Don't know if this is really true or not but this is what I have heard. Those planes that fly up and down the river are actually counting the nuber of boats in the river. Then they apply the average of the boats checked by the fish counters to the number of boats in the river. Example, if the plane counts 1,000 in the river on a given day and the checkers look at 100 boats that retained 50 fish, then they will figure 500 fish retained for the 1,000 boats counted that day.

Like I said, this is just something that I have heard on a few occasions and I do not know if this is true or not. Has anybody else ever heard of this before???

Here is an expalnation of the early closure.
http://www.columbian.com/03272003/sports/23764.html

Kind of kills my plans.

It feels like my dog just died. I don't have a dog, but if I did and he died, this is how I would feel.

This whole thing stinks of the Fish and Wildlife Commission being in bed with the commercials. Most of the members are either former commercial fisherman or believe that they need to be kept fishing no matter what. It's a total crock of crap and one more time the sport fisherman get the short end of the stick. It's funny how they can actually know the numbers much better with the commercials and yet they never close them until "after they realize they got more than they should've". Then they use estimation and ridiculous formula's to calculate what we've caught. Here in Puget Sound the Commission gave 80% of the non-indian 50% share to a group of 17 commercial boats. The sport fisherman get the remaining 20%. That means we'll probably have about a 4 to 7 day fishery and it will close. If anybody has a great idea as to how we could effect a change in this kind of crap I would love to be part of it.

Sorry. I was so angry I forget to note that the Puget Sound fishing I was referring to was the prawn season.

Criminal waste of state resources, that. The fish were given away to the commercials at less than it costs to produce them in the hatcheries, then the sport fishery that provides a return to the economy of many times what is invested gets cut off, right through the weekend, in this year of already lousy economy. And the gas tax is going up. Where is frickin' sue happy WT on a real issue

I'm too old to get pissed off AGAIN!!

SOOOOOO...........THANKS, GUTZ!! Made me laugh! (can relate to the feeling too!)

I couldn't agree with you guys more. I was fishing near longview last week on Thursday through Sunday and never once did I see a fish and game person. I did see some fish caught but nothing too extraordinary. I think all of us want to protect the resource but this seems way too restrictive. The springers are just starting to come, it's only now April! I think it's ridiculous!

RM

I saw what happened to the loggers when the crap hit the fan, hell I grew up in it and doing it. But it was time for a change (way overdue by some counts). And the timber industry is way better than it used to be. I know its not perfect...not my point.
I will be very happy when the last of the commercial fishing boys goes the way of the profitable logger.
Oh I won't hold my breath that they will all be gone someday, I know better than that, There will be some that will become "enviromentaly friendly" and find markets willing to pay what their product will cost. And thats fine by me.
But for the majority it is already to the point that they can't hardly exist with out "corporate welfare" from the state and feds, and I guess when enough of a rukus is raised that will be cut off too.
I JUST WISH IT WAS TODAY!!!!!!!
It just amazes me that these idiots will keep fishing when the price is so low they lose money, or sure as hell should be! How friggin long before these guys die out? Or the powers that be reorganize them to some type of "sutsainable harvest" type plan?(Hold yer breath)
Hmmm methinks I sound like a broken record
If you use up the resource then you don't have a resource to use, If there is no resource THERE IS NO REVENUE! At some point can someone get this through to the idiots making the decisions( they have such a stellar track record for making good calls for the betterment of the species( I can't find a puking smiley to put here))

Yeah chalk me up as P.O.ed
The 19th is my b-day and the trip to St Helens was my Present....

Cabo in Oct

Just too bad to close almost all the fishing on the Columbia. And yes , I feel the same as you do micropterus 101, I too go down for the shad and have to pay the price. Things could change latter if the upper runs get better, look what they've done when they closed the the dam to get on the island to fish the faster water due to terrorist scare. At least they haven't shut down the whole stretch of the wind for fishing. Guess I'll have to stick with the trout fishing.

Robert

Was at Bobs yesterday.They had a news bulletin on the counter from wdfw.Stating the steelhead and shad regs. would be unchanged.it will still be open.