If it had been legal to land 6 foot long fish and we knew for sure the season was open, that sturgeon Merg had on would have been dead. It was one of the finest examples of light line fishing I've seen. However we weren't going to set a tail rope on the fish, and like hell if they even make nets that big. The only way we were going to get a pic, was if I tailed it in deeper water. Hence my skivies. I got within 5 feet of that fish multiple times, it was incredible that the line held for as long as it did. Usually a guy fishing ultralight tackle would have a shock leader or something. Nope, it was ten pound test all the way to the fishes snout.

Actually this discussion might help out the dept with clarifying the rules on sturgeon fishing. The sturgeon I kept on the Cowlitz last year produced even greater befuddlement, and we had a copy of the regs in the boat with us. It was actually 2 1/2 inches longer than the minumum size required, but we misread the rules and figured the fish to only be about 1/2 inch longer than min.

Well add to that emergency openings and closures, deadlines that either move or are undefined in the emergency regs, different length requirements for different sections of river, CnR allowed or not allowed during non retention days, etc etc... It has kept me from putting another sturgeon in a cooler, or even targeting sturgeon for fear that I"ll be breaking some new rule, or misunderstanding an old one.

The complexity of the regs keeps alot of regular folks from participating in not just the sturgeon fisheries, but salmon fisheries as well. Makes me recall a story I heard about the Hoodsport salmon hatchery. I don't know if its an urban myth, but I've heard it told more than once that it was popularly believed that the area in front of the hatchery was offlimits, when in truth it was very much legal to fish there. Someone who read the regs carefully, challenged the hatchery manager when he tried fishing there and was threatened with a ticket. When the game warden reviewed the regs he agreed with the angler that the area was indeed open, and now 20 years later is one of the more popular fisheries on Hood Canal.

Merg read the rules and his conclusion is the same as the average person would have concluded. He's hyper as all hell, but an honest kid. If he thought he was doing something wrong, he wouldn't have done it and posted pics about it. He gave that monster an epic fight on his noodle rod. Nobody should be giving him grief about that.

I read the emerg rules, and intergrated it internally with all the other regs, and all I got was anxiety and confusion. I'll mull over how things could have been written more clearly, and maybe it'll help someone else as well.

VHAwk

Pretty much exactly what the poster I read at the launch right near the juvenile bypass facility said:

"Sunday added to weekly sturgeon retention season below Bonneville Dam

Action 1: Above Wauna power lines

White sturgeon retention will be allowed on Sundays in addition to the current weekly retention days of Thursdays, Fridays, and "Saturdays from February 1 through July 31 and from October 1 through December 31, 2007. Sturgeon may be caught and released, but not retained, Mondays through Wednesdays and during August and September.

Effective date: Feb. 1 through July 31 and Oct. 1 through Dec. 31.

Location: The Columbia River and tributaries from the Wauna power lines (near Cathlamet) upstream to Bonneville Dam."


Now if I was a simple man, fished maybe once a month, high school educated, to me that bulletin tells me I'm ok to fish up to Bonneville dam. Unfortunatly I know just enough to confuse myself. Like I said before, the sturgeon regs are a trap for any angler who is not a lawyer, or indoctrinated into the fishery by a master angler. The last time I hooked into a sturgeon that was very much legal to keep, I was nauseated because I was sure I had overlooked some regulation, or misread the rulebook.

I can't complain too much since I haven't called together my subcommittee to discuss pamphlet changes. I'll make it a priority after the June 16th thing is over. I don't want any moms or dads out on the river to worry about whether they might be breaking the law by sturgeon fishing with their kids.


VHawk



Thinking about this...maybe the Dept needs a test group of volunteers who are as close to the average license buyer as possible. Show them a copy of the regs and then ask them questions like is it legal to keep a salmon caught on x river July 15? Or can an angler keep any sturgeon caught immediately below Bonniville dam? etc etc... I wonder how the average person would do on a test like that.