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Alternate angling opportunities?

4K views 51 replies 22 participants last post by  Nick Clayton 
#1 · (Edited)
So my wife and I were having lunch at the sushi bar yesterday when the chef starts filleting a very interesting fish. I knew what it was, but asked him just to see what the restaurant name would be, and he replied "sea bass". OK, technically I suppose it could be called a sea bass in a genetic sense, but very doubtful this fish came out of saltwater. Much more likely out of a pond or tank somewhere in the Southeastern US. Or, possibly much closer to home?

The fish was a 2-3lb hybrid striped bass. Besides being a very attractive, and delicious fish, they are a popular aquaculture species since they grow quickly, are tolerant of a wide range of water quality conditions such as temperature, salinity and Ph. They are also more disease resistant than either of the parent species, usually male white bass and female striped bass. Having caught white bass in the mid-west when I was a kid, I can attest that they are a ton of fun. Even more so with the hybrids which can exceed 15lbs.

At this point some of you may guess where I'm headed with this. Before you break out the torches and pitchforks, let me make a few preemptive statements. First, I generally find put-and-take type fisheries to be aesthetically (and economically) offensive with the exception of limited pellet-head trout fishing for the benefit of kids and families in easily accessible bodies of water that are isolated from any watershed (planting fry in productive lakes not part of a watershed does make sense to me however). Second, I am steadfastly against introducing non-native species that have the potential to become a self-sustaining population that could impact native species.

All that said, given the increased fishing pressure and degradation of anadromous runs, it's clearly time to think outside the box a bit with regard to angling opportunities. Many are already doing this by pursuing species such as carp, bass, panfish, and of course, the nearly endless options in saltwater. Unfortunately there are limitations with every species and fishery. Carp, while a challenging sport fish, have zero value as table fare for those of us who actually like to eat fish. Bass are already reaching a saturation point with angling pressure - mostly because they are so structure oriented. I mean, how many shoreline logs, docks, and rocks can a lake have. Panfish are great sport, good eating, and actually benefit from some harvest, but let's be honest - you're never going to see your backing fishing for bluegills or perch.

Pitchforks ready? Here we go... Why not plant hybrid striped bass fry in some select PNW lakes?

Or "Wipers" as they are called elsewhere for their reputation of wiping out standard bass fishing gear. These fish are sterile (with some rare exceptions of interbreeding with existing populations of white bass - which we don't have). They also utilize open water habitat that warm water game species such as LM bass generally ignore. Habitat with not only greater productive capacity, but also vastly greater in spatial terms as a sporting venue.

So assuming there are PNW lakes with suitable conditions for them, it seems to me there is little to no risk of them being established as a invasive species. Potentially creating new, exciting, and productive open-water fisheries on select lowland lakes which may be too warm for trout, but with limited structure for LM or SM bass.

Anyway, it's just an idea. I think we're past the time to start looking for alternate fishing opportunities. This one might be horrible, or a complete flop in reality. Don't shoot me for trying.

If anyone has better ideas I'm all ears.
 
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#48 ·
This state is blessed with a wide range of fishing opportunities that provides a lot of alternatives to the fly angler willing to experiment a bit. As I begin my 7 decade of fly fishing I have the pleasure of taking part in a vary of niche or alternative fisheries that have later become main stem for regional fly angler. 40 years ago there were few anglers that targeted chums or pinks or even skated dries for steelhead. 30 years ago few fly anglers targeted ling cod in the salt, or bull trout in our rivers and coho fishing in the salt or carp in freshwater were just exploding on the scene. And then there are the warm water fish opportunities which as Billmac suggest still has the potential to provide an angler with a variety of alternate fisheries.

As suggested earlier in this thread there are new fisheries await the fly angler to take up. In addition to the lake whitefish and burbot there are other species such as albacore tuna and waters such as large lakes (Lake Washington cutthroat come to mind), tiger muskies, and species like kokanee. With more angler interest and constantly improving and evolving fly gear there remains a lot for the angler willing test new "waters". For me a fly opportunity I may try my hand at are adult Chinook in Puget Sound during the summer.

My point here is there are all ready a number of alternate fisheries for most of us here in the PNW and not sure that introducing new species; especially major apex predators is the wise move. Such species are likely to come at the cost of existing fish/fisheries.

Curt
 
#51 · (Edited)
This state is blessed with a wide range of fishing opportunities that provides a lot of alternatives to the fly angler willing to experiment a bit. As I begin my 7 decade of fly fishing I have the pleasure of taking part in a vary of niche or alternative fisheries that have later become main stem for regional fly angler. 40 years ago there were few anglers that targeted chums or pinks or even skated dries for steelhead. 30 years ago few fly anglers targeted ling cod in the salt, or bull trout in our rivers and coho fishing in the salt or carp in freshwater were just exploding on the scene. And then there are the warm water fish opportunities which as Billmac suggest still has the potential to provide an angler with a variety of alternate fisheries.

As suggested earlier in this thread there are new fisheries await the fly angler to take up. In addition to the lake whitefish and burbot there are other species such as albacore tuna and waters such as large lakes (Lake Washington cutthroat come to mind), tiger muskies, and species like kokanee. With more angler interest and constantly improving and evolving fly gear there remains a lot for the angler willing test new "waters". For me a fly opportunity I may try my hand at are adult Chinook in Puget Sound during the summer.

My point here is there are all ready a number of alternate fisheries for most of us here in the PNW and not sure that introducing new species; especially major apex predators is the wise move. Such species are likely to come at the cost of existing fish/fisheries.

Curt
As exciting as a productive Washington wiper fishery sounds, that's just an idea, and I admit, a rather exotic one at that.

Curt speaks, very well, to the spirit of what I was intending with the original post. Even if the introduction of wipers were to create productive new fisheries, the opportunities they provide would be very limited, and only a small part of what will be needed to shift pressure from existing fisheries that are being pushed to the breaking point.

It's clear that many of our fisheries are being loved to death, and we are at a point where we need look elsewhere, or just stop fishing. The latter, ironically, could be the nail in the coffin for some fisheries since fly fishermen (and some gear guys too) act as stewards for the resource and may be the only thing standing between many fish and extinction. By keeping the passion for our sport alive by shifting our attention to less exploited venues, we are still connected with the sport and aware of conservation issues in the fisheries that need healing. I think it's honest to say that stewardship would effectively end for those of us who quit the sport entirely.

Enter the need for alternative fishing opportunities. Lake whitefish are a perfect example of just such an alternate fishery and something I was unaware of prior to this thread. Sure, they might not be huge, line-ripping fish, but seeing schools of "thousands" in the 18-24 inch range as Triploid Junky describes would definitely get my interest. And don't get me started on albacore, let alone the nearly endless possibilities in saltwater. One such "new" fly fishing opportunity came to light on my single tuna trip this year, when one of the many sharks we saw was almost certainly a small shortfin mako. I've always wanted to catch a mako so next year I will have a dedicated shark rod rigged with a wire leader and appropriate shark pattern. While sharks don't typically excite me from a sport fishing standpoint, they do for others. There are so many blue sharks offshore, a guy could literally C & R them until his arms fell off. Surf perch are another untapped fly fishing quarry. They are beautiful fish, readily hit flies, put up a great fight for their size, and are great eating if you're looking to take home a few fillets. The best part is that you can catch them on any coastal beach, often with no one else in sight. And these are just a few examples of what alternate fly fishing opportunities are available.

Here's the other thing about exploring new, or under-developed fly fishing opportunities. You're literally fishing "uncharted" waters. There is great satisfaction in putting the puzzle pieces together and adding a new species to your fly caught list. Or, even a familiar species on the fly in a completely different environment. Such as fly fishing for adult chinook in the Sound as Curt is considering. The point is, there's no lack of challenge or opportunity if we're open to new ideas and challenges.
 
#49 ·
I have to agree with Curt. I live on Eastern side of state and there is endless opportunity for fishing. Within a couple hours I can fish desert lakes, desert streams, small brooks and beaver dams, mountain streams and mountain lakes, backpack lakes, the Columbia and the Hanford Reach. The list goes on. Species I can take on fly include several kinds of trout, two kind of bass, salmon, steelhead, crappie and the likes, walleye, carp. I mean I know I'm missing some. Yes some areas are crowded but a lot are not. That being said like sterile tiger muskie in some lakes I wouldn't mind an isolated lake like Ana in Oregon to have a unique new fishery.
 
#50 ·
While I have not read all of the post here, the thought crossed my mind.
Why not put them in Green Lake and with a 15 pound fish available, that would probably clear off all of the lakes within a twenty five mile radius.
 
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