i've been fishing very successfully on a local river where 99% of the people out there are throwing yarn and lead. i've been experimenting with jigs, eggs, pink worms, and sandshrimp, all with varying degrees of success. i've been hooking about a half-dozen fish a day, very few foul hooks. my question is: some of these fish i land legally have a hook/yarn/corkie hanging off their back or tail, do you keep this fish and take the chances with the warden or release it??i've kept a couple like this(5-10 lb hens)and luckily haven't seen a fish checker. i'd hate to get in trouble with a legally hooked and landed fish especially when most of the people i see are "lining" their fish, bonking it, taking the hook out of it's ass, then their on their way home. what do you all think????

Why should you be reponsible for the misdeeds of others? If you fair hooked it, bonk it. I wouldn't give the additional decorations another thought.

You can put the additional decorations on your ball cap or Christmas Tree.

I snap my leader and leave my hook in place. I have been checked and have never had them do more than look at the hook in the mouth and the hook on the end of my line.

I'm not saying this doesn't happen but it's pretty hard to get a fish to bite after they've been through this kind of trauma. The duck

Fish checkers don't write game violations, they only check fish. Only Game wardens or officers of the state can write a violation ticket! That fish can have a thousand hook marks on it, and yes, it can even have lots of net marks on it! You have to be caught in the act of snagging before the man can write you a ticket.

Cowlitzfisherman

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

You didnt mention what river you are on but it sounds like the Skokomish. I was checked a few weeks ago by a Game Warden and had to show him a hook mark in its mouth. When he checked me my fish had several marks on its side and I guess this got his attention. Another thing: Last year on the Quilcence we were checked for barbless hooks. We used our pliers to bend down the barbs, this Game Warden took a piece of cloth and ran our hooks thru it. If it stuck to the cloth we would have gotten a ticket!! Others did for not bending down their hooks enough. Always do whats right because their out there checking!!

I was also thinking it was the Skok Fishaddict, i've fished there 3 times and hit 2 big hens the first one i hit had hookmarks in it but it shook the hooks that fish had my hook in its tounge the fish i hit yesterday had a led wrapped treble in its side and a corkie and yarn combo in its back but my stuff was in its mouth again. i do agree tho duck it is hard to get them to bite but ive hooked legal fish there everytime, i just keep trying different colors til one works.

TTT

Tyler, That lead wrapped treble is a skokomish dry fly. Wait till the little kid walks up behind you and throws that sucker over your shoulder to snag the fish you have been casting at. Kind of makes euthanasia look pretty good.
grumpyr

obviously it is the skok, but rather to contrary to my own beliefs, these fish still do bite. i just wish others would realize this also....

ps by the way, i did manage to catch one of those skokomish dry flies on one of the bucks i released yesterday....aren't those things some dandies?!???!!

Fresh snag marks bleed. Thus leave the decorations stuck in the fish until you get home. Trying to remove a rig, especially if it's barbed, will leave a suspicious scar. Enforcement expects a few rigs to be stuck in places other than the mouth. Just be prepared to show a fresh wound in the area from the gillplate forward.

Foul hooking is not always intentional, it is possible that the fish was accidently foul hooked and rather than handle the fish the person just cut their leader.

If it wasn't you that foul hooked the fish. Then you have no worries. If you want the fish keep it and feel good about it.

I have also run into this lately, and i just release some of them.

Now I'm wondering something... Will it make things better to just cut the hook with some wire cutter thingies i have? Just a cut along the shank maybe?

With those big trebles it almost seems just like the right thing to do.

Thanks
Curtis

This brings up another question and comment.

I DON'T THINK ANY FISH SHOULD BE KEPT THAT IS NOT IN THE MOUTH.

But people say as long as the hook is near the mouth, head,gill plate it is legal. Where does it say it is ok for head shots in the reg ?

The 2002 regs does not mention any where that you can't keep a snagged fish either
( somebody know where it says this). It is illegal to snagg a fish but says nothing about keeping a fish that is snagged.

I called the Olympia office and asked the person about the hook near the head being ok to keep and where in the regs does it say a snagged fish could not be kept.

She was unable to help but took my name and number to relay to a F&G officer who will answer those questions.

To avoid any problems or questions don't snag and keep the fish that bite only.

I've been fishing the Skok pretty steady Eddie this year, long leaders 3-4' Black or Green corky and eggs wham. And for those damn snagel pusses my cellphone . Today, people showed up and they just had bare hooks some people don't even want to learn how to fish, just how to snag. God these fish are beautiful. I seem to remember from the eye forward except for the top of the head could be considered fair but like you guys I can't find it in the regs. after a heated discussion I left next time, I call. Next time, we all call.

Ok ,I just talked to the game dept. law office and this is what they said.

The stated rule ( ok to keep fish with hook fwd of gill plate) is not in the 2002 rules because it has been revised and is under the revision RCW law of the F&G. It still stands no snagged fish may be kept ( you hear that snaggers) and avove the Gill Plate only if it is legal to do so.
Also F&G officers may not issue a ticket for checking a fish and seeing hook marks on the body. Only if they witness an act can they issue the ticket for snagging. It is ok to pull out any hook that was in the fish that was there previous to your catch . The main reason for not allowing snagged fish to be kept is to deter the act of snagging fish.
No Duh !

Drivers...

I told you so!

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

You are right Cowlitz.

Btw, something interesting that happened on my home river (elwah) last year- There were natives snagging on the res. side of the river, and one of them broke off their big 12/0 trebles on a coho. my fishing partner/teacher was fishing the same hole, and caught the fish by the treble- the hook from his spoon actually hooked into the eye of the treble hook. kind of a poetic justice, if you ask me