I fish the Quillayute system pretty regularly in the winter and last year I hired a local guide from Forks (to remain nameless)to row my first float down the Calawah. I was very impressed with his knowlege and approach to this technical water. The trip was great but eventually the subject of drift nets came up. We shared our disgust over this and he mentioned that these indians sell this bounty for $.50 a pound out of the back of a pickup truck in La Push. I was shaking my head when he told me that sometimes buys them. I got too mad. I wanted to throw him out of his own boat. I would hope that any one that appreciates this resource would not spend even one red cent to support these indians. I even yell at my fishing buddies for going to their casino. Think about it.

I totally agree, I would never buy salmon or steelhead from a supermarket let alone a Native American using nets. I would rather starve than eat safeway fish. I need to feel like I caught the fish with my own skill not from somebody else using A net. This topic could easily take you into an argument about catch and release but thats another story.

I went on a saltwater charter out of LaPush this past Saturday. (the fishing was great) During the course of the day, the subject of nets on the Quilleute system came up, because we were saying how amazing the fishing would be on those rivers if they weren't netted at all. The captain said that the LaPush tribe is starting to change their ways, they are just now starting to realize that they can make way more money from the resource if they guide people, or build a lodge, or do anything that caters to sportsmen, rather than netting the fish and getting $0.50 or $0.70 a pound... the fact is that most sportsmen would gladly pay $125 to get hooked up with a 20lb steelhead, which this year would only be worth about $15 if it was sold out of a net.
He said the biggest problem is some of the tribal elders, they don't trust the government, and are of the opinion that if the tribe stops gillnetting altogether, they might lose their rights to net fish (again).
If you've read any of the history of the Quilleute tribe, you can't really blame the elders for being paranoid, these are the people that had all their houses burned to the ground while they were away picking berries or something. A white man (Daniel Paddon? I forget his name) staked claim to their traditional village site and burned their longhouses while the bulk of the natives were away foraging at that time of year. Then they lost their rights to fish at all for like 90 years, so I can understand the elders' suspicions.
Hopefully they will change their minds and stop the bulk of their netting soon, though.

-N.