http://www.stopeatingwildsteelhead.com/2011/05/19/poacher-caught-on-nooksack/

“Officer Jones spent a day working with S/A Dyer from NMFS regarding an excellent ESA steelhead case he made on the opening day of trout season. This case originated from Officer Jones following up on a hunch he had that someone might take advantage of our busy opening day “flag waving” duties and intentionally fish the closed Nooksack River. After fulfilling his opening day duties, Officer Jones’s hit the River to see what he could find and his hunch paid off. He apprehended a very deserving individual who violator who was intentionally fishing the closed season and admitted to catching and releasing a steelhead. He voluntarily provided the photograph below of his catch. An excellent case …”

It's just human nature when you let them handle the resource you will have violations of the rules. Just one more bullet in the Marine Reserves folks gun.



http://egov.oregon.gov/OSP/FW/docs/Newsletter/March2011.pdf

At least he let it go...

Fish on...

Todd

With a mortality rate applied, which I assume is why it was shut down because it had already been reached.

Looks kind of dead to me...

The mortality rate allowed is 0. So, technically, it was reached before any fish showed up.

I'm glad he released it too. Anyone know that guy?

If the state wants money, I'd be happy to throw down a few hundred to fish that river from the closure through April.

I'm surprised how good that fish looks. Big and healthy.

Looks an awful lot like "best available science" to me

I have heard of these wild Nooksack steelhead, but never seen one. Nice pic. Not a bad fish for the Nooksack.

It didn't say what happen to him.

This picture actually really throws me into a mess. Not sure if I am pissed he fished it, or jealous, [censored] steelheading sucks. The summer season aint even started and i am already pissed off because the winter will close earlier this year than last.

The fish don't look too lively, I've taken lots of steelhead pics and they never look like that.

Probably because it is spawning or post spawn. We don't get a crack at steel in these conditions for good reason.

I am all for fishing into April in a perfect world but May fishing is always kind of disappointing where available. Lots of dark fish and downers. Not my kind of thing.....I don't want to be like a guy I know who caught a 20 pound kelt which fought like a log, and the guy tries to brag about it.

The Nooksack is a tough nut to crack. That is the reason people think the fishing sucks. I grew up in Bellingham and can attest that this is a river worthy of respect and it contains some very bright, though usually smaller, native steelhead. Not to say it doesn't have some bruisers, just that I wouldn't consider this a destination river if you want to hook that life time fish.

If it were still alive why does the eye look like it's got the dead stare on?

Shouldn't it be looking down?

This is a valid point but not always true. I have caught downers that I brought in fast to release fast and they had the dead eye. They were tired as $hit and it was from getting their freak on! All the more reason to not poach our local rivers in May even if you are a vile law breaking mother *ucker who doesn't care about being caught in the act.

I am from b-ham and fished that river as a kid growing up and back in the day there were nice steel about that same size threw out the river almost year around.

I would say that he was wrong to fish it because it appears that native was leaking eggs. He probably squeezed them all out while getting that pic. Doubt he even let her go. The person who took the pic probably left with the fish, since no one ever mentions a third person in the story. Dude looks kinda Russian don't you think? Probably fishing on the north fork rite on the spawning grounds.

Looks like a buck to me? The mandible extends past the eye.

Check out her tail...

Fish on...

Todd

Touche'.....she was playin in the gravel. Thanks

[quote=Dude looks kinda Russian don't you think?[/IMG][/quote]

No..... He is definitely black Irish.

Good Job WDFW enforcement - those kinds of folks are doing neither the resource or the recreational fishers any good.

The fish -
It is a female that is nearing spawn - see the protruding vent just in front of the anal fin and the nice full body; likely a week or so from spawning. At late April the peak spawning of most Nooksack fish was still a couple weeks a way. Thre are still unspawned females in the Nooksack (and other north Sound rivers) through June and even into July. The worn bottom edge of its tail is not from spawning; rather from wear from holding over the stream bottom for an extended period. When the female is "digging" her redd she does so on her side using hydraulic pressure from tail action to lift the stones and the current carries the material down stream. They can move material without even touching it. An aside is the individual females seem to be right or left handed as to which side they lay on to do the redd "digging".

Nooksack wild steelhead -
The Nooksack hosted some really neat wild steelhead. At one time there was decent numbers of very large steelhead (excess of 30#). Unfortunately they were South Fork fish and habitat issues all but destroyed that segment of the run. They were interesting in that most of those really large fish entered the river in January. Even then they were not the earliest fish. Many of the Middle Fork wild fish returned in December even though they did begin spawning until April and as mentioned peak spawning was May. The North Fork and main stem hosted the largest portion of the run and as mentioned by others they are not particularly large fish and have run timing that we normally associate with PS wild steelhead.

The Nooksack was a fun river to fish and I miss fishing her in the late winter. There will always be a fond spot in my heart for the Nooksack and her steelhead. Some of my fondest steelhead memories took place in March on the North Fork and it produced my first 20.

Tight lines
Curt

Maybe if the tribe didn't have so many netting contracts there would be more fish around?

I remember catching and seeing a few others caught in March back in my college days that would have been able to eat that hen in one bite ...and like Smalma said, most of those biggies came out of the South Fork.

Fish on...

Todd