I guess I'll make a few comments before we end this thread, which is very soon.
Spring King, I take it you're a relative of Cohokid as both your messages are originated from the same location. I try my best to stay away from judging how people fish, but I choose to provide people information and allow them to make the decisions themselves. After reading through this thread a couple of times, my only problem sits on the fact that you believe a fish hooked anywhere from the gill plate up can be legally kept.
I've personally known Doug for a couple of years, and fished with him a few times. He's also very involved in fishery projects and both of us have worked together in the past including the upcoming Help Habitat Fundraiser, therefore I take his words very seriously. Doug is generally a very mellow guy, so it takes a lot for him to become very vocal. In this case, obviously he is very concerned about what he saw.
If an angler decides to keep a fish knowing that it is not hooked in the mouth but above the gill plates, wouldn't he be keeping a fish that is snagged? I think the issue that is being questioned here is not where the fish were hooked, but the intention of the fishermen. If a whole bunch of fish are being brought in and some have the hook near the mouth, some have the hook in the mouth, some have the hook near the gill plate, some have the hook on other parts of the body, then the technique may need to be questioned. Of course some fish are caught after being enticed by the presentation on the hook, but does the technique need to be changed to reduce the frequency of foul hooked fish? It's not so much about how long the leader is, how deep a person is fishing, but how you intend to catch them. The hard jerk of the rod at the end of each drift is unnecessary.
I've seen that being done too often on the Vedder this season. I avoid confronting this issue as I like to leave the legality of one's fishing technique to the enforcement officers. Call me a purist, but when I fish I enjoy the satisfaction knowing that a fish is hooked cleanly as it pulls that float down. I don't want to bring in a fish and assess where that hook is on the head then decide whether it is keepable or not. It is a personal choice that you have to live with. That is exactly why I am not a participant in the sockeye fishery, which would contradict my above view towards fishing.
I don't think Doug is judging Cohokid's conduct as a person. I've met cohokid once in person and he is indeed a well mannered kid, who enjoys fishing a lot. I think Doug's anger stems from what he saw on the river and in this report. He and I both wish for the same thing, which is to see the young generations learning fishing the proper way during their growth. He first pm'ed me regarding his concern, as he did not want to draw attention to you cohokid. I told him to address his concerns here as there appears to be a problem at this particular location based on recent reports. My approach of addressing the concerns would probably be a bit different to his.
Personally, in the last ten years, while fishing during the bait ban period, the most I've HOOKED in one day (on spoons) was four coho, even with hundreds of fish flopping all over my pool.
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Topic: CAp again oct 9. (Read 13367 times)