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You must retain your first two hatchery fish on the Methow

5K views 44 replies 25 participants last post by  Jonathan Tachell 
#1 ·
Hi fellow steelheaders,

I originally posted this in a thread for the Methow / Wenatchee opener but it was buried so I thought I'd reiterate my point and Freestone's additional comments in a new thread.

I wrote:

KEEP THE FIRST TWO HATCHERY FISH YOU LAND! There are literally guys every year (mostly fly fishers) that will release them so they can continue fishing through the day and then make false reports that the fish they released that morning were wild - just in case they were being watched. Don't do this. It exaggerates the number of wild fish recorded and can get the season shut down earlier than warranted. For those of us that live in the valley or have places there that f'ing sucks.

Freestone's comments:

Well said Lex! Selfish f'ing idiots contributed to the early/winter closure last year. If you aren't willing to keep your hatchery fish, then fish elsewhere as this is meat fishery, plain and simple. Bring a pen, knife and cooler otherwise you may have a hard time convincing the officer that you intend to keep your brats.

Also, keep the Endangered wild steelhead in the water! Don't be a douchebag and lift your wild steelhead for the hero shot as it is not only illegal, but it shows how little respect you have for these ESA-listed fish. Plus, if you really need the hero shot to boost your ego it basically broadcasts to everyone that you are really just compensating for your small rod!

My final words:

There are ALREADY people doing this yesterday and today. Releasing hatchery fish and calling them wild to the creel checkers so they can keep on fishing. Yes, this was verified. This is seriously unethical and completely selfish behavior. Enforcement is looking for this activity and don't treat it lightly, so get with the program. The Methow steelhead season is an EMERGENCY OPENER - A F'ING MEAT FISHERY - NOT A SPORTSPERSON'S STEELHEAD PARADISE TO ABUSE THE RULES.

Just trying to get the word out so please help to disseminate this information to others.

Thanks,

Lex
 
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#2 ·
Good point Lex. Along with that, no one wants to be a "nark", but it takes 30 secs to let the creel checkers know of certain individuals that are doing this.

I'm sure they are aware that it happens, but if they had the chance to "spook" someone (or several others) into stopping this behavior.

It may help.
 
#5 ·
Just to be clear, it is ILLEGAL to release hatchery steelhead on the Methow, Wenatchee, Entiat, Okanagan, Upper Columbia and Similkameen. You will be given a ticket if caught - and you may get worse than that from the locals if they see you do it...

It is also ILLEGAL to lie to the WDFW creel census takers. The local economy really relies on this steelhead season so keep your hatchery brats, tell the truth to the census takers or stay home! Don't ruin it for the businesses, guides and locals who depend upon this season. WDFW worked very hard to even get NOAA to allow us to have a season at all and a bunch of lying, selfish idiots could easily get the whole fishery closed forever!
 
#8 ·
I am new to steelheading and this is great info! I'm planning on going to the Wenatchee this weekend and I will be keeping the first two hatchery fish I catch, if I'm lucky enough to catch any... How is the wading access on the Wenatchee at this time of year? I will be swinging flies and I've heard the Wenatchee has some great swinging water, I jsut want to make sure its wadable as I will be coming from Snoqualmie.
 
#13 ·
It's very low and I don't think you will have to worry about the 2 hatchery fish.
 
#9 ·
The Methow steelhead season is an EMERGENCY OPENER - A F'ING MEAT FISHERY -
I'm really looking forward to my weekend over there. I was having a hard time defining why I was so looking forward to it. I think Lex hit the nail on the head. I'm actually looking forward to going on a trip with the specific intent on bonking fish and putting them in the cooler. I don't really care if there are a lot of them in the river or not, just the fact that that is the purpose of my trip and I get to do it in such a pretty place at possibly the most pretty time of year is just excitement overload.
 
#16 ·
The fervent tone of this thread has got me all worked up. I can't wait to bust some skulls. Unlike KerryS, the opportunity to rid the system of these inferior, mongrel, hatchery brats, tie them to my bumper, and drag their sorry asses back over the pass is worth the price of admission. ;)
 
#20 ·
I don't fish the Methow but have a question regarding the must keep hatchery fish regulation.
Is the goal to remove as many hatchery fish as possible? If so, why limit the daily limit to two fish?
What about four fish? Many rivers in the state have regs that offer liberal catch limits when excess fish are available.
The only downside I can think of by increasing the daily limit is the additional fishing time might increase the encounters with wild fish.
What would be your thoughts on this and thanks for your input.
SF
 
#34 ·
I don't fish the Methow but have a question regarding the must keep hatchery fish regulation.
Is the goal to remove as many hatchery fish as possible? If so, why limit the daily limit to two fish?
What about four fish? Many rivers in the state have regs that offer liberal catch limits when excess fish are available.
The only downside I can think of by increasing the daily limit is the additional fishing time might increase the encounters with wild fish.
What would be your thoughts on this and thanks for your input.
SF
You nailed it on the head.
 
#21 ·
It was four fish a couple of years ago. My guess is that the numbers of projected hatchery fish were down, and wanted to give more folks a shot at the fish - all while accomplishing the goal of removing the hatchery fish from the river.
 
#22 ·
Dave hit it on the head. The goal is two fold, remove the excess hatchery fish while providing fishing opportunity. Once enough brats are removed and/or wild fish landed, they'd have to shut it down so they set a harvest number that best accomplishes these goals.

What many people don't know is that the NOAA Permit that makes any steelhead fishing possible is mainly about the removal of the excess hatchery fish by culling them at the dams. Only when certain conditions are met can WDFW even ask NOAA for permission to take out the excess hatchery fish through a recreational fishery instead. This approval hinges on anglers actually removing the brats and NOAA has repeatedly threatened to not allow fishing if anglers keep releasing brats.

I am sorry if my posts have been a little blunt, maybe even over the top, but it was intentional as this is a problem every year because some people just don't get it - or care and threaten the very existence of this fishery. If it changed even one person's behavior, it will have been worth it to me.
 
#23 ·
When I first fished it, I was surprised at what good shape the fish were in for being so far from salt. There's no good reason NOT to keep them. Whack 'em and stack 'em. Just keep your expectations realistic--like any other steelhead river, 10% will catch 90%. If I can end my deer season early I'll be over for a day or two.
 
#24 ·
Freestone you make a good point. I've purposefully avoided this fishery every year its' been open specifically because I was not interested in participating in a meat fishery. I'm not certain why my thoughts have changed but at one point last year I noticed I was disappointed that I hadn't taken the opportunity to experience it while I could. So, this year, I didn't even think about it. When I bought my license in march I paid the extra money for the Columbia Endorsement and when I saw it was opening, I booked a room. Once I booked the room and started planning for the weekend, I noticed I was genuinely excited about it. I'm not really expecting to catch anything, its' steelhead fishing for crying out loud, but just the fact that if I do manage to hook into a hatchery fish and bring it to hand, then I can lay it in the cooler and bring it home and share it in a meal with family and friends, has added a certain level of fun to it all. I can remember your posts last season on this subject and I honestly think that you played part in my mind changing about this fishery.

I must admit I'm bothered by the posts that express little to no respect for the hatchery fish. I am glad that we have the opportunity to go fish for steelhead with the possibility of bringing one home to smoke for the holiday table or bbq with friends and family. To me, this is something to be thankful for, not disrespectful toward. I think if more people approached it with more maturity, then it could become a yearly fishery that we could all look forward to instead of constantly wondering if it will be open and if it does, feel the need to rush out and hit it before it gets shut down. I think your posts have brought this to light and played a least some part in changing my mind. Now, you may not have intended to turn someone that wasn't interested it participating into yet another body on the water, but the point is, I feel I'm approaching it in a thoughtful manner that you are trying to instill in folks.
 
#31 ·
Went yesterday and my low expectations were a reality. On top of the issues I foresaw, it didn't cross my mind that there was such a huge run of kings up there this year. The river is just full of moldy, spawning kings. The spots where the steelhead usually sit are full of salmon. Made for a pretty frustrating day, especially since they weren't shy about eating a swung fly. Reeling in a moldy king = not epic.
 
#32 ·
Evan,

Good seeing and talking with you yesterday on the Met.

I was in the area working and fished four straight days, never more than an hour or two at a time and always at either at first or last light. Primarily swinging, I had two grabs in those four days, though I did (cough) throw a bobber on a Spey rod one of the days, mostly out of frustration and didn't do any better with that method either. Long gone are the days of making a couple casts and catching a couple of hatchery fish.

My complaint is why folks don't identify the origin of the fish before netting it? There is no reason to net a fish that is planned to be released. I guess it wouldn't bother me much except you never see knotless nets used (or large enough) to properly land steelhead. Wearing waders and using barbless hooks should allow the natural origin fish to be quickly and carefully released in the water, without netting or banging on the rocks.
 
#35 ·
I net wilds to keep from prolonging the fight. I can have one in the net before it runs off again. I'd rather do that than wait til it's too tired to keep fighting.
Nothing wrong with that approach but I saw fish caught by bank anglers without waders who once they get them in the net (not knotless) take an inordinate amount of time to determine whether it was a "keeper" or not, all the while, having the fish thrash about on the rocks, half in and half out of the water. The scene, repeated over several times didn't sit well with me.
 
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