Fellow outdoorsmen--anyone else unhappy about ODFW's choice of retention of sturgeon days. It bothers me, a working man who only has one day a week [if I am not working on a Saturday] to catch a keeper fish. I do lots of C&R on all species, especially bass and trout, but I do enjoy the chance to eat a delicious sturgeon once in a while. It also increases the fishing pressure tenfold having just one weekend day to tag. Any opinions?
Wouldn't you think a slot limit adjustment would make a lot more sence than restricting days? That would reduce the total harves, but not the money spent chasing the fish and it wouldn't clog the ramps up certain days of the week. We all know they're gonna pile up pretty good with the 'dingers on their way but adding the gator guys 3 days a week is gonna be a mess.
JD
The problem is that there are a lot of people who work on the weekends too. They have to have weekdays to fish. There isn't any magic number of days at magic times that allows everybody to fish when they want to and still keep the season open as long as possible. SOMEBODY is always going to be unhappy no matter what.
The problem is that there are a lot of people who work on the weekends too. They have to have weekdays to fish. There isn't any magic number of days at magic times that allows everybody to fish when they want to and still keep the season open as long as possible. SOMEBODY is always going to be unhappy no matter what.
I dont think everyone would be if they rotated the days. I just dont know if it could get more simple then this???
We need an attorney to do any salmon fishing anymore anyways might as well just pay a little more lawyer fee's.
I can fish any day I want to but feel that set fishing days are unfair to Oregon tag holders.
I understand this would probably result in more tickets for people because of them not keeping up with rotating retention days but hey that would mean more revenue and ODFW could always use that. but at least it would be fair to everyone.
I agree with the idea of strict slot limits, it has worked with other species. But with all of the ideas I heard for solutions, the one thing no one has suggested is Catch & Release. It works for oversize fishing up river. May not be the most poular suggestion, espcially with those that want a great BBQ, but we need to do something, and a couple of years of C&R would seem a small price to pay for some great fishing later.
Fins, I think it is kinda weird. I went out last Saturday caught a keeper and C&R'd any way, Skinny fish. Went out Sunday for C&R and would you know it my buddy caught a beautiful big fat keeper, did kinda suck to have to let it go. What was wrong with Thursday through Sunday? Anyone?
What is wrong with Thursday through Sunday? If you are trying to limit the retention of keeper size sturgeon you need to limit the days that they can be kept.
Monday through Wednesday have been the best fishing days for me. No crowds and seems like I have the river to myself. Fish seem to bite just as good on Mon, Tue and Wed as they do the rest of the week.
But then I fish for fun not food and it is a good thing as I would starve to death if I depended on what I catch to eat.
think about this,we are chatching less keepers,less shakers,but the last 2 years they left the season open in aug to oct closer.hum.now back to no sundays.probally no politics in volved in this at all.just a thought
March last year was the best time for me. The 1,2,3, weekend 1 was my 50" -2 was 47"-3 was 46.5" and then my wife grounded me said I had to spend time with the family.
doesn't matter to me, I enjoy fishing C&R for them too, and if that means sundays are less crowded, that could be fun. Plus if you want to get some keepers, just plan ahead. Take a thursday off work (or call in sick).
Get used to it, the battle lines are drawn. Washington wants to limit the catch out of the Willamette to 1200 fish. The fact of the matter is that to many folks are stocking the freezer with sturgeon because of the poor salmon seasons. If we didnt have to have a commercial harvest we would already be looking at catch and release only. The important thing is not whether or not we can catch and kill a sturgeon its whether or not we have any sturgeon left. We are looking at big changes in seasons and limits in 2010 stand by. Derbies need to go away - not a good message to send given the for sure reductions in catch and seasons and the fact that their is one every weekend from Feb To May. FYI Oregon F&W actually went to bat and fought for the days we got - Wa wanted a two day a week season.
People eat sturgeon??? I love to hook'em and fight them on light gear but I kinna feal like Bill Dance about hooking bass and letting them live.
C&R seems like a way to go~:twocents:
My days off are Monday and Tuesday. Thankfully I don't have to go to work until 1600 but it's hard to motor a boat with no carbs on it. (they will be replaced shortly)
It might work to have sturgeon open for retention every 4th day of the month. (Feb 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29*). Current regs have 12 or 15 days a month, I don't mind 8 if they are more evenly spread across the w**k week.
I was just trying to stimulate a forum for discussion. I am not really mad. I love fishing and will go any day I can--whether I can keep em or not. Isn't sturgeon fishing mostly C&R anyway? I've had many 50-70 fish days without a keeper. That's alot of fun in my book. I do feel that it really increases the pressure on the ramps and fish on any given Saturday. And you cannot tell me that there are as many people with Thurs and Fri off as the weekends. There are still the traditional work weeks in most jobs. I am glad to have found a topic that brought out many different opinions, and I call that a success!
The thing that made less sense to me was the sudden urgency last year to add Sunday to the retention days.
Of all the anadromous fish we have, there is the least reason to increase the harvest on sturgeon for just one year. They're long lived fish and it doesn't hurt at all to be under the harvest quota.
The season bag is 5 fish- that's easy to achieve with only 3 retention days in our section of the Columbia and the Willamette. You can always go upriver and fish Sundays (good fishing, too) or wait for estuary fishing.
Or C&R. I figure the sea lions are eating too many sturgeon, until we get them under control I'm not planning on keeping many, if any at all.
Put yourself in the shoes of the managers guys. There are only so many fish and everyone wants them. If you open it up 5 days a week you are looking at a shorter season. If you allow two fish per day, shorter yet. They are trying to balance the interest of anglers below Bonny, above Bonny, commercial fisherman, Tribes, and still allow for ESA escapement and protection. This is not an easy thing to do........
The problem is we don't have enough fish for all the fisherman. We have hammered them for too long and now we are paying for all those years of greed.
RM
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