We go through this same discussion every year, but I guess there is a need for it because the problem will not go away by simply ignoring it.
The Chilliwack/Vedder River is heavily fished between September and December for a few reasons. Its distance from Vancouver, its easy bank access, its high productivity due to the hatchery. These features attract many newcomers each year as they get into fishing in BC. They find out about it through tacklestores, websites, their friends and family.
Regulations are readily available, but when it comes to angling ethics and etiquettes, they are not written in stones and vary from angler to angler, depending on one's skill level.
Unless properly guided by experienced anglers, most of us have gone through the same learning path. You show up at the river for the first time, are overwhelmed by the amount of fish that you are seeing and want to catch some fish quickly by following those who are apparently successful around you. If lucky, you find an experienced angler who knows what to do properly and is willing to share his techniques. If not, you find the ones who repetitively catching and releasing fish on almost every cast. Little do you know that most of the fish are foul hooked because the angler is allowing the hook to dredge along the bottom and hooks onto whatever gets in the way. One can call it selective fishing, by constantly "catching" and releasing unwanted fish and keeping the ones that are randomly intercepted among the unwanted fish.
The present problem is a mixture of inexperienced new anglers who are not fully informed and experienced anglers who are well aware of their action. The solution is not immediate and simple. Both education and enforcement are required. Education can be done through websites such as this (I have started the
Chilliwack River fall salmon fishing thread for this season) and as BigFisher mentioned, through tacklestores. Individual anglers can also help by doing several things, such as helping others who appears to need help. It may seem like a small step, but collectively all can make a difference.
Personally, I would like to see a couple more actions taken place beside the ones mentioned above. I'd like to see information boards set up at main access points. I'd like to see an information sheet with background info on regulations, ethics and etiquettes developed and copies available at tacklestores. Perhaps the money can come from local organizations that we should be supporting, such as the Fraser Valley Salmon Society or the BC Federation of Driftfishers. We can keep talking about the problem but if we don't develop solutions and prevents, the talk would simply become whines.
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Topic: Snagging pinks in the Vedder (Read 26057 times)