Hooks, shmooks......cowlitzfisherman knows what he is talking about. What all of you don't see first hand is hurting you.
I don't care what they (WDFW) say about the environment, el nino, la nina, global warming, barbed hooks, endangered species, over developement, air pollution, it is all a bunch of SH**!
The number one reason fish all over the state are suffering is because of netting, commercial and indian. I watch the indians rape the hell out of the Green River every year. I think if more people saw what was really going on they would be a little more upset because their property taxes are going up to protect the endangered Puget Sound Chinook. The worst part of all this is that at the tribal hangout (launch) on the Green there is always a WDFW truck parked there.

To clarify I meant a barbed hook ban because the studies have shown that barbed hooks increase hooking mortality. I have not seen significant evidence when comparing single versus treble hooks.

If anyone has any studies that would discount this I would love to see them!!

And in regards to other arguement about who is at fault and who we shall blame, the blame lies squarely on US-as a society. We are overpopulated and have managed to urbanize and pollute our enviroment and rape our forests and oceans. While taking on the larger fight for growth management and protection for our rural and forested areas we must make the small sacrficies that we can to help save our fisheries which includes barbless hooks.

We are the first to point fingers but are the last ones to act!! What have you done to save our wild salmonids as of late???? I'd love to hear about it!!!!!!!

Yeah, we know Carl. Any suggestions? Perhaps an "Alar scare" to decrease consumption of netted fish? You know, if you eat salmon and steelhead your pecker will go limp or something?

Looking back at my post, it may have came across as self-righteous so I want to bring it up before someone else does.

What I was trying to get at is that I get so frustrated with the b*tching and comaplaing and blaming with regards to our fisheries but when someone or a group wants to do what they can to fix the problem, they are flamed as extremist liberals and/or self-righteous yuppies etc. etc.

[ 12-27-2001: Message edited by: RPetzold ]

I support single barbless hooks for many reasons but the best is to keep it simple to understand. SINGLE BARBLESS HOOKS ONLY No more questions about what where. The regs are complicated enough.

I have recently changed all my plugs that will be used while native fish are present to single siwash hooks due to the extended time it takes ME to unhook a terble hook(s). I realize all others may not have this problem but for the sake of the fish hooked by the those who do I support the use of manditory single barbless hooks.

Not really complaining about who is at fault there is enough debate about that one. I would rather not see more regulation leading to more regulation. Like Cowlitzfisherman pointed out what is next line weight, so on and so forth. After all barbed or barb less can be a personal choice.

As for making sacrifices how about each of us just make ten less fishing trips during peak season to the river next year? Think of the fish that will get through to spawn! That could be made into regulation by assigning alphabetical only fishing days for license holders.

Dan S.

I think the "limp pecker" scare tactic might be worth pursuing LMAO

[ 12-27-2001: Message edited by: KORE ]

SkaGuy (as in the music???)-
No offense but that is a red herring!! Barbless hooks regs have been used to aide, rebuild and create excellent fisheries in the past 20 years so passing a barbless hook regulation would be nothing new.

It is not some regulation being pulled out of thin in air so there is no reason to believe that some other assonine regulation would be pulled out of thin air as well (line wieght restrictions, etc.)!

[ 12-27-2001: Message edited by: RPetzold ]

Ryan,

Achieving your goal may be easier than you think. Based on the assumption that 10% catch 90%, all you have to do is to convince the 10% to go barbless year around and the other 90% can do whatever they want. Now few of those 10% that visit this site claim to catch 95% of the 90%. I don't want to name names here but you know who they are. so your work might even be easier.

sparky, face it, your part of a special intrest group and that group is "catch and release fisherman".

According to the survery done by the WDFW this past year 60%+ fisherman want wild steelhead release. How does that make us a special intrest group???

sparky, do you realy think that 60 percent of the fisherman are "catch and release" fisherman ?, has it ever entered your mind that there is a difrence in "catch and release wild steelhead" and "release all wild steelhead" ?

That is what the survey asked and 60%+ replied they would be in favor of statewide wild steelhead release year-round.

sparky, on the homepage of the wsc in the mission statement it says that the wsc wants year round "catch and release" of wild steelhead, if it said "year round release" of wild syeelhead i wouldnt veiw it as a special intrest group. i agree that 60 percent want release of wild steelhead but dont confuse everyone and say 60 percent want catch and release of wild steelhead.

I'll pass on the barbless hooks... It's just setting yourself up for more and more restrictions. Next thing you know you'll have a special permit drawing to fish specific rivers.

Concentrate more on the true issues that are hampering the runs. Nets, dams, predators, etc..
What's your next questions Ryan, Bait bans???
Keith

Personally, I'm for no more restrictions. Currently, sportsmen pay more and get less every year. Here is a section from an article I've read about barbless hooks.


Anglers also often are mistaken when they assume that barbless hooks increase the survival of released fish. Not true, Goeman said.

"There's been a lot of research done on this, including with trout fisheries out West," said Goeman. "It started to come out 10 or 15 years ago that barbless hooks didn't decrease mortality, and it was a shock to the scientific community. It makes sense to the layman that barbless hooks would be the answer, and it even makes sense to scientists, but the science doesn't bear it out."


Barbless hooks accomplish one thing — they aid the angler in removing the hook and perhaps reducing the time the angler spends holding the fish. But, all things considered, the fish still fights and can sustain injuries that ultimately could kill it after it's released.

"Barbless hooks do not reduce hooking mortality, period," Goeman said.


The entire article can be read here

Why should the group that does by far, the least damage, continue to get the most restricions and penalties? When I go fishing, my goal is to hook and land a fish. Communing with nature, getting fresh air, etc is just a bonus. I want to catch fish and whatever benefits I can give myself, the better.

Some may argue that since we can't stop netting yet or bring down dams we should at least do "our part". Well, in the big picture, "our part" doesn't mean jack ****. If every sport caught native was released in perfect health, the runs would continue to diminish almost just as quickly as they are now because, pay attention now, sportsmen are not the problem.

[ 12-28-2001: Message edited by: JacobF ]

boater:




I'm not being facetious here boater. That sentence confuses me. What is the difference between those 2 phrases? 60% don't want wild steelhead caught before being released?

RPetzold


You said;

"According to the survey done by the WDFW this past year 60%+ fisherman want wild steelhead release. How does that make us a special intrest group???"

Did you ever stop to think that every survey is designed to get the results that it wants! WDFW is so darn bias when it comes to "wild" fish recovery that it is almost funny! Just stop and think about it for a few moments. WDFW can sit on their fat duffs (as usual) and do nothing but spend our money on their jobs without doing a damn thing to produce fish that we can catch and yes, KILL!

Not to long ago I was told that WDFW was forming a brand new advisory group of citizens who supposably represented all the different aspects of fishing and hunting interests. I was told by one of the WDFW staff that among others, my name was one that was proposed for what was to be called "the round table".

I was also told that I was not chosen because I am to outspoken on my fishing interests! I have worked with many WDFW personal for the last 17 years and known them well. WDFW does not want anyone who may have a different opinion, then theirs, having anything to do that may change their current fish managing polices (guard job at all costs).

Do you really think that WDFW has one single person on this new "Round Table" that promotes catch and KILL? (well maybe one gillnetter) You can bet your last dime that they have all been chosen because they support WDFW catch and release policy. If WDFW really cared about saving "wild" steelhead, they would immediately stop the gill netting on the Columbia River. Believe what you want, but common sense tells you (and most others) that hook and release won't do a damn thing to restore wild steelhead runs as long as the nets keep killing them. Where is the logic to make us use barbless hooks at one point, and then release the fish unharmed, just to go around the corner and get entangling to death in some gill net?

First, the nets must come out, and then we will see if hook and release is needed. I am all for hook and release if removing the nets don't do the job! Common sense tells most of us that everything else is just spitting into the wind. Let's put every recovery effort in its rightful order and then see what else is truly needed to recover our wild steelhead runs. Dam removal, habitat enhancement, hook and release will do nothing until the nets get out of our rivers!

RPetzold, I understand that once someone has practice what they preach that it is hard to change. I have also talked to a lot the "common" type fishermen, and believe me, they are not supporters of any new barb less hooks restrictions.

That's mine and a lot of others 2 cents worth.

Cowlitzfisherman

Is the taste of the hook worth the sting of the bait????

[ 12-28-2001: Message edited by: cowlitzfisherman ]

boater,

Try making some sense. What are you going to do.....release fish you haven't caught?

JacobF,

Don't quote a guy talking about walleye, bass, and other spiny rays. This discussion is about steelhead. That 10% figure is BS when discussing steelhead.

I could take it or leave it. I believe the effect on the run would be insignificant, but I guess it wouldn't hurt.