Hi Steelhawk,
I note that you keep going back to the topic of flossing for springs....how you rarely hook sockeye....and how you avoid the sockeye, while flossing in a targeted manner for springs. While it would be good that you could in theory, avoid these endangered sockeye while they are in the river, I think it may be possible that you are actually missing the bigger picture. When the flossing phenomenon began, it was an answer to the difficult question of how to hook "sockeye". Spoons didn't seem to work, bar fishing didn't work 98.999% of the time, and so somebody developed the technique of dragging the line through the fishes mouth and thus hooking a fish that otherwise would very rarely be caught simply because it did not bite. Flossing was born
You are correct that once in a while a sockeye is hooked inside the mouth while flossing, I've seen it as well, however my guess would be that it could be called a fluke.....either the rare instance that one bit?? or simply a lucky drift that "threaded the needle" so to speak. Either way, the reality is that most people at that time did not go out of their way to floss for springs in fact it was almost unheard of. Springs were simply a by-catch of flossing for sockeye and if they happened to be "in the mouth", then lots of guys would keep them, however I remember seeing quite a few springs snagged in various parts of the body as well and though a few were kept
most were released. The point is it's only in the last few years that flossing has been carried over to fishing for springs, a fish that does willingly and aggressively bite. This entire floss fishery for springs is an example of the negative impact flossing in and of itself, has had on sport fishing in general. Prior to the acceptance of flossing for sockeye as a legitimate fishery, I don't think too many sport fisherman that I know of would have been caught dead flossing springs in the Fraser. You either bar fished, spoon fished, or float fished some other system. Somehow a portion of the sport fishing community, has become de-sensitized to what flossing really is and how it started out, and given themselves(with a little help from a poorly written, in need of an overhaul freshwater synopsis) a loophole in which to legitimize a questionable method for catching fish. A side note as well in regards to comparing methods used elsewhere..... I've got to agree with 2:40, it's a completely moot point. Let's keep the discussion in and about BC.
Cheers,
Arnie