fish. With the picture they conservatively estimated the girth and came up with something around 50 pounds!

It is, without a doubt, the finest fish I have ever seen. It was an STS article.

TK

Doubt that a 40 lber ends up in the fish market for a buck a lb, more likely in a taxidermist shop for $100 a lb. $1500 dollars for a 28 lber and a $100 a lb for every pound over that. New market out there now for the big ones.

Man, if I ever catch a Steelhead over 30# I'm going to Mount it, and then release it of course!

It'd be sweet to hook a fish that big. But you won't see me paying any Indian guides to do so.

If that fish came out of Quinault,Good for them.
But if that fish came out of the Chehalis of the Hump.. ..so much for keeping that fish in the Gene pool.
Targeting Native Fish in other systems is just plain WRONG!!!!!....Os

the fish came out of the quinault and i was told it was a hatchery fish, they do grow pretty big down here due to the hatchery program that they started down here in the 70's. not all of the fish that are labeled "wild" are wild fish, they do that to let people know they are eating a fish that has ate real food and not something that some person has made. 'pellets'. bob it's just a business just like you do, anyone can fish down here if you want, all you need is a little cash. good luck on your hatchery program up there. i hope it has success just like the one down here. i have one of your friends coming down here monday, he owns the thriftway in forks.

Whats Tandy's number?

Sorry Blueback, it's not quite the same. I live and guide on river S ... anybody can come fish river S. Some people fish it on their own, some don't, they opt to hire a guide. Doesn't matter who you are, you're free to fish it.

Then to the south, there is river Q. River Q can only be fished if you either have people with heritage I or pay lots of money.

Nope, sorry, not the same. Please note, this is not intended to be "racist" ... I just don't agree with any "special" groups having having special rights, period.