Northwest Fishing Reports

WDFW FISHING RULE CHANGE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov

January 11, 2011

White, Carbon, upper Puyallup rivers
will close early to fishing

Action: Close the White, Carbon and upper Puyallup rivers to fishing.

Species affected: All game fish.

Effective date: Jan. 16, 2011.

Locations:

* White River: from mouth to R Street Bridge in Auburn will be closed to all fishing.
* Carbon River: from mouth to Hwy 162 Bridge in Auburn will be closed to all fishing.
* Upper Puyallup River: from mouth of Carbon River upstream will be closed to all fishing.

Reasons for action: The 2010-2011 forecast of wild steelhead returning to the Puyallup River basin is well below the spawning goal. This closure will reduce the incidental hooking mortalities of wild steelhead. Puget Sound wild steelhead populations are listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act.

Other information: The Puyallup River mainstem, from the mouth to the Carbon River closed to fishing Jan. 1, 2011. Rules re-opening fisheries in the Puyallup River basin will be listed in the 2011/2012 Sportfishing Rules Pamphlet




WDFW FISHING RULE CHANGE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov

January 11, 2011

Green River (King Co.) will close early to fishing

Action: Close the Green River to fishing.

Species affected: All game fish.

Locations and effective dates:

* from the 1st Ave. South Bridge in Seattle upstream to the South 277th Bridge in Auburn will be closed to all fishing on Jan. 16, 2011.
* from the 277th Bridge in Auburn upstream to the Tacoma Headworks Dam will be closed to all fishing on Feb. 1, 2011.

Reasons for action: The 2010-2011 forecast of wild steelhead returning to the Green River is well below the spawning goal. This action will reduce the incidental hooking mortalities of wild steelhead. Puget Sound wild steelhead populations are listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act.

Other information: The river is scheduled to reopen to fishing on June 4, 2011. Regulations for the fishery will be listed in the 2011/2012 Sportfishing Rules Pamphlet. white

Why do we even bother.

Expect more of the same for other PS rivers... probly most all PS systems will be closed by jan 31 including the snoho and skag systems. Not much hope for an early spring catch and release season.

I can't speak about the Green but I think the Puyallup/Carbon should be closed to all fishing for several years to all Sport and Tribal fishing to let the runs rebuild. The ecosystem and the riverbed need to be repaired so that everytime we have high water the river doesn't scour out what few eggs there are. I know also budgets are tight but they need to modernize and move the hatchery to high ground so that when the river and creek flood they don't loose many of the eggs and fingerlings. I know this only takes care of the fish while in the river and they have many years and troubles while in the ocean but it would be a start. I hope the early silver and steelhead closures make a difference. We need to do whatever we can to restore this river to it's past productivity.

Go figure... I just got done rigging up a rod for whitefish,WAS going out this weekend to the upper White.
Thanks for the info fear no fish,probably just saved me a ticket and gas money. Where to go now?

kevinb wrote:Go figure... I just got done rigging up a rod for whitefish,WAS going out this weekend to the upper White.
Thanks for the info fear no fish,probably just saved me a ticket and gas money. Where to go now?

you have until the 16th so you can still fish Saturday

The funny part is I have read more bs reports of steel on the carbon than years past.

Matt wrote:Expect more of the same for other PS rivers... probly most all PS systems will be closed by jan 31 including the snoho and skag systems. Not much hope for an early spring catch and release season.

That's what I'm afraid of. If they close the sky then I'll be lake fishing again, and it's cold for that yet.

The end of Jan closure for all of the "S" rivers as well as the "N" river up north seems to be gaining traction. C&R native steelhead seasons appear to be a thing of the past as so few nates are returning. It is what it is but I still don't have to like it. I've been seriously fishing for steelhead since the early 70's and I guess that I'll keep fishing for them even though the season keeps shrinking. I haven't kept a nate for nearly 30 years as even in the "good old days" some of us felt that nates were too valuable to whack and BBQ.

roomer has it there will NOT be closing any of the OP rivers........please stay on your side of the water.......hahahahahah...just joking.

Its every year they close early. The nets wipe em out and then the rivers close. What else is new?

I don't necessarily agree that the nets are at the foundation of this problem. Years of mismanagement and habitat abuse are probably more to blame, and the inundation of our rivers with hatchery turds taking up valuable resources needed by our native runs; sure the nets don't help, but they aren't the end all be all.

No they are not. Last weekend while fishing the Green on Sat when nets are supposed to be out. The nets were in. I counted 3 nets between 167 and Allentown. Tribal fishing is a big part of the problem. One day go to the Duwamish and count nets.Also check the layout of such nets. Pollution is a major culprit as is building along the riverbanks. It all takes the toll on the quality of fishing.I singled out the nets as a culprit because its probably the worse culprit of all the bad things that happen in our states rivers.

sheesh, it's the puyallup and green rivers. Some of the most populated areas in the state live right by these guys. Flood control washes everything straight out to the sound, cutting down trees raises the water temp, hatchery fish take up resources, pollution, netting.

All of these things chip away at the ecosystem and give a hard time to the fish. I would think that netting the fish that do survive the trip out and back should be a bigger piece of the pie than the others, seeing as the fish managed to survive against all odds, the last thing we should be doing is netting the whole river. Or catching the wild fish as sportsmen.

I'm just frustrated that it's still a problem, and all they can do to solve it is to shut the rivers down to fishing. Or all they do do. But it's what I've come to expect with our state.

When it comes right down to it those hatchery brats we all seek to catch and harvest are more often than not reared and released by the tribes to supplement their commercial harvests, therefore they have the right to do whatever they please with those fish including netting the heck out of them. The only pitfall of the commercial fishing is the technique imparted; gillnets. Unpredictable bycatch and dishonest fisherman account for a good amount of native mortality not only for steel but salmon as well.

I've said it time and time again; commercial fishing MUST shift to selective harvest through the use of different techniques such as hook and line angling and beach/purse seining.

It is a shame the way things have been going for our beloved PS streams. I loathe the day we see closures like these on the coast, and the big C and its tribs.

Kevinb, The upper White will still be open for Whitefish until Jan 31.
Let me know how you do if you go I have yet to catch one up there.

First off I dont care if the Native Americans net. Like you I wish the Gillnet was not being used.The treaties were written using terms like Traditional Fishing Methods. The Japanese made Gillnet was not really traditional. I dont care they net. If they want to harvest a whale or two I dont really care about that either. Its really hard to do selective fishing with nets that kill the fish or put these beautiful net gashes in the fish we get that do manage to get away.On some rivers like the Nisqually the tribes put 110 % into the hatcheries. The Snoqualmie for instance is (or was) done by the State.The Cedar river Sockeye hatchery that is brand new cost the Taxpayers alot of money. Therefor in my opinion we (fisherpeople) should get a larger bounty. We can go on for days with the Yes /No topic on netting. Me personally Im tired of giving freebies to people. I work everyday Thank G-D.But yet I pay into the kitty for those who dont. Another sore subject. Hehehe.If the Native Americans want to be their own Soverign Nation thats cool. Just stay off our side of the borders.Im sure I'll hear it from the libs in here but oh well.

Uh, the Nisqually hatchery isn't paid for by the tribe. Tacoma Power (therefore CUSTOMERS of Tacoma Power) pay for that hatchery. I don't know of any hatchery that is actually paid for by a tribe in full. I know there are a few partnerships out there though.

BUT, again, while netting sucks, and is a huge problem for wilds, hatchery fish cause a problem for wilds too. But even worse, I read a research paper that a fellow angler on NWKA posted, which shows Pinks, with their simple life-cycle are a huge problem for all the other species. The study also indicates that salmon as a whole are currently in numbers higher than ever.

Study


so, habitat encroachment, over-fishing and dams caused a wild salmon decline. We then added hatcheries to supplement fish stocks, but those fish just compete with wild salmon for food and exacerbate the problem.

Excellent points. Thank you. I try not using definates when chatting cuz I honestly only know what I see and read about. I dont have the answers to the lack of fish . Just from my life experience is that it does get harder and harder to catch. But even then I only get Sat and Sun to fish, and youre right about all species ending up wanting the same spawning beds. Fishing is still my passion but I've learned to enjoy it catch or not.

Hey Jake,I'll keep you posted. Hopefully I'll get the chance this weekend or might try something midweek