gillnetters !!!!!

[dawhunt]

Well the nets are in around washougal,I went out at five this morning and dodged gillnets all the way up to reed island almost hit one saw it just in time.Some of those nets must be 1/2 mile long.I counted 25 tied up at the dock when I came in. There was maybe 4 or 5
that went back up river while I was fishing and there are 3 in the parking lot at the camas,washougal port.I know there going to be there for awhile longer but man thats maybe 30 or 35 boats in about 25 miles of river thats a lot of nets in the river for 10 or 12 hrs.I'm just sniveling,I know but man thats alot of nets !!! http://www.ifish.net/forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif we still got into fish tho,I lost two today and saw seven
caught just in about 300 yds on the river so the fish are in.Just imagine how many they caught in the nets.

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Bob Dawson

[Gizmo Man]

Bob, We saw 6 gillnet boats head up river when we were fishing at Longview bridge yesterday. Several of us were talking and wondering where and when the gillnetting season was.

Is there a place that the days and places the nets are in is posted?

Several weeks ago there were rumors of a 12 hr. netting, but again no one knew the details.

Giz...

[MPT]

The gillnetters are fishing from Camas to Beacon Rock. There are plenty of fish for everybody this year, but I still think that they must try some more effective way of harvesting. They probably killed alot of steelhead and sturgeon. A more selective method of harvesting would be nice. If we only knew how many fish are left rotting in the nets above the dam. I saw some of the salmon that was for sale to the public at the Port of Camas/Washougal and there were some big pigs in those totes (2.25$/lb). I still think that there is nothing prettier than a shiny 15lb silver caught in Ilwaco. I would rather eat spring chinook any day! I wonder why the Columbia river still has a net fishery. California got the nets out along time ago and they have one of the best salmon fisheries in the west.

[TheRogue]

There has been and will always be a very simple solution to the commercial and tribal gill-netting dillema. There's this great big fish funnel just upstream called the Bonneville dam fish ladder. Every upstream-bound fish has to filter through a 3ft. wide slot. It's very easy to tell hatchery from "wild"(non-finclipped), and very easy to filter out the 50% quota of fish, without harming any "wild" fish. As is so often the case, the simple solutions will never be used, because if it's not complicated, it just must not be able to work!! http://www.ifish.net/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I have GOT TO CATCH A FISH!!!

T.R.

[Deleted User]

Good take Rogue! Unless the commercial fishers enjoy their netting more than they lead on, it seems like they shouldn't mind saving on boat expenses and sort out their allocation of hatchery fish at Bonneville. Same for the Indians; except allow them to continue the old custom of dipnetting from the platforms upriver (no use of modern killing machine nets on ESA nates). The problem with that is the Indians have somehow grabbed a strong hold of the Fed.s by the ball$ and have been given the vast majority of the ESA harvestable allocation; against the Treaty guidlines yet! So if they only took hatchery fish from the ladders and a few rare nates in their dipnets, then the non-Indian sportfishers would be able to fish much more. I get the powerful message that the Indians don't want that for some likely wrong reasons; even if it meant higher escapement of ESA nates to the betterment of the runs for all. Send your idea, and the replies here under this thread, to the Comm. fisher's leadership, the Col. Tribal Comm., the regional office of the NMFS, and to Guy Norman (ODFW director of Col. allocation negotiations at: Guy.Norman@STATE.OR.US ). I've already sent enough tough Q's that they couldn't answer straight. Some of you other members get involved and see what response you get from such a good idea. - RT

[Nanook]

Columbia netters merely use this as
a vehicle to show a loss, and thus the
tax write offs, which pads their real
income source. We should make em show
us the "fact" sheets and their returns.

[dawhunt]

A couple years ago,I was writeing letters to every senator and congressman or woman,I thought would help including the president and vice president of our own USA.I got answers back from all of them except SEN. GORDON,I also wrote letters to several newspapers includeing the one in Astoria the letter I sent to Salem the paper wouldn't puplish they said they just do that for the local readers.Too make a long story short,I started getting phone calls from several gillnetters some decent some not very decent at all some so bad my daughter was afraid to answer the phone.The one call I remember the most was from I believe he said he was the head of the gillnetters assoc.He told me that none of the gillnetters fished to make money on the columbia they made there money in alaska they just fished the Columbia for EXCESS FISH.I couldn't believe it ,I asked him what EXCESS FISH there are no EXCESS FISH in the columbia.He then proceeded to tell me he had to worry about the lively hood of his seven captains that fished for him,He had SEVEN other boats he owned.

There was almost 30 gillnet boats tied up at the port dock in cams washougal last mon. & tues.to fish a twenty mile stretch of river.I think thats a little overkill.I know there here for now and we must live with that fact.But you'ed think they would govern themselves and cut back on the amount of boats that they use.We have to take huge cuts why don't they.Butt no instead they'll fish untill there isn't any or the government makes them quit and then the government will use our tax dollars to buy them out,WHAT A CROCK, Whos going to buy out all the sporting good stores and motels and charter boats,and our boats when there's nothing left to fish for,and you can bet WE'LL be taken out of the water before they are !!!,bottom line money talks and we'll walk.Sorry guys I bitter towards them and just needed to vent.But look what has happened in florid a and texas when they made them quit gillnetting they now have an outrages sport fishery there.

look what the gillnets have done in New England area there are no fish for them to fiah for fish there loseing everything does that have to happen here before the government or fisheries dept. step in and get them out of the river ???I know I'm getting carried away sorry. http://www.ifish.net/forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif
but its all true...
Bob
PS ,I never was a good speller http://www.ifish.net/forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif
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Bob Dawson

[This message has been edited by dawhunt (edited 08-25-2000).]

[Nanook]

Right on Bob! I am with you. In fact,
EVERYWHERE in the world the nets have come out, the population AND size has DOUBLED. That is a fact JACK Mr. Gillnetter folks.

To coin a phrase of one of my favorite
guides on the upper Columbia:

"GIT OUTA HERE, GIT OFFA MY RIVER!"
(We love you McGillaWeld!)

******

[Katchun Release]

Yes, and have you considered the fact that gill nets selectively remove all large fish of any given population? Over time, this has to be a trend which would lead to smaller and smaller fish. Correct me if I'm wrong.

How come us brilliant folks can SEE this so clearly and our Congressional representatives seem to bungle around on the wrong side?? Could it be. . . . campaign contributions? A trip up along the Columbia is a v e l l l y enlightening experience. Let's grab 'em by the ear (or whatever) and give 'em the tour.

Katchum

Gotta go now before I get even MORE worked up! I hate to sound radical (that's what Senator Craig of Idaho called me when I wrote him about dam removal) but maybe it's time for radical. Nothing reasonable has worked for sure. Look at all the businesses depending on sport fishing. What about them, huh, huh?

[dpizza]

It worked in So CA Why wouldn't it work on the Columbia River ? They banned coastal gillnets completely down there and within four years the inshore species came back.

I posted something similar a few minutes ago and it didn't appear on the BB....So sorry if this is a repeat message !!!