Pretty sad to see the numbers of dead fish from snags and poor handling. Yesterday we left with 1 and watched boat after boat snapping jigs and snagging fish albiet accidentally but it seems like when the fish won't bite people resort to what ever will bend a rod. We had to cover alot of water to find the one fish that was willing yesterday.

https://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/rfc/

Well if you wanted rain your about to get it and then some. It is graphing on projected flows to get near record flows ( these days of month only ) then drop. NOAA only goes ten days out so if it stops things will level out but only time will tell.

Back in the day Nirvana had some sarcastic lyrics on "In Bloom."

"We can net some more, Nature is a whore."


Why is the most harmful, least sustainable method of commercial harvest still allowed in these waters?

For those following Willapa this is interesting. Seems the rule making process was a little flawed.

Twin Harbors Fish & Wildlife Advocacy

October 18, 2017

To: WDFW Director Jim Unsworth
Cc: Select WDFW Staff
B cc: Interested Parties
The Twin Harbors Fish &Wildlife Advocacy (Advocacy) is a WA non-profit corporation holding a 501 (c) (3) status issued by the IRS. The purpose of the Advocacy is to "Provide education, science, and other efforts that encourage the public, regulatory agencies, and private businesses to manage or utilize fish, wildlife, and other natural resources in a manner that insures the sustainability of those resources on into the future for the benefit of future generations."
The Advocacy filed a petition in Thurston County Superior Court today challenging a recent decision by WDFW to impose an emergency rule to the commercial fishing season underway in Willapa Bay. The petition is attached in PDF format.
The emergency rule passed by the Department on September 29, 2017 effectively suspended the requirement that Chum salmon encountered by a commercial fisher in its net and brought aboard did not have to be placed into a recovery box prior to release into the bay. The mortality rate of 59% for those fish treated in the recovery box was left unchanged after the requirement for revival was eliminated. This factor lead the emergency rule to quickly be referred by local fishers as the "Chum Chuck."
When passing the emergency rule, the advisors and members of the public involved in fisheries management with the Department were "blindsided" by the Department's action. The historical use of conference calls with advisory groups and emails to interested party lists used in the past to provide input prior to a rule change decision by the Department were not utilized.

The Department stated the reason for the emergency rule was "This emergency rule is needed to lift the restriction that chum salmon must be placed in an operating recovery box prior to being released into the bay/river. The recovery box is prioritized for unmarked Chinook and steelhead encounters. The projected forecast of Chum in Willapa Bay is likely to lead to densities occurring in the recovery box that might be detrimental to the recovery of the prioritized species. There is insufficient time to adopt permanent rules."

The petition filed by the Advocacy raises four issues. First, the Department did not have any evidence or analysis known to the Advocacy that showed the projected forecast would lead to higher than expected densities in the recovery box. The weekly season progress reports on encounters and landings in the 2017 season circulated by the Department showed the opposite. Chinook, Coho, and Chum presence in the bay were well below the preseason forecast. Onboard observer reports from WDFW staff showed no instances, either before or after the passage of the emergency rule, wherein the recovery boxes were facing a density problem. Therefore, the Advocacy alleges the decision by the Department was arbitrary and capricious and therefore, contrary to the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

Secondly, the mortality rate used by the Department in its modeling when setting the original season was 59% with a gillnet and 34% for a tangle net. The mortality rates were reliant upon the requirement in the rule wherein all Chum encountered by either net would be placed in the recovery box prior to release back to the water. After the Department passed the rule eliminating the requirement Chum be placed into a recovery box, WDFW staff confirmed it continued to use the same mortality rate for those Chum released even though the recovery box requirement had been intentionally eliminated by passage of the emergency rule. The Advocacy alleges it is arbitrary and capricious for the Department to claim the mortality rate is the same for Chum whether revived in a recovery box or simply chucked overboard.

Thirdly, the APA specially limits the use of an emergency rule to those instances wherein "immediate adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule is necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, or general welfare, and that observing the time requirements of notice and opportunity to comment upon adoption of a permanent rule would be contrary to the public interest" As referenced earlier, the Department had no reasonably reliable information or data to conclude an emergency of this nature existed. Having commercial fishers "chuck" stressed Chum overboard without time in the recovery box increases the number of dead Chum in the water. The Advocacy contests the notion that killing more Chum in this manner provides value to the health, safety, or general welfare of the public. The Advocacy therefore alleges the use of an emergency rule in this case is also contrary to the provisions of the APA.

Finally, the Advocacy alleges WDFW does not have the legislative authority to decide which species to "prioritize" and which species to over harvest in order to allow additional harvest opportunities. WDFW's mandate is to first provide for conservation of all species and, where consistent with that goal, to allow commercial and recreational salmon fishing. WDFW exceeded its legislative authority and acted in a arbitrary and capricious fashion by prioritizing other salmon species over the survival of Chum salmon.

In closing, the members of the Advocacy have always sought to find means of participation in the public process that avoid the need to seek intervention by the courts. In this case, no other avenues could be found.

Respectfully,

Twin Harbors Fish & Wildlife Advocacy

WDFW makes an interesting argument that the recovery boxes don't work, but then they require them for some species because they work.

https://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/rfc/

This will tell you where flows are and hit the rain forecast 240 hr button to see what is coming. Sat is biggy but flows drop back down fast. Ground is still soaking up a bunch.

Flows graphed up. Just cursor the dots.
https://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/rfc/

Rivrguy,

Thanks for the update on Twin Harbors activity. It's depressing that this kind of oversight of WDFW is necessary.

Salmo

If WDFW is willing to do what they are doing in GH/WB where they know they have this kind of oversight and a long losing streak in Court then just what are they doing in other, less (shall we say) open forums where the stakeholders don't take them to court?

Very discouraging.........They can (or could have) do better.

grrrrrrrrrrr WDFW back to the "old days", when they did things behind closed doors and kept the public in the dark just as much as they could.

It is a sad time when the public has to have a lawyer to deal with many issues that affect a "public resource".

Fortunately, some are willing to call WDFW on it. I think their belief is that the injured won't sue and play that as long as they can.

But the big question is...did anyone go fishing today?

Did but lower tide had mud from waves and storm. Did not see many fish and I think things are going to be slow. Problem is trying to figure runs coming straight through the bay and 30 miles up river in a day or two is a bitch.

Upper trib I fished was loaded. Only saw one boat go by. They went down and pulled plugs. The did very good. Water was on the drop and they were bitting.

OK this bit is from being around fish for 30 years and a bit of strange behavior they have. Looking at the river this morning it is a black color which is good. The thing is Coho move in strange ways and this year certainly jumped in that pot but always and I mean always do one thing. Irregardless of when they enter the bay they do not make a move to the spawning grounds until the rains ( we call it the beaver pond dump ) and that black acidic water that is carrying the build up in the ground and ponds of the byproducts of summer which simply looks black. Well from someplace a lot made the middle tidewater today and from this point on no staging folks. The 3 plus inches forecast today should finish it off but the Chehalis is graphed to drop hard to average or below average flows.

So we will fish moving fish not staging ( unless it gets really cold which is unlikely ) on dropping flows. This year has been a good inland year and if the forecast holds it looks to continue. Just put your cursor on the dots in the Chehalis watershed to see. https://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/rfc/

The posted 2 day tribal results for week 41 are interesting.

Chinook at 159% of the model plan
coho at 108%
chum at 129%

My experience was pitiful prior to the nets going in. I released more Chinook than any prior year and caught fewer coho than most years. I thought the coho run had crashed but the nets say it is close to the model predicted run size.

On the Hump side for two weeks the tribal Chinook are at 167% of plan, coho 74%, and chum 25%.

No signs of moving fish on the short stretch I sampled with buddies today. Quit at noon with only one bite.... and that was with 6 rods deployed with our finest swimmers. River has turned and is back on the rise.

Gonna low hole ALL of you tmro.

This looks better ( cursor on dot ), sorta. Remember that the Chehalis water at top end is four days to Aberdeen. So the Satsop & Nooch are falling like a rock and clearing but it will not be enough to mello out the Chehalis for a couple of days. At this minute in tidewater it is still major mud. Ten day forecast says no rain so it is a waiting game. The upper Chehalis also clears up fast but it is the four day thing slows you down but one thing is for sure is it will clear fast when the nasty water passes.

https://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/rfc/

Although it really wasn't flow related (it was but temp dominated) we once had 200 coho hold in a hole downstream of our trap from November to late January. Year of a freeze, creek was flowing at 31 degrees. They waited until the thaw hit, ice melted, flows went up. Then, boiled out of the hole and spawned and died within a week. They can hold until their conditions are met.

I checked the hatchery rack returns for Coho ending the 28th. Last year the combined Bingham & Springs return was around 11k at this time and this year same time 4k but wild about the same into the trap which are passed upstream except for those added into the hatchery eggtake for genetics. All BS aside I really do not think one should think it will improve as this year this was after rain and last year before. Me thinks the late guys which under perform the normal timed will be scarce.

Really seems like the bulk of the run bolted for spawning gravel and hatcheries as soon as the rain finally hit. Not many coho being caught in the tribs. Middle Chehalis might? be better. I saw several boats at Porter yesterday, but I didn't get any reports.

So, it looks like the hatchery run is well under forecast, but the wild run us about on schedule. Wonder why the hatchery fish did so poorly. Badly-timed outmigration?