Skagit Sockeye!

Jakefish · Post by **Jakefish** » Wed Jul 12, 2017 6:36 pm

dj2loud wrote:season extended to the 21st.... Any reports to share??

Last weekend was slower than the previous weekend, and slower than it should be this far in to the season. Saturday I saw 1 fish caught for maybe every 5 or 6 anglers (but clustered among a few spots), Sunday was even slower when I was expecting it to have improved. On top of that, I have not seen it so busy this season as this past weekend - people getting to the river by 1 am just to get a spot! Bites were light and stealthy. We still haven't had a day of over 1,000 fish at the fish trap, so I call BS on their rationale that there are more fish available for anglers. It seems to me to be a pretty transparent political move to extend the netting season for the tribes on a smaller than expected run. I'm not worried that they won't reach brood stock goals at the hatchery, but we don't know what the natural spawning capacity is yet in Baker Lake. I would hate to see the lake season shut down in early August (or sooner) because they decide there aren't enough fish showing up. Also, it is nice to have the river open for one more weekend day (Sunday) but the Monday-Friday extra opening doesn't help many people beyond the retired folks who are there every day. I REALLY want another sockeye or two for the freezer, but I plan on trying the lake for the first time this year so hopefully I can pick up a few in the new boat. Dang these are tasty fish. Also, if anyone encounters any humpies on the Skagit this weekend, please share the info - it would be good to see a few fish showing up as the run is forecast to be dismal. By this time two years ago, I think there were nearly as many pinks being caught as sockeye.

dj2loud · Post by **dj2loud** » Thu Jul 13, 2017 3:58 pm

And this is just my speculation, or my .02 cents....

The numbers are over inflated due to the fact that we the sportsmen and sportswomen know what WDFW and the natives are up to..... Its obvious that they have been already transferring baker lake sockeye/skagit river sockeye to the natives since 2012, lower counts under the minimum escapement they get 100,000, over the escapement they can get their 500,000 eyed eggs for the new hatchery..... for the new run that we as sportsmen will never get to fish for... Just another smoke and mirror game by all involved.....

Why is there no real oversight by an outside party to actually make an accurate count and hold this and all accountable.?

Does this even make sense to anyone???

Screenshot (13).png

Jakefish · Post by **Jakefish** » Thu Jul 13, 2017 5:19 pm

I'm not going to get worked up about the lake Cushman transfer - it is a tiny amount of fish needed for their brood stock, and if it leads to a sport fishery in Lake Cushman that might help take pressure off of Baker Lake. All I'm saying is that the returns to the trap are much lower than the past couple years even though the season is being extended for us - but the real reason the sport fishing season is being extended is so they can justify more netting. The river sporties have never come close to getting their catch quota. BTW - I just noticed the Ballard Locks sockeye counts are pretty high - over nearly 100k already. This is already a much bigger run than anticipated, and indicates good ocean survival for these fish (these are Baker Lake stock) so if the Baker Lake run turns out lower than normal then something either happened on the way down river with the smolts or the way up-river with the adults. My guess is the out-migration was impeded by poor conditions in 2015, as is impacting the Columbia sockeye runs this year (and Fraser runs too).

Salmon King · Post by **Salmon King** » Thu Jul 13, 2017 6:02 pm

I have not been back yet.
Skunked 3 times is enough for me...
Time for me to concentrate on the Saltwater again.

dj2loud · Post by **dj2loud** » Fri Jul 14, 2017 9:04 pm

look at the photo of the hatchery count vs the wdfw actual transfer count.... 233 fish off....?

Jakefish · Post by **Jakefish** » Sat Jul 15, 2017 10:03 am

dj2loud wrote:look at the photo of the hatchery count vs the wdfw actual transfer count.... 233 fish off....?

What are you trying to compare? The hatchery report has brood stock collected to date as of the cutoff date of their report (who know's when on the 11th this was finalized). The other has total fish trapped to date and total fish transferred to date as of July 13, as well as daily trap counts. I don't see where they are reporting the same information for the same time period, and I certainly don't see any conspiracy.

Noodle Caboodle · Post by **Noodle Caboodle** » Sat Jul 15, 2017 1:30 pm

dj2loud wrote:look at the photo of the hatchery count vs the wdfw actual transfer count.... 233 fish off....?

If you would stop screaming about the sky falling for a minute you probably would have noticed the bright red letters. Up towards the top right of that photo. All numbers are estimated.

dj2loud · Post by **dj2loud** » Sat Jul 15, 2017 2:32 pm

Noodle, get a life, sky ain't falling and i spend months on the river not days..... As far as the number are concerned the count at the hatchery was actually higher 2 days before the numbers released on the 13th, which mean someone either inflated the numbers ( which we all know that never happens)

Im just tired of being fed farts until i'm old enough to eat ****.... I just spent two weeks on the cascade and on the skagit fishing with 2 fish to shore......Not claiming i'm the best at hooking em but damn i'm cursed...... Last night had on 5 with a buddy from local 292 and didn't land a damn thing at the cade......... Depressing to say the least....

Noodle Caboodle · Post by **Noodle Caboodle** » Sat Jul 15, 2017 3:35 pm

Get mad all you want.. they estimate the numbers. They dont have to be 100% accurate, or a higher count from the day before.
And months on the river? You were surprised that #4 brads didnt work on kings... yeah, okay.

riverhunter · Post by **riverhunter** » Sat Jul 15, 2017 4:21 pm

dj2loud wrote:And this is just my speculation, or my .02 cents....

The numbers are over inflated due to the fact that we the sportsmen and sportswomen know what WDFW and the natives are up to..... Its obvious that they have been already transferring baker lake sockeye/skagit river sockeye to the natives since 2012, lower counts under the minimum escapement they get 100,000, over the escapement they can get their 500,000 eyed eggs for the new hatchery..... for the new run that we as sportsmen will never get to fish for... Just another smoke and mirror game by all involved.....

Why is there no real oversight by an outside party to actually make an accurate count and hold this and all accountable.?

Does this even make sense to anyone???

Screenshot (13).png

It actually does make sense. The wdfw escapement page shows on hand adults which means these are fish they are holding to collect eggs and milt. The other page shows trap counts and how many fish they have released into the lake. The numbers won't match as fish that are on hand and fish that are released are two totally different things

dj2loud · Post by **dj2loud** » Sun Jul 16, 2017 12:54 pm

If that were the case the numbers are way off from what's been trapped... Not arguing just basic math doesn't add up.....I finally made it back after changing to owner hooks, released a nice native hen (king) and lost another just before shore... Had a guy call my lami a twig for catching kings.... Who knew..... On to coho and chums with a lot of lessons learned early in the season..... Thanks for the advice....

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