11/14/2009 IFPAG Meeting

[Don Wittenberger]

Yesterday's IFPAG meeting in Ellensburg was well attended despite sloppy driving conditions over the pass. The main agenda items were sportfishing rule proposals and WDFW's marketing plan.

To date, about 4 or 5 comments have been submitted on the artificial lures rule. Only 1 comment is against the proposal. This commenter opposes further restrictions on fishing for tiger muskies, and indicated he also had opposed the 50-inch rule. The rest of the comments all questioned including scents in the bait ban. At least one of these comments requested adoption of the rule even if the scent ban can't be removed. My feeling right now is the rule has a good shot at adoption, but to make sure of that, it wouldn't hurt to send in more comments in support of it. The deadline for submitting comments is Dec. 1.

The most heated discussion at yesterday's IFPAG meeting involved a proposed rule submitted by loon advocates to ban lead sinkers and jigs below a certain size on 13 lakes. A show of hands indicated opinion in the room was divided. (I voted with "undecideds" because I don't have enough information about the issue.) I think it's very fair to say everyone there is for protecting loons, but some question whether there's any reliable scientific evidence that lead fishing tackle is harmful to loons. If you're interested in this issue, you can find a discussion of it on the WAFISH.com blog at http://www.wafish.com/group/bassfishing ... for-action.

Finally, WDFW agreed to discuss the Pend O'Reilles River pike fishery at the February 2010 IFPAG meeting. At present, this fishery isn't being managed, and WDFW has said it wants to conduct a 3-year study before developing a management plan and regulations. However, tribal biologists went ahead and conducted their own study, so there's now some data to work with. Anglers in the Spokane area want WDFW to adopt harvest regulations so the fishery isn't decimated. Putting this item on a meeting agenda may be a step toward getting such action taken.

[Rosann G]

Thanks for the report and update on what is going on. Glad you made it back and forth across the pass safely.

[Lucius]

Hey Don,
Can the general public attend IFPAG meetings?

[Don Wittenberger]

WDFW is a public agency, IPFAG meetings are not secret, and the public is entitled to attend. However, the meeting rooms usually are small and crowded, so it's a good idea to call Craig Burley at WDFW ahead of time, so he knows how many people have to be seated, in order to accomodate everyone. His phone number is 360-902-2784.