2024 WA Coastal Steelhead Regs
- Thread starter brownheron
- Start date
Andy D
Steelhead
I appreciate the detailed response
This is the thing that I find the most puzzling. Even if we are seeing some positive numbers in certain areas, would it not makes sense to keep the regs in place for a few years to see what happens?
It reminds me of the what they did with Colombia sockeye when I was younger. We had returns over 500,000 for the first time in like 50 years, and instead of letting them all go on up river and see what happened with future runs, the state held a commercial fishery. Plenty of fish were harvested, most fishing just broke even though, and I'm not sure we have had a run that size since.
brownheron
corvus ossifragus
Basically ticking a piece of lead along the bottom with a bait or some sort attached as the boat drifts with the current. Where power is permitted, boats will do laps over the best spots. On rivers like the Cowlitz, there will be a convoy of big jet boats with a bunch of people in them doing laps. Doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me. Doing it from the bank is pretty challenging as it's all feel.
Side-Drifting for Steelhead — Catch More Steelhead
Side-drifting is a great searching technique for steelhead… here’s how to do it.
www.catchmoresteelhead.com
I don't see many people doing it on the north OP. I do see a ton of people bobber dogging which is similar but uses water tension on a float to drag a weight down the bottom slightly slower than the current, usually with a bead attached to a short tippet. People do the same thing with fly rods using a long leader, a piece of lead and a round float. It works but if I'm going to fish gear, I'll use a proper float rod and a centerpin or baitcaster as they are better tool for that kind of fishing in my opinion.
Paige
Wishing I was fishing the Sauk
Basically ticking a piece of lead along the bottom with a bait or some sort attached as the boat drifts with the current. Where power is permitted, boats will do laps over the best spots. On rivers like the Cowlitz, there will be a convoy of big jet boats with a bunch of people in them doing laps. Doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me. Doing it from the bank is pretty challenging as it's all feel.
Side-Drifting for Steelhead — Catch More Steelhead
Side-drifting is a great searching technique for steelhead… here’s how to do it.
I don't see many people doing it on the north OP. I do see a ton of people bobber dogging which is similar but uses water tension on a float to drag a weight down the bottom slightly slower than the current, usually with a bead attached to a short tippet. People do the same thing with fly rods using a long leader, a piece of lead and a round float. It works but if I'm going to fish gear, I'll use a proper float rod and a centerpin or baitcaster as they are better tool for that kind of fishing in my opinion.
I have watched Brazda and hs crew pond the shit out of runs as they row back up to hit a drift multiple times.
Also WDFW knows the impacts of fishing from a boat already, 130% of a run was caught from one of the OP rivers.
Limiting that impact makes sense to me, but I am not gready and am happy with 1 fish, if that even happens.
brownheron
corvus ossifragus
Sounds like you're quoting John McMillan's presentation on the Sol Duc from several years ago. Having seen first hand how the run size is estimated, I have very little confidence in the headline.
Gotcha, thanks for describing. I generally consider just about every type of gear and tackle fair game outside of snagging, provided it’s allowed for in the regs. But continually rowing back to pound a run over and over does not sound like fair play, nor is it very sporting. Just head to the Sound if you want to do that, where the runs are a couple miles wide and the fish can go where they please.Basically ticking a piece of lead along the bottom with a bait or some sort attached as the boat drifts with the current. Where power is permitted, boats will do laps over the best spots. On rivers like the Cowlitz, there will be a convoy of big jet boats with a bunch of people in them doing laps. Doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me. Doing it from the bank is pretty challenging as it's all feel.
Side-Drifting for Steelhead — Catch More Steelhead
Side-drifting is a great searching technique for steelhead… here’s how to do it.
I don't see many people doing it on the north OP. I do see a ton of people bobber dogging which is similar but uses water tension on a float to drag a weight down the bottom slightly slower than the current, usually with a bead attached to a short tippet. People do the same thing with fly rods using a long leader, a piece of lead and a round float. It works but if I'm going to fish gear, I'll use a proper float rod and a centerpin or baitcaster as they are better tool for that kind of fishing in my opinion.
Basically ticking a piece of lead along the bottom with a bait or some sort attached as the boat drifts with the current. Where power is permitted, boats will do laps over the best spots. On rivers like the Cowlitz, there will be a convoy of big jet boats with a bunch of people in them doing laps. Doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me. Doing it from the bank is pretty challenging as it's all feel.
Side-Drifting for Steelhead — Catch More Steelhead
Side-drifting is a great searching technique for steelhead… here’s how to do it.
I don't see many people doing it on the north OP. I do see a ton of people bobber dogging which is similar but uses water tension on a float to drag a weight down the bottom slightly slower than the current, usually with a bead attached to a short tippet. People do the same thing with fly rods using a long leader, a piece of lead and a round float. It works but if I'm going to fish gear, I'll use a proper float rod and a centerpin or baitcaster as they are better tool for that kind of fishing in my opinion.
For record and clarity of my gripe with the technique I consider anything where you are essentially alpine trolling out of a boat. What do I mean by that? I'll unpack. I consider bobber dogging, indicator from a boat on the move, and side drifting as essentially the same. It allows the talentless to essentially troll in a way through every nook and cranny of holding and hiding water available to fish. It's extremely effective as you can cover a ton of water and offer a dead drifted presentation down the whole float. You generally fish longer floats and link floats together into mega floats as you don't stop to prospect. You just hop on the joy ride, cast out, and hold the rod as if you are trolling. For those that say I'm just angry cause it's effective I make no bones about that. It burns too much water per rod and results in too many unearned fish molested per rod. I got no qualms fishing from a boat. Hell, I swing from a boat on the duc or other hard to wade rivers. It's the boat on the move being used to exploit every pocket I take offense to. The fish are easily caught multiple times and it is so effective the impact is greater. Plus if I'm being honest it's simply a souless way to fish. A man's fishing should be an expression of his life. If it's so artless and souless then help haul a net in the lower and pose with some fish. Both tasks take equivalent skill.
Paige
Wishing I was fishing the Sauk
brownheron
corvus ossifragus
That is used extrapolate angler impacts. It doesn't tell you the run size. So both the numerator and denominator are poor data that would not be used to make serious policy decisions in other fields.
There’s a place for pursuing the path of greatest ease in fishing. For example, if you’re trying to get your seven year old into some bluegill, or even if you’re drunkenly floating a plentiful trout river on a bachelor party. I’m not one to judge. But to me, there’s no place for that type of fishing in modern day steelhead fishing, at least in the case of the dwindling wild stocks here in WA. How perverse.
SSPey
loco alto!
Yes, the data are imperfect. By criticizing the denominator - run size - are you saying that the reported decline and depleted status of OP steelhead is bunk?
Further, if those data are suspect, how could one ever prove that angling has no impact?
Sh!tty data cuts both ways. Just depends if one errs on the side of conservation or not.
This is a real problem on the Klickitat. Mostly it's the couple fly shops that run a fleet of boats down the river. Roll cast out 15' and hang on! All the skill is in the rower. It doesn't give the fish any sanctuary and thy get caught over and over. Good for the executive who wants a fish pic for his desk but bad for the fishery. This is the main reason I like no boat fishing sections.
We did sort out a fix; mandatory retention of hatchery fish. If you want to catch fish by any means possible thats fine. You just have to tag out after a couple(they also raised the limit form 2 to 3). Unfortunately the guide shops weren't having that and got it repealed the next year. I guess not being able to say you went 10 for 14 in the river reports is bad for business.
The novice angler just shouldn't leave the river thinking "this steelhead fishing is pretty easy. I may have to do it again."Unfortunately the guide shops weren't having that and got it repealed the next year. I guess not being able to say you went 10 for 14 in the river reports is bad for business.
brownheron
corvus ossifragus
I never said any of that. My point was the data cited was bad and shouldn't be considered gospel in order to set policy. 150% of the run could have been caught for all we know. Or 70% or 40%.
Further, all this tribalism around types of gear is tiresome. Long boards vs short boards, skis vs snow boards, tele vs alpine touring, Strats vs Les Paul, Ford vs Mopar, swinging vs nymphing, blah blah blah blah. It's stupid, doesn't do a fucking thing to help the situation and makes me wish I had never started this thread.
Last edited:
Yep, the Klick is a shit show! Being raped by a few very greedy guide operations. Yet, no one has tried stop it. Why is that? When I guided on the Klick years ago the locals were even pissed about it. I took great pride in making Mitchell's guides and Reds very uncomfortable on the river.This is a real problem on the Klickitat. Mostly it's the couple fly shops that run a fleet of boats down the river. Roll cast out 15' and hang on! All the skill is in the rower. It doesn't give the fish any sanctuary and thy get caught over and over. Good for the executive who wants a fish pic for his desk but bad for the fishery. This is the main reason I like no boat fishing sections.
We did sort out a fix; mandatory retention of hatchery fish. If you want to catch fish by any means possible thats fine. You just have to tag out after a couple(they also raised the limit form 2 to 3). Unfortunately the guide shops weren't having that and got it repealed the next year. I guess not being able to say you went 10 for 14 in the river reports is bad for business.
More antidotes. Several yeas back I was on my own in my little raft on the Calawah at the height of the hatchery run. Dropped at least 50 yds (more but I’m giving the benefit here) below a drift boat with a guy rowing and and two gentleman sitting up front with rods in rod holders. I was casting from the boat but continually moving while heading downstream to the next spot.
A little while later said drift boat pulls up next to me and “nicely” informs me that other folks might get angry and do “something” when someone drop’s in front of “their run”.
Now you all don’t know me but I am very, very aware of other folks space on a river. At least that’s what I thought until I found out about the proprietary nature of runs.
I fish for fun not conflict. Haven’t been back on the Calawah hatchery run during the season. Guess it worked.
A little while later said drift boat pulls up next to me and “nicely” informs me that other folks might get angry and do “something” when someone drop’s in front of “their run”.
Now you all don’t know me but I am very, very aware of other folks space on a river. At least that’s what I thought until I found out about the proprietary nature of runs.
I fish for fun not conflict. Haven’t been back on the Calawah hatchery run during the season. Guess it worked.
This is a real problem on the Klickitat. Mostly it's the couple fly shops that run a fleet of boats down the river. Roll cast out 15' and hang on! All the skill is in the rower. It doesn't give the fish any sanctuary and thy get caught over and over. Good for the executive who wants a fish pic for his desk but bad for the fishery. This is the main reason I like no boat fishing sections.
We did sort out a fix; mandatory retention of hatchery fish. If you want to catch fish by any means possible thats fine. You just have to tag out after a couple(they also raised the limit form 2 to 3). Unfortunately the guide shops weren't having that and got it repealed the next year. I guess not being able to say you went 10 for 14 in the river reports is bad for business.
Fish caught side drifting are the Universal Basic Income of angling. You don't do anything for it but the fishery gets to support it if it can or not. Why do people love unearned glory? Nothing that means anything is given to you or painfully easy. Side drifted fish have literally no meaning other than a tax on an already over taxed fishery by a breathing rod holder with a pulse who feels entitled cause he paid another guy who feels entitled to make a living off a dwindling public resource at whatever cost while expecting others to kiss their ass or give way. It's all so pathetic and off putting.
G_Smolt
Legend
Thank you for typing this out.
The "holier than thou" bullshit is a massive impediment to serious conservation conversations.
