Guess its the time of the season to ask ourselves why...? Our freezer's are full of king and silver salmon and some fresh Hac. steelhead if we've been out in the lately , why do we continue to fish for native steel....if we intend to release them. Whouldn't it be best to just leave them alone and un-stressed by catch and release, to spawn and return to the rivers in years to come??.....

would be even better if we didn't put hatchery fish in the rivers to moleste and outcompete the wild fish for prime habitat. end hatchery plants and and wild fish would rebound like you wouldn't believe.

Also hatchery runs provide piss poor fishing opportunity compared to wild fish.

Just saw Santa fly by... Sorry Rob you must have been bad this year cause he had a load of hatchery smolts headed for your favorite river... :p

Dude its gonna take a helluva lot more than ending hatchery plants... there is alot of environmental destruction that needs to be reversed first...

I have no idea why we continue to fish for them, it is probably similar to a crack addiction. Well at least for me. I have never hooked or caught a native fish, so don't think everyone is molesting native fish.

Probably because when I was 4, Grandpa was going to take my brother to the creek to teach him how to fish, and told me I couldn't come.

I threw such a fit that they drug me along.
I parked myself under the bridge with my closed face reel and caught one all by myself.

I guess I still fish just to see if it was an accident.

i fish for the thrill of the next big one,it is not the fish in the boat that does it for me.it is the hunt.

Piper

I agree with you 100%

Rob says that;

Your right Rob…. I "wouldn't believe" that for one second! It just ain't going to happen the way you say it will!


Cowlitzfisherman

It's the thrill of the chase ! Then the bite.
Merry Christmas. Off to the river for my Christmas fish???

Heck lets just quit fishing all together! Then there will be millions of happy fishies ot there. NOT!

To fish or not too fish what the hell kind of question is that! Freezer full so we should stop? Oh my!Fishing is not about filling the freezer! If it was, what would be the fun of it after the freezer was full. No, No, NO,Grasshopper Fishing Is a very dangerous disease That luckily has only affected me in my family but Unfortunately affects millions wolrdwide some worse then others. I am afraid there is not much hope for me as I am in stage 10 which is the worst level of addiction there is. I have barely been able to continue working and am currently looking at mounting fish as a way to make some money and ease the fishing pains I get every day. I am a hopeless fishing fanatic and I think the only thing that will stop me from fishing is Death. And thats just the way it Is. If you dont understand that then you just aint got the disease.

Rob Allen,
lets see some scientific data that supports your claim. I still fail to understand How you believe making less of not enough fish to support themselves Is going to make more with continued take of any kind. Can you see why I think your a peta member? Anti hatcheries is Anti fishing and anti productive. Yes there does need to be hatchery reform but It would be really dum to just stop hatchery production.
Damn dude if ya only put half your time into Poachers, netting, and the enviroment you would be hell on wheels and a true fishing advocate. Hatcheries have got to stay untill we take care of business.

I just like fishing.

The meat has nothing to do with it for me. Don't get me wrong, I like eating fish too, but that's not why I go.

I go to keep my head on straight.

I guess the best way to answer such a question is with another question C/22 ...

Why do you fish in the first place? It's certainly far cheaper to stock the freezer up with commerical / farmed fish if it's about the meat ...

For those that like to jab at those ecnouraging others to release what they catch by bringing up mortality (yes, it does exist) or toher similar issues. I ask you this ... thousands of people every year are injured and some even killed on the ski slopes every year; why do people continue to do it knowing that something "could" happen?

Why do people run up and down a wood floor trying to throw a ball through a metal hoop?

Why do people swipe at a little white ball with a club trying to make it go into a little hole several hundred yards away?

Why do people jump out of airplanes with only some cord and cloth to slow their descent?

Why do people suffer miserably to climb 20,000+ mountains?

Why do people drive cars in circles at 200+ mph? Or better yet, why do millions of people pay to watch it??

Why do people fling arrows at their quarry rather than shoot it with a gun. Certainly a gun is more effective and cost-efficient?

Why do people pay thousands of dollars to go look at a bear at Katmai when they could see one at the zoo for $5 or on TV for free?

I guess if you take the answers to all of the above questiosn and put them together, you might have figured out why some of us fish

Why do some of us continue to fight for our fish and our rights to fish for fish?

Yes you can believe what you may, but to me, fishing is a right and I could care less about that "privilege" concept crap that so many of you continue to buy into!

At lease the tribes got it right! The ability to hunt and fish was mans right from the very begging. But like always, some a$$ figures that they could "charge you" for doing so, and we are where we are now! Give the Indian credit… he never screwed his fellow man that way!

Long before we had all of these "social rules" that were made to generate money only…..we hunted, and we fished, and no man took that "right" away without the fear of his actions.

That is why I fish! To me it is and inherent "right of mankind".

Like salmon and steelhead; some things are just inborn instincts, and they are responsible for our long term survival as a specie called "man". Maybe we are becoming too much like some kind of a "hatchery stock" and we are depending too much now on how someone else may be able to feed us! Fishing and hunting is an art of life!

Merry Christmas

Cowlitzfisherman

lesson 1 in history

South fork toutle river. 100% habitat destruction. Worst enviromental destruction than has happened on any stelhead river anywhere except the upper columbia.
within 2 years of the explosion the rivers native steelhead began to return in good numbers and by the late 80's was THE ONLY river in southwest washington meeting it's escapment goals..
Then they started planting summer steelhead and the run went to hell and has yet to return. The summer steelhead are outcompeteing the wild fish for the available rearing habitat. WDFW doesn't study the issue because of the implications for their hatchery programs..

The science is out there and I have posted it in here several times. Yhe Science is clear except some people choose to ignore it cause they want a freezer full of hatchery fish. It's that simple. Also There is no science to the contrary. Hatchery fish hurt wild fish.

Why do I fish?? because i grew up on a river.

Because I enjoy long drives with a friend where we can talk and really get to know each other.

Because I love the anticipation before every trip - from the tying of flies, packing of tackle and talking to others to gather information.


Because I love the smells of the sea and forest, the sunrise on the water and the excitement of the first cast.

Because I love the huge splashy take of a wild trout, the subtle tug of a steelhead and the persistent ever-stronger pulls of a big chinook.

Especially because I love the feel of a solid hook set and that first run when the fish is totally out of control.

Because I love the feeling of victory as I slide the fish into the net or slip the hook from its lip.

Because I love a drink with a friend at the end of the day, when we can relive the highlights and laugh at the disasters.

Because I look forward to a slab of springer on the barbecue, the two mountain stream trout eat each year and the smoked steelhead I share with friends at Christmas

Because almost every trip now reminds me of parents and friends who once fished with me and who now are gone.

I love being on the water at first daylight and fishing gives me an excuse(not that I need one) to be out there. Hooking and playing a fish is just a bonus!

Surecatch.. that was nice. Well said and how I feel exactly

( a long drive with a friend where you can talk and really get to know each other )

A place you have never been before, or your home river that you know like the back of your hand.

The first tug on a fly from a wild steelhead.

A great piece of holding water, on a river on the drop in late October.

Pulling plugs with some people who have never caught a steelhead, and the look on their face when you net their first one.

Being a long way from home and meeting other people who feel the same way you do.

Because its all good, I have never had a bad day on the river, and been skunked more than I care to remember

Leave it to the Bobber Master to say it right. Could not have said it any better myself, Mr. Vedder.

I fish becauise I'm really not good at anything else. I can't even fish so good, I just like to be there.

Merry Christmas to all. Especially you, Dave!

i'm scandinavian. i couldn't stop fishing if i wanted to

If my only option were to fish just for hatchery winter steelhead, it would be a half hearted fishing experience, confined more to terminal fisheries and concerns about limits of fish than the fish itself. I fish wild steel for the following:

Experience, anticipation, escape and the little bit of mystery associated with it all. As well as this-
“…to wade and cast, wade and cast for hours or even days on end without so much as the sign of even a single fish-and then to experience the explosive, helpless, breath-robbing excitement that comes in the split second when a steelhead finally does take with a strike that shakes your arms all the way to their sockets, to see the unforgettable sight of the fish's first cart wheeling leap, its sides flashing with a brighter light than day.
All these things, and more, are part of the steelhead tradition. Long may it continue.” –Steve Raymond, Steelhead Country (1991)

Preparing for the trip while fantasizing about catching fish.
Putting all the accrued knowledge to work and sometimes getting rewarded with fish.
Getting to view wildlife, which includes fish on the other end of the line.
Admiring the hydrology and geology of water bodies.
Getting free tackle when the water is low.
Reducing the amount of time spent parked in front of the computer.
Continuing a tradition that was instilled in me when I was young.
Being at ease and feeling uplifted sometimes.
Forgetting about the worries of life.
Enjoying the sun, rain, wind, clouds, hail, cold.
Hiking through the woods and observing interesting plants/fungi.
Just living life.