04/21/2022

Enough of "picking on the tribs"..... Where do the non-boat fishers have a chance to fish????


Harvest takes place before the fish even get a chance to get to the tributaries.....think of this, Johns River, Hoquiam, 28th Street, Cosie, Friends Landing, Fuller Bridge, even Westport are all sport boat launches that are attacking the fish before the fish get a chance to get to the tributaries.

This year will be the worse.....2 fish bag in the Chehalis River all the way to the head waters....Here they come, Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Renton, Kent, etc. Tow rigs, boats....why go to Fish the ocean, just stop at one of the many Chehalis launches, fish, fish, fish.......get'em BEFORE they get to the tributaries.

Then add to the above, 2 gillnet fisheries....QIN knows when to net, NT while not the best timings, have the better knowledge of the rivers but bottom line....chinook allowed, Coho, and of course the chum..... ALL BEFORE ANY FISH GET TO THE TRIBUTARIES.

The "new way" to monitor sport caught fish........ya we all know the "old" punch card is one way, takes about a year and the returned cards are under 50%.

New way, have WDFW hired persons at the boat launches to record responses to questions, How'd the boat do???? Did you release any fish??? Did you lose any fish??? Did you see others catch any fish?????

Is this a new way in Grays Harbor, I don't think so....maybe to the new WDFW management people but that was done lots, same river system. in the 70's, 80's. They can't get in your boat to check.....would people just choose to not answer???? It happens.....LOTS!!!! Just like the punch cards that don't get sent in.....

You want to "limit" tributaries.........close........nope not going there......

I am with you, Drifter. I prefer to fish from land, or wading. But, boat fishing pumps more money into the economy.

WA does actually have some rather good fisheries like marine salmon, rockfish, halibut, albacore, kokanee, lowland lakes, walleye; all of which are primarily boat-based. The landlubber is left out.

04/22/2022



I actually have a jet boat, no more walking river banks for me, serious balance problem and old age. Chehalis above South Monty is 95% of my fishing area, NO TRIB fishing in past 5-6 years, has gotten to be too much of a "zoo" for me.

I really feel for the bank fisher, I did 1,000's of hours bank fishing, before I could afford boats, Kent, Redmond, Region 6 waters have my foot prints on many river/stream banks. Access was so good in many of the Region 6 rivers, into the mid 1990's......not very good any more. Actually many walk in bank fishing areas on local rivers, many times have a drift/jet boat sitting there, HOURS before it gets light enough to fish........grrrrrrrrrrrr

and I think DW captures the problem and how do solve the problem? The vast majority of Coho harvest takes place in the last of Sept and Oct and is mainstem Chehalis with the Rec numbers supported by the Satsop fishery also. We fish the aggregate of the entire basin for the entire run but harvest the Oct portion based upon the aggregate of the run and the upper basin fish come back a bit later and it is about Nov rains. Simply put the the harvest rate being applied to the tide water tribs is to high, dangerously to high for the fish.

One could safely say that the Late Coho and tidewater tribs situation is much different than Steelhead and it is. That said the mind set of the harvesters and managers IS NOT. Recs / NT / Commercial tribal all want harvest and continuously argue for regardless of the overall health of the stock. This is exactly how Steelhead were driven to the dire straights the fish are in and you still have many Recs bitching about no season.

Oh we will use C&R to compensate is the thought. Well when a natural run is 40% to 50% of escapement is that enough to support a release mortality? If not just what is the number or standard we should use? C&R originally was about harvesting abundant hatchery fish and releasing less abundant wild fish. What about the QIN Dec / Jan Steelhead fishery when few Steelhead are present Late Coho are present?

Simply put harvesters be it tribal or NT fishers have been unwilling to face the facts that if it continues one fish stock at a time we will fall into crisis and it is not if this happens but when. I want to kill a fish is at all cost a very difficult mindset to remove and frankly seldom happens until the damage is done and sometimes the run ceases to exist.

That policy of favoring boat owners for the sake of economics will eventually contribute to the future reduction of participation in the sport. How many of you started out as a youngster/teenager owning a boat to fish? In my day it started from the bank/shore then progressed with age and lack of physical agility, to a boat. I started out bobber fishing for trout at our local lakes and ponds as an 8yr old. Progressed to plunking the lower Puyallup as a 10 yr old with my Grandpa. Fished Steelhead hard during Christmas and spring breaks. Set the foundation of my future interest in the sport. Was a bank maggot through my teens until learning to row a drift boat @ age 20. Still loved to root around the bank especially small streams. Soon I purchased my own and was happy for years until the crowds became unbearable. At the same time became a power boat hoar for years, going with friends in their boats. Finally age slowed me down and I purchased my own through today.
We have already witnessed the decline in youngins Steelhead participation related to the river closures and other restrictions. Salmon bank fishing the rivers is the last opportunity to keep the interest going. When or if those numbers disappear I fear, we as recs, will lose what leverage we currently have, which isn't much.

04/22/2022



I do agree with this. I tried to get my 2 boys on the river as much as possible, but it was one at a time and I was into trolling......both boys caught many adult salmon that way, if I could have a "do over", I'd have spent more time fishing "jacks". My boys are 53 and 50 now so this would have been more than 40+ years ago...WHEN THE SATSOP HATCHERY WAS PUTTING OUT LOTS OF COHO and I'm sure "jacks were there by the 1000's. Now I've been retired since 1997, and can't wait to fish jacks. In all that time, since 1997, I can count on 2 hands the amount of kids or women that are fishing jacks, where I fish.

Wynoochee River, caught waaaaaaaay more than my share of summer run. If there was a young boy or girl that was where I fished and I hooked a fish....I always asked he they wanted to "play the fish"....some did, some didn't but they had the chance....

My Dad, especially as he got older, loved to troll. I found it to be among the most boring ways to spend time. Any time fishing is fine, but for me, time spent fishing from a boat is not often fun or successful. Occasionally. I took my kids fishing in boats, canoes, from shore, and such. They seemed to enjoy it but were more interested in other things.

I may (and some folks here would dispute the "may") be weird, but a small stream with actively feeding fish is Nirvana. Right now, if I were asked where I wanted to go chase fish the list would include Iceland, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Wyoming, Alaska, and California before we even hit something from here. Even then, there are a few places here.

I will go with Costa Rica CM! Been there three times and it is one beautiful place. Very diverse from Gulf coast to Pacific and just plain good place to live or visit. As a sideline it has a substantial community of foreign nationals who agree with "great place to live" especially US retirees.

There are a number of foreign communities in CR. Interesting that the US is here, Canadians there, Italians somewhere else, nice community of Austrians, and so on.

I know a lot of folks who fished the salt and lowlands. I want to fish the lowlands for some of the spiny rays; they are super beautiful. But, I fish for trout, specifically Redband Rainbow that are some of the prettiest I have ever seen. And abundant. Like 20 6-10"+ fish in each pool. They aren't dumb, but an hour's fishing should bring 5-10 to hand. In a nice warm beautiful spot, pretty birds all around, what's not to like.

I know there are some real toads there as I have seen redds that approach normal steelhead size.

Has anyone went to the WDFW website to down load the 2022 fishing regs ? It appears we have a new and improved method! Thoughts?

I thought some of you might follow the rule process and will find everything in the links.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife - Notice of Proposed Rule Making

In an effort to reduce unnecessary printing costs and help protect our environment, we are asking those interested in viewing the CR-102 filings for the proposed WAC changes to access it electronically at the following web site, where it can be viewed or downloaded, Current rule-making activity (Rule-making docket) | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife

2022 North of Falcon Proposed Rules –
WSR 22-11-087: Coastal Commercial Salmon Seasons –
Willapa Bay salmon fall fishery, WAC 220-354-250
Grays Harbor salmon fall fishery, WAC 220-354-290

WSR 22-11-085: Recreational Salmon Seasons –
WAC 220-312-020, Freshwater exceptions to statewide rule – Coast
WAC 220-312-030, Freshwater exceptions to statewide rule – Southwest
WAC 220-312-040, Freshwater exceptions to statewide rule – Puget Sound
WAC 220-312-060, Freshwater exceptions to statewide rule – Columbia River
WAC 220-313-060, Puget Sound salmon – Saltwater seasons and daily limits
WAC 220-313-070, Coastal salmon – Saltwater seasons and daily limits

A public hearing will be held in accordance with RCW 34.05.325 on June 22, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. by Zoom webinar. The public may participate in the meeting by visiting the WDFW website at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYqf-6oqz4tE9eow9BizCL9_x2fBUIO1-Gx. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join.

In case you are unable to or do not wish to attend the public hearing, you may submit written comments by June 22, 2022 to:

WDFW Rules Coordinator via Email:
Coastal Commercial Fishery Comments: 2022NoFCoastalCommercialCR102@PublicInput.com
Recreational Fishery Comments: 2022NoFRecreationalCR102@PublicInput.com

OR

WDFW Online Website
Coastal Commercial Fishery Comments: https://publicinput.com/2022NoFCoastalCommercialCR102
Recreational Fishery Comments: https://publicinput.com/2022NoFRecreationalCR102

Assistance for persons with disabilities: Contact Title VI/ADA Compliance Coordinator via phone at 360-902-2349, TTY 360-902-2207, or via email at Title6@dfw.wa.gov. If you would like to request accessibility services, please see https://wdfw.wa.gov/accessibility/requests-accommodation


If you would like an email copy or need a printed copy of the proposed rules, please send a request
to WDFW Rules Coordinator email listed above.

This question is for Rivrguy. Dave is the Twin Harbors Fish + Wildlife Advocacy still in existence? I know your brother was one of the founders. I used to contribute money to them. But I haven't heard anything about them in a long time. I also remember they had a lawsuit(s) against WDFW. Just wondering. Thanks.

Tim is ill and has been in the take care of himself mode. So he has finally retired from consulting and I do not think he wants to put much time in on things WDFW.

Dave, I am so sorry to hear about Tim. Please give him my best. I hope he gets better.

A good friend asked me how was the river this spring? While it sounds like a strange question it really isn’t. Winter sucked from Dec on as temperatures were below average and the wind was something else. Not wild winds but rather 5 to 10 mph almost everyday and none of the smooth as glass thing. This spring until about 10 days ago everything was just plain stunted but has exploded with finally getting temperatures up. Canary grass is growing like crazy now and finally the birds have returned. I have lived on the river for 17 years now and I can say with certainty that this year the river was just plain weird. Cold, wet, windy is a nasty description but fitting for the last few months. It is getting warmer now and the birds are back and I sure missed those guys!

So yup winter and spring sucked at multiple levels and we look to be below average on temperature for another month. It would be nice to have a good summer but the jury is out on that one for a bit.

I thought some of you would find this news letter that is produced by Dave Graybill interesting. Dave (known as the Fishing Magician ) does this news letter and it is about fishing in Eastern Washington. Lots of good info and just contact him to get on his e mail list.

Dave Graybill fishboy@nwi.net

Otherwise guys we are all waiting for the weather pattern of rain and below average temperatures to pass and maybe summer begins, maybe!

Some have been wondering who the new region 6 Director would be and here he is.

WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
1111 Washington St. SE, Olympia, WA 98501
wdfw.wa.gov


June 30, 2022
Contact: Ben Anderson, 360-902-0045
Chris Conklin named WDFW’s Coastal Region director
OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has named Chris Conklin as the new director of its Coastal Region.
Conklin has worked with WDFW since 2013, most recently as deputy director of the Department’s Habitat Program. He began his career with WDFW as a habitat biologist working out of the Coastal Region office in Montesano, before becoming the assistant regional habitat program manager there.

“I’m very excited about the opportunity to return to Montesano and tackle the many diverse opportunities there as well as enjoy the natural beauty found in the region,” Conklin said. “I’ve spent my career working extensively on forestry, habitat restoration, and fish and wildlife conservation issues, and our Coastal Region deals with those same issues every day.”

Conklin will assume his new role beginning July 1. Reporting directly to WDFW Director Kelly Susewind, Conklin will serve as the lead for regional issues in Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Kitsap, Mason, Pacific, Pierce and Thurston counties.

“Chris has shown himself to be a strong advocate for all of our state’s fish and wildlife species, and especially committed to habitat restoration and species recovery, which are critical issues in this biodiverse region,” said WDFW Director Kelly Susewind. “I’m confident that he’ll be a strong leader and effective communicator with the many invested stakeholders of the region.”

Conklin said he looks forward to getting out whenever possible to connect with tribal partners and people in their own communities, to better understand their needs and learn how WDFW can help. He also notes for those wondering that he is a member of #TeamClamShovel.

Before joining WDFW, Conklin worked as a fishery technician at the Idaho Panhandle National Forest and a fish habitat biologist with the Quinault Indian Nation, as well as a forester for the Washington Department of Natural Resources. Conklin holds a bachelor’s degree in fishery resources from the University of Idaho. In his free time, he enjoys volunteering for search and rescue, working around his property with his son and wife and recreating near the water or in the hills above Naches.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife works to preserve, protect, and perpetuate fish, wildlife and ecosystems while providing sustainable fish, wildlife, and recreational and commercial opportunities.

DW and others picked up on the Coho bag limit change in the Chehalis from a two bag limit to one adult in November and Dec. I did not recall it being discussed either so I asked staff for clarification and the response is below. As one who urged caution on the NT seasons it makes sense I think. It is all about the hatchery / wild mix and the difference in upper basin / lower basin run timings. Others may feel differently but I think this works.

R-6 Staff:

I think the reason why things look funny is that it’s one fish Nov and Dec, but in Dec we go to a wild Coho release requirement, so the two months must be on separate lines. This one fish in Nov and Dec was the compromise to be a little more conservative. I remember a lot of discussion about bag limits and this season structure seemed to satisfy most from both sides. I don’t recall conversations about different bag limits in different areas and not sure having that mixed stock lower river area with a higher bag limit than the tribs. I’m in the office today if you want to chat. Do you have the final planning model dated April 22?

Do you really believe the Chehalis system will be open for coho in December? Will the system be closed again starting Dec. 1 to protect wild steelhead? I will bet the rivers will close to all fishing on Dec. 1 again this year.

For some reason, I’ve got higher hopes for December fishing than last year. Just the fact that they’re releasing regulations specific to that month in general is a lot of it. Maybe the argument of lack of wild steelhead in December is finally being heard by the Department.

All that said, I’m very glad they’re reducing the bag limit as the season goes on. Myself and many others had brought this up, both on calls and through email.

If the early Chinook seasons are any indication of overall health of the runs, there may be quite a few Chinook returning to the tribs in a few months. Blew through most of the quota in Marine Area 4. I was only able to make it up once while it was a two fish limit. Had my two Chinook in TEN minutes and it seemed that many others were doing well. LOTS of fish around already. Hopefully Coho follow suit.