Northwest Fishing Reports

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I wrote a comment suggestion a State wide moratorium on ALL coho fishing this year. To include Tribal, commercial and sport fishermen. Just wondering, IF the tribes would propose a complete closure on all coho fishing, to include all tribal netting, would you guys support such a proposal?

Sounds pretty awful. The only half way optimistic thing I can say, the forecasters have a very limited view of what is actually going on in the salt. They may be predicting the worst hoping for better. Its always safer for them to predict disaster. If the runs actually turn out better, then they can say "we were just being conservative'".

If commercial and tribes both stopped all fishing, I would go with that for sure.

Bay wolf wrote:I wrote a comment suggestion a State wide moratorium on ALL coho fishing this year. To include Tribal, commercial and sport fishermen. Just wondering, IF the tribes would propose a complete closure on all coho fishing, to include all tribal netting, would you guys support such a proposal?

Larry3215 wrote:If commercial and tribes both stopped all fishing, I would go with that for sure.

Bay wolf wrote:I wrote a comment suggestion a State wide moratorium on ALL coho fishing this year. To include Tribal, commercial and sport fishermen. Just wondering, IF the tribes would propose a complete closure on all coho fishing, to include all tribal netting, would you guys support such a proposal?

As much as many would like to see no gill netting by anyone, I think we can agree it's going nowhere. The Bolt decision has seen to that. What we need to do is stop bickering about who gets what fish and plan for fish for everyone. Now is the time to bury the hatchet, plan for the catch by the tribes and start sharing the fish. In my opinion the best move we could all make is to ally ourselves with the Tribes as they are the ones with all the power in the Federal Courts and they have more money than the States. Win win for everyone. Shut down the WFC, bulk up the hatcheries, get the Tribes behind the environmental fixes needed for the Sound to support the numbers of smolt released for everyone's needs. It's taken many years to see the simple solution. I now see it, with the WFC starting to impact the Tribes, it's time to move.

Bay wolf wrote:I wrote a comment suggestion a State wide moratorium on ALL coho fishing this year. To include Tribal, commercial and sport fishermen. Just wondering, IF the tribes would propose a complete closure on all coho fishing, to include all tribal netting, would you guys support such a proposal?

I would support that completely. As much as I love fishing for Coho, there is plenty of other opportunity for other species of fish and while it would be disappointing to not target Coho for a season, or even a few seasons, I do think it would be good for the fisheries and could bring the numbers back up. I'm not sure how much of a difference it would make though closing for just one season. I'm pretty sure it's been said on here before but to make a big difference I would think they would have to close the seasons for at least 4-6 years.

I feel it would be an economic disaster to close Salmon fishing for 1 or more years.
There's just too many peoples' livelihood depends on it.
Although there is a MINUTE chance of convincing the Commies and tribal fishers to SAY they won't net.
It's been proven in the past (particularly with the tribal fishers who have shown that they fish by their own set of rules).
Washington needs to do exactly what Oregon did to get he nets out of the Columbia and Willamet rivers.
If we got rid of the nets you wouldn't be considering a temporary closure period for any species of Salmon.
IMO...NO NETS IN PUGET SOUND OR RIVERS THAT EMPTY INTO PUGET SOUND...is the only way to go.

Sorry for the rant...I'll get off my soap box now.
Good night!

This is what North Of Falcon is really good at. Take last year into account. Water temps in the strait and off the coast were 6-10 degrees higher then normal. We had drought conditions in all of our rivers. And the Gulf of Alaska was consumed by a warm blob of water with no ocean upwelling which is vital for feed. A low return one year will cause forcasters to really cork back on the predictions for the following year, this happens all the time. Coho stay in the salt for 2-5 years and if its to warm for them they can turn around and come back the next year.

Two points I want to touch on. Asking the tribes to stop what they are doing would be a freaking mess. They are the one big friend in our corner when it comes to the fish populations in this state. They are doing more then any of us to ensure the growth of fish stocks and in hand get to take their part of the fish. People whining about the tribes stealing all the fish really strikes a nerve. Piss them off and see what happens to the hatchery plants and egg incubation.

One year closed for Coho fishing? The economic dent this would put in the local fishing economy would be almost mind blowing. Commercial depends on these fish. Mom and Pop running the local tackle shop depend on these fish. This year isn't going to be the problem, its going to be 2-4 years from now when last years young come back in low numbers. 2013 was one of the Best coho years I can remember and the amount of fry that dumped out of the Snohomish system the next year was even more mind blowing. Almost 7 times the yearly average. Some of those fish will be returning this year.

Mother nature has a funny way of working things out. Fish can decide to not enter a river if the temps are to warm resulting in low return numbers. With the blob broke down and weather patterns returning to normal we could see another great coho year with good flows and high spawn counts. Lets not go around waving the pitch forks and torches yet... Instead lets worry about NWC and what they are trying to do.

All commercial netting of fish should be stopped in the rivers, PERIOD... Netting in the sound away from the entrance of the rivers should be allowed and would have major impacts on just how many fish make it to spawn miles upriver. I understand that tribes do more with production of salmon than any of us, however when the tribes are intentionally harming the river with derelict nets fishing while unattended, not following their own rules and regulations shows little to no regards for mother nature ( and yes its been documented ) How can we as sport fisherman and as humans not complain and want change with what's been going on for years? With the nets out of the rivers your business picks up, more fish are able to spawn and reproduce, clients are happy and its a win for the fish and us as sport fisherman.....

dj2loud wrote:All commercial netting of fish should be stopped in the rivers, PERIOD... Netting in the sound away from the entrance of the rivers should be allowed and would have major impacts on just how many fish make it to spawn miles upriver. I understand that tribes do more with production of salmon than any of us, however when the tribes are intentionally harming the river with derelict nets fishing while unattended, not following their own rules and regulations shows little to no regards for mother nature ( and yes its been documented ) How can we as sport fisherman and as humans not complain and want change with what's been going on for years? With the nets out of the rivers your business picks up, more fish are able to spawn and reproduce, clients are happy and its a win for the fish and us as sport fisherman.....

I didn't intend to single out tribal fishers and I applolgize that it came out that way.
My intention was that ALL commercial netting of Salmon should be banned from waters East of Pt. Angeles (basically the sound and all rivers therein).
Let them go back to longlining.
We stopped the bottom draggers in the sound 30 some odd years ago and in many areas the ground fish still have not returned (Penn Cove would be a case in point).
My fear is that Salmon will continue their decline and everyone will be shut down and we'll end up seeing a 10 year moratorium lke we did with Lingcod.

Whelp, looks like it's about due time for a little wakeup call like this.

Not only do we need to change our commercial fisheries practices, we need to focus more on our environment.

Hell, even Leo called the world to action after his oscar win. Seriously, we can plant as many hatchery fish in the system as we can, but if the ocean warms, acidifies, and is unproductive, the fish won't come back.

Time for action people.

Salmon king, You don't need to apologize about anything, one thing I have learned over 41 years of life is everyone has opinions and they don't always coincide everyone else's, The fisheries are all being miss managed and the WFC finally had enough standing on the sidelines watching nothing happen that was promised years ago, Its going to hurt everyone who fishes in Washington for sure. From what I have been reading lately, especially the escapement reports that have been filed and submitted, im astonished at the lack of steelhead that haven't returned to the area ( the nooksack for instance ) only had 36 hatchery fish return to the Kendall hatchery this year! 36 is absurd! The real question is, is this an accurate amount by the state, and if not what was the real return numbers?

Why don't we get a legal count of commercial fish caught along with tribal counts to accurately depict the true catch numbers?? If I have to submit an accurate catch card every season why aren't they required? Oh and don't let me forget about the $10 penalty assessed if I don't turn one in....

dj2loud wrote:Salmon king, You don't need to apologize about anything, one thing I have learned over 41 years of life is everyone has opinions and they don't always coincide everyone else's, The fisheries are all being miss managed and the WFC finally had enough standing on the sidelines watching nothing happen that was promised years ago, Its going to hurt everyone who fishes in Washington for sure. From what I have been reading lately, especially the escapement reports that have been filed and submitted, im astonished at the lack of steelhead that haven't returned to the area ( the nooksack for instance ) only had 36 hatchery fish return to the Kendall hatchery this year! 36 is absurd! The real question is, is this an accurate amount by the state, and if not what was the real return numbers?

Why don't we get a legal count of commercial fish caught along with tribal counts to accurately depict the true catch numbers?? If I have to submit an accurate catch card every season why aren't they required? Oh and don't let me forget about the $10 penalty assessed if I don't turn one in....

Problem being the tribes mange their own catch records and the only numbers are those that come from when a tribal member sells to an authorized fish buyer and they fill out the forms supplied by the State. If they go from the net to Jonny's fish sales in the back of Jonny's pickup there are no records kept period.

Bay wolf wrote:I wrote a comment suggestion a State wide moratorium on ALL coho fishing this year. To include Tribal, commercial and sport fishermen. Just wondering, IF the tribes would propose a complete closure on all coho fishing, to include all tribal netting, would you guys support such a proposal?

http://www.king5.com/story/tech/science ... /81673070/

Looks like my suggestion got some attention!

I really think we need to support this!

Its the government! Once they take something away, it' will be hell getting it back again. They may close it for this year but will they reopen it next year if it looks justified? I'm guessing probably not. I don't trust them or the tribes. I'm 72, I'd like to fish a little more while I can.

Perhaps try fishing for something else barchaser. I get that your 72 and you dont have much time left, but think beyond your personal wants and desire. Think about whats left for the rest of us and future generations. Perhaps fish for kokes for meat and bass for fun. The closure of coho wouldnt be the end of the world for anglers. I am 100% pro coho closure. I loved fishing for coho, very much, but im willing to stop that and sacrifice if it means helping the run for future generations. i think if people continue on their wanton selfish path of unadultrated destruction, there will be nothing left for my grandkids... Is that fair to keep plundering a vulnerable resource for a few more years, when their entire existance is at risk? I think not. This is a no brainer, coho needs to be shut down 100% if someone else is "untrustworthy" and doesnt follow the rules, it doesnt mean we should all jump on board and have a race to the bottom to see who can extirpate coho the fastest. So it doesnt matter what the natives might do or the commercial guys or wdfw. The best thing we can all do is not contribute to the extirpation of washington state coho for the greater good of washingtonians.

I was actually considering not even getting a Salt Water license this year because I figured my opportunities were going to be greatly reduced with the Edmonds pier closure for repairs. I also had figured my chances of catching Kings were also going to be limited as our little boat that won't (reach the waters the kings are in) was also going to have few if any chances. Which really only left me with drifting herring for Coho off the pier, and or coho fishing by boat. I don't chase Halibut and mostly do salt for salmon, squid, and maybe crab. So no pier no reason to go.

Then I heard the pier should only be shut down for three months starting March. I thought OK all I'm losing is Ling Cod off the pier. Not a huge loss because my catch rate for Lings during the season is beyond pretty bad. I thought I'll get my combo and be ready to roll as I'd still get to go for Chinook and drift for Coho off the pier after it opens. But now with Coho being possibly taken off the table (and I understand the why - but feel like many that the tribes should also put their nets away for the season as well), I'm back to wondering if Salt is going to be on my card this year.

Oregon did something like this several years ago. I almost cried because I had to put back a very nice sized Coho 2 days after the season shut down. I however caught an even bigger chinook (which was still open at the time). Of course I could take up Golf but that ain't gonna happen....

Salmon is what keeps us going. It's our bread and butter," Steve Kesling said. "Fishing can be like a roller coaster. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not." I laugh at this as what happens when there is no fish left?
also who are the Commies salmon king?

Commies = Commercial Fishermen...Non-Tribal

What I got out of that news story is that the Tribal Fishery Managers will consider recommending a ZERO CATCH (No Season) for COHO as a last resort. It would also include all Commercial AND Tribal fishing.
But I'll believe that (no tribal nets in the water) when I see it.
I'll support whatever decision is made because I'm a law-abiding citizen. I may not like but I will follow the law.
But I'm buying a Canadian license this year if they close it though...probably buy one even if they don't. Then I can fish no matter what.

Or....I might put my boat up for sale...not that anyone would buy it if they can't fish...

And I just bought a river boat, I won't be surprised if sled prices plummet.