Easy Limits at the Mouth of the Lewis

[wetaline]

they were in the same spot last year... I remember coming out of lake river in heavy fog, crawled over towards the mouth of the lewis and out of no where were about 50 sea lions frolicking like kids at a mcdonalds play land... it was fun to watch, but disturbing to think what they'd be munching on a month later....

[fishing is life]

i vote for a seal season on the upper columbia.

[Wishing to Fish]

Do you broil Sea Lion or is it better fried?

Just kidding.

As if compitition isn't tough already.

[reeldick]

Every salmon tag should have a spot for 1 sea lion.

[ibeanfishin]

If there were a season on them,what would be the % between game and comercial fishermen???

[fishchaser]

Hey, baton leader, and co-team member :grin:
Are you trying to get an early start on springers? Or are you out bow hunting seals? :shocked:

I take it you didn't catch anything, except another bought of phnemonia. :sick:

[The Fishing Geek]

I'd rather see a season on doughballs.

[rob allen]

like it or not there are enough fish for man and beast alike.... just because their success doesn't require a willing fish in no reason to with them ill. They have as much or more right to the fish than we do... Live and let live and be content with the fish that grab your quickfish..

[fishing is life]

Rob, i just feel like the seals are over populated. it does not seem natural to me to see seals up at bonneville. with the protection laws it seems like it is prudent to have some form of population control similar to what we do with deer. otherwise there could be starvation and disease. i think seals dont fear humans anymore and if we had a small hunting season they would not come up that far.

[Pan Fry]

Something needs to be done about them. ODFW needs to kill a few off or something. It's getting ridiculous. I was at Prescott twice last week, twice last week there were more than 5 or 6 in the water.

[parthur]

I'm pretty sure it's legal to shoot 'em :shrug: They just have to have visible antlers graemlins/eek13.gif

[KingFisher85]

I'll pay a hundred or so bucks to hunt them. I know of a far number of people that would do that.

[First Light Bite]

Hunting sea lions would be a great way to fund the hatcherys make it draw with limited harvest. Who would not pay $50-$100 to get a chance to get one of these fish robbers. They are not an endangered species any more so lets start the harvest.
Wishing to Fish -- They taste kind of like spotted owl :laugh:

[steelheadslayer]

I kinda like to watch em frolick and play around right now. It's later, when they're playing and frolicking with a nice springer with my Kwikfish in it that torks me. I agree that we should have some means to get them afraid of humans again. They are just too dang cozy with all the boats around. :mad:

[Kruechief]

I'm really appalled at the lack of stewardship of the land shown on this thread...... :wink:

Would that tag be part of the sportsman pack? :rolleyes:

Krue

[Jimmy Carl Black]

I haven't posted my fish story yet but I had to jump in here. I love fishing as much as anybody, but the seals do it for survival. Alot of people have their opinions of this or that about population distribution or overpopulation but there are records ( in pre-dam times) of sea lions observed as far upstream as Celilo Falls.

I've actually seen them near Carson--they go up through the lock.

[rob allen]

Fishing is life.. Hmm if anything is overpopulated in the columbia during springer season it's fishermen. fihermen catch and kill far more fish that seals and sea lions.. If they were overpopulated and diseased they would be dying out.

[Gun Rod Bow]

Rob,

It's not easy being on top of the food chain...just fun.

GRB :grin:

[KingFisher85]

I know I know, the seals where hear first. If only we could get it thought there head, eat the whole fish! They go and take one bite out of its guts and let the rest to lay. if only we had some way to put of a season that they seals could hunt, it would be all good. :wink:

[Steelie Ben]

Ya know, they are really "cute"(gag) to watch frolic around but how cute are they when they attack the salmon on the end of your line at the boat? I have a winny mag shell that would instill some fear!! :grin: :grin: No, really though, they are a little too comfy with humans and something needs to be done, maybe let the native tribes take a whack at them?!?
SB

[The Bad Fish]

jeeez you guys ... it's not like the seals can go to safeway and get a fish.. :rolleyes:

[MasterCaster]

What do you think would happen if a group of seals/sealions learned to stay in the fish ladder in front of the viewing windows and eat the guts of of fish all day? They would be destroyed. <or they would have millions of dollars spent on them trying to "relocate" them elsewhere when they would have been better off just killing them in the first place> To me its the same thing with the ones that learn to go after hooked fish. They follow the boats or stay around the crowds and take fish after fish. These animals need to be taken out of the gene pool for good.

I would gladly pay $100 for a shot at one of the fish stealers.

Just my .02

Jon :smile: :grin: :smile:

[BigBeanCounter]

MasterCaster.....

I doubt they could even destroy these things if they did that. Did you ever hear about that big sea lion named Herschel that lived at the opening of the ballard locks in seattle back in the 80's until he died of old age? They spent over $50,000 trying to scare him off & relocate him to california 2 or 3 times, but he kept coming back. Dang thing practically wiped out the lake washington sockeye run for years. :shrug:

what we need is a columbia river orca hatchery!! :grin: :grin:

[1pump]

Herschel died of old age? Yeah, right. It was probably lead poisoning. :wink:

[MasterCaster]

Yes i did hear about that. Thats why I said..."or they would have millions of dollars spent on them trying to "relocate" them elsewhere when they would have been better off just killing them in the first place"

I know they would most likely never kill them because too many of the "animal rights" people would thow a hissy fit.

I just think something definately needs done to GET RID <not move> these fish stealing animals.

Jon :smile: :grin: :smile:

[rob allen]

Hmm well since we are talking about the removal of individuals from the gene pool I have a few to mention..

The ******* that netted that wild steelhead and killed it according to a recent post on this site.

The many fishermen who catch females salmon , slit them open and take only the roe ( extremely common in the fall)

All snaggers!!! That means most of the few hundred people who fish the north fork of the lewis in the fall for coho at cedar creek
And the guys at lorens drift on the Trask after the first rain in October

Face it if there are enough fish that we don't wanna close the rivers to keep thoes things from happening then there are enough fish to allow the seals/ sea lions to harvest a few thousand.

[ctflyfish]

I'd like for a marine mammal biologist to debunk the myth that sea lions only "rip the bellies" out of salmon and then play with them. I have been told that the lions don't have fully articulated jaws and can't chew. Therefore, they slash and rip chunks off their prey. It looks like they are playing, but, in fact, they are just shaking it down into edible proportions.
Makes sense to me as I have never seen any animal in nature that wasted food.

[Gizmo Man]

Yep....took an early season springer trip yesterday. As I past the mouth of the Lewis it looked like a bunch of new snags had moved in. Lots of birds.

After spending several hours trolling St. Helens area, I headed back to the lewis and noticed that the snags seemed to be moving. Went over to investigate and couldn't believe how easy it would be to get a limit. A limit of what you ask?


http://www.ifish.net/uploads/37381216.jpg


and when we went into the lewis, we had them following us:

http://www.ifish.net/uploads/42371216.jpg


So be prepared. We counted about 50 of these guys.

At the N. End of Sand Island there where 6 more watching us fish.

Giz....

[ 01-17-2003, 12:53 PM: Message edited by: Gizmo Man ]

[KingFisher85]

What are they?

[jet]

SEA LIONS,

WE saw them last weekend. Weird how they used their fins as a rudder to stay in the current to suck-up the slime rockets.

Jet~~

[bassin]

Sealions and there fun to watch as long as they are just munching smelt.

[RipDatLip]

Is there anyone here willing to let a sea lion bite them so we have a reason to exterminate?! I'd ponder the idea of "being attacked" so I could take a few out.....

Matt