fishing for 2,3,even 4?

[Mike Carey]

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.

If you tried to do this on Lake Washington during the sockeye season you will get ticketed and probably laughed at by the enforcement person. The bottom line is the person writing the ticket will decide on the spot what you're targeting based on the gear and technique you're using. If they believe your intent is to catch pinks after your limit is reached you'll get a ticket and the chance to argue it in front of a judge. What a drag that would be. So much easier to just catch three and then catch/release till you're ready to call it a day. People get greedy I guess.