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I hit the bridge hole around 3pm hoping to catch evening bite. As I get down river I can the distinct snagger whip crack.. it wasnt just 1 or 2 guys doing this, no 6 guys down there floss/snagging balligerently... brutally. 2 snaggers left as me and a friend showed up, they had 4 coho each... for a total of 8. Every person there other than me and my friend had pencil lead, 8ft leader and hook.. not a corky or yarn just plain hook... we tried floating eggs. Then I saw one of the guys yard in a beat up firetruck by its back, pulled it out of the water by the tail, and grabbed a rock... as he did this I yelled across the river at him "arent you going to release that fish?!?!" After a minute of cross river staring he begrudgingly released the boot salmon... this is only the beginning. So there I was trying to float some eggs like a good american and I can see him yarding and yarding, cast let it sink set the hook reel it in repeat.... I got tired of it so I moved up the hole where the next couple snaggers were... so im kind of around the corner, but I can still hear the whip cracking and see them hooking up, which they did constantly. I saw them 2 yard in 4 fish in 20 minutes.. 3 of which where not anywhere near the head of the fish.... this is when I called 911.. poaching in progress. After nearly 40 minutes and 2 more retained snagged boots later, I call again. They said they "will choose when or if theyll show up) so after an hour of waiting for the police or wardens to show up, I gave up and went home... I think this will be the end of my wallace fishing this year. Not that many fish in. Horrible snagging, litter everywhere, no enforcement. This place is a disgrace.
Side bar.. this is no ones fault but the snaggers themselves. Us fishing reporters shouldnt have to worry about snaggers over running our rivers if we report. We should be able to report without scrutiny. The ones that deserve the scrutiny and harrassment are the snaggers themselves, and the wdfw for being an impotent joke, that doesnt put enough of its budget towards enforcement. If you are on the river call the snaggers out, put them in their place. Wdfw isnt going to help.. you can try, by all means do try to contact the authorities... but expect disapointing results.
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from jonb.
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