Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: DRP79 on December 21, 2011, 07:34:11 AM
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I bought my freshwater license early in the year and also got salmon tags. On my license there is an area to record chinook and steelhead i believe. Do I need anything else to be targeting steelhead?
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You require a steelhead tag to even fish for steelhead whereas you only need a salmon tag if you intend on retaining salmon.
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Thanks sterling. I'll have to pick one up on my travels this week.
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I bought my license at Wallmart and i didn't receive any tags or stamps etc. Just a line that said I paid for salmon tags. Is this right or should I be getting tags or a stamp etc when i buy these extras for salmon and steelhead?
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I bought my license at Wallmart and i didn't receive any tags or stamps etc. Just a line that said I paid for salmon tags. Is this right or should I be getting tags or a stamp etc when i buy these extras for salmon and steelhead?
That's correct. There are no stamps, the lincence just indicates what surcharges you have purchased.
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also remember that even if your not fishing steelhead but steelhead are present you still need a steelhead tag.
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also remember that even if your not fishing steelhead but steelhead are present you still need a steelhead tag.
STEELHEAD
Your basic licence must be validated with a
Conservation Surcharge Stamp if you intend to
fish for steelhead anywhere in B.C. (whether
you intend to keep or release your catch). In
addition, a steelhead stamp is mandatory when
fishing on most Classified Waters during certain
specified periods, even when fishing for species
other than steelhead. Refer to the regional
tables for dates and exceptions.
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also remember that even if your not fishing steelhead but steelhead are present you still need a steelhead tag.
???
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???
basiclly what nitroholic said, i just said it differently
i meant like on the vedder in winter/spring if going for trout you must have a steelhead tag because there are steelhead
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Nope if your intention is to fish for trout with appropriate gear like a 4wt fly rod you don't have to have a steelhead tag as you are not targeting them.
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basiclly what nitroholic said, i just said it differently
i meant like on the vedder in winter/spring if going for trout you must have a steelhead tag because there are steelhead
Not said differently, a different thing was said. See the difference?
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The Chilliwack/Vedder is not a "Classified Waters" river.
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hrm....was it always like this? you need a steelhead tag to actually just fish the vedder/chilliwack during steelhead season? i always thought back that you don't need a tag to fish for the heck of it....but need a tag to retain them? Some people who fished during the actual salmon season, don't have a tag and just C&R salmon and fish for trout.....(used as an excuse) and gotten away with it.
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Like I said before, for salmon you only require a tag in order to retain fish. For steelhead you require a tag just to target them.
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hrm....was it always like this? you need a steelhead tag to actually just fish the vedder/chilliwack during steelhead season? i always thought back that you don't need a tag to fish for the heck of it....but need a tag to retain them? Some people who fished during the actual salmon season, don't have a tag and just C&R salmon and fish for trout.....(used as an excuse) and gotten away with it.
It has been like that for as long as I can remember Bunnta, and that is going back a couple of decades. You've always needed a steelhead tag to fish for steelhead, whether you are keeping the hatchery fish or not. As Sterling made clear, with Salmon you only need a tag if you want to keep one. You do not, however, need a steelhead tag if you are not fishing for steelhead, even if they are present in the river, unless it is a Classified Water (ie: Skeena system).
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These discussions never cease to amaze me. ???
Here we are, in the best place on Earth, with the cheapest fishing licenses in the world, yet some people look to cheap out on a steelhead tag, the proceedings of which are mostly spent on the enhancement of the very activity they are buying a license for.
If it so important to save 25 bucks a year on a hobby they claim to be so passionate about, maybe they should change hobbies and try...I don't know...birdwatching.
Just buy both tags and be done with it.
Gives you peace of mind and helps enhance the fishery. :)
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You do not, however, need a steelhead tag if you are not fishing for steelhead, even if they are present in the river, unless it is a Classified Water (ie: Skeena system).
Slippery slope that one, Sandman.
If you fly fish the Squamish for bull trout in late winter, you better have a STEELHEAD tag.
I am sure the same applies to the Vedder. Try to explain a steelhead at the end of your line to a CO:
"Ummm, I was targetting resident rainbows officer, but this stupid fish came out of nowhere."
Not worth it, IMO.
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Slippery slope that one, Sandman.
If you fly fish the Squamish for bull trout in late winter, you better have a STEELHEAD tag.
I am sure the same applies to the Vedder. Try to explain a steelhead at the end of your line to a CO:
"Ummm, I was targetting resident rainbows officer, but this stupid fish came out of nowhere."
Not worth it, IMO.
Oh, I have a tag, as I target steelhead all the time...I just rarely catch them in winter. However, if you are nymphing with a 4 or 5 wt, I am quite certain the CO would not try to argue that you were targeting Steelhead, even if one took your nymph. If they wanted you to have a tag, they just need to change the regs. Now if you were targeting resident bows in the Vedder with an 8 wt, then you might be in trouble.
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These discussions never cease to amaze me. ???
Here we are, in the best place on Earth, with the cheapest fishing licenses in the world, yet some people look to cheap out on a steelhead tag, the proceedings of which are mostly spent on the enhancement of the very activity they are buying a license for.
If it so important to save 25 bucks a year on a hobby they claim to be so passionate about, maybe they should change hobbies and try...I don't know...birdwatching.
Just buy both tags and be done with it.
Gives you peace of mind and helps enhance the fishery. :)
I'm not trying to cheap out, I just want to be prepared and do things right, thus the question.
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Slippery slope that one, Sandman.
If you fly fish the Squamish for bull trout in late winter, you better have a STEELHEAD tag.
I am sure the same applies to the Vedder. Try to explain a steelhead at the end of your line to a CO:
"Ummm, I was targetting resident rainbows officer, but this stupid fish came out of nowhere."
Not worth it, IMO.
Not a slippery slope IMO. If I am not fishing Classified Waters and/or not targeting steelhead I do not need a steelhead stamp (and never buy one).
Bull trout fishing on the Squamish in late winter does not require a steelhead tag.
I am also a beginner birdwatcher ;)
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These discussions never cease to amaze me. ???
Here we are, in the best place on Earth, with the cheapest fishing licenses in the world, yet some people look to cheap out on a steelhead tag, the proceedings of which are mostly spent on the enhancement of the very activity they are buying a license for.
If it so important to save 25 bucks a year on a hobby they claim to be so passionate about, maybe they should change hobbies and try...I don't know...birdwatching.
Just buy both tags and be done with it.
Gives you peace of mind and helps enhance the fishery. :)
No one is trying to "cheap out" on the tags. We were just clarifying the regulations for Steelie-Slayer, who thought the regulations for Classified water applied to all steelhead streams. I personally have a tag as I target steelhead, but I am not required to have one if I never intend to target them.
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I'm not trying to cheap out, I just want to be prepared and do things right, thus the question.
I know you weren't, and sorry if you understood my post as directed against you.
Bull trout fishing on the Squamish in late winter does not require a steelhead tag.
Not what I've been told (by a CO), but you may be right.
I still think it's better safe than sorry.
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These discussions never cease to amaze me. ???
Here we are, in the best place on Earth, with the cheapest fishing licenses in the world, yet some people look to cheap out on a steelhead tag, the proceedings of which are mostly spent on the enhancement of the very activity they are buying a license for.
If it so important to save 25 bucks a year on a hobby they claim to be so passionate about, maybe they should change hobbies and try...I don't know...birdwatching.
Just buy both tags and be done with it.
Gives you peace of mind and helps enhance the fishery. :)
Who commented in this thread want to cheap out? I can't seem to see anyone's suggesting that.
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Who commented in this thread want to cheap out? I can't seem to see anyone's suggesting that.
Not explicitly, Rodney, but implicitly.
When someone says they fish a system with steelhead in it without a steelhead tag only because they are NOT specifically targeting steelhead, I perceive it as being cheap.
I believe that anyone fishing the Vedder year-round should buy a steelhead tag - steelheader or not.
But hey, that's just one man's opinion, so shoot me! ;)
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When someone says they fish a system with steelhead in it without a steelhead tag only because they are NOT specifically targeting steelhead, I perceive it as being cheap.
I believe that anyone fishing the Vedder year-round should buy a steelhead tag - steelheader or not.
Why should someone fishing for whitefish and trout have to pay for a steelhead tag? It is hard enough to catch a steelhead when targeting them (at least fly fishing) so the chance of catching a steelhead when not targeting them is pretty small.
By that logic, anyone fishing in BC should have to pay all the surcharges no matter what species they are targeting. Do you buy a sturgeon tag when fishing the Fraser for Sockeye?
I guess you're cheap if you don't.
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Well, On the bright side today, I got an early xmas present. My mother in law came home from work today and gave me an envelope with my steelhead tag and a tackle shop gift card. Great surprise.
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Well, On the bright side today, I got an early xmas present. My mother in law came home from work today and gave me an envelope with my steelhead tag and a tackle shop gift card. Great surprise.
I think there is a message in there. Get out of the house. ;D
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;D
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Why should someone fishing for whitefish and trout have to pay for a steelhead tag? It is hard enough to catch a steelhead when targeting them (at least fly fishing) so the chance of catching a steelhead when not targeting them is pretty small.
By that logic, anyone fishing in BC should have to pay all the surcharges no matter what species they are targeting. Do you buy a sturgeon tag when fishing the Fraser for Sockeye?
I guess you're cheap if you don't.
Comparing apples to oranges, eh?
That's OK, have it your way. Life's too short... :D
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It should be added there there is no longer a physical "tag" and "stamp" anymore on the licenses, just a section about halfway down the page saying Surchage(s) and listing steelhead (required merely to fish for steelhead) or salmon (required to retain any salmon caught). Back a few years when licenses were only issued at vendors, they'd give you a physical stamp to affix to your license.
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Comparing apples to oranges, eh?
That's OK, have it your way. Life's too short... :D
Apples to oranges? The odds of catching a steelhead while nymphing for whitefish are as low as catching a sturgeon while fishing for sockeye or springs (there was a thread on here detailing a number of sturgeon by-catch in past years). My point was...do not insult people (calling them cheap) for not purchasing a steelhead tag when they are not planning on fishing for steelhead, unless you are of the mind that every angler should pay a full fee and do away with all surcharges period. Now I understand that what you are really saying that the people who are fishing in the winter are really fishing for steelhead, even if they say they are fishing for trout or whitefish, so they are in fact fishing illegally. But if that is what you want to say, then just say that.