Congrats! Was the 15 pounder fairly chrome still? Were you by I-5 or the new spot I PM'd you about?

Congrats on that 15 pounder! wow! Can they gill net that legally?

I posted pics but they didn't go thru, so I just posted the pics again.@datsun, I do not think they can legally but if it is legal it is BS!!!! especially right there.

Yep. Friggen indians can do whatever hey want. Sucks for the rest of us. We thought it was hard to catch a silver that no scents, baits or barbs. Gets even harder with gill nets down stream.

@snorider, boy that just burns me up, I had not seen them put that net in right below the freeway in all the times I have been there. They actually tied the net off of the base of the freeway, yet we can't even use scent or baits (wouldn't want it to be unfair for the fish with bait or scent) but nets are ok. Does anyone know how to get the schedule for when they net?

Unfortunately, yes it is legal for the tribes to net the river...5 days a week, from noon Monday to noon Saturday. It's a bunch of BS. My brother and I have been waiting and waiting for the silvers to show up (just downstream from the forks), and there just haven't been any fish in large numbers. We thought maybe the fish were waiting for the rains, but then the rains came, and nothing. We knew something was up, just didn't know what. Then yesterday, my brother was driving through Silvana and saw one of the nets accross the ENTIRE river. There is nowhere for the fish to go except into the net. Go check it out...it just makes you sick. This was the bridge if you are heading west into Silvana.
Anyway, here is a link that will tell you more than you'll want to know about the netting schedules. This is the agreement between the WDFW and the tribes. I'm all for everyone having rights, but this is just rediculous. Where are my rights?!
http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/tribal/2009-10agreement.pdf
Good luck out there. I hope a few fish make it through.

@superprep, thanks for the info and the link. Geez, I guess I'll need to avoid the Stilly for a little while. Sucks.

Thanks for the link. You would think that giving the fish only 2 days possible to get thru would make the amount of salmon each year become less and less....oh ya the numbers do go down.....but thats ok if they make it illegal to use scent, bait, barbs, ect. it will help protect the runs. Sorry don't mean to wine so much but that is ridiculous to not let any fish thru for 5 days straight and then not allow someone using a fishing pole to even use scent. Makes no sense...

goodtimefishing: I hear you loud and clear. 2 days is hardly enough time for any of the fish to get through. And I'm wondering if they are even sticking to the regs...I might go check for nets Saturday evening and make sure they are out of the river. From the lack of fish I've seen, it's almost like the nets are up 7 days a week. I'm very disappointed that all these days I've been fishing and waiting, it's pretty much been wasted time. About a month ago, I reported some guys for snagging a few fish. Boy, now they look like angels campared to this. Congrats on the fish by the way...15 lb is a nice Coho. My only Coho this year was a 10 lb colored one...not bad. Sure would like to feel a couple more of those on the end of my line before the run is done.

goodtimefishing: I hear you loud and clear. 2 days is hardly enough time for any of the fish to get through. And I'm wondering if they are even sticking to the regs...I might go check for nets Saturday evening and make sure they are out of the river. From the lack of fish I've seen, it's almost like the nets are up 7 days a week. I'm very disappointed that all these days I've been fishing and waiting, it's pretty much been wasted time. About a month ago, I reported some guys for snagging a few fish. Boy, now they look like angels campared to this. Congrats on the fish by the way...15 lb is a nice Coho. My only Coho this year was a 10 lb colored one...not bad. Sure would like to feel a couple more of those on the end of my line before the run is done.

The agreement (in the state of Washington at least) is that any place a tribe has ancestral rights to fish they can catch half of the available fish (forecast minus archery requirement). Problem is, quite frequently they catch more than they are allowed.

Congratulations on the silver.

As you all know, I've been trying to catch one for several weeks. Saw them jumping by the thousands off the Boe landing, but they were not biting. So I thought once the rain came, might have a chance.

I'm pro-Indian, and believe in honoring their fishing rights. However hope someone is checking to make sure they are being fair. I know that they do a lot for conservation and have been fighting for the salmon for years. So I give them credit for that.

I feel bad complaining, because I HAVE had the experience of a lifetime catching Humpies. But with all of the Silvers I saw at the Stilly mouth, thought maybe there would be one for me, or someone I know. Hmmmmm. Have spent several hundred hours fishing and watching the Stilly from the mouth to the mountains. And pretty certain that most of the Silvers moved up river in the last 10 days.

Also noticed in the grocery store that they only had Coho for a couple days. Now the salmon is frozen, and from FINLAND!

not that i would ever condone it, but old timers used to throw hay bales in up river where they tumble a couple of feet under the water and when they hit the nets they tear them free and wrap them up in a ball and off to sea they go