buc
4/5/2013 8:58:00 AMO wait a minute they destoyed that! I will be calling ya on that trout, kokanee trip. Hell I'll even bring the boat!
YJ Guide Service
4/7/2013 6:47:00 AMThis time of year April and May is prime walleye fishing for all size fish on the arm. All the walleye we caught on that trip were under 18 inches with a couple in the 5-6 inch range. Most of the fish we have caught so far this year have been in that same size range. We caught fish into the 12lb range last year and those fish were all released unharmed. There are way to many small fish on the river right now and thinning down the small fish (best eating) numbers will not hurt anything. With that said you hardly ever see us kill a big fish of any spiny ray species or pike. I try to get my clients to release fish over 20" and keep the smaller ones. Its totally up to the client but most agree if we want to catch big walleye in the future then we need to release the big ones. This is my livelyhood and we do our best to help keep a fishery healthy not expolit it. Keeping the smaller fish is not hurting anything in this body of water. Theres no reason to be catching 4-5 inch walleye on flats where they should be eaten by bigger fish that arent there at this time. I totally agree with you that without catch and releasing the bigger fish on the arm this fishery will be come like the PO River and there will not be alot of big fish to catch in the future. I for one faught that battle for 3 years with little to no support for that fishery on the PO river so I have seen first hand what happens. We already offer rainbow trout trips in the fall and winter, wife even won the Avista trout tournament down there last year. I invite you to come fish with us anytime and learn more first hand what our fishing ethics are. Good fishing and good luck this season