Northwest Fishing Reports

Well I just got home from the WDFW meeting that I openly call the "Dog and Pony show" LOL, on the future of Pike in the P.O. River. I was a farce to say the least. They did a presentation at first where they wouldn't take any questions for about the 30 mins. or so, although I still got in a few zingers. Then they had 5 of what I would call "Story Telling Booths", and they called them "Learning Centers" to answer questions on different topics. That was intentional I think to keep the crowd at bay. so they didn't have to get into an open discussion of the facts.
I asked some pointed questions and got veg or I don't know responses to most. One Question I asked repeatedly to many of the WDFW officials there is why they have not done any studies in the Boundary Res. None had a real answer. I told them about a guy I know that fishes for pike up in Metilene and that they already have a large breeding population of Pike there already of which I got the 3 monkeys response

that said they See no evil, Hear no evil and Speak no evil. They didn't seam to care about the Pike in Boundary Res. and actually told me that by killing off the Pike in Box Canyon it would also rid the Boundary Res of Pike ????????? WHAT?????? He lead me to believe that without any management in the Boundary Res of any kind, the fish will just keel over and die when their relatives upstream are caught. Hard to believe this fish biologist could even say this let alone believe it to be true.


I also called them on some of the misinformation and down right lies they have been telling in there so called press releases. All I got there was, he guessed the reporter make a mistake when they typed up the story. I also told them I would not support any of their kill required Pike tournaments and that I will no longer harvest any pike no matter what size it is. I hope that my fellow true Sportsmen will fallow this lead. I did tell them I would support good management of the P.O river with a catch and release regulation for any fish over 30" and a mandatory keep for fish under 26" all of which all fell on the deaf monkeys ears. What they do plan to do it gill net them to almost non existence from River bend to Ashenfelter bay. To which I told them I go into Ashenfelter bay at 65 mph and I might not be able to stop in time to keep from running over their net. LOL
So the jest of what I got out of the meeting is the Pike fishing in the P.O. is gonna suck for the most part from now on once they start gill netting. So enjoy it while you can guys cause it anit gonna be around for long.

Aw man. That sounds like pounding my head against the wall until my ears bleed! Once they make their mind up, they're gonna do what they're gonna do. Bureaucrats and women, they do what they want. That's a shame, I'd like to be able to catch one of them things before they're gone!

We need to all get on board about not supporting any derbys or tournaments that are kill only. I would hope that Chapter 60 would also do a release only tournament this Spring. I wish they would give us a chance to try and reduce numbers by letting the fishing community do the ruducing, which we could if the big fish were protected. Look at the man and women hours fished back in 2004 compared to last year, we can reduce the numbers ourselves while helping WDFW meet their goals. They say we cant do it, but the problem is your not going to get the support while their also gill netting. I dont understand their thinking when it comes to gill netting. Sure it removes fish but seems to me that would be the bigger fish. The smaller fish can swim right through the holes. So what do you have left? thats right small fish. So now in the future the big fish are gone now all we have left are small hammer handles. The handle handle will start breeding at a younger age, what sense does that make. Lets kill as many small fish as we can and protect those big fish. The pike community would help you 100% if that was the plan. You will never get the Pike community to help or promote WDFW by double dipping the river by gill netting and running kill tournaments or derbys. I also agree concentrate your efforts in the Boundry area if you want to keep them out of the Columbia which none of us want. I wish WDFW would sit down with some of us in the Pike community and lets work together on this and not against each other. There has to be a compromise to work twords the same goals, which are reducing Pike numbers. We just want to protect the big fish while doing this. Please WDFW lets work together as a whole....

Yankin Jaw Guide Service wrote:. Look at the man and women hours fished back in 2004 compared to last year, we can reduce the numbers ourselves while helping WDFW meet their goals.

The problem with that is their "Goals" are to only leave 17% of the current fish population. I would never fish a body of water out till it only had 17 % of all the fish left. That will ruin the fishing in the P.O. forever. It is obvious to me what we will NEVER be able to work together on this, so I will do everything in my powers to work against them. But it looks like a loosing battle. Another example of Big brother tell us peons (The Pike Community) what is good for us, as they think we don't know any better.

P.S It was a very VERY VERYYYYYY sad turn out indeed, as the WDFW had more people there then the Pike Fishing community!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I only saw 2 guys from Washington Lakes there, Mark M. and Mark K. and I would say it was less then 20 people there. For you guys that didn't go to the meeting, maybe they are right about the Pike community.

I actually wouldn't mind seeing the pike population removed from the PO drainage as I am tired of having expensive lucky crafts and swimbaits being destroyed by the pike.. Just my two cents..

To piggyback on my last statement. What I don't understand is how the WDFW can justify in killing off a lake that has a great bass population just so fishermen can catch trout. I don't understand their logic.

deepbuzzer wrote:I actually wouldn't mind seeing the pike population removed from the PO drainage as I am tired of having expensive lucky crafts and swimbaits being destroyed by the pike.. Just my two cents..

There are probably 1000 lakes and rivers in Washington state to fish for Bass and only the P.O. River for Pike, so if you don't want to catch Pike, DON'T FISH THERE!!!!!!!!!!

deepbuzzer wrote:To piggyback on my last statement. What I don't understand is how the WDFW can justify in killing off a lake that has a great bass population just so fishermen can catch trout. I don't understand their logic.

Same logic they have toward Pike in the P.O. River. The WDFW are blind to any other species, so If it's not a Trout or Salmon it's just something to kill off.

Here's a slightly different perspective from another attendee at the meeting.
The folks from the WDFW did just as Rick said. They did about a 15 minute presentation on what has transpired in the last year, and asked everyone to hold their comments and questions until "AFTER" the presentation. (Rick).
They also asked that we keep our comments limited to what "Else" we feel could be done to help reduce the pike population. They admitted that their plan was not going to be popular with the fishing community, but they did not want to debate any of their intended actions. They only wanted the people at the meeting to give additional ideas on how to reduce the population.
They told us about the gill netting they have done, the warm water fish studies they have done, and the electroshocking they have done. They also told us about how they have "Listened" to the input from the fishing community that they have gotten over the last year. They thought we would all agree that they have listened and mentioned that we would be able to see that by the end of the evening. The only thing I could see that they felt was listening was letting anglers help reduce the population. They intend to do this by promoting pike fishing to the publiuc, by making more fishermen aware of the pike fishing opportunities in the POR, and by putting on a derby, for wich they do not yet have a date set. They also feel that a two pole fishing opportunity will help. (I doubt that will have any impact, but that's just my oninion).
When I asked why eradication efforts were not being put in place in Boundary Reservoir, I was told that it would be hard to do. The water is deeper there and in areas that gillnets would need to be set, they would need to stretch into the main channel and that could be detrimental to the fish they don't want to kill. (That kind of makes sense).
EVERY time I mentioned leaving the big fish in the river, I got a smirk and an "I wish I could agree with you" smile, or comment. When we mentioned the fact that big pike eat small pike and that a derby encouraging the release of fish over 30" would actually help their efforts to reduce the population of the 18 to 26" eating machines, we were told that if the big pike remain in the river they will continue to reproduce. That's it. Bill Baker flat made a statement to us that they are still "Not interested" in managing this situation as a fishery. They simply want the pike out of the reservoir. They want to reduce the pike population to what they refer to as a population of "Hundreds of pike" not the "Many thousands of pike" that are currently there. Their target number is to reduce the population by 87%.

I think we the fishing community agree with them on the subject that the population needs to be reduced. What I don't believe we agree on is, what is a manageable sized population, and how we can get to that particular point.

I even asked that if a bounty ever was put in place on the POR, would they consider only a bounty on the fish that fit in that eating machine slot, like the 18 to 26" range, thus leaving the big fish to eat small fish. Once again I got that smile and I wish I could agree with you comment, and a "No I don't think that's going to happen.

I was also told that a fish ladder would help the "Salmonid" population in the river. They said the Army Corps of Engineers was supposed to do that at Albeni Falls this year, but they were claiming a shortage of money and likely wouldn't be able to do that as planned. I recommended selling their gillnets on Ebay to generate funds for the ladders but that didn't sound like a good idea to them.

I thank them for comming last night and explaining their intentions to us, I just wish they would see it from a management point of view and not a "How can we get every pike out of the reservoir" point of view. I also wish they would have allowed an open question and answer session so everyone could participate and hear answers to common questions. I wonder why that didn't take place????

That's my 2 cents worth.

Another reason I wouldn't mind seeing the pike removed from the PO river drainage, is I do not want them in the Columbia..
That is a perfect reason to remove them from the PO. Plus from the amount of individuals who attended the meeting, it surely shows that the pike fishing community can care less if they are there or not.

Just my opinion..

deepbuzzer wrote:Another reason I wouldn't mind seeing the pike removed from the PO river drainage, is I do not want them in the Columbia..
That is a perfect reason to remove them from the PO. Plus from the amount of individuals who attended the meeting, it surely shows that the pike fishing community can care less if they are there or not.

Just my opinion..

I wouldn't mind seeing Pike in all of the Columbia as it might improve that fishery just as it has the P.O. River. and we could end this waste of tax payer dollars. But then we are all entitled to our opinions, no matter how wrong it may be.

Just my opinion.. J/K

There were 50 chairs set up at the meeting and most of them were filled. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there that would be dissapointed in what's going to happen with the pike if they actually knew about it. If I wasn't a washington lakes member, I wouldn't know anything about it. I don't take the paper so the only way I heard about what's going on is this website and word of mouth.

One member of this website once told me that he didn't believe the WDFW would just say "Thanks for comming but were going to do what we think is best regardless of what the fishermen think". Well, I believe that with their request last night to just give additional advice on how to rid the river of pike, and not debate the intended actions---- They have now said exactly that.

I don't want to see pike damage the salmon population in the Columbia any more than anyone else does. I just don't believe they would have much if any impact on them. Spawning opportunities for pike in Lake Roosevelt are nearly non existant, much the same as they are in Long Lake wich makes pike a non issue there.

I predict that once the athourities have had their way and the pike population is DRASTICALLY REDUCED in the POR, you will see them start going after the smallmouth bass next. Also, without pike in the POR, that body of water will likely be over run by tench, squaw fish (oops) and an abundance of very small yellow perch in a short time. And I my friends, will be found pike fishing, over in Idaho.

Toodles

Nature is going to do what it does wheather we like it or not. This is not of our doings here in Washington State it started in Montana. Just because people think removing them all is going to fix this problem it isnt going to keep more from coming back in the future and restablishing, its a no win situation. The only way to keep them from coming back is to shut off the flow from Montana, maybe thats a option LOL or you net the whole river off so they cant make it here. I for one love to fish for Salmon as well as Pike. I have many options for Salmon in Washington and only one spot for Pike. Why keep wasting money trying to do something that is impossible to accomplish. I'd like to see my tax dollars better spent somewhere else... like for more enforcement of the rules, not this...We need to have a variety of fish here to fish for not just trout and salmon in Washington State, why is this state so closed minded. Why is it Canada has Pike and they love the fish and the Pike live with all these other species in harmony, why not here?

I agree A.J's Dad once the numbers are reduced and they get their way they'll say you still have a fishery even though the fishable numbers as so low it wont be worth it. The Smallmouth fisherman should be watching this closely cause your Smallmouth Bass will be up next, we all know Bass do infact eat Bull Trout. I hope Pend Oreille County business step up and dont support these tournaments or derbys. I hope they understand people will not be stopping in to buy gas,groceries, or other products from them since the fisherman and women will be going somewhere else to fish. This is a fact, if anyone has seen the reports of fisherman hours in 2004 and what they were in 2010 they would understand what the community has to lose. This can only hurt the local economy and that doesnt matter to WDFW they already told us that, only the trout matter. I'm going fishing for Walleye peace out everyone. Good fishing

I think the angler attendance was actually closer to 50 than 20. You also have to remember there is another meeting tonight in Newport that people will show up to. And as AJs Dad said, I'm is the same boat being the only reason I knew of the meeting was WA Lakes. Believe it or not deepbuzzer, not everyone that fishes participates on this site...

deepbuzzer wrote: That is a perfect reason to remove them from the PO. Plus from the amount of individuals who attended the meeting, it surely shows that the pike fishing community can care less if they are there or not.

Just my opinion..

Here you go. http://washingtonlakes.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=15 You are in the PIKE forum. Take your trolling elsewhere.

I never suggested that to be the case mark k. I personally do not care to fish for pike as they are a trash fish IMHO. More power to you in battling with the WDFW. I hope you guys get what you want.

Mark K wrote:I think the angler attendance was actually closer to 50 than 20. You also have to remember there is another meeting tonight in Newport that people will show up to. And as AJs Dad said, I'm is the same boat being the only reason I knew of the meeting was WA Lakes. Believe it or not deepbuzzer, not everyone that fishes participates on this site...

Tonite's meeting is in Usk not Newport!
Here is the info on it
Feb. 16, Usk Community Hall, 2442 Black Road, Usk Wash.
I planned to go to this meeting as well tonite but after last nites meeting I see no point as they really don't want to listen to that facts or hear any public comments. And I don't like to be told what I can and can't do so I figured if I went to tonites meeting they would just throw me out as I would not keep quite. lol

Hey Fish N Fool,

I have to give you two thumbs up in the fact of contining to stand up for the Pike in the Pend Oreille and for keeping the spirit of being a true Pike fisherman alive! I only wish I lived closer to all of you on the East Side because I too would be at everyone of these meetings alongside all of you to voice my VERY STRONG opinions with each of you! Rest assured I am doing everything in my power on the West Side to help educate people on the Pike Fishing especially when I'm on the Rivers Salmon and Steelhead fishing. You wouldn't believe how many Salmon anglers were more then happy to learn about the Pike once I explained to them the truth about the Fishery on the Pend Oreille. I have actually made a few good contacts this way and have been able to network with guys to get them interested in this battle so don't think that all hope is lost. This is another reason why a few of us have been hard at work getting PIKE INC off the ground and running, which shouldn't hopefully be too much longer. This will really help in educating people because we will use PIKE INC as a platform to bring to light the truths and realitys of the Northern Pike. I have been fishing,studying, and passionate in learning about Pike and Musky since I was a kid growing up in the Mid-West and trust me when I tell you I am as PASSIONATE as they come when it's in regards to any fish in the ESOXs Family especially the ESOX's Lucius! "Power to the Pike" just remember Pike have been around a whole lot longer than any of us and if there is one thing I know about them, they aren't going anywhere no matter how hard the WDFW tries! Keep focused on the fact that this is money and political driven so that is where the effort needs to be geared towards.

Nate "The Pike Baron"

Natebg1 wrote:Hey Fish N Fool,

I have to give you two thumbs up in the fact of contining to stand up for the Pike in the Pend Oreille and for keeping the spirit of being a true Pike fisherman alive! I only wish I lived closer to all of you on the East Side because I too would be at everyone of these meetings alongside all of you to voice my VERY STRONG opinions with each of you! Rest assured I am doing everything in my power on the West Side to help educate people on the Pike Fishing especially when I'm on the Rivers Salmon and Steelhead fishing. You wouldn't believe how many Salmon anglers were more then happy to learn about the Pike once I explained to them the truth about the Fishery on the Pend Oreille. I have actually made a few good contacts this way and have been able to network with guys to get them interested in this battle so don't think that all hope is lost. This is another reason why a few of us have been hard at work getting PIKE INC off the ground and running, which shouldn't hopefully be too much longer. This will really help in educating people because we will use PIKE INC as a platform to bring to light the truths and realitys of the Northern Pike. I have been fishing,studying, and passionate in learning about Pike and Musky since I was a kid growing up in the Mid-West and trust me when I tell you I am as PASSIONATE as they come when it's in regards to any fish in the ESOXs Family especially the ESOX's Lucius! "Power to the Pike" just remember Pike have been around a whole lot longer than any of us and if there is one thing I know about them, they aren't going anywhere no matter how hard the WDFW tries! Keep focused on the fact that this is money and political driven so that is where the effort needs to be geared towards.

Nate "The Pike Baron"

Thanks Nate, for the words of encouragement. I will not give up on the fight any time soon and yes we both know this more about the money then saving any fish in particular from harm. I hope that I can still enjoy catching and releasing monster pike in the P.O. for years to come. But I fear this is not the case.

If you ever make it over here you have an open invitation for a seat in my boat anytime for a little P.O. Pikin. Once I get it fixed that is. LOL