Chetco River

[Carl Blackledge]

Well it looks like they are going to close the Chetco river fishing this fall. If that happens all the pressure will go to the Smith, Let's hope they make the Smith catch and release only, with the new pressure it's going to receive.

Carl

[John H]

Do you have more info? I looked on line and could not find anything.

[Carl Blackledge]

John,

Go to Andy Martins web site. AKA Brooking's charter's

I understand they just planted 450 thousand little steelhead so i guess the river closure will only be for the Salmon that they don't have anyway. I guess the Ocean just isn't producing?

Carl Blackledge

[sixrivers]

Carl, it's unbelievable that DFG has not placed the Smith on C&R. To even consider an honor system for an individual's five kings per season limit has to be laughable.

One consideration might be to protect the 3,4(5?) salt strains by allowing one per day limit under 20-22 inches with a quota for early closure

[Carl Blackledge]

The whole DFG is laughable- The smith should have been catch and release for the past 20 years. Soon as it catch and release there go the meat packers......Thank God for the Klamath and their special 3 year return fish for the meat hunters.

Carl Blackledge

[ricards]

The whole DFG is laughable- The smith should have been catch and release for the past 20 years. Soon as it catch and release there go the meat packers......Thank God for the Klamath and their special 3 year return fish for the meat hunters.

Carl Blackledge

I have it on good authority that Fish and Wildlife has been looking into C&R for the Smith but encountering strong resistance
from the locals.

[WLREDBAND]

I have it on good authority that Fish and Wildlife has been looking into C&R for the Smith but encountering strong resistance
from the locals.

Yep, and there is the correct answer. All the CDFW haters here think CDFW are idiots, but they are really responding to the entire population. On this forum, populated by fly fishers, there is strong support for C&R. It's an incorrect assumption that support found here for C&R, applies equally to the general population.

[Carl Blackledge]

Wlredband,

I am not a DFG hater, I just think in general they are stupid. We (the fly guys) on the Smith asked if they would go C and R on the Smith at least 20 years ago, they told us they didn't have any Data to support doing that, Then they installed some kind of electric counting device, they wouldn't share any of the data and they still let you KILL wild salmon if you want too, very frustrating as we watch the fishery go into the shiter, Now that the cows ran off they will probably lock the door? Enough said, now after that rant if you don't get my point perhaps you might fall into that same category?

Carl Blackledge

[WLREDBAND]

<<<I am not a DFG hater, I just think in general they are stupid>>>
I think you just proved my point.
To let you know, I'm an avid fly angler and last year I C&R over 99% of my catch. So, I'm pretty much a C&R angler. I also know people who don't fish the fly, and they are completely opposed to C&R. And there are more of them than there are us. Reality stinks and I've found that if you go around calling people "stupid" they generally aren't going to support your cause.

[Carl Blackledge]

Hey Kid,

There are a lot of difference between hating somebody and just thinking they are STUPID. Let's move on?

Carl Blackledge

[Rossflyguy]

The whole DFG is laughable- The smith should have been catch and release for the past 20 years. Soon as it catch and release there go the meat packers......Thank God for the Klamath and their special 3 year return fish for the meat hunters.

Carl Blackledge

Meat eaters? You don’t eat fish? If it’s done legally and based on sustainability there’s nothing wrong with harvesting wild meat. Maybe you should look into commercial ocean harvesting and their regs. There is no bias to what run they’re rounding up in their nets when they’re taking whole schools of fish. Commercial fishing has become too efficient and we’re feeding countries who would normally never see a piece of salmon.

[Carl Blackledge]

Ross or whatever your real name is ?-NO I don't eat fish, however I don't have any problems with legal licensed fisherman who do , what's your point? We were talking about the DFG who's job it is to regulate and keep in balance how many fish or killed and how many we have left, or at least the biologists do who work for the DFG . I don't support long liners or giant nets raping the oceans. When I fish for Salmon I kill a few for the family and friends. My biggest complaint is it's either too many get killed and when it's too late they close the river and all the good guys suffer, actually everybody suffers from bad decisions by DFG= STUPID

Carl Blackledge

[Bob Smith]

I can understand why Carl feels the way he does - when fisheries/stocks are in decline, agencies are sometimes slow to react. As of now, the proposal for the Chetco is to close the sport and commercial bubble fishery which is two weekends of ocean fishing immediately outside of the mouth of the Chetco which targets staging fish preparing to run upriver. ODFW has left open the possibility of also closing the in-river sport fishery for chinook as well. Last year a number of factors led to overharvest of Chetco fall chinook which included a longer commercial portion of the bubble fishery and low water which left fish vulnerable to harvest in the estuary.

[Carl Blackledge]

Bob,

Great answer.

Carl

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

CA D F & W has no real power or say in many things unless no politicians are interested in the issue.

The reason we have no catch-n-release law on the only undammed river in California, the Smith River, and the river that produces the

largest salmon and largest Steelhead is two things:

1) Pressure from locals who want to kill and eat salmon and steelhead.

2) Pressure from local conventional guides who want to be able to kill fish for their customers.



This last undammed wild river on the CA coast should be catch-n-release only and have no hatchery or planting of hatchery raised

fish. Can't we have one good wild anadromous river in California?


Sorry if this offends anyone or seems unreasonable or impracticable.


I have been following this river for over 50 years so I do have some knowledge of what s going on.

.

[John H]

I fished the south Oregon rivers the last two years in the fall for salmon. When the water drops like it did last year those gear boats can just about catch everything in the river. ODFW needs to make it catch and release for the wild chinooks. With the trouble salmon on the west coast are having it seems crazy that a wild chinook can still be harvested. They need to do it while they still have a run of wild fish left to save.