Winter Steelhead 2013/2014

[The Nuts]

Danny I didn't think it was legal to pull that fish out of the water if it was a C&L. Am I missing something here?

[mizm05]

He may not be in Washington in that pic.

[RiverChromeGS]

Actually the backside of the fishes upper body and head are in the water so no it was not removed from the water

[The Nuts]

Actually the backside of the fishes upper body and head are in the water so no it was not removed from the water

Hmmm.... That last photo of you hanging over the boat? Sorry Danny, good try but that fish is clearly out of the water. Your only claim now could be that you were not in WA.

[The Nuts]

He may not be in Washington in that pic.

Possible... but my intuition would say probably not.

[RiverChromeGS]

Nope. Backside is touching water and the rule says may not be "totally" removed. Or if you like i could say i caught it in russia or something.

[The Nuts]

Nope. Backside is touching water and the rule says may not be "totally" removed. Or if you like i could say i caught it in russia or something. Either way you must have better things to worry about

Look I'm just calling it like I see it... Those are nice fish. You should post the "Hot Spot" location of the river in Russia you were fishing.

[RiverChromeGS]

Call it however you want but arguing on a forum about how many centimeters it was below or above the water is stupid. I think its called the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia or something like that

[skagit510]

lets be honest. side drifting bait for native fish is far more harmful than any rough handling after landing said fish and having to cut your leader for fear of going for the hook. granted its legal but irresponsible. and no I'm not picking on anyone in particular, just adding some food for thought to the ever important issue of native c and r mortality. I've been downstream of sleds fishing this way and they always claim "they swam off great!" then how do you explain the parade of half dead gasping fish floating by? tight lines all, not trying to be a downer, just had some recent experiences that have made this worth mentioning. oh yeah, nice fish Danny, very fresh and crispy.

[The Nuts]

Call it however you want but arguing on a forum about how many centimeters it was below or above the water is stupid. I think its called the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia or something like that

Easy... settle down. Sorry you see this as an argument. I see it as just some friendly bantering back and forth. If you say its in the water... then its in the water . Your the seasoned pro not me. My original post was merely a question because I wasn't sure of the regs.

[RiverChromeGS]

Call it however you want but arguing on a forum about how many centimeters it was below or above the water is stupid. I think its called the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia or something like that

Easy... settle down. Sorry you see this as an argument. I see it as just some friendly bantering back and forth. If you say its in the water... then its in the water . Your the seasoned pro not me. My original post was merely a question because I wasn't sure of the regs.

Ok. Then lets end it with... No. Native steelhead cannot be totally removed from water. In my photo, it was not removed. Moving on

[RiverChromeGS]

lets be honest. side drifting bait for native fish is far more harmful than any rough handling after landing said fish and having to cut your leader for fear of going for the hook. granted its legal but irresponsible. and no I'm not picking on anyone in particular, just adding some food for thought to the ever important issue of native c and r mortality. I've been downstream of sleds fishing this way and they always claim "they swam off great!" then how do you explain the parade of half dead gasping fish floating by? tight lines all, not trying to be a downer, just had some recent experiences that have made this worth mentioning. oh yeah, nice fish Danny, very fresh and crispy.

If people are side drifting bait and often gut hooking steelhead then they must be very late at setting the hook or something. I agree if your gut hooking wild steelhead often, please change something. Bigger hook, no bait. Whatever it takes. However ive side drifted on my own and with many other guides over the years with bait and the amount of gut hooked steelhead is virtually zero for me. Feel the bite, set the hook. Shouldnt be a problem. If you are gut hooking them you better change something fast or get some better reaction time.

[skagit510]

agreed. these are guide boats, so its likely clients with less experience and reaction time. however I've heard these same guides telling their clients to wait till the fish swallows it before setting. this really ticked me off, cause i believe they were the source of the dead fish parade.

[RiverChromeGS]

agreed. these are guide boats, so its likely clients with less experience and reaction time. however I've heard these same guides telling their clients to wait till the fish swallows it before setting. this really ticked me off, cause i believe they were the source of the dead fish parade.

Thats sad... They dont need to be doing that. Every angler is going to hurt a few wild fish in fishing, the few ive mortally hooked in my life, ive never felt worse. Made me want to walk to the truck and give up. Not worth catching it if its going to hurt it. One thing ive found to help is use bigger hooks. A steelhead can easily swallow a number 2 or 4 side drifting rig. But when i fish wild steelhead i bump up to a 1/0 or 2/0. They seem to have trouble getting a bigger hook deeper and its totally worth a few missed fish here or there

[natetreat]

agreed. these are guide boats, so its likely clients with less experience and reaction time. however I've heard these same guides telling their clients to wait till the fish swallows it before setting. this really ticked me off, cause i believe they were the source of the dead fish parade.

Yea, that's really crazy. If they were leaving a bunch of floundering fish, they need to do something different. If you see it again, get some pictures, we'll call them out. As a guide, it's really important that you treat the native fish with care. When I know that I'm going to hook up with more natives than hatchery fish, I don't run bait. For one, it's unnecessary. I like a big fat clown yarny if I'm side drifting, a barbless plug with a big siwash or a big ole spoon or pink worm.

Of course the most fun way to catch them is on a swing, but that's kind of hard to do from a sled.

[Steelheadin360]

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[natetreat]

[Mike Carey]

Check out this recently caught 31 pound native on the Quinault (by a guide). Not going to name the guide, but a search of Quinault fishing guides on FaceBook should pull it up.

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[mizm05]

I don't know the specifics, and I'm not saying I support it in any way....but if he's a native, isn't that technically legal on that river if he's a native guide?

Again, not saying I agree with it...but if he's within the confines of the law, nothing we can really say about that one.

Maybe I'm wrong about the legality of it?

[skagit510]

Check out this recently caught 31 pound native on the Quinault (by a guide). Not going to name the guide, but a search of Quinault fishing guides on FaceBook should pull it up.

1497381_658102280899952_1095266167_n.jpg

wow that's a giant. i like miz though fail to see the point when you have a native guide fishing a native river for essentially a native resource. they don't clip fish there anyway so there is no way to know what that is. far as that goes I'd say there's not much anyone can say about it. you will generate no anger from me on that. i have a far greater problem with folks killing native fish on public rivers where they in effect belong to all. but again its legal in some places and egos can't always be satiated by a photo. and yes I'm aware that many of those fish are bound for the upper river.