Makes me wonder if WDFW is getting worried about license sales?

[Larry3215]

WDFW WEEKENDER REPORT
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov

March 2018
Contact: (Fish) 360-902-2700
(Wildlife) 360-902-2515

Plenty of good reasons to renew fishing and hunting licenses soon

Several fisheries are set to open in the weeks ahead, and the year's first general hunting season isn't far behind.

With a new season of outdoor adventures about to begin, Washingtonians might want to consider purchasing 2018-19 recreational fishing and hunting licenses before current licenses expire at midnight March 31.

The cost of fishing and hunting licenses remains the same as last year, and most annual licenses include a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) vehicle-access pass. That pass allows people to use and park at more than 700 WDFW water access sites and 33 wildlife areas throughout the state. More information is available at https://wdfw.wa.gov/licensing/.

Popular outdoor opportunities available in the coming weeks include:

[Larry3215]

Id be worried if I was them. Im not buying a saltwater license this year.

[Mike Carey]

I'm sure you're right and they are experiencing a downtrend in license sales.

[rseas]

Going against the current a bit I have a different view on this. With an all inclusive fishing license you're spending about 50 cents a day for the right to fish, not a bad deal in my book. If you compare your license fees to the cost of your boat, tow vehicle, insurance, gear, fuel, clothing, bait, food, ice, etc. the cost of your license is a very small portion of your fishing dollar.

I will agree that the closures associated with certain fisheries are frustrating at best. But that said, there are still many stellar opportunities to enjoy both our salt and freshwater salmon fisheries. A partial list of saltwater recreational fisheries includes:

Winter Blackmouth; Marine Areas 7, 8-1, 8-2, 9, 10 and Marine Area 11
Lake Washington Coho (fresh)
Baker Lake Sockeye (fresh)
Marine Area 7 in September
July Opener in Marine Area 9
Tulalip Bubble
Different Beach Based Salmon Fisheries
The Ocean Salmon Fisheries
Halibut
Lingcod

Learn to fish the areas noted above and you can keep your fillet knife busy all year. Last year our boat landed multiple notable salmon, including a few into the mid-30s. All were caught in Puget Sound. In not purchasing a saltwater license your protest is a personal one. Your voice can be heard; join a local chapter of CCA or similar organization. The voice of thousands goes a long ways as the state works with the Federal Government ESA listings, Alaskan Fisheries management, Canadian Fisheries management, Tribal considerations and to some extent fisheries management for both Oregon and California to set our recreational saltwater opportunities.

It's a personal decision but at my end I'm purchasing my saltwater endorsement and look forward to participating in the varied saltwater opportunities available through my "salt" ticket.

[BARCHASER]

Yeah, I will be buying a saltwater license. But then I'm over 70 so the license cost about half what it used to. For various reasons I didn't fish Chinooks much in either 9 or 10. Fished 9 just twice for Nooks and we got 2 marked fish, one wild and another one taken at the boat by a seal. I just hope MA 10 is open this year. Coho was good to us, we got 41 Coho, 31 marked and 10 unmarked, all in 10. I'll be happy if they just give the same season we had last year.

[Larry3215]

I dont get to go salt fishing all that often anyway, and when I do go, Im not a fan of combat fishing - especially with boats.

Last time we went halibut fishing - year before last in Port Angelus, it was utterly insane. People were parking trailers two miles from the launch because it was that full. We got lucky launching because we got there 2 hours later than we wanted and caught a spot when someone else was leaving. At the end of the day, we waited over an hour just to get the boat tied up to the dock, and then had to wait another almost hour to get the truck backed in to load the boat. It was crazy dangerous the way people were acting and how crowded it was. From what I heard, it was similar at Seque, and most other places.

Every year that the fishing seasons and quotas get shorter, and shorter, the worse it gets at the docks - especially during those special fisheries like halibut and lings.

My brothers and I share a boat and we are all retired so we can fish during the week - if its open then - and miss the worst of the crowds, but even week days are getting insane. This year will just be that much worse.

As a result, I now have zero desire to go halibut fishing in Wa. We plan to take the money we would have spent on salmon and halibut and ling fishing in Wa and spend it on trips to Idaho and other out of state locations where there are still fish to catch.

I honestly believe that the only way to save our fishing for the future is to shut it all down for a few years. I know thats not going to happen until its way too late to do any good, so its just a pipe dream. My not fishing is my small contribution to that goal in addition to the protest.

This trend is not going to stop. My grand kids are not going to be able to fish when they grow up. It kills me to know they wont have that opportunity.

[rseas]

Although there a few exceptions I try to avoid the combat fisheries also. Maybe because I'm old and just don't need a fish that bad or blessed over the years, where we kind of been there done that or who knows... An exception may be the Baker Lake sockeye fishery but that is a unique beast all of it's own.

Regarding Port Angeles and the halibut openers we are on the same page. That is a zoo and unless I'm a guest fisherman or have weekend moorage somewhere I pass on it. That doesn't mean that I don't fish halibut. There are enough local banks that hold halibut in close proximity to launches with normal ramp traffic that you don't have to fight the crowds out on the straight.

Not a common practice but we have run as far as Pillar Point out of Deception Pass. I will admit that it would be a perfect weather run. Most of the banks are accessable without having to fight the mob in PA.

We have incedentally hooked two (both released) halibut in Marine Area 8-2 fishing for blackmouth. Oddly they were both hooked end of March/early April. I mention that because if the state were to make changes with intent of reducing traffic, have a early halibut opener.

The current halibut openers are after a bulk of the fish have migrated out of the sound. While still working within the quota guidelines an early opener would allow people to access halibut while they are accessable to the average boater from local boat launches. With an early opener the same quota guidelines and catch assessment would still apply but some of the ramp traffic could be reduced.

Anyway my two cents. With there being so many stakeholders I can only imagine the difficulties in setting seasons and quota limits based on statistical run projections.

[BARCHASER]

I also quit Butts. I started fishing for Butts at PA and CQ in 1991. It was good back then, not many boats and it stayed good until about 2005. About 2005 the average size went from 35-40 pounds to 12-15 pounds and the numbers also dwindled. I think it was over fishing by everybody all through the Halibut range. Butt fishing used to be open 3 days a week from April to late July. You could do trips for both Butts and salmon.

Now it a joke. Mostly its only open one day a week, not worth towing a boat over there for just one day fishing. The only time its open two days in a row is during the derbys they have in both PA and CQ. It is really a zoo during a derby. I only did a derby once about 15 years ago.

Last I heard. the season make up is set by a Halibut Commission. It was something like the Strait was allowed 11 days fishing. BUT, each weekend day counts as two days, so after that adjustment what you wind up with is about six days of fishing, mostly one day a week but two days for the derby days.

I suspect its done that way to keep the locals on the OP happy.