Wind River Today

[No Wishin Just Fishin]

Was at 7 mile hole today. Saw alot of fish but mine was only one I saw in the mouth. The "Nuckle Draggers" were out in full force and probably snagged and kept 20 fish. Stopped at the hatchery and there are about 100 a day coming up the ladder. The yakima Nation is coming tommorrow witha truck and taking 2500 from the hatchery for ceremonial purposes. What a crock.

[The Bad Fish]

i had one on today for a couple of jumps then that was it...i got alot of exercise though..looking forward to fall fishing..bf

[choppers]

add 11 / bugs

ya, i've seen some of the ceremonial sign's

fish for sale, $2.00 lb.

i really don't know about that tribe i could be wrong. hopefully it goes to hungry mouths.

are they just off the bite or do you think some conditions changed?

i was hoping to run out their after work.
thx in advance.

[DRUNK COWBOY]

I think it is time that the snaggers get a .45 caliber hand gun pressed up the sides of each one of their heads :mad: Ok that might be a bit extreem, but we need to do something about this. I understand that all of these fish are hatcheries, but they are still Salmon. How about we give them some respect. I was at the hatchery on the 22nd and about 40% of all the springers in the tank had spinners, or hooks sticking in the sides of them. I understand that sometimes fish get snagged, but these people at Mile 7 are doing it on purpose. On any given day a state trooper could go undercover and write 10 tickets for snagging graemlins/idea.gif Does anyone have any comments or suggestions on this topic, or am I out of line?

[choppers]

cowboy, the last time i was out their it made me sick. i hiked out of mile marker 7 to find a spot that would be conducive to catching one in the mouth. the snaggers just plunked with three oz ball of lead and rip rip rip cast after cast. graemlins/icon_argue.gif i was really hoping for the fishing police to stop in and say hello guys i would like to talk to you you you you and expecially you. as far as i know they are spread real thin but right now the wind is the place they should patrol. it's a money maker for the state.
my other .02 cents.

[DRUNK COWBOY]

Choppers,

I don't know any staters in washington :whazzup: Does anyone else kn ow of some names? Hell, give me their names and I will call them up and get them out there graemlins/idea.gif

[choppers]

cowboy,

http://www.wa.gov/wdfw/enf/enforce.htm

that should be all the information you need. i've already sent them an e-mail. waiting to hear what the office says about it.

[Slacker]

I was at the Wind today and didn't see a fish!
Maybe I am in the wrong spot. I parked at Mile 7 and had a grueling hike down. Is there a certain path I should take?

I also fished up closer to the hatchery by towards the deadline and didn't see a fish.
I am going to try again tomorrow.

BTW, was at the hatchery and the holding tank has a good % of fish with hook, spinners, etc. stuck in their backs. Very sad sight.

[gorge_fisherman]

Believe it or not the cops do know exactly what is going on and do make some effort to watch and write tickets. Officer Sutton is in the army reserves with my fishing partner and they(the police not my fishing partner) regularly video tape(hidden in the trees) and ticket snaggers from coffer up. I think they are probably just tired of hiking by now though. It is disgusting what goes on up at 7 mile that is why I do not even fish there anymore. Warning to any legitimate fisherman. NEVER net a fish for someone else that has been snagged. If they keep the fish the cops will write you a ticket if they see it. Even if you are not with that person.

I fished mid river this morning and hooked more than one on bobber and eggs by 7:00 AM. These fish will bite bait if they are not being line whipped all day long.

It is too bad that the snagger trash have to ruin good fishing for everyone. The worst part is that some of them bring their kids and teach them how NOT to fish and then leave their trash everywhere.

[ 06-19-2002, 07:37 PM: Message edited by: gorge_fisherman ]

[DRUNK COWBOY]

Well I as well submitted a complaint. we will keep trying to do something about this crap.

[Captain Pescado]

AD11 - any suggestions on what to use to actually hook one in the mouth? I don't want to get my knuckles bloody. Would appreciate any suggestions.

-CP

[Bounty Hunter]

Use glow corkies until first light. Then switch to eggs w/ no corkies drifted. From there you need to watch what other are fair hooking them on. I fished the same hole over a weeks period and the hot baits went from eggs drifted to yellow/orange corkies and yarn drifted to finally eggs under a float (early). Have a stocked arsenal and be ready to mimic the people who are fair hooking. If the snaggers get there, the fish will eventually get scared of the corkies being ripped at them and clam up (unless there are tons of fresh fish moving in or stacked up).

[Hilo]

So suppose you are fishing and you have a fish on but realize it is snagged what is the BEST way to handle the situation.

I ask because I was up at the Wind the week before and foul hooked a fish. I had a hard time getting it in (keep in mind I'm new to springers and was surprised by the fight). At one point during the battle I thought I should cut the line, but is that good for the fish????

I eventually got it to the rocks and a fellow helped me get the hook out while I continued to hold the rod. Anyway I fought the fish for quite some time and always felt like I prolly should have given up sooner for the fishes sake but I wasn't sure. I was especially confused seeing as how after 5+ trips to the river there 80%+ of the fish I have seen landed ( over 40 fish) were foul hooked and kept?!?!?!?!?

Help the hapless (accidental) snagger! :smile:

[crabbait]

The more you fish, the easier it will be to tell when a fish has picked up your offering and when you are getting a line bump. Don't set the hook on the line bumps.

If you accidently foul hook a fish, I think the best thing to do is apply as much pressure as you can to land the fish quickly and release it with as little handling as possible.

I would not cut the fish off with a bunch of line hanging off of it. If it breaks off while you are trying to land it quickly it should break at a knot,

[choppers]

i'm using 30lb main line and 25lb leader. i too have had the bad luck of placing it in the wrong spot. i simply point my tip at the fish and walk backward. 25lb leader still snaps everytime. Unless you can land it quick do so don't mess up ten guys down from you because your using steelhead gear and wish to play it out for god and everyone on the bank to see. Not to say you didn't take care of your fish in the best possible way but i've seen guys foul hook a fish and fight it right in front of me i couldn't cast for 10 minutes or more. most of the time i see guys net it and tag them. the one's that i see do that get my world renoun comment, "do you want us all to see you fight a foul hooked fish or do you want to bust it off" 99.9% of the time they bust it off, i get the occasional dirty looks but then i didn't shower that morning and could care less.

happy trails. choppers

[chuck 'n' duck]

Hilo:

Based upon the fact that fish with gear stuck in them obviously survive to make it to the spawning grounds (hatchery in this case), I would say that the best practice is to break off the fish as soon as you realize it is foul hooked. Playing the fish out when you have little or no leverage due to the attachment point in the back or tail will only inflict unnecessary stress on the fish. These fish are often times beyond being able to be revived.

Now, to play devils advocate. Would you rather have people keep snagged fish, or have those fish end up as hatchery excess that either gets donated to the indians or buried. I am not advocating malicious and intential snagging, but if a fish is foul hooked or lined in a fishery where there is no native stock, is there really any harm done when it is retained.

No, I do not keep snagged fish, just thought I would bring up a different point of view.

CnD

[Hilo]

Thanks Chuck n Duck that seems a logical conclusion. Being relatively new to the Wind fishery and learning about snaggers and such many questions have come to mind and have been difficult to find answers to without looking like an idiot. Firstly I have spoken with numerous of the snaggers on the Wind and none of them would admit to snagging fish (though I have seen with my own eyes). Further they compliment eachother on nicely snagged fish?!?!?

That brought me to wondering the same thing you asked in your last post. Why is it such a big deal on the Wind when there is no such thing as a Native Wind River Springer AND the hatchery workers themselves tell you they only "keep"/use 2000 returning springers anyhow. The rest go to the Indians/cat food companies or 6' feet under?? But try and ask that to any "honest" fisherman and not get an appalling look in return!

Once again curious about something I don't know much about!

[choppers]

i'm one of the guys hilo that has that appauling look. it's like this for me. i hike and fish intending to catch food to bring home and i pack bait / beer / and my net. i'm actually working hard at this sport that i enjoy and is a part of my life. what makes me sick to watch is guys that don't pack hardly anything except their drift gear with a lot and i mean a lot of lead. matter of fact their asking to use my net i draw the line when they ask for a beer. i'm sitting their drifting my gear through a hole and my neighbor is casting over me and snagging. that's friggen wrong. next thing you know he has his limit and i haven't gotten one yet. what do i do join the crowd or do i fish the right way. that's why i think everyone shouldn't fish with the intent to snag. last week, i let three go and only got one. could of landed everyone of them obviousely with my line wt but i only faught the one that was fair. just my thoughts.

choppers

[Thumper]

Chuck N Duck has raised a most interesting scenario ----

"Now, to play devils advocate. Would you rather have people keep snagged fish, or have those fish end up as hatchery excess that either gets donated to the indians or buried. I am not advocating malicious and intential snagging, but if a fish is foul hooked or lined in a fishery where there is no native stock, is there really any harm done when it is retained."

Thoughts? I am stumped.

[Hilo]

Hope I didn't offend you choppers with the appalling look comment. I was merely trying to make the point that it is difficult to ask the tough questions to fisher people you meet on the river as many times they are not receptive to answering newbie questions. I could understand if it were a remote setting but if you are in a combat fish zone wouldn't it be more productive and pleasant to be helpful rather than judgemental? Again, I'm not saying you personally but in general, all fishers.

It is also not to say all the people I have met fishing are like this but at a combat zone like the Wind you definately get eyeballed more than not!

Thankfully I do have a medium to ask the hard or embarrassing question thanks to BB's like this. Jennie if you are reading that is a compliment directly to you!

[Hilo]

So that's one for breaking off and leaving your Sh*& in the fish and one for landing it (quickly being the operative word) and removing it!

I guess I should expect that! So maybe the better question is what is the harm in leaving your gear in the fish?? I certainly have seen my fair share of fish on the Wind with gear in it!

Hell walk up to the hatchery I think they are starting a tackle store!