Breaking news: OPEN SEASON on Atlantic Salmon - is this real!?!?

[Guitarfish]

Well, I am seeing some gangbusters reports on the web, it looks like there are a lot more than 5000 fish. Is anyone on here catching them?? What are you using? Please share any information so that we can eradicate these fish and all have fun doing it.

I will be up there on Saturday in a 16' Hewes

[craighix0708]

Any of you who have figured out how to effectively catch these fish can do both fishermen and native salmon a favor by sharing your knowledge re: tackle and tactics.
Thanks in advance.

[Amx]

new e-mail;


WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/
August 24, 2017
Contact: Michelle Dunlop, (360) 902-2255
WDFW asks anglers to report their Atlantic salmon catch online
OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is encouraging anglers who catch Atlantic salmon that escaped from a salmon farm near the San Juan Islands last Saturday to report their catch online.
Although anglers are not required to log Atlantic salmon on their catch record cards, state fish managers are requesting anglers report their catch online in an effort to track fish being caught.
The form for reporting can be found online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/salmon/atlan ... _catch.php.
"We're hoping to track how many Atlantic salmon have been recovered by sport anglers and how far those fish have dispersed," said Ron Warren, head of WDFW's fish program. "If you've caught one of these fish over the last few days, or if you catch one in the near future, please let us know."
Warren noted the escaped Atlantic salmon are 8 to 10 pounds in size and are safe for people to eat.
WDFW also is deploying additional employees to assist with creel checks in the Bellingham Bay area to help collect data on encounters with Atlantic salmon.
Cooke Aquaculture notified the department of a net pen failure Aug. 19 that allowed Atlantic salmon to escape from the company's Cypress Island location. The net pen held 305,000 salmon but the number of escaped Atlantic salmon is still undetermined.
The department is working with Cooke and other state agencies to determine the number of fish that actually escaped.
WDFW is responsible for monitoring fish diseases and shares regulatory authority for net pen operations with several other agencies, local governments and tribes.
Anglers must have a current fishing license and must also observe gear regulations identified in the 2017-18 sport fishing rules pamphlet.
There is no size or catch limit on Atlantic salmon. However, anglers may only fish for Atlantic salmon in marine waters that are already open to fishing for Pacific salmon or freshwater areas open to fishing for trout or Pacific salmon. Anglers also must stop fishing for Atlantic salmon once they've caught their daily limit of Pacific salmon in marine waters or their daily limit of trout or Pacific salmon in freshwater.
Persons with disabilities who need to receive this information in an alternative format or who need reasonable accommodations to participate in WDFW-sponsored public meetings or other activities may contact Dolores Noyes by phone (360-902-2349), TTY (360-902-2207), or email (dolores.noyes@dfw.wa.gov). For more information, see http://wdfw.wa.gov/accessibility/reason ... quest.html.
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Visit the WDFW News Release Archive at: http://wdfw.wa.gov/news/
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[Guitarfish]

Any of you who have figured out how to effectively catch these fish can do both fishermen and native salmon a favor by sharing your knowledge re: tackle and tactics.
Thanks in advance.

Exactly!! So far, I have heard power bait is the ticket.

Also, report your catch to DFW, as Amx noted. A lot of the unknowns that people debate, in terms of impacts to wild fish, could start to be revealed if the agency gets a handle on the basic information about distribution, dispersal, etc. The best way to get that info is from us fisherman.

[Amx]

And on the ch 4 evening news broadcast an indian tribe netted lots of those fish, so some are out of the system.

[Amx]

http://komonews.com/news/local/collapse ... sh-farming

[mikerobertd]

so has any one figured out the depth for the down riggers and what lures or colors are working yet. if we want to get these fish caught we need to share info. i cant go up there until next week but info on what gear i will need will help out. lets get these fish.

[Jakefish]

so has any one figured out the depth for the down riggers and what lures or colors are working yet. if we want to get these fish caught we need to share info. i cant go up there until next week but info on what gear i will need will help out. lets get these fish.

The latest WDFW news release said trolling isn't really working for these fish. They recommend looking for schools of them finning and rolling in the shallows, and casting buzz-bombs or similar lures

[branweeds]

If anyone is able to find them from shore that would be helpful to know as well. Tribes are reporting this morning netting some in the Nooksack and the Skagit. Keep your eye out for them if you are chasing pinks around here.

[losaturn]

I saw a picture of a small 23" Atlantic Salmon that was caught a few days ago at Seacrest Pier on a dart.

[Amx]

http://komonews.com/news/local/washingt ... ish-escape

[Larry3215]

A lot of unanswered questions on this, but reading that article - why would there be lots of dead fish?

[Larry3215]

Some folks are having success. here are some details:

https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/threa ... on.665474/

[scraig1962]

We got 12 friday and 5 saturday. They are close to shore in about 10-15 ft of water. They will roll like crazy throughout the day and then around 3pm they disappear. This might have something to do with the tides, Im not sure. Tossing Pt wilson darts, buzz bombs and hoochie spinners to rolling fish all worked. The pens are on the east side of cypress island, but theres fish jumping all along the shorelines of Cypress and Guemes. Its a cluster out there with boats anchored 20-30 ft from each other some even less. The launch at Washington park also fills up early even on a Friday and is a mess trying to retrieve your boat with only a single dock. The fish fight well and are all good size. Largest we got was 11lbs on a dart. They cut fine and meat is good quality and color, just as its sold in stores.

[spokey9]

The meat sold in stores is dyed lol

[riverhunter]

I avoid atlantic salmon at all cost but if I was catching and keeping that many I would smoke them. Would never do anything with them besides that

[spokey9]

I avoid atlantic salmon at all cost but if I was catching and keeping that many I would smoke them. Would never do anything with them besides that

Yeah I'd try smoking one, but nothing else my garden loves fertilizer

[branweeds]

Looks like the Lummi tribe is really milking this "State of Emergency" for all they can get. They are selling the Atlantics for 1.25/pound to KMB Seafood and Finkbonner Shellfish. According to this article, they have netted over 200,000 pounds of Atlantic salmon alone almost only over the weekend. That equates to a QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLAR PAYOUT... but what a sh-t load of fish they have caught. I wonder how many fish were caught that weren't Atlantics. Bet they are making some record dough with this heavy netting.

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/lo ... 99822.html

[Jake Dogfish]

Lummi tribe could not find a buyer, so they are paying the processor to take them.
So the tribal netters are getting paid for the work.
They should not be using gill nets, if they were not netting this area however they likely would be doing the same thing somewhere else.
If they have already netted 20,000 that obviously blows the early estimates out of the water.
It was not long ago when they stated a eclipse caused them to lose 4-5000. Some actually believed that.

[spokey9]

They'll claim a hardship because of they're saving us from the dreaded Atlantic Invaders and be reimbursed. Plus they'll still sell anything else that gets caught in their nets. In all honesty it's a smart PR move on their part. Probly the best pro gill netting propaganda I've seen in awhile. Since the majority​ of this state pay little to no attention to the politics and real issues our salmon have in this state, most will blindly see the nets as a good thing now.