Hey, I floated Bear Creek on the 26th and found your gill nett in the river right at the bottom of Tumbling Rappids, along with your plunkin rod unattended.

You were right not to tell us what you were gonna do for a living once you moved in to your new house out there.

Just giving you a hard time since the nett was set in right below your house.

We took the nett but left the rod. Keep an eye out for the plunker that likes to set up there in the deep corner hole right at the bottom of the rappids, with a yellow stiff custom plunkin rod with a wood handle and a silver ambasadur, rod is about 7'. Im sure he is sore we took his gill nett. He should have come out of the woods to get it back, he is lucky we didnt take his rod too. WDFW already has his nett.

Im sure he is one of your neighbors Eric, so keep an eye out.

"Honest Officer, I was just plunking the Tumbling Rapids. I have no idea where that net came from. Must've been those indians I saw come through here the other day."

Rich,
Off the subject, but in your line of work you must see and hear it all. It would tough enough to see the things you do but then to have to listen to the lies and excuses would be tooooo much.
I just want to thank you not only for removing that net but for your service in the line of duty. I was just thinking the other day about the officer who died in Oregon trying to rescue a kid on the coast, the funeral my son just attended in Chicago for a fallen policeman and the men and women who put themselves everyday in harms way for our protection and safety. Thanks for watching our six and laying yours on the line.
May God bless and protect you in 2004. And may He bring you back a few more times this year as well. When the fish are in of course.

RICH G.

Rich-

For starters, I believe my rod is green.

Secondly, you know how hard it is to release native steelhead from a gillnet?

Luckily, neither do I....

The good news is I've made friends with the gamie over the years...I can see I'll be making a phone call here when I get home.

I have noticed some strange traffic in front of my house after hours. I found some 'No Trespassing' signs in the garage last night that are going to go up now.

Here is something else that has been galling me all day...

I was talking to the neighbor (no names) and they are telling me, basically a stranger, all about how they flagrantly violate every single fishing regulation in the book....including fishing in Beaver Creek, which is CLOSED WATERS if I'm not mistaken.....

Excuse me, but @$#*! that, not on my property they don't!

IT GETS WORSE!!

In my garage, I found one of those pitch forks with the little triangle ends...it had a length of line attached to it for extra leverage. Now, that thing might have had a legitimate use, but I couldn't think of it.

I'm going to have to put up a big sign that says "YOU ARE BEING VIDEOTAPED, OBEY THE RULES!!"

I can tell I'm not going to be very popular with the neighbors........................................................................................................................................................................... ........again.

Steelheader, Good for you! I can't believe the rules some people don't give a $hit to obey.
Hope the video works.

Thanks Mooch!

Eric,

Your gonna see alot of what you have already seen out there. Make sure you report it all. THe Enforcement Officer out there is by his lonesome most of the year and is spread way too thin. Not enough tax dollars comming from the west end to warrant any more WDFW Officers it is the sad truth but that is the way it is.

Before we found the nett we found a boat with two younger guys throwing bait up in the riverside drift. THey tried to make it look like they wernt but it was pretty obviouse. THat upper stretch of the Duc is notorious for poachers. If you spend much time up there you will find many of fillet and released fish. Seems that it is mostly PA boys doing the poaching up there.

stlhdh2o:

Fortunately, you have been there long enough to get to know all your neighbors. We haven't, just having bought the place in Oct.

Our beach area isn't all that large (about 300'), but there are two great spots the Silvers like to hang out in and everyone loves to fish them.



3 days after we moved in, I went down to do some fishing and found a fellow with a 12 pack, 4 silvers (1 over limit at the time), and a pile of about 30 Buddummer cans and cardboard boxes for them built up behind him. Seems this was his regular spot, and it turned out he was a neighbor from across the street.

After a deep breath to cool my temper, I told him he was welcome to fish the beach, so long as he stayed within the legal limits on fish, and took whatever he bought down back with him, including cleaning up all his garbage.

Seems he liked to go down there and hide from his wife (whom other neighbors have spoken of using terms such as "satan, spawn of" ....and some less endearing). Poor chap..guess I'd drink like that too were I in his shoes.

Haven't seen him back there since, but found 99.9% of the folks repectful of the property, and the game rules once they found out that a sociable yet law-abiding property owner took interest in what they were doing.

Did have to ask one fellow to leave when he had a campfire going and started to set up his tent on our beach. Yeesh...all he would have needed to do was offer to have breakfast ready at 6 the next morning ...

Now, if we can just get some steelhead to inhabit the area it would be great! (Actually, they are there but are running "cloaking" devices..:-)

Mike B

Mike you are a rare treasure for being so receptive to folks fishing your property. Not sure if I would be so warm and respectful if I were the owner.... People can be such pigs.
Addressing the points made of the folks that care little for rules and regulations I must say that although I obey them, I find it is getting harder and harder for me with things like crab closures yet allowing tribes and commercials to continue crabbing... One starts feeling like "why should I care, when it obviously does no good". I mean, if we give up say crabbing (like we are being forced to), yet they continue to allow tribes and commercials to fish/crab (and they OBVIOUSLY do more to descimate the stocks), then what good does it do for us (the nobody sport angler) to abide by the rules? Yes, it will leave me with a clearer conscience, but will do nothing to ease my craving for fresh crab......
It is getting harder and harder each year for me to read all the rules and abide by them, when I put on my single, barbless hook only to see thousands of feet of gillnets placed all around me....... I am confident that I am not alone in feeling this frustration......

Regards!

MC

MC:

The issue of the Native and Commercial folks fishing and crabbing is a sticky one, to be sure, and it appears that many people here are touched by the issue on a daily basis. Clearly, its more than just a "speed bump, in our lives.

As to the beach, no one can get to it without crossing private property or coming into it from the river in a sled. The flood this year left us a real nice 20+' wide by about 60' long section of flat beach..it is perfect for camping on. We could probably put a Honey Bucket down there and get $30 a night for a fee...;-) Truth is, if someone asked permission to camp there (and were quiet) we would most likely let them.

While we pay the taxes on it, the wife and I don't really consider it as our beach. It's the rivers beach...the river put it there and can take it back just as fast. We actually get very few fishermen up here as were just below where the Baker enters the Skagit and the water above that is much clearer.

I'll reserve my comments on the Native/Commercial issue for another thread.

Need more coffee before discussing serious stuff..

Mike