[Taildragger]

I was thinking last night about all the reports of snaggers on various rivers and thought there must be a better solution. I know we should call the game violations hot line but I dont have enough faith in the system that enough of the snaggers will be caught to do any good. I was thinking maybe odfw could change a few rules for the better of the fish such as; barbless hooks,hook size,or even limit the size of line test such as, no line may be used over 10lb test? So I have to ask, Have you really thought about what you might be able to give up in order to stop the snaggers at thier own game? Or better yet, what ideas do You have that could possibly work? Please be serious because Ill bet some of you have some good ideas!

 

[crabbait]

Hmmmm, let's see.......make more rules to discourage people who are already ignoring the rules.

How about enforce the rules and make the penalties strong enough that nobody wants to get caught at it twice!

 

[Taildragger]

You make a good point crabbait but I have yet to see any gamies doing any enforcing on any of the tribs I fish and yes I have turned in people and seen nothing done! Just trying to find an answer to the solutin. :shrug:

 

[Fishin Magician]

I have heard of people putting bedsprings in the riverbed and they worked very well.........I dont endorse this but its a heck of an idea....... :grin:

 

[Nanook]

Yep, two "kings" on the bottom of a good bobber hole. :laugh:

 

[Dr Strangelove]

Those who give up liberty for safety deserve neither. Benjamin Franklin. Please don't take a democrat gunbrabbing perspective on what we have to give up to end snagging.

The mean age of the snaggers on the Washougal, with the exception of Washougal Willie and the Dentist, is 19, out of High School but not in college, and they figure since everyone else does it, no one gets caught, well why the heck not? These kids are not sustainance fishing; they're vandals having way too much fun.

The only thing that needs to happen to end it is getting law enforecement off their lazy butts and not only fining these snaggers, but FOREVER labeling them as poachers: I propose mandatory jail time and pulling their fishing AND hunting licenses in Washington AND Oregon FOREVER; borderline/discretionary cases could get mandatory community service as a hatchery worker every weekend for a period of two years; when such service, unpaid of course, is completed then probationary licensure may be reinstated depending on the quality of service rendered.

I do not however, see how limiting the rights and techniques of legit fishermen will have any bearing on the problem. For instance, look at the moving bait rule: now you can't plunk a spin'glow/sandshrimp - that does hurt the sustainance fisherman and has nothing to do with snagging; these guys don't even hold their rods - they're in holders! But now thats illegal. The only thing snaggers will do is use water filled bobbers and small shot to get down and slowly drift. BIG difference. Same snagging.

Just enforce the laws and toss a bigger book at them. Make it hurt so bad they wouldn't dare. Maybe one freedom loss I would tolerate is privacy: weekly videotaping of the classic snagger holes and review by local cops who know who is who. If traffic cameras can stand in court (and I hate them), this could too.

 

[Taildragger]

Like I have said before,I dont see any law enforcement,I have yet to see a gamie or state police on the rivers I fish.I wish I could say " today there where four snaggers busted on the river" I wish I could call the game line and they would tell me they are going to respond right away. I guess the real reason for this post is to not let the issue go by the wayside. I would like to see these guys busted to the full extent of the law, but it seems we need to figure out a way to make "the law" enforce the rules! So if any of you have any ideas how to motivate these people through the right channels let me know! If I have to sign a petition or send a letter to congress or be a reserve deputy or you name it Ill do it! Im just tired of hearing about this go on when I know that we as a group can bring about justice!

 

[Mr. Carp]

Dr. Strangelove, I suppose your idea would work, but the culprit didn't kill someone. :wink: I think your solution is a little stiff if you ask me.

The thing I find funny is I guarentee that there are some people who respond to this subject and oppose snagging, but go out and do it themselves. Just my opinion, but sometimes people potray something they are not when they are behind a computer monitor. :shrug:

BTW, When does fishing off of the railroad bridge at Big Creek begin? :wink: :grin:

 

[rob allen]

What it takes is for legit fishermen to quit snagging themselves and not tolerate others doing it

 

[foxer]

Not to get political but i seem to remember a bunch of OSP being layed off because the voters didnt pass a tax increase. I know the state should live within their means etc, and it was a dirty ploy by Kitzhaber. Bottom line is, you were given a choice to fund the OSP or not. Most chose the "not", so now we have to live with it.

 

[Cohodependent]

I agree with Foxer. Our states have choosen not to fund the enforcers of our game laws by majority votes, so who is to blame? I think that we are the only ones that can put a stop to it. When you see it happening we need to speak up and belittle the offenders. Oh, I stoped by Big Creek a couple of weeks ago (8/23) on the way back from Astoria and there were about 8 folks on the bridge with buzz bombs jigging away...

 

[hustlerrjim]

I posted the solution a year ago
get all the rolled up barbed wire from farmers junk pile and strech it out in the hole.
end of problem!!!!!!
it works for us if you dont beleive me try snagging in bretts hole below our place.

 

[rpnsteelheadlps]

I can tell you from past experience they don't like their pictures taken. My son and I have done this in the past and you would be amazed how fast the hole clears out. One suggestion though do not do it without protection. Stupid people have rather bad tempers. I know this wasn't the right thing to do but it worked ( my apologies to everyone this offends ) at one hole these guys refused to stop snagging so my son and I went to the top of the hole and started peeing. They didn't like that very much either.

 

[tag-a-long]

For you fellas that think putting steel in the water is safe... not a good idea... Let some earth muffin in a kayak hit that and have some bozo say that Jim put it there, and you are in for it... We try to discourage snagging by crossing peoples lines from the other side of the tiver, but we are pretty lucky to not have a bunch of people in our holes like that.. so far..

[ 09-04-2003, 03:59 PM: Message edited by: tag-a-long ]

 

[Fast Water]

For me, this issue is mostly seasonal. This season to be specific. It is time go get angry with the snaggers, trash and the WDFW.

Year after year, in much the same way I would get bent out of shape over the Seahawks, Mariners or Trailblazers troubles, I would just about go crazy getting tee'd off at the snaggers on North Fork Lewis.

Well Fall is here and so are the snaggers. At the hatchery there are/will be 40 or more snaggers each and every day for the next month and a half.

I have called people snaggers, thrown across their lines and tried to rip the rod from their hands and have sent in a few licence plate numbers in order to reduce the amount of snagging. Funny thing is that nothing changes.

The last three years I went down to the WDFW regional headquarters in Vancouver about this time of year and talked to them about the amount of snagging going on. Believe me they know.

It is a function of priorites and the allocation of resources. If there are several thousand*** Coho left in the river after the hatchery has had their fill, and "they" do not want them to spawn in the river.... aside from breaking the written law, there is very little impact from the taking of these fish. So most of the resource, as thin as it is, goes up into the hill where people are shooting guns. As an enforcement agency, which is more important.

Oh sure, there are a few tickets written here and there. It is not completely lawless. As much as I despise snaggers and their practice, I'm not going to get bent out of shape over it this year. The WDFW fully understands what is going on and it is their job to provide enforcement not the general public's. I will let them do their job as they see fit and not blow a fuse over the situation.

I would like to say that I understand that there are many rivers in the NW that are more sensitive to this type of impact.

*** The Lewis River Hatchery raise and release approximatly 1.6mm Coho (earlies and lates). Based on a 5% return 80,000 Coho could be showing up at the hatchery any given year.

 

[willametteriveroutlaw]

This is going to ruffle a few feathers, but why not open certain places to snagging where the fish are abundant and excess from the hatchery system. This would concentrate the three toothed hillbillys and white trash away from other more sensitive fisheries. It happens in alaska and it seems to work okay for them. No one wants to see them on there river, but better on the nfl or big creek than on the washougal or t bay streams. All of this big talk of imprisionment and the such, will never happen because our legal system couldn't handle the overflow. As for dealing with them, do it at your own risk.. Drunk guys missing teeth make me a little scared and the though of being called betsy shivers my bones.

 

[hustlerrjim]

I agree with w.r.o. when the hatchery has there quota, open the river to snagging for 1/2 mile below the hatchery,with no limit.
it could be a way to harvest these fish.instead of sending them off to pet food in a tote.

 

[Fishin Magician]

I would have a moral issue with snagging fish even if it were legal in certain areas. If you catch a fish legally meaning if they bite,great. If you are hooking them in the butt thats not good at all and would never support such a practice. If that were to happen then the ones who are snagging will assume its ok to do it all year long , thus breeding more inbreeders.......
SNAGGING IS FOR LOSERS WHO HAVE NO SKILLS TO CATCH FISH LEGALLY.

John

 

[crabbait]

Opening any portion of a river to "legal" snagging only invites the practice elsewhere.

Instead, I think enforcement is the answer. If a little time was spent at the well known snagger holes I think the practice would stop. Especially if all gear associated with snagging were confiscated when the citation is issued. That's right, take their rod and reel, tackle, cooler (if they even have one) and anything else they used to break the law.

Let word get out that you lose everything when you get caught snagging and we would see a lot fewer snaggers.

 

[willametteriveroutlaw]

My only reasoning behind this would be to concentrate the snaggers in one area rather than letting them out to nail alot of wild fish. i talked to an oldtimer tonight who said that judges were taking the 200-500 dollar tickets handed out to the snaggers on the NFl and lessening them to 20-50 bucks. We, as fishermen, see the issue as a show of both lack of skill and lack of ethics, where as the general public could care less because they have no idea. just avoid the known places and set a precedent in the places where you fish, by breaking off snagged fish before they ever see the shore, showing no common courtesy for a fish that is obivously snagged that someone is fighting. Also try and edcuate new fishermen about it as well, whats right and whats wrong.