No Joke!

[Trick]

I can't believe what an OSP officer told a fishing partner off mine. A couple of officers were down around the Big Creek area doing checks, they must of heard about the snagging problems, and a Gillnet problem was brought up by one of the officers. I was down there last Friday to cast spinners for the Silvers and when I got there around 6am this is what I seen. At the mouth was a gillnet boat that had 3 nets in the water. The first net was illegally placed about 25 ft below the trestle, which is about 30-40ft above their deadline. This net ran 2/3rds across the creek from the right side. A second net was ran 5' below this one and it ran 2/3rds across the creek from the left side, also illegally placed. The third net was legally placed below their deadline and was stretched from the right shore and made a large bow into the river and was stretched to the left shore. A gillnet boat laid in the middle of this trap along with it's 15' aluminum "helper boat". That in it's self made me sick, but here is the kicker. This boat, according to the Oregon State Police, dumped detergant into the water to drive the fish down into the nets . I've never heard of this being done before to drive fish , but that is the story that my partner was given by the police. I assume that these clowns had to have been turned in by another gillnetter downstream from them , because the few of us that stayed around to fish didn't notice anything unusual in the water. I did notice that there wasn't a single fish rolling in the area for at least 2 hours after the boat pulled out at 7am. I caught one 15" jack that morning and that was the only fish caught before I left at about 9:30 am. Even the snaggers on the bridge were getting skunked so that boat wiped out every fish in that area. This info. was passed on to him this morning while he was fishing. Has anyone ever heard of a practice like this before? I've fished there for years and have never heard of anyone dumping chemicals to drive fish? I've seen netters fish above the deadline before, but they must be off their rockers to be dumping chemicals into our precious water source. I hope they nail their ass's to the wall if this allegation proves to be true !

[This message has been edited by tshickam (edited 09-25-2000).]

[Bait O' Eggs]

tshickam
I have never heard of detergent, back in the early 80's I saw where a popular Tillamook fishing hole was leased to 12 fisherman and closed to the public. Somebody got really ticked and sank several gallons of bleach with pin holes in the jugs at the top of the hole. It killed hundreds of Fall Chinook.

I heard rumors the following year it was done again but they used crushed black walnut in a gunny sack. The oil in the walnuts fouled the gills of the fish and they died a little slower death.

I cannot confirm the walnut strike, but I saw the bleach jugs the year before. With salmon lining the bank like cord wood, a lot of egg rapers were taking what was left of the fish.

Just a plain shame. A lose - lose deal for all.

[roadsend]

Back in the "olden days" I have heard that they used a chemical commonly used for cleaning natural fiber nets and lines to drive fish out of the creeks. Since this is a commonly availabe substance, I am reluctant to say what it is, but it really makes the fish move. I am glad someone caught the @#SH%%&.

[MoJet Driver]

This sux beyond belief (SBB). And they wonder why initiatives to ban nets are brought up.

Anybody want to guess if Wyden or Smith even knows where Big Creek is?

[Trick]

I think that cleaning substance that roadsend is talking about is the stuff, because my buddy was told that it was dumped to drive the fish downstream into the nets. I didn't see any dead fish, well, for that matter there wasn't hardly any live fish either, but whatever that stuff is, it must not be toxic. I must have lived a sheltered life. I have never heard of any of the above practices, like bleaching fish and walnut shells. What the hell is wrong with people?

[hunter]

I had the displeasure of working in Willapa Bay with an X-Gillnetter. We battled daily in a light hearted matter(not) about the sportsman vs. gillnetter, and low and behold he had used the bleach trick before. He said they would take about 20 gallons of Clorox with the pinholes and strategically place them in the North Nemah, for those of you not familiar with the N. Nemah its about 20' wide in tide water and even smaller up higher. The scumsuckers would string a net across the mouth and catch every fish in the river, sometimes he said they would lose their net from all the fish slamming into it.
You gotta love gillnetters!! They make snaggers look Blazer Dancers.

[roadsend]

Tshickam is right. At very low concentrations this substance is non-toxic. Fish have an incredible sense of smell and can detect substances at very low concentrations (parts per billion). At high concentrations this substance is toxic even to vegetation. Many of the tanks that the "old-timers" used to clean nets were made into hot tubs but you wouldn't catch me in one of them.

[Phish_on]

two words:

Death penalty

Maybe just a good public spanking and license removal would be better than firing? Would be somewhat satisfying though.

[KrystalFlash]

A Few More Words....
"Target Acquired, bearing 270 Deg. @ .25nm"
"Target Indentified as SS "Scumsucking Gillnetter" - HOSTILE
"Fire Control, Plot Firing Solution"
"Firing Solution Plotted"
"Lock Firing Solution"
"Firing Solution Locked"
"Dual Salvo, Safeties Removed"
"Fire, Fire,"