Northwest Fishing Reports

hey guys, i was wondering if you have been seeing this as much as i have and would like your thought on it. I was up on the skagit the other day bank fishing and saw a group of 5 people fishing. They were all plunking and having a good time when the fish started to bite. It seemed to me that one guy would reel in every fish. If they had a double strike then he would fight one, hand the pole off the someone else to hold while he set the other hook, landed the one and took the other pole back and reeled in the other fish. The only other time i saw a person in the group bring in a fish is when they had like 3 on. So to cut this story down, they probably had their limit and id say at least 75 percent of the fish was caught by one person. what do you guys think about this? These were all adults too, no kids or even teenagers.

Another thing i saw was a group of 3 or 2 people fishing and maybe a person or 2 left to go to the store or whatever and left 1 guy there with 2 or 3 poles in the water. I know its pink season but shouldnt we all follow rules? I would like to hear your thoughts on these topics.

thanks

thanks for the reply, i just wanted to see what other people think. Well i understand the part of watching a buddies pole while he takes a leak but watching your buddies pole for 30-45 mins while hes gone? i know its minor but what would happen in a ranger did show up then? And as for the other guy that was catching all the fish, he was not handing off the poles for them to reel them in. he was handing them to hold while he brought in another fish then taking the pole back. I agree with you once your limit is met yoiu should take your pole out of the water, this was not the case. 5 guys with 5 poles in the water at all times even with 13 fish on the stringer. I just am intrested to see if others have been seeing this and what there opinions are. It just sucks to see grown adults doing this while little kids are next to them bummed out because they arent catching anything.

fishnislife, yes it really does suck that grown men have to do that kind of things, especially around younger kids. Whats going to happen when their parents are trying to teach them how to fish the right way by following the rules and regulations and they will come back with, "what about those other guys, they were doing it?" or "If those guys can do it then so can we." I just think we should all make a conscience effort in teaching the next generation by example.

Other then that, fishing was good on the skagit, plunkers killed it. i had no plunking gear but did manage to get 2 on dick nites. ill be more prepared next time!!!

i guess nobody really cares about this topic. i find this funny because the same thing happend today. i saw 1 guy catch 13 pinks today. i thought you can catch and release until you get your 4 then you need to stop. maybe im wrong, but this guy caught his 4, then kept fishing and catching fish. now is it cool to still fish after getting your limit? or is it just ok if your giving the fish away? either way, makes no sense but if nobody cares then why do we need regulations? i also saw 2 groups of people that were fishing without licenses. i know they didnt because they werent writing on punch cards. when i asked them if they had a punch card or license they spoke in another language and acted like they didnt know what i said. UNBELIEVABLE.....

you can fish until you limit is complete and then you have to stop

Call WDFW to report poaching
Call Toll-Free
1-877-933-9847

On a river it's diffretn, I know on the sounds say if there are two people on the boat and you have already caught 7 pinks, you can still fish with both polls in the water. This is diffren though. once you cathc your limit you have to stop fishing. It's not like he was helping his kids and even then, if you are reeling them in yourself then your kids aren't fishing.

call fish and game and get them out there, they are busy this time of year with the salmon runs and hunting right around the corner but they are always looking for more peopel to bust.

people will awlays fish and hunt with out the proper paper work. Nothing you can do other than make that phone call. I wouldn't even bother asking people if they have puch cards, you aren't the enforcement agencies that so it. plus it could get you killed, if you ask the wrong people.

Just call that number everyday you see it happen and at some point they will come and stop it. If you talk to other fisherman on the river that are ligit then pass the number to them so there is more than one person making these calls. Oh and post this river and location up so we can go there and take video and stills of this going on.

ditto, call the number. Everything you've described is illegal fishing. You have to figure with all these pinks and all these anglers that WDFW will be nailing a fair number of people. But no doubt they are a bit overwhelmed as well.

You can catch 3 and keep fishing, once you keep #4 you're done for the day.

BTW, this is a bit off topic, but don't forget to send in your punch cards! Starting next year if you didn't send your card in when you go to get a new license you'll get (I think) a $10 fee tacked on for not turning it in.

Mike Carey wrote:
BTW, this is a bit off topic, but don't forget to send in your punch cards! Starting next year if you didn't send your card in when you go to get a new license you'll get (I think) a $10 fee tacked on for not turning it in.

This is great info that I didn't know.

Thank you

ive been seeing that a few times up on the skagit a farely large group of 7 or 8 ppl with 4 or 5 of them being under the age of five but theres 7 poles in the water and one guy running back and forth between them all and occasionally someone helping him out it was frustrated when i was seeing that he was alwas getting a fis hand i had nothing, i think once, u get your four get your pole outta the water and either spectate or leave its only fair to everyone else that are playing by the rules, the skagit is a great fishery for the pinks but these ppl not playing fair are just going to end up making it not fun for others and could potentially get it shut down.
lets all just go fish and have fun adn be fair, its supposed to be a relaxing but some what competitive sport for pinks.

mrkadazle, i think we saw the same group of people

i always believed that if there are 5 people in the party, all of which possess a license and a fishing line in the water, it doesn't matter who reels it in. One person can reel in all 5 fishing poles and possess the fish for the entire party. I've certainly done this while crabbing since my girlfriend struggles to pull the crab cages up so I end up manning the crab cages we have but she does possess a license. With that said, I can certainly understand a guy reeling in fish since kids may struggle with it a bit.

Also, I know I've read several reports where people say "We easily caught 20 in just a hour." So are these people releasing the ones that they feel are small and keeping the bigger ones? Or can you hold onto 4 fish you catch and release them by replacing them with bigger fish you catch?

I'd like to get some official word on this so I don't end up breaking the regulations.

Well this is my interpretation...

An angler who is fishing the Skagit catches and retains 4 pinks. Alright, your pink limit is full, you cannot fish for or retain any more pink salmon. You can continue to fish for your limit (2) of trout, 12" or longer. You hook 10 more pink salmon, but immediatly release all 10 because you are now tageting your 2 trout. You fish for 8 hours longer, catching 15 more pink salmon, but no trout. Legal....yes. Ethical....you decide. IMO, if you really want your trout limit, by all means go ahead. If you just want to use the trout as an excuse to catch and play more pinks....maybe not.

rollin, good post. i agree with you here. I think we all know its BS but what do we do but keep calling. All i know is that if i get my 4 keepers, i break down my pole and watch.. thanks for the reply

ckim85,
"i always believed that if there are 5 people in the party, all of which possess a license and a fishing line in the water, it doesn't matter who reels it in. One person can reel in all 5 fishing poles and possess the fish for the entire party. I've certainly done this while crabbing since my girlfriend struggles to pull the crab cages up so I end up manning the crab cages we have but she does possess a license. With that said, I can certainly understand a guy reeling in fish since kids may struggle with it a bit."

well if you have 5 people with 5 poles sure one person can help if the kid/person is struggling with the fish. i have no prob helping a little kid. this was not the issue. these guys were grown adults. and as far as keeping 5 poles in the river after one person gets his limit is wrong. i break down my pole when i get my 4 unless like rollin says " you can then fish for your 2 trout." but i know darn well im not going for trout so i get my pole out of the water and let others get a chance. its like your saying its ok to fish with 5 poles when the other 4 people are off playing no where near the poles or are not even paying attention, "but they have there license." 1 guy, 5 poles..... umm not right........but this is just my opinion....which doesnt mean anything to anyone but myself...

thanks all for giving your opinions and facts on this topic..

you do have a great point. I may have misinterpreted the regulations.
But the example with fishing with 2 poles is a perfect example to prove my theory wrong.
Thanks for your insight on this hanapaa808.

boat fishing in the salt and river fishing are entirely different situations and this is copied from the regs;

In Washington waters where a saltwater
license is valid, each angler aboard a vessel
may continue to deploy angling gear or
shellfish gear until the daily limit of fish and
shellfish for all licensed and juvenile anglers
aboard has been achieved.

Therefore, you reach your limit on the river, pack it in. you get to be a JAFO!

BTW, ckim85, your question about holding fish and replacing w/ larger ones;

Where use of bait is prohibited, or where lures
or flies are used voluntarily, game fish may
be caught and released until the daily limit is
retained. If any fish has swallowed the hook or
is hooked in the gill, eye, or tongue, it should
be kept if legal to do so.

I don't think you can hold them then replace them.

thats good to know. Yeah I was always wondering that since I've been reading reports where people are like "Man I caught easily 20 of them in a hour, blah blah, it was like pick and choose which one to keep, blah blah"

Hopefully they just release the fish right away if they don't like the size of it instead of holding onto them until a bigger one is caught.