Pike seminar and PO river tournament updates.

[Gone Fishin]

Sorry to keep posting pike stuff in this forum but it is the only place for it. The last post was getting very long so I figured I would start a new one for a few updates.

First off for anyone in the Spokane area, I will be doing an hour long seminar on Northern Pike fishing. It will be held at Joe's Sports and Outdoor in the Valley on Saturday, March 28th from noon until 1. I will discuss a lot of basics about pike fishing as well as cover some more advanced techniques. This seminar will cover mainly some non dead bait spring tactics. Anyone can hang herring under a bobber and call it pike fishing. There will be a second pike seminar in April that will cover some summer time pike tactics.

Ok a few updates as far as the tournament is concerned.

Lamiglass is on board as a sponsor for the tourney. There will be at least one Lamiglass muskie fishing rod in the raffle.
I believe that Hooters restaurant may also be a sponsor to the event. I have to speak with them again this week. We may have the Hooter's girls at the tournament to sell raffle tickets, and present awards.
I am working on a few other sponsors as well. It looks like my major partner on the deal, Joe's, will be backing out due to the recent Chapter 11. If things get straightened out before the tourney they may participate.

It looks like I will probably not use judge boats for the tournament. It is hard to round up enough boats to use. Thank you Lucious for offering your services! This will also allow me to set the boundaries a little wider.

Still working on a meeting/ blast off location. Looks as though boats will be launching from Cusick and Usk and possibly making the short trip down river to the bible camp.

Thank you everyone for being patient! I will have a few more updates before the weekend.

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Gone Fishin,
No luck on a number for you.

Sorry.

[Gone Fishin]

Hey Tollefs, thanks for trying.

So Joe's Sports and Outdoor is back on as a sponsor and will be donating some gift cards for the raffle.

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Keith,
Just in case you have not made the trip up to the PO River yet, there is still ice in the sloughs so it looks like a late spawn this year.

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Gone Fishin,
You should delay or cancel your tourney. Those fish are going to be just starting to spawn and that is going to mess with them big time. Plus, with all the late snow, the launches and resorts might still be a mess anyway.

[Rosann G]

I heard you guys got more snow today, we got 4 inches over here on the wet side where we live too. I heard you broke the 1889 record for snow there in Spokane this year.

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Gone Fishin,
I am curious to hear your thoughts with the tourney only 18 days away. Sunday they got 4 more inches of snow up there and they are suppose to get more tonight.

[Gone Fishin]

We will wait and see how the weather plays out. You do realize that there are tournaments before and right after mine, in north idaho. Its not like I am putting this way early. It is earlier than I would like to have scheduled it, but it is what it is. Hopefully next year I can get it later. If the fish are handled properly they will be fine. There will be a biologist on every judge boat up there and I will be very strict with how fish are handled. Most of the fishermen I have talked to that intend to fish the tournament, fish pike regularly and know how to handle the fish. They agree that preventing injury to the fish is important. Most of them like the idea of the judge boats and agree that it will prevent the death of the fish being counted in the tourney better than the systems used in the other tournaments they fish. I am taking on the costs of the judge boats fuel and expenses because I feel that they are an important key to the fishery. Much of the study that needs to be done up there on the pike will be conducted during the tournament. With funding falling short with WDFW the study was not going to happen right now. I am hoping that this can speed up the process of getting regulations put in place on the river.

So at this time I do not plan on cancelling the tournament. It can't be postponed due to the full schedule of bass tournaments up there. I will be monitoring the weather from now until then and praying for the best.

[Gone Fishin]

Oh yeah, by the way Rosann,

We have got a little snow the last several days. It has usually come at night and melts off with the warmer days we have been having. We did break the record for snowfall in a year. It has been a long winter already and I am hoping it doesn't continue like last year. It snowed in June last year!

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We will wait and see how the weather plays out. You do realize that there are tournaments before and right after mine, in north idaho. Its not like I am putting this way early. It is earlier than I would like to have scheduled it, but it is what it is. Hopefully next year I can get it later. If the fish are handled properly they will be fine. There will be a biologist on every judge boat up there and I will be very strict with how fish are handled. Most of the fishermen I have talked to that intend to fish the tournament, fish pike regularly and know how to handle the fish. They agree that preventing injury to the fish is important. Most of them like the idea of the judge boats and agree that it will prevent the death of the fish being counted in the tourney better than the systems used in the other tournaments they fish. I am taking on the costs of the judge boats fuel and expenses because I feel that they are an important key to the fishery. Much of the study that needs to be done up there on the pike will be conducted during the tournament. With funding falling short with WDFW the study was not going to happen right now. I am hoping that this can speed up the process of getting regulations put in place on the river.

So at this time I do not plan on cancelling the tournament. It can't be postponed due to the full schedule of bass tournaments up there. I will be monitoring the weather from now until then and praying for the best.

Its your tournament. We could get 70 degree weather this weekend and the Pike would still be spawning during the tournament. Having that many boats up there in the shallows stirring things up and keeping fish is not doing what is in the fisheries best interest. You are doing what is best for the fisherman and the Biologists funding. Most of the studies up there have been paid for by the Res anyway not WA funding. I am not going to keep on you about this Keith. you said that you would change the rules if necessay and now I understand that that was all talk. I guess we will see what happens in the coming years to see how people like you are affecting the fishery.

I will be dropping this topic from here forwad. I think I have said enough.

[Rosann G]

I sure will be glad when the snow quits for this Spring!!!!!! Good luck with your tournament Gone Fishin.

[KUP]

Hey Keith: You have a biologist in every boat? Who all has volunteered from WDFW?

[Gone Fishin]

Tollefs, I really wish we could agree more. I am sure you are a great guy.

You are saying that the tournament is not in the fishery's best interest. How do you justify this. Is it in the fishery's best interest to not give the fish a little pressure during the spawn. There are some species I would agree should not be pressured during the spawn, fish such as walleye, salmon, and bass.... more vulnerable species. Pike don't guard a bed like a bass so you can't get them purely on insticnt to protect their offspring. When they spawn they are not easy to catch. The fish that will be caught will be pre and post spawn fish. Maybe a few fish out of the thousands in the river will be kept from spawning. Pike do not need all fish to spawn to take over and overpopulate. Look what they have done in such a short time period up there. With growing numbers, not all the fish need to spawn to keep the numbers growing. I would argue that if only half of the mature fish spawned in that river we would still see numbers increase. Sure I don't have a ton of research to back me on this, but neither do you. I don't think arguements should be made with very little evidence to back them. Not enough research has been done up there to make a claim either way. As for saying I was all talk, that is not true. I have already dropped the limit to 3 fish and informed everyone (including WDFW who agreed that keeping some of the fish at the time of the tourney would not harm the fishery) that it will most likely be changed to 0 by the tournament.

I feel like this has turned into an unneccesary argument between 2 people who care a great deal about the same fishery. It is sad that we have to take different sides on something like such.

KUP, as for the biologists... Bill Baker (of WDFW) told me a while ago that he would see how their schedules played out and if time permitted may join us up there. I am waiting for a response as to whether or not anyone from WDFW will be there. The Kalispel Tribe biologists are providing a judge boat and will have a member on every judge boat. I did e-mail Bill Baker again to get his thoughts on the tourney and to see if they will have anybody join us. I will keep you posted.

On another note, (sorry I know this post is getting long)
I am still looking for another judge boat. I would like another boat to further speed up release time up there. That way if one area gets busy we can shift boats to help.
I will be paying for the gas in the boat as well as putting together a gift package of fishing lures and stuff for people who volunteer for this. I will try to provide as much as finances will allow.

[Gone Fishin]

Oh yeah Rosann,
Thank you very much! I will be glas when it quits snowing as well! It is snowing right now in fact! Everything is completely white again.

[Don Wittenberger]

I'm planning to come over, not to fish in the tournament, but to meet with folks to discuss the POR pike fishery and do a little fishing myself. Assuming nothing happens between now and then to interfere with my travel plans, I'll be happy to be a judge boat. After POR, I'll be heading to Chelan to attend a 3-day legal seminar, which is my reason for coming to eastern Washington at this time.

[Gone Fishin]

Don, I am sure I speak for many when I say that we would love to have you join us over here, even if it is only for a short time. I would love to have you on as a judge boat. The more judge boats I have with good people on board the better we can handle these fish. It would be a great time fo ryou to talk to the people over here and get a feeling for how this fishery is.

I hope all goes well and you can make it.

[Gone Fishin]

I hope now we can let this post die. I am done posting the updates I have in here. I will inform the people involved and we can leave it at that. This topic was supposed to be a way to let people interested in the tournament get the info they needed. It has become nothing of the sort. I am leaving your muskie forum to a muskie forum. Thank you to those who have offered your support, it is greatly appreciated.

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I was right you know.

[Don Wittenberger]

I'm planning to come over Thursday or Friday, and be available to serve as a judge boat during the tournament. What's a good time and location to meet with you before the tournament?

[Gone Fishin]

Hey, Don. I will PM my phone number to you. We can set up a time to meet up.

Tollefs, you were right about what? As I see it you aren't right about anything. If you want to continue a useless arguement this is not the place to do it. I have chose to drop it and let you think or say what you want even though I know you are incorrect in much of what you have said. This forum has been read by people who have way more knowledge about the fishery than you or I. I have recieved phone calls from them letting me know that the tourney will not harm a thing and several things you have claimed are incorrect. If you want to continue this discussion PM me so everybody else does not have to put up with it.

Update for everyone. Registration in the tournament is low due to a number of reasons. Most of it was out of my control and things that cannot be avoided. Part of the reason is that I did not get going soon enough and advertised much less than I should have. It has been a learning process and will set the stage for a very good tournament next year and years to come. This year should still be fun as the pike bite is picking up fast over here. Everyone will go home with prizes and hopefully have a good time.