Gotta agree with everyone who wants to totaly eliminate wild steelhead harvest. for being so weak as to even chance something like this happening. So from that day forward my policy and anyone in my boat releases anything that could possibly be of native origin. Funky dorsal doesn't mean squat to me. I go by the adipose only.

This brings to mind a question that has been floating around in my mind over the last month:

With the dismal return of hatchery steelhead this year will there be a greater urge for anglers to bonk that wild steelhead the rest of season? In my opinion, I believe it will.

when netting on the "Q" they have no control on whether they net natives or hatchery. the nets have no mercy on the natives. once the natives have been caught in the nets and are dead, it really dont matter what they use them for. i agree that it is a shame that these natives with impecable genes are being destroyed.

Sparkey,

I hear what your saying but the fact is, there will always be a demand for tribal sport fishing because of more liberal limits, less competition and, often, better fishing.

What about the idea that more tribal guys offering sportfishing packages instead of throwing out a gillnet might have a lower impact on the fishery? Granted, you still have mortality, but it would be lower and a step in the right direction. Tribal sportfishing guides would be at the mercy of weather and water conditions just as we are, thus, resulting in lower overall impact at season's end.

A quinalt tribal guide I know acknowledge more and more tribal fishers are realizing the potential for sportfishing and questioning gillnets as a source of income.

Like I said, not a perfect scenario but maybe a step in the right direction?

I agree with Eric. I would much rather have the Indians running guide trips than nets.

If they're guiding, than they'll have the same goals as us, more fish in the river to be caught on a hook and line.

They'll get more $ per fish killed (who knows they might even release some) and there will be more left over for the the rest of us.

Ok, let me get this straight. We're b!tching about wild steelhead being killed by tribal nets, and in the same breath advocating more tribal sportfishing on these same wild fish?

A dead fish is a dead fish!

Does it really matter if it was killed by a tribal gillnet or some meat-hungry "sportsman"? The end result is the same. If it could somehow become more economically feasible for tribal guides to conduct well monitored C&R fisheries, then maybe the end result of more fish overall to catch could be realized. But as long as there is a kill fishery on the Queets natives be it nets or hook and line, this WHOLE issue boils down to "sportsmen" being mostly angry about the fact that they didn't get their own shot to fill the freezer 'cause the tribes got 'em first.

I agree with a previous posts and that is not to book fishing trips on "indian" rivers, not buy fish from indians or any other market selling steelhead, and for sure not purchase eggs or fish if you know they were gill netted.

The biggest hippocrits I know are the guys that release natives but book trips to Cook creek and purchase pounds apon pounds of eggs from the indians. They just don't get it.

I agree with bob.

I dont buy anything from the indians. Take the market away and they will move on to casinos or something.

I also give alot of fish away to people who previously bought there fish from the indians.

The problem is as long as there are Japanees and non fisherpersons out there there will always be a market...

We should work together and try to save what few wild fish are left in some rivers....

I have visited the Quinalt hatchery on the lake. We were flooded out one day in February, and our "guide" (and buddy) took us up there to see the show. We watched them net the fish in the lake, bring 'em back and check for ripeness, then they "hi-grade" the acceptable fish into a pen for future spawning. The small, over-ripe, and unhealthy fish were bonked and left in a tote for the tribal members to use. They even offered us some, so we took a couple of bright bucks for the BBQ! I examined about 100 fish, and less than 10 were marked or clipped. The hatchery guys were very helpful, and a pleasure to converse with. They didn't utilize a fish unless it was over 14lbs, and they said (for what's worth) that the mass majority of the brood stock were of hatchery origin, thus alot of them were unclipped.(?)

I saw a fish that was like 33-34lbs that Letty got 2 seasons ago that she posted on her site. She was using it as a advertisement, but it was net caught! All the guys at the cannery said so, if you can believe that.

I agree that all steelhead should not be netted or sold, but unfortunately it's nearly impossible to stop a soverign nations "right".

soverign nation my A!!

4Salt,

The difference between them netting and them guiding is that their going to catch a lot less fish if they have to use hook and line, than if they use a net.

A dead steelhead is a dead steelhead, but there would be a lot less if they all guided as oppossed to netted.

And since the money they get from the fish isn't relying on the fish being dead, who knows some of them may even develop a C&R mentality.

The way I see it the indians are going to fish no matter what, and if they guide they will have less of an impact and be more likely go to C&R than if they net.

PS: I'm a C&R advocate. So I'll take it you weren't jumping to conclusions and refering to me with your "meat-hungry sportsman" comment.

No Bossman, I wasn't singling you out at all. The point I was trying to make was if the tribal guiding increased substantially, and netting were phased out, I'd bet for sure that close to the same amount of wild steelhead would still die. Let me pose this to you: What % of tribal guide clients do you think practice C&R now? My answer - Probably NONE! Those guys go to the Quinault TO HARVEST SOME FISH! So what's the real difference whether they die in nets or are bonked by clients. Again, NONE! The "meat-hungry" comment was my way of describing those who kill everything they catch. It's not necessarily a derogatory term, just a pretty accurate one unfortunately.

I think the Guiding aspect would be much better then the netting aspect, On any givin day the fish have at least a decent chance to get through, Not so on a net choked river, Some but not decent. And The Guide wiether or not a native American isn't making you keep the fish, It's your choice as a fisherman, And if you have the C&R values for Nates then It is a better way to go then The Nets that RAPE our waters, And I am neither a meat hungry fisherman. /The Beauty is knowing in years to come I will be fighting the ofspring from the nates that we release........ Protect your future and do what you can control/

Do any of you guys that actually catch a lot of steelhead really kill that many? Yeah, a brite brat or two is ok for the grill, but after I get done with salmon season I have already bbqd, smoked, canned, frozen, and given away to the family so many hatchery salmon - springers, chrome coho, and monsterous bright fall chinook - that I don't need or want steelhead meat. Hell, I even let hatchery steelhead go, as they continue to bite and are likely to be caught again my me or someone else. I guess the crackers that can only catch fish with a guide are maybe going to put a dent in the population if they are allowed to kill nates, but us 10/90%ers sure aren't or shouldn't be. And really, Bob TRBO - you have got it dead to rights insisting on releasing fish - you can then go nail them the next day with new clients and likely have done so way more than you know - these fish bite repeatedly and on the same kind of gear that caught them before - even hold in the same hole or types of holes. A good guide who is on the river all the time has got to be able to figure this out - it's a tremendous business advantage to release fish to catch them another day. I don't mind killing the salmon - they go zipperlipped right away and always die after spawning anyway, but steelhead keep on biting and spawning. Like I said before - seeing those dead steelhead makes me want to hurl