Rules and Registration for Pend Oreille River Northern Pike Tournament

[Gone Fishin]

Well here it is! Finally! I have typed up the bulk of the rules and requirements. There are some things I left out that I will add when they are decided upon. I figured instead of make you wait until I decided everything I would give you this and let you look it over. The registration information will be made available at all Washington Joe's locations. If you talk to their Field & Stream department I will be e-mailing it to them tomorrow. They probably won't have it ready until Friday. That will be the fastest way to get the registration info. Otherwise I can mail it to you if you PM or email me your address. This tournament I believe will will up fast. I have talked with a lot of people that are just waiting for me to open the registration. Inland Empire Bass Club from the sounds of it will be entering a few boats as well. So don't procrastinate if you are wanting to fish this event.

I am going to try to get enough judge boats to do the tournament that way. If anybody is interested, your boat gas for the event will be paid for and I will put together some gift packages for the judges as well. Lots of goodies! If anybody wants to donate to the raffle and be a sponsor to the event, it would be more than welcome and greatly appreciated.

I warn you guys, this is long but here goes....

[muskyhunter]

Way to go young Mr.Hoffman you'll be getting a registration from me as soon as I get to Joes'...

[Gone Fishin]

Oh yeah, I meant to mention that it can also just be printed off of here. I went ahead and attached the registration form as well. I did not include the address to send it to though. I will post that later today.

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Gone Fishin,
This is probably going to piss you off but I am going to say it anyway. We have a great fishery going up there are you are going to ruin it at this rate.

You are promoting keeping fish:
Only Pike over 30 inches will count towards points and must be released unharmed. Penalty will apply to fish over 30 inches not released unharmed. A limit of 5 pike under 30 inches may be kept per boat per day for personal harvest. They will not count towards tournament standings

You are basically saying that you are OK with the potential of 250 Pike being kept over a two day tourney. As you have heard from others, we have a ton of fish being kept up there already and with the word getting out it is going to get worse. You have seen people not obeying the rules at other lakes like Silver, it is not going to be diffrent up there.

If you use Judge boats based on this idea you could harm fish:
If judge boats are used, when a team catches a fish over 30 inches, they will call the judge boat for the area they are fishing in. While waiting for the judge boat to come measure the fish, the fish must be kept in a suitable livewell or remain in the water, contained in a cradle or net. Fish are not to be removed from the water with a net. The judge boat will then watch the measurement and verify the length of the fish. This system gives the most reliable measurement, saves time after check in, and will ensure that fish over 30 inches are released unharmed.

You are going to hurt big fish by leaving them in live wells and in nets full of eggs to thrash around while a judge boat comes. Pike are delicate and can be harmed easily.

I can't see how we are doing anyting positive for this fishery by doing this tourney this way. Just my opinion and I felt that I should share in case anyone else has the same issues. I do respect you as a fellow fisherman but disagree with you on this one.

Good luck with it, I think I will pass. : (

[Gone Fishin]

Tollefs,
I am sorry you feel that way.

My response to you is this,
I understand your concern but I have spoken with WDFW biologists as well as the Kalispell Tribe biologists that have been working with WDFW on the studies up there. All of them agreed that the harvest of those fish is not likely to affect the fishery up there. Do you have any idea how many fish are up there and how fast these fish can breed? These pike have managed to establish themselves very well even with all the harvest of them and the intentional killing of them by bass fisherman. It is not the pike in general that need to be protected but rather the large fish to carry genetics and provide everyone the opportunity to catch one. Do some research into what happens when pike over populate as they are so good at doing. It happens very easily if left unchecked and then we end up with nothing but hammer handles. I spent several days a week on that river from april through june last year and spoke with the biologists working up there on many occasions. Trust me when I say, the fishery is healthy and self sustaining.

I think everyone is well aware that funding for programs such as studying the pike on the Pend Oreille river is coming up short this year. They won't decide on permanent regulations up there until they do more studies. The studies planned for this year have been pushed back. I spoke with one of the biologists up there and they will be at the tournament to do their diet study on the fish that are kept. This will enable them to get the study done without waiting.

As for the judge boats. Have you ever fished a tournament with judge boats? I have and I believe that it works very well for not harming the fish. I believe you will find many that agree. Generally when the fish are kept in the net they do not thrash if the net is kept in the water.

I will say this to anybody who disagrees with my decisions on this tournament, I put a lot of thought into how this would be done. I spent days on the phone talking with everybody from biologists to other tournament directors not to mention lots of pike and muskie fisherman. I am one of the biggest advocates for protecting the fishery up there and would do nothing that I thought would harm it! I almost scrapped the entire tournament a few months ago becuase I wasn't sure if a catch and release tournament for pike would work, and I wasnt about to host a catch and kill tourney. I do not believe that I am going to ruin the fishery up there by hosting this tournament. If I did I would not host it.

[Gone Fishin]

Ok sorry about the long post I just felt like I needed to say it.

Now for what I actually got on here to say.
The registration forms and entry fee can be mailed to:

Keith Hoffman
510 Villard St.
Cheney, WA 99004

Entry fee checks can be made out to Gone Fishin' Lure Co.

The western washington Joe's stores will be getting the registration info tomorrow. It will be e-mailed to their manager in the morning.
The info can also be printed off of the attachment in my first post.

PS. Tollefs, no hard feelings and I ask you to think about it and reconsider. I would love to have as many users of this site join the tournament as possible. You are all very classy fisherman! :thumleft:

[crankbait42]

Is a large boat needed for fishing the Pend Oreille river and if so can you fish it from shore? I am interested in going but all I have is a ten foot aluminum boat.


Thanks.

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Gone Fishin,
You are not going to please everyone with this tournament and I guess I am one of those or possibly the only one that disagrees with you on the rules of the tourney. I also have been doing reseach all winter and that is why I disagree with you. I am not asking you to agree or to change anything I just wanted to give my opinion since I feel so strongely about it. Good luck with the tourney.

[Gone Fishin]

Crankbait,
Depending on the size of motor on your 10 ft I guess it would be possible. It would be pretty difficult though. Where I will most likely have to have people launch from is a considerable distance from most of the good fishing. It would be a little bit of a run in a 10ft boat, especially with 2 people in the boat. It cannot be fished from shore during the tournament.

[muskyhunter]

Hey Frank,
I'm not keeping any fish..just sayin'. I'm just there to have a good time and meet some new friends..and to place in the tourney would be rockin'...Thinking about hittin Silver or Newman on that following Monday.

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Hey Frank,
I'm not keeping any fish..just sayin'. I'm just there to have a good time and meet some new friends..and to place in the tourney would be rockin'...Thinking about hittin Silver or Newman on that following Monday.

Thanks MuskyHunter for the reply. I really hated to turn this positve thing into a negitive. I really appreciate all of what Gone Fishin has done, I just have stong feelings about the rules. It is the people around Spokane that make rule followers like me have a attitude about keeping fish. I too kept two Pike up there last year that were small and I am not apposed to people having that right I am just affraid that the fishery up there is going to get ruined. I have seen it happen around Spokane over the years with the bass fishing. Some really abuse the rules.

I talk to Randy at the WDFW often and do a lot of reseach on my own during the off season. This Pike Explosion will not last for ever and what we do now will affect how the fishing is up there for years to come. Keeping fish during the spawn does not excite me. It may seem that it is over populated with Pike during the spawn but you have the majority of the fish in the shallows at that time and that makes them a easy target. No diffrent than the bass during the spawn but we don't have catch and keep tournaments for them.

During the tourney if I sat and watched fish getting killed with eggs or if a large fish gets killed becuase of proper handling I don't think I would be very fun to be around.

I might stop in and meet a few of you while the tourney is going on. I don't want people thinking that I am being a jerk I just have a stong opioion about my fishing beliefs and I am not affraid to share them.

I just hope that anyone that does not agree with me can at least respect me for it.

[muskyhunter]

Hey Frank,
I completely agree with you. I respect your opinion. Its the same way I feel about the Tiger fishery. I know folks will keep the 50" tigers. They are truly trophies. But I too hope that those same people let them go. To live another day and to give another a certain thrill that some can only dream about.And get a Lax instead.
I know a lot of people take the Pike. I just wish they would only take a couple rather than the 30 fish report. Thats just insane. Maybe keep some of the 6-7 inch perch that are running rampid in some lakes. that would make sense. It would stop the stunting of a lake. Plus they fit better on a piece of bread for a fish sandwich.
Looking forward to meeting you man. See you in a few weeks and bring some of those bucks too!

[Gone Fishin]

Hey Frank, I will be up there before the tourney and if I find a majority of the fish are prespawn I will change the limit I put on the fish. I made that limit assuming (hoping) that spring comes much sooner this year than last. The weather has been warming fast and the ice is off some of the sloughs. Last year most of the fish had spawned by the beginning of may. Last year was also a very long winter! so depending on the weather most of the fish could be post spawn by the date of the tourney. I assure you I have no intention of killing lots of prespawn fish. All the rules that I posted are subject to change by the tournament director... myself :compress: I don't know if clearing that up makes you feel any better about it or not. I do respect your opinion and understand your concern for the fishery. I look forward to seeing you up there whether at the tournament or some other time.

[KUP]

tollefs you are not the only one who feels this way.
I completely agree with you and we will not be fishing the T. for the same reason.
I love to fish for pike, but to me, always, the fish comes first and I'm not comfortable doing it this time of year.
Its the same as some guys will fish beds (bass) and some will not.
I guess it comes down to a personal feeling and we each should respect that.
My hat is off to you for being the solid guy who stepped forward.
It made me re-think my motives/actions.

[Gone Fishin]

As stated before,
If there is still a considerable number of fish prespawn or spawning, that limit will be changed. I have no intention of killing lots of fish full of eggs. I set that hoping that our warming trend would continue over here and spring would come early. If spring comes early most of the fish should be past the spawning point. If the weather gets cold again and snows like it is doing right now. :pale: Then it may land in the spawn in which case I will not allow each boat to keep 5 fish.

[Gone Fishin]

Oh yeah Tollefs you can always join us as a judge boat, in which case you will get to make sure that the large fish are handled properly and released unharmed.

[Nik]

I you've ever been up there around the spawn there's about a million pike in every little slough, and most of them are in the 25-30 inch range. i think there's plenty of them to withstand what will be to my knowledge the only pike tournament held up there. not everyone would even be keeping any fish obviously. I think the tournament will do more good than bad; as maybe it will turn some people on to what is one of Washington's great trophy fish, a fish that is, if i'm not mistaken, 100% ignored by the WDFW and basically treated as a trash fish in Washington. maybe eventually if the WDFW sees their popularity growing we might get a limit put on them, or at least a minimum/maximum size.

[muskyhunter]

I really do think that G.F did his homwork on this whole tournament. From what I see he is not trying to destroy the Pike fishery.He is looking for people to become interested.And to FISH and have a good time.I am sure if he can get 15-25 boats plus the fisherpersons to lodge and spend some money it would definatley help the local economy..so think about that aspect of the whole thing. I again respect all opinions on both sides. I want to fish the tourney. I think it'll be ablast. For those who don't or who have not fished that river(like me) for that species I think he or she should just try it first. And learn about the fishery before jumping on a band wagon. Again just one guy's opinion...
oh one more thing..I really wish that folks would quit bashing the WDFW..REALLY...think about the budget hits they are taking right now. they can only do what they CAN do. They do one hell of a good job for us outdoorspersons and remember the STATE dictates what they can spend or can't spend on projects..you really don't have to send a wad of money to make a point..Sometimes just a letter to your local Representative helps more than anything..again take a step back and have a open mind about things. Thanks and see ya on the Pond'..

[Nik]

Though I've bashed the WDFW in the past so I can't really argue, the above is more of a statement of fact; it is what it is. There is no minimum size and no daily limit for pike in Washington. You can pretty much go out there and do whatever you want with them. If you want to go out and catch 50 of them and bash their heads in and toss them back in, according to the state you can. That's a bum deal for a great trophy sportfish is all I'm saying.

[Gone Fishin]

Well the reason there are no regulations on them is it is a new thing for washington. Yes Long Lake has some but it is mostly spill over from CdA and nobody targets them. What we are at riisk of now is it taking too long to get regulations on them because of lack of funding for necessary studies. Once they feel like they understand the pike in that rtiver better and have a good idea of how many there are they will work on putting regulations on them. With no money for the study they can't do anything. They will be getting some diet studies done at the tournament on the fish kept. Oh and as for knockin 50 of them on the head and throwing them back, you definately could go out and knock 50 of them on the head but I believe it is illegal to kill any game animal without the intent to harvest. Which means when you see bass fisherman doing this, it is a crime. Somebody correct me if I am wrong. Not saying all bass fisherman are evil and kill pike, but I have seen it and so have many others.