What is everyones opinion on this? I know it's legal but by buying these eggs is this supporting gillnetting? On a recent trip through the Columbia gorge near Cascade Locks I noticed that some of the tribal netters were offering eggs for sale. I like using eggs myself but would never do this and I think anyone calling themself a responsible sports anglers should never buy gill net eggs. Just my opinion though.
Stew

"There isnt anymore God Damn fish in our rivers!! Damn Indians killing all our fish!! Shoot 'em all!!! Oh by the way, I got a great deal on some eggs, $4 a pound, those Columbia River commercial guys are selling them dirt cheap and they are damn good eggs!!! WOOHOO!!! And kill all them river netting fish killing Indians!! Did I tell you??? I GOT EGGS!!!"

What some people will do for eggs!!

[ 01-23-2002: Message edited by: RPetzold ]

if you are using eggs, ( which i am not opposed to ) then you must have killed a fish to get the eggs. eggs are kinda messy and i prefer to use lures. i think the indians will continue to fish, even if no one buys eggs for bait.there is a huge market for eggs overseas. people like to eat those things.

I remember getting "jumped on" by quite a few folks when I offered to get eggs for those who needed them a few months ago. I bought 10 pounds for a few folks who will remain nameless. The gillnetters ended up getting paid 35 cents per pound for the fish they sold to my client, a fishbuyer, so they got $3.50 of my money. My client got the remaining $31.50. The benefit to them was minimal.

My eggs that I use came from fish that I caught, or eggs that I "egg whored" cleaning fish for other folks at the fish cleaning stations at Sekiu. I remember cleaning fish for one board member and his passnegers who forgot their knife.

Call me irresponsible if you want, but I was helping out fellow fishermen, which is a lot more than I can say of some of my critics. It seems that all they can do is to be critical of others. I have made many offers for fishing and hunting on this board. I have connected with 7 other PP members and am confident that they would say that I am a man of my word. I offer to take someone before I try to mooch trip, and I have had many offers that I hope to take advantage of in the future.

So with that said, take a look at all of a person's actions before you judge them, not just one particular action.

Andy

I remember that topic and you were jumped on by me and couple others but you actually recieved alot of support and was I flamed for flaming you.

To me, it seems that we are the first ones to *****, first ones to complain and the first ones to call for genocide but we are the last ones to act. If we really want to make a differance, lets not support the gillnetters even if we need the eggs or they are recieving very little in return.

It is the very principle of the situation...and the hypocrisy!!

[ 01-23-2002: Message edited by: RPetzold ]

I never bought any before but I once ate some that an indian girl brought to school in junior high. If I remember correctly we had an unusually large teacher and got extra credit for brining in food. It happened to be washington state history and we were studying indian foods. Kind of salty and not very good. Taste alot like they smell.

I'd rather buy them than the asians across seas..
Keith
How else can you put away 200 lbs a year..

I give a big thumbs down for purchasing gillnet caught eggs. It is my opinion that if you buy eggs from the gillnet fisherman you are indirectly supporting the use of gillnets, that is providing a market. Yes there will always be a market for roe over seas, but don't provide a market here in the states. Do what you want, but with not many options for preventing gillnetting, one must do what they can. And Boycotting gillnet caught fish or fish roe is one way, albeit small, to make a statement.

A lot of the eggs we get we catch, but we also get them from the Guide shop. They get their eggs from hatcheries after they butcher fish. Should those eggs go to waste??
Keith

If it is a byproduct and ABSOLUTELY does not contribute to more killing, I don't think there is anything wrong with buying it. You get what you need and they make some money.

I do make a statement. I NEVER buy fish at the store. I never order fish in a restaurant. I only eat fish that I catch. I do buy some prawns, scallops, and crab occasionally.

I also fly fish sometimes, cast hardware and bait fish. So do I offend flyfishers when I cast a spoon, or use bait because I am not a 100% flyfisherman? Do I care? Not really.

I do loans for folks who want to buy charter boats, dairy farmers and loggers. Am I going to have folks give me a bad time about that because of the trickle down effect that all of these industries on the salmon stocks? Last year I helped lend over $2.5 million to folks in these industries. I think that I had a hell of a lot more impact because of those activities when compared to giving $3.50 in direct benefits to the gillnetting industry.

Do you folks drink milk or consume milk products? Do you live in houses made of wood? Have you ever gone out on a charterboat or worked in that industry? How dare you! Just think of the effect that you had on the fish.

You want to talk about hypocrisy, fine. Just look in the mirror before you do.

That is a cop-out!!...Yes, if you stopped buying eggs from the gillnetters, they would not stop fishing but you are supporting them.

And besides you do not NEED eggs. If you need to catch fish so badly that you need support an industry that is a major factor in the demise in our wild salmonid runs then I suggest you hang up your rods, tear up your license and head down to the counter at Safeway.

I may be coming off as a pompous ass but my biggest problem with this whole situation is the Indian bashing. Look at the threads that have taken place on this board the past week...how many were there dedicated to bashing the Indians?? So why is it Okay for the white man to gillnet but not the Indians??? They are both raping the resource and putting these fish in serious danger of exctinction...once somebodies answer this question I will get off my high horse but untill then I will not let it go.

Fishing is not about catching!!!...if it was then you wouldn't be steelhead and salmon fishing. Why the Hell must you support an industry that is killing our fish at the rare they are???? Oh, thats right...you need the god damn eggs. I'm sorry...fish can not be caught unless you have eggs. Give me a break!!!!

I said it before and I'll even say it again...Would you rather have go fishless tomorrow because you do not have eggs or go fishless in twenty years because there are no fish to be caught?!?!?!

Go take up bass fishing!!!!

There is a big differnace between giving up on dairy products, forest products and electricty and not fishing eggs because you do not have any!!! It is black and white...unless for some reason fishing with sandshrimp, spoons, flies etc. etc. instead of eggs drastically changes your quality of living and your life style!!!

...or maybe I am missing something. Maybe eggs provide some sort of spirtual or sexual experience that I am just missing out on...maybe not fishing eggs does drastically changes one lifestyle?!?!!? Am I missing something!?!?!?

Yo Sparkey,

Are the "white men" netting streams where the fish are more concentrated. How many times have you seen fish laying in the bottom of a "white mans" boat for days? How many "white men" take their catch and just rip the guts out for the eggs? How many "white man" nets have you seen laying on the shore so every damn animal in the world can get entangled? Shall I go on????

So the white-men commercials are perfect?? and the Indians are evil??

They both exhibit waste and un needed practices that are detrimental to the fish...Puget Sound is covered with Ghost Nets that are still fishing years and years and years since they were set. Where did most of these nets originate from??? Us...the white-man.

I am not saying the Indians are perfect but come on, they both rape our resources.

Ryan,
I fish to catch and I will catch more fish with bait (#1 eggs, then shrimp, prawns, herring etc..) than with flies or hardware. I haven't heard you ***** about the herring runs that are declining in which feed our fish at sea..
Reality is they are netting for "fish", and the eggs are surplus.. Would you be happy if they only netted the bucks..
I don't want to support netting but reality is they do it, and I'll take any surplus fresh eggs that are available to the public.
By the way in what year did we have runs that are better than this last years return. Them gillnetters sure got them all didn't they...
No offense ryan...
Keith

THE INDIANS HAVE THE RIGHT TO NET!!! some people are just smart enough to spell damn indians and thats it.If you are mad dont blame the indians for their legal right, blame the people who passed the laws.dont start ignorant banter about killing anyone. People amaze me with their bigotry.

So Ryan what do you really feel deep down inside about the use of eggs or any bait for steelhead?

Gooose :p

I for one have no qualms about using bait for steelhead. I use eggs, prawns, sandshrimp, coon shrimp etc. I only stated it was my opinion and choice not to buy eggs from fish that were caught in "gillnets". Now that is my choice. I didn't say it had to be everyones choice. I for one have seen the gillnets in the rivers, seen the damage first hand, and I am totally against their use in the rivers, and in the salt, due to the unselective nature of the nets. Due to the current laws, and legal situations, there is not much one can about removing tribal nets or changing current fishing methods in the salt. So instead of just b!tching and complaining about the current netting situation, I choose to boycott any fish or fish product caught in the nets, and try to encourage family and friends to do the same. Again, I state this is my choice.

Tap, tap.....Tap, tap. FISH ON!

(seems like someone took the bait)