Once again, it's time for me to rant and rave about the snag fishery at the RV Park near the mouth of the Kalama River.

The F&W Commission recently changed the regs for the Kalama and the Washougal Rivers in an attempt to reduce the snagging that occurs every year. I was assured by a game warden back in July they would be hitting the lower Kalama real hard this year to put a dent in the snaggers. Well folks, I fished the Kalama on Monday and Tuesday. There wasn't a CO in sight. The snaggers lined the banks and yanked fish after fish out of the river by the tail, the fins, the gills, or any other body part. Nobody was throwing anything back either. Hooking them in the tail was as good as in the mouth or anywhere else. It was unbelievable.

I'm sure the CO's will show up some time this fall but unless they were there during the peak of the migration (late August/early Sept) their enforcement efforts are greatly diminished. Lots of people camp there during the Labor Day holiday, snag their limit of fish, and leave. They'll be back again next year too.

Contacting law enforcement will not help. They know there is a problem. They don't need me to tell them. They have so far refused to enforce the regs. The Kalama is a great river but it's being trashed by the snaggers in the lower end. I'm at my wits end. If there is a solution, someone please let me know. Perhaps a flies-only section from I-5 upstream to the lower hatchery will finally make things right. I'm not advocating that yet but I'm getting close.

Maybe the game wardens were too busy patroling EVERY other river in the state that is open to salmon fishing. Gotta love salmon fishing in WA rivers.

I took a buddy of mine down there to witness that last saturday. What a disturbing site. The worst thing is parents teaching kids the "correct" way to "line" a fish. I would just LOVE to win the Powerball just to be able to buy that place and shut it down. I know last year the gamey's really cleared that place out. i hope they will show up some time and do it again.

~steelymann~

Did anyone call in the snagging to the WDFW or the police? How do you know it won't help to call it in? Would you feel the same way if someone was fishing closed waters or shot a bald eagle? Whatever its worth, even if reporting it goes nowhere, we all have to do our part to stop this stuff. Sort of the sweaky wheel gets the grease sort of situation.

How about taking pictures of the offenders in the act and their cars?

I could go on and on about this issue but will sufice to say that fines need to be insanely steep These people are stealing from you and me and destroying the resource and the experience of salmon fishing for others.
Fines in the 10's of thousands would not be excessive. I think it should hurt them badly.. All the gear they use in the days "fishing" should be confiscated and sold at auction the proceeds going to game enforcment..
Quite frankly these people deserve no consideration for leniency. They know what they are doing is illegal. I don't care what it does to their jobs their families thats something they should have thought about before thy chose to snag..

Never been there, but seen this on the green river (king county). Don't know how the rest of you would feel about this, but I wish the game department would pick a few unpopular rivers stuff it full of hatchery fish, and make snagging legal in these waters ONLY!!! Then like Rob said fine the hell out of anyone on any other river.


I don't like snagging, although at times I myself have hooked up with a few fish in the tail......hell of a fight, but they went back!!!

I must be quite honest here though, these fish are going to die. Especially those that are put out by the hatchery I see a great waste of fish by the end of the season, why do people get so upset with "FLOSSING" or the unententional hookup on the outside of the mouth, I just don't get it!!!! To me snagging is the blatent attempt to hook fish with trebles, a spark plug......well you get the idea.

chumster

Cohoangler, what were they snagging. Are the silvers already in on the Kalama. I know, it is sad to see when this happens.

Chumster

What happens on the Washougal and the Kalama is very much intentional.. you should see the fish scatter when their lad nits the water and when the see that corky falling through the water column.. These fish don't hit corkies. They know what they are and are scared to death of them.. I know for a fact that even up river they remain scared of them when they see a corkie they avoid it!

We need for more sport anglers to get fed up with this crap and not tolerate it..

Also every year i see many many many tule chinooks on the washougal sliced open the eggs taken out and the fish left on the bank. The fish get wasted either way. Frankly even if they did retain it i'd rather see it dead in the river then going in their smokers then nourishing thoes vandals.

Dustoff - The target species was Chinook but snaggers weren't being overly fussy. They took lots of coho but the Chinook were more numerous and easier to snag because of their body size.

I even saw 50lb buck (I weighed it) being taken out by an angler that had typical snagging gear. I can't say for sure if the fish was snagged because I didn't see the angler catch it. But he said he caught it on a corkie and his set-up was identical to other snaggers (pencil lead, large hook, and a corkie rigged behind the hook). It's unbelieveable that a Chinook could live for 6 years to reach 50lbs only to being illegally snagged only a few yards from it's native spawning grounds.

Rob also hits on the reason for my frustration. That is, the snag fishery ruins the fishing for the rest of the river upstream. The fish are very wary and will avoid almost anything floated near them. I have seen numerous salmon actively avoid anything moving in the water column, including corkies, spinners, and plugs. IMHO, if the snag fishery were shut down, the fishing would improve throughout the Kalama River.

its hard for me to get worked up over people snagging hatchery fish snaggers when its perfectly legal for some foreigners to use the spark plug/treble hook snagging method, we allow unregulated gillnetting, commercial fishermen abuse the sport quota at will, a few priviledged people are allowed "charter" licenses, etc. etc. (see the CowlitzFisherman's last hundred posts), how is what they are doing any more wrong than a gillnet? At least they are snagging the right species... to allow hundreds or millions of dollars be spent to make hatchery fish for the primary (BY FAR) the primary benefit of gillnetters, commercial fisherman, & charters and be grudge a snagger his tiny percentage of the take is kinda silly...

Please note, i do NOT snag fish. I will not change the way i fish to increase the likelihood of snagging a fish. i don't like snaggers, in fact I like them about as much as i like gilnetters (neither is fishin'). I don't snag but, not because of political, legal, environmental, or emotional reasons, the main reason is I don't have to snag to get fish & if they are rolling and not biting, I accept that (get'em tomorrow)..... Also, a snagged fish takes a lot longer to get in and is hard on my gear & I get no sense of accomplishment from landing a snagged fish (other than the joy of getting my tackle back & not having to re-tie)...

Of course, from time to time i get one in the fin or a__ & it's easy to tell when they are foul hooked (you can't steer 'em) that's why I use hooks that straighten out, if it's foul hooked, thumb it hard until the hook straightens out, then there's no mess in the water for the next guy & the fish? well i'm hoping it's no worse for the wear......

I just can't seem to get worked up about snaggers when the VAST majority of the output of the hatcheries that we pay for goes to so few priviledged people through unregulated gillnetting & blatant abuse of the sport quota while the powers that be write BS tickets to sportfishermen for parking "violations" (what a way to save the environment)...

Gillnets have damaged & destroyed more of the places I fish (used to fish) than snaggers did (or even could) .......

PS: I'm ok with commercial fisherman that pull plugs, and charter & guide services, at least they are fishin' ....

Can someone here clarify a acceptable setup (tackle) that would not be considered snagging tackle. I have been fishing for kings, and silvers in the carbon river here's my setup. Yellow corkie, and yarn 3/0 hook. My weight is 20 inches from the hook, not in front of the hook.

I have been seeing posts here claiming using a corkie and yarn are snagging gear.....bull****!!!! People who say this have done little fishing in my opinion. I have hooked about 70% of the fish in the mouth (inside) so how does corkies, and hooks=snagging??? For those of you that don't use corkies, what is your setup, and why are you so judgemental ??

Seems I have read SEVERAL times that salmon when they hit the rivers STOP eating, therefore we ALL are guilty of attempted snagging. I really think that the reason most people here ***** about snaggers has nothing to do with the fish......Most people on this board are hardcore fishermen/women, and hate to have to deal with all the crackers out during salmon season. Seems as soon as salmon is over these topics die down quite a bit. The hardcore guy feels as though he should not have to put up with these fly by night idiots, you know you will never see them during winter steelhead. I agree to a point......but I think snagging hatchery fish, in my opinion is not the end of the world, hell if they are going to do it PLEASE hurry them up so that some real fishing can take place, one less body.


chumster

No body has the right to dictate and shoved the definition of a snag gear and a non-snag gear to other fisherman.
If you feel like you are qualified to do so, then please answer these 2 questions:

1. Did you write the WA F&W regulation book?
2. Have you studied and written any research papers on the use of artifical bait such as colorful corkies?

If you answer NO to these questions, then please keep your secret fishing techniques to yourself.

For all of you non-Gurus, please look at the reg.
Here are your rights on the Kalama:
1. Hooks: up to 3 hooks of any size which includes one treble hook and all may have barbs or without barbs per line, per rod, per person.
2. Bait or Lure or bait on lure; including corkies of any size, shape, or color attached to the hook or hooks what ever way that looks good to your eyes.
3. Lead or no lead as long as your setup is moving or drifting with the current.
4. Keep up to 2 adult hatchery coho or chinook being hooked in the eyes, mouth, tongue, or gill.
5. License required and no motor boat.

Five simple hints to catch fish for your family.
Know your rights from the Washington State Sport Fishing Rules 2003/2004 Pamphlet; don't let these self proclaimed experts force you to do things their fashion.

Good Luck.

You folks missed my point. The gear is not the issue. It's what some folks are doing with the gear (snagging) and the lack of law enforcement. I'm not going to criticize anyone for fishing with corkies. I use them regularly. But I will take notice that many of the folks doing the snagging have a similar set-up. That is, a large pencil lead weight, an oversized hook (7/0), and, perhaps most important, a corkie TIED BEHIND THE HOOK.

In my view, that last characteristic is a dead giveaway that the angler is engaged in snagging. That doesn't make the set-up illegal, nor does it mean the angler was, in fact, snagging. They may be completely legit. But I wasn't born yesterday. I've seen it too many times. The folks that are actively snagging know how to do it. They weren't born yesterday either. Many of them are quite effective with this rig.

Given the current situation in the Kalama, I'm not sure if snagging can be controlled unless a "flies only" section is established from I-5 to the lower hatchery (just upstream from Beginners Hole). There is a flies only section from Mahaffey's to the hatchery because of the snagging problem at Beginner's Hole so there's no reason why they can't extend it all the way to I-5. If things don't improve on the lower Kalama, a flies only section may be inevitable. That might be a huge loss for some anglers but as I see it, the ones that will lose the most are the snaggers. If that's the case, then so be it.

Yep another bunch of fly guys that want the river to themselves. Pretty much what I figured. It must be OK to snag fish as long as its with a fly. What a bunch of ****
If there is that big of problem close the river to all fishing dont punish one group because of the acts of afew.

Cohoangler,

PLEASE answer the question, or maybe the statement I made about fish STOP feeding (the majority of them) when they enter fresh water. I hate it when people don't face facts!!!! These fish strike out of territorial agression, maybe a few active bitters, but the majority are looking to reproduce......NOT EAT!!!! So, if you, or I am fishing for non-biting fish then we are just as guilty of trying to snag as the guy with the spark plug!!!! We just make it look a bit less obvious.

The real difference btween the two is the same difference between FLY GUYS, and BAIT GUYS. Seasoned steelhead fishermen/women learn with time the "feel" of the bite, we find that to be a challenge, and can't understand the spark plug guy who only wants the fish, regardless of his methods. Now a fly guy believes it is a bit more challenging than a terminal gear guy, why?? Well, maybe he's took the next step tward making his sport more challenging, FOR HIM. I appriciate a guy that can take a fish with a fly...but I generally assume most fly guys to be snobs.....their way IS the way!!!! Can we see a pattern here?????


chumster

Chumster - I don't want to get into a debate over snagging. That issue has been debated endlessly on this BB for years.

I agree that Pacific salmon stop feeding once they enter freshwater. However, I will strongly disagree with your conclusion that those of us who use spinners (or whatever) to lure a salmon into striking are equal to those folks who intentionally snag a fish by the tail. If you cannot see the difference, you're not looking. And I won't be able to convince you otherwise. Only you can do that.

However, I certainly hope you're not accusing virtually everyone on this BB of being a snagger because they fish for salmon in freshwater. Remember, this BB is primarily targeted at salmon and steelhead anglers. To call all of us snaggers is an insult that I'm sure you didn't mean to portray.

Lastly, I'm NOT advocating a flies only section for the Lower Kalama. I don't like the one by Beginners Hole and I certainly don't like the idea of another one in the lower river. However, unless things change, I predict that it will become a flies only section in the near future. Like I said, if they did it at Beginners Hole, they can do it in the lower river too. But don't blame me for that; blame the snaggers.

Cohoangler,


Had to think a while on this, and I have come to the conclusion that although not as blatent as (THE SNAGGERS) we are talking about, we too are guilty, and if that means accusing the rest of the board I will, I guess. We do, i'm sure, our best to encourage a ligitimate strike, but facts are facts......if they are not actively feeding then WE are taking a willing chance of snagging fish.
I do want to make clear the methods by some on the river systems is very untasteful, but I very seriously don't think a salmon feels any better being dragged in by
the mouth, than it's butt.

Last I would like to tell all the want to be game wardens out there to keep thier mouth shut, if you want to call the warden fine.....but YOU are not the warden. Nothing worse than to hear some a-hole say "FOUL HOOK" before I HAVE EVEN LANDED A FISH!!! i generally release ALL fish, and never keep foul hooked ones. Shut up!!!! I will determine whats foul hooked!!!!


chumster

I see.............

Floating eggs under a float for fall chinook is like snagging with a spark plug and treble, huh?

Oh, the wonderful revelations that come to light on this board.

Dude, you're tripping.

Guys I am pleased to see some of you are standing up for your rights. "Something smells fishy here."

Dan,
Are you saying that it is 100% impossible to snag fish using eggs under a bobber?

Dan s,


Before you start shooting your mouth off ...... I said MOST salmon are not feeding THEREFORE if you are using eggs in the manner in wich you speak, you will find the fish wich are still feeding.....read it all before you comment bud.


chumster