Northwest Fishing Reports

So a couple weeks ago a buddy and I were out fishing Beaver Lake when a Game Warden asked us the usual 20 questions, License, Parking Permit, gear, and our count... When I pulled up our 1 stringer with 7 fish on it he asked whose are those, and of course we answer they are both ours I caught 4 and my buddy caught 3... The Warden informed us that the fish have to be on separate stringers; otherwise they are counted as part of your limit. My question is had anyone else heard of this rule? I didn’t want to piss off the Warden, so I never asked what the Revised Code section is that states fish need to be held on separate stringers.... Just Curious... I now have at least 3 stringers on my boat and each person is responsible for bringing one of their own when fishing with me...

"May the fish bite hard "

I've never heard that before. I have shared stringers with up to four people and double hung the fish. This open too many questions -- such as: I have a livewell in my boat, and I dont use a stringer any more. How do I handle this?

It sounds like you just found an irritated GW who was having a bad day. I wouldnt question him either, just nod and let him/her leave. I take this same approach with police officers. Arguing doesnt do anyone any good. It can certainly never help.

Yea thats new too me as well. I hope it was GW who was having a bad day. If that is a real rule then Iv been breaking the law ever since I started fishing w/o even knowing it

I guess the rule is like clam digging. Everyone has to have a separate clam bag. You can share a shovel but not the container. I have shared a stringer also, used the top clips for me and lower ones for partner. I leave a little separation. Not anymore! Livewell? Any GW's out there to respond? DH

That you need separate "containers" for trout is news to me as well.

However the better question is why are you using a stringer. Hanger your trout (especially those that have died) in the warm surface water is one of the surest ways to insure that you have a inferior fish for the table. I can't believe the number of folks that do this. A few hours in the warm water would turn the fish to mush. If you want to have the best quality fish serious consider getting them on ice as soon as possible. Most folks would not dreram of treating a piece of steak the way they do fish yet the fish is a much more delicate piece of protein.

Tight lines
Curt

Smalma wrote:That you need separate "containers" for trout is news to me as well.

However the better question is why are you using a stringer. Hanger your trout (especially those that have died) in the warm surface water is one of the surest ways to insure that you have a inferior fish for the table. I can't believe the number of folks that do this. A few hours in the warm water would turn the fish to mush. If you want to have the best quality fish serious consider getting them on ice as soon as possible. Most folks would not dreram of treating a piece of steak the way they do fish yet the fish is a much more delicate piece of protein.

Tight lines
Curt

I've never thought of that. Good call. It's one of those ideas whree I stop and think about it and go "huh.. that makes sense" -- especially since I can relate to the mushy fish part.

How about fish baskets? They work like a live well. Just hang'em over the side of your boat or use your stringer and tie it to the basket and hang it off a dock if you fish off of one. Keeps the fish alive and you can release them if you feel you don't one them when your done fishing. Just a thought. They are relative inexpensive. Less than 10 bucks. And they last a long time..

If you don't want to keep the fish....is what I meant to write...

[quote="mvredneck"]So a couple weeks ago a buddy and I were out fishing Beaver Lake when a Game Warden asked us the usual 20 questions, License, Parking Permit, gear, and our count... When I pulled up our 1 stringer with 7 fish on it he asked whose are those, and of course we answer they are both ours I caught 4 and my buddy caught 3... The Warden informed us that the fish have to be on separate stringers]


I had a game warden tell me this once too. He did not issue a citation but warned us that we needed to have seprate stringers. I sent an email to WDFW a while back asking about this. The response I got back from there legal liaison was Yes, anglers can share the same stringer. I can see the game wardens point of view though. It's very hard for them to tell if you caught more than your limit if people share stringers.

I think this GW was just having a tough day. Do you know how many people use one stringer for their catch? I'll bet there are thousands of folks who do this all the time. Not saying it's ok or that it's not against the law, but I'd find it hard to enforce since it's not clearly defined in the published regs. If it's not clearly defined, then the warden would have a difficult time proving you or your buddy were the sole "catcher" of the fish on the stringer.

I don't use stringers anymore, just a cooler with 10lbs of ice. Additionally, I bleed out all trout before they go in the cooler. Makes for firmer, better tasting trout.