Toni
6/25/2013 9:01:00 PMI read the rules for Cushman Lake and was wondering why you can't keep landlocked salmon?
LastCast
6/26/2013 6:37:00 AMGood ? Toni. The only thing I could decipher is the fact that they do not specifically give you a salmon season listing like they do when you look up the rules for say Lk Samammish or Lk Washington. I could not find any other ref to a salmon closure for Cushman any where in the regs. I'm not familiar with that lake but it sure looks nice from peoples pictures that they post.
Bob R
6/26/2013 1:37:00 PMMy understanding for the closure on Chinook retention is due to the fact that dfw feels that the run is not sufficiant to allow keeping them. The Chinook are left from when the lake was dammed way back when('20s or '30s?) and are freshwater landlocked salmon, run has never been supplemented by stocking. We tried for them with dodgers and hoochies when it was still legal while koke fishing but never hooked any. Bob R
Forelle
6/26/2013 1:55:00 PMYou can keep kokanee but not chinook. The Chinook population of Lake Cushman are lumped into the Puget Sound / Hood Canal ESU and since they are completely self-sustaining protected under the Endangered Species Act. I caught one last year about 9 inches, at first I assumed it was a kokanee, but the spotting on the back was distinctly different! It fought harder too!
aquaking
6/26/2013 5:06:00 PMA couple weeks ago I caught one and it actually popped the gear out of my downrigger release. I thought i had a snag for sure but it was a baby chinook!
mcgregor
6/27/2013 10:41:00 AMBy the look of the game regs it says state wide rules apply and land lock chinooks are under trout in the state wide rules so it does not say you can't keep them, But if you Google lake cushman salmon closure you will get a page from the game dept. that says no Dolly's or chinooks can be kept. Why it does not just say that in the regs I don t know, You can ask the game dept. Good luck.. It does not say you can not fish for them just no taking, I used to fish this lake a lot and late July and Aug. used to be the time to catch them. Down about 60-70ft. watch for tree tops with dodger and herring. Maybe Brads superbait w/herring sent might work.
aquaking
6/27/2013 5:58:00 PMYeah that's exactly what i've ran into mcgregor.... I will have to make a call I spose