Someone posted this on another thread.

http://www.leg.wa.gov/wac/index.cfm?fuseaction=Section&Section=220-56-215

So, in fresh water does this mean I have been wrong all along and that a fish hooked anyplace on the head is legal?? I would like to know who is going to volunteer to try to get passed Mr. Warden with this page in his hand.

Can anyone shed some light on why this would exist when it seems to contradict everything I have read or been told on legally hooked fish??

Does that mean its legal to snag fish in saltwater??? Such as Hoodsport? That doesnt make sense to me.

Don't believe it Steve.

The rantings of the Bulletin Board Barristers supercedes the law.

If you hook a fish in the outside of it's mouth it's not legal so you are advised to just hand it over to me for proper disposal of the evidence.

It states freshwater. No Plunker, don't worry about me! I don't keep anything not hooked inside the mouth out. As a matter of fact, I make every fish I keep sign a sworn affidavit that he in fact willingly and purposely bit my hook and that I reeled him in tenaciously, yet fairly. If I reel one in foul-hooked, I also make him sign a sworn affidavit that he/she in fact did not bite my hook, but in fact maliciously and intentionally impaled him/herself onto my hook in an attempt to either get a free ride, or to commit suicide by hickory stick.

I just saw this guy getting pounded for snagging and he presented this as his defense. Nobody responded to it and I simply was curious as to what everyone thought about it since I have never seen this before. I do see in the freshwater rules that a fish hooked in the mouth, tongue or eye should be kept if legal to do so. I was wondering ok, when is it legal to do so?????

Steve - It seems to me that the key to legality would be in whether or not you intended to hook the fish without it voluntarily biting. I won't sign nuthin' though.

I'm sticking my neck out here so everyone with an axe to gring better sharpen it up and whack it while its on the block.

And yes, I has been legal to snag salmon in salt water in the past but that might not be the case today. There may have been a recent rule change for the salt but I do believe that an unintentionally snagged fish may be retained.

Can someone help us here with a clarification on snagging in the salt?

Just how do you classified snagging, Question? Your out in the sound no action for hours, suddenly your rod releases feels like a big fish, come to find out after bringing the fish to the boat its hooked in the belly, now i know you did not delibertly snagg the fish but was it inticed to slap your offering because it wasn't hungry? you apparently got its attention with what you had to offer, (called fishing?) so he lost the battle by getting hooked with what you had to offer, not delibertly taking by mouth but delibertly taking a chance at a fishes point of view? and your going to tell me YOU snagged that fish in all that open water? No it's not the way i like to see fish come to the boat , but why is that situtation unethical?

Snagging is attempting to catch a fish in such a way that it doesn't willingly take the hooks into it's mouth . anything else is a snagged fish and terefore illegal

snaggin really sucks, so my suggestion is to follow a practice i believe in, and that is every time you all hook a fish, before you real in just cut your line, as no one has anything to ***** about.

It's been a while but it's been my understanding that any fish hooked outside the mouth was considered foul hooked and had to be released with the exception of areas where snagging was specifically allowed. Have things changed that much?

The confusion is understandable. I talked with head legal beagle for WDFW Evan Jacoby a few weeks back on this same issue.

There are two sets of rules: one for salt and one for fresh.


In Saltwater it is legal to keep a fish that is snagged as long as the fish was not intentionally snagged...Warden discretion as to what was intentional.

In Freshwater the fish must have voluntarily taken the "hook" into its mouth. The old thought of anything in front of the gillplates is gone.

Jim