Another bad deal

[Timber Man]

Today I went to the carbon river to see how it looked for the sept.1 opener for nookies.Right now it is open for steelys and there was about a dozen folks fishing.They were slammin some nookies and taking them out of the water for pictures and keeping them out for long periods of time.Some they would just pitch back in and they would go down river belly up.Others would revive them before realeasing them.There was a game warden there and he said there wasnt anything he could do.Dont these people have a clue.I told a few of them they needed to keep the fish in the water but I got the 1 fingered salute as a response.These people need to be informed on how to C&R.I have an idea some of these fish didnt make it.TM

There is certainly no shortage of brainless people walking and floating NW rivers! There has been public education for fishers on proper release techniques in places such as local newspaper fishing columns, net BB's like this one, and the fishing reg pamphlets. There needs to be more. And there also needs to be better enforcement laws and personel to impliment them. That officer should have gone over to the offenders and explained, so that nearby fishers could hear, how to properly release fish. Maybe we now need reg.s regarding proper C&R, making it mandatory to use those guidelines. This would be another good place for the video camera for taking evidence of lethal abuse of protected fish to authoritites and media. The camcorder is changing the world, mostly for the better.- RT

[Timber Man]

I dont understand why he couldn't have ticketed them for harassing the salmon?If some of these folks got ticketed maybe they would learn the proper ways..TM

[finclipped]

I hate killing wild fish, infact it ruins my day. Last friday, we killed one native and one other probably made it, but who knows for sure. Fishing with hooks, kills fish, there is no way around it.

What really bothers me is those who do not appreciate our resource enough to give a damn whether they kill it or not. Many believe if it doesn't go in the box, it doesn't has any value. I have noticed many down at buoy 10 are unwilling to sacrifice a 50 cent liter to save a wild fish. Cut the liter when its in the net. Don't let the fish thrash around with tension on the liter, this will kill them everytime. Don't feel like you have to remove the hook if means ripping out half the tissue around the mouth. Unless you are using stainless hooks, they are designed to rust out.

So most of you are already doing this but it feels good to vent.

[Kerry]

Hey Timber Man I was also there and I did not see one fish go down the river belly up all were released and swam away!! Yes the 2 kids were taking pictures but were quick about it. The worst I saw was the one kid was foul hooking a few by doing the Sockeye flip thing with a long leader, but there again if it was foul hooked he just poped it off and did not try to land it. Remember these are hatchery fish and they will all be killed friday when it opens . I think what I saw was OK and all the fish were not hurt. Just go back on Friday and see how many are snaged and kept. I hope the fish cop comes back on Friday

[Timber Man]

Kerry-At least on fri. the fish will be taken home to eat not just float down the river.I was standing up on top and seen more then 1 fish float down belly up.I have fished it for 20 yrs and I know it is a slaughter but lots of fish keep coming back so they dont kill them all.Dont try to tell me they didnt drag a bunch up on the rocks out of the water I seen it all.Infact I saw 1 of the kids you are refering to kick 1 up on the bank.If you think this is o.k. well thats your opinion.As far as I see it ,it should be shut down for the month of aug.but then again thats my opinion.TM

[Grant Scheele]

Last year on a middle coast tidewater a couple of people lost their licenses and got major fines for harassing Chinook. It must be up to the cop. These guys got nailed because they caught to many. I watched them release close to 20 one day and they did everything possible to correctly release them. The cops called it harassment because they only kept hens. The locals got mad mostly because they did it daily and because these awesome fisherman wouldn't talk to anyone. The were incredibly rude. If you even said hello they just glared at you. While I felt like knocking them out of their boat because they acted so stupid they still didn't deserve a reported $50,000 in fines and attorny fees. The cops ended up going through their freezers and homes. While I happen to think most game troopers are really cool I think this was way overboard. Busted for catching to many fish. Wow!

[Kerry]

When I was there I did not see that so yes in this day of hatchery / wild fish people do need to know how to release a fish without any harm to it!!! Yes we need barbless hooks,Yes there needs to be a fine for kicking a fish up on the bank!!! We all know what is right and wrong

[Phish_on]

some people take "throw 'em back" a little too literally.

I think there could be less mortality on the wild coho at B-10, for example, if "they" just had a little more concern and could be a little more careful.

It's all an attitude, I guess. Instead of "Oh! Excellent! Another native - be careful, help it make it home" it's "Dammit! Can't KILL IT!"

I was very careful to keep that ONE fish in the water until I check for the fin-clip. **then was more than happy to bonk it on the head**

I spend the majority of my fishing time fly-fishing for trout, and generally release MOST native fish. I guess its become second nature to be ultra-careful in handling them.

SO how are we going to change the world ? The best we can do is teach the children, I guess ... I'm afraid most of us come from a tradition of killing fish, back when it seemed like there were plenty. Somehow I've made the transition, I don't recall my Dad ever letting a fish go, except for being too puny to bother with.

I doubt if more reg.s would help -- it's all pretty much on the honor system anyway...

[Timber Man]

KERRY---Tell me about the Carbon now!!!!!!!!!