What exactly do you mean by this comment? Trying to understand where your coming from. I think I am on the same wave length with you just making sure

Good luck with that! Your rivers are in the same position basically that our were 10-15 years ago......not good for you

Tim

It would be intrersting to find out who buys their fish and if it's possible to boycott who ever buys the fish , it's probably cooked in their Casinos, shipped to Big stores . get the FDA to have a label on a packaged fish that was harvested in a net on a local river then tell them to eat it themselves!

Fishinfool, we are on the exact same page. The past few years I've floated the NF when it was closed and had a hard time at some of the runs getting past the plunkers fishing from their property.

No (legal) fishermen on the river meant no eyes on the water. Zero enforecement so it was whack 'em and stack 'em for the locals while the river was closed.

Bob,

I may be off base correct me if I am wrong. I would guess that if the tulalips are over there that they are taking fish that the Quill's would harvest. So no more fish are being harvested than if it was just the quiliuttes. yes or no?

According to one sport angler lobbyist, the Oregon commission is almost entirely loyal to commercial harvest. Stand your ground and get in this fight. People take these seasons for granted. We could just as easily have seasons that are closed, until enough fish are counted, like on Lake Washington for sockeye. If a judge can shut down the forest, for an owl, another judge can shut down a river for esa listed fish. And youll notice, when things come back, they dont reopen the season.

They being all the netters in the Quill have wiped out the Bogi and Calawah hatchery runs for winter 2007, the creel reports have been dismal. There is no one enforcing how much is gettin harvested. I thought the state and the tribes were co-managers but the state just keeps letting the tribes kick them in the balls. Oh BTW the Snider fish and wild fish are ending up in fish totes as we speak.

I just talked with WDFW LaConner office and Brett said it will be closed due to low projected returns. I don't have specific dates.

I was told that most anadromus stocks have been returning below preseason forecasts to the Skagit and this year’s return of wild steelhead to the Skagit/Sauk might not be any different. The preseason forecast for nates was not that great to begin with so....what would you have management do for this years returning brood?

Beezer

well.....another river that will close that we will never get reopened again

Everything coming in lower than expected??? Silvers were very good numbers this year, hatchery brat season was the best that most of us have seen in 15 years plus, and there are decent numbers of wild fish in there now and yet they are saying that everything is down??? Where the hell are they getting there numbers from?

Whats the fine for fishing in closed waters??? Anybody know? Probably cheaper than gas to drive somewhere where the rivers are open

That new sled of yours will make nice landscaping in your yard.

thefishnfool

What would you have them do? Wait til mid april and then realize they made a mistake. I would rather have it shut down and find out later that the runs returned better than expected. These are the decisions that the state didn't make over the years on the Hoh when runs didn't make escapement and should have been shut down early.

thefishinfool,

Don't bet on that. The 1992 Skagit wild steelhead run was forecast, and turned out to be, less than the escapement goal. So the river was closed in March and April that year. The following year, and in subsequent years, the run has been at least 80% of the escapement goal or greater as specified in the Wild Salmonid Policy, and the river has remained open for the March and April CNR season.

Sg

I think the Skagit / Sauk Spring season was closed the year that the Sky closed as well... leading to the formation of the WSC. It re-opened the next year and has been open 'til now.

JoJo-
If it really was low then I wouldn't have a problem with it as long as they would reopen fisheries when they came back. Look at rivers like the Sky, Nf Stilly, Nooksack that you and I both know have met escapement at least some years and never get re opened. Once these fisheries are shut down with very few exceptions do they ever get re-opened.

We the sportsfisherman can't keep a fish (not that I would) but yet the tribes are still netting 3-5 days a week! Explain that one to me. The chum run this year was scary low and yet the tribes and commercials out in the bay absulutely hammered on those fish?

I'll eat my tongue if I am wrong, but mark my words that if it does close this year, that it will be years and years before we ever see a fishery on this again.

Sorry for the rants guys. I look forward to this fishery more than any other fishery I fish every year. One of the last "quality" fisheries that we have left in the greater Seattle area and now it is going down the crapper along with everything else.

Tim

Before the treaty tribes can be shut down, the burden of conservation falls squarely on the non-treaty side. ALL of the conservation options must be exhausted on the non-treaty side before the burden can be shifted to the tribal fishers.

I concur with WN1A - This closure has more to do about the change inthe status of the Skagit steelhead - now ESA listed than anything. As he pointed out we dicussed that very topic last November with the State and Feds at the WSC meeting. With the listing I think everyone expected that the "old rules" aobut when there a CnR fishery would be allowed (80% of the escapement goal) would change.

Besides the low forecast the larger issues will be can/when will the State get the necessary take permit to have incidentat impacts on the listed stocks while fishing for other stocks and second are there going to be circumstances in which a CnR fishery that is clearly targeting the listed fish be allowed? How far above escapement levels does the forecast need to be so that the federal folks would be comfortable in issuing the needed permits? Given past time tables we may not know those answer for months yet.

Bob -
I know we have had this conversation before but I have to chuckle about folk's concerns with the impacts on the coast fish if the Skagit/Sauk closes. Yes I can understand how that might effect the quality of the fishing; more rods on the water. However the spring Skagit/Sauk is a CnR fishery so aren't really see just adding more CnR folks to the water (aren't the bonkers all ready there?). Is the concern that more CnR is going to adversely impact the fish resource? If so many we should re-think this business of when we CnR our wild stocks.

Tight lines
Curt

Which is about the stupidest thing that I have ever heard. Half the fish, half the responsibility

Tim

Thefishinfool

Your right, there is no guarentee that there will ever be a fishery again and I guess I don't think there probobly should be unless things improve dramatically. regarding the Sky and NF stilly a year or two here and there meeting escapement hardly qaulifies as recovery and I think they are justified for keeping them closed. I personally believe escapement goals are to low on the skagit considering this system saw returns of more than 30,000 at one time. But I also know that raising escapement levels will throw out chances of ever having another fishery.