American Report 1/27

[smokeater]

Went out Friday after lunch downstream from Sailor Bar and worked the island for a few hours. Kinda crowded for a weekday, missed two grabs and managed to land one juvenile steelhead.

[Charlie Gonzales]

First let me say that I dont mean to offend anyone by this reply, but there is no way that that can be considered spey fishing. I cant believe the people I talk to fishing the side cut @ the island above sunrise, high sticking nymhps with a spey rod, and brag how they were "spey fishing". Take a lesson from putznam and see what its all about....go for the grab, not for the numbers.
Once again sorry if I offended anyone, just my humble opinion.

[Adam Grace]

I agree with Charlie about the nymphing/high sticking with a spey rod. If the guys are catching fish on the swing, GREAT, as long as they are not harrassing steelhead on redds, like I have seen fishermen do in that upper section of the river.

[Go Cal]

"Whorehouse Riffle" and with good cause! Why fly fisherman fish that run and target spawning steelies is hard to comprehend.

[Darian]

Hmmmm,.... Maybe a little too much righteous indignation here.... :? :?

As to use of spey rods, I'm not sure it matters whether a spey rod is used for nymphing (high sticking) or not. It's just another tool used to present a fly or flies, ....sometimes at short distance. The choice of how and when to use a spey rod is up to the user.... 8) 8)

[Charlie Gonzales]

.....so, then why not just use a ten foot single hand rod? Is it really that important to say that you are a spey fisherman, especially when all you are doing is nymphing? I didnt mean to start any controversy, but, now I'm really curious of other opinions.
And what about thar section of river?
Should it be fishable, how many other rivers allow you to fish that close to the hatchery?

[Pimpinmeat]

I saw something that I didn't really enjoy this weekend. There was a group of guys banging away at the same fish over and over again. These fish looked beat to hell and I'm sure there survival rate goes way down after being repeatly hooked over and over again. There was a guy down there with a spey rod but he was using a slinky and a 5ft leader and just setting it down in front of where these fish were holding. I didn't really see the sport in this and I left the area to get away from the crowds. I didn't wet a line there because I didn't feel like being a part of that.

[jbird]

Should it be fishable, how many other rivers allow you to fish that close to the hatchery?

Ever fish the rogue? If you bill dance your hookset, you could fall over backwards into a holding pen. :lol:

[Adam Grace]

Darian, thanks for you opinion!

[Amador]

.....so, then why not just use a ten foot single hand rod? Is it really that important to say that you are a spey fisherman, especially when all you are doing is nymphing? I didnt mean to start any controversy, but, now I'm really curious of other opinions.
And what about thar section of river?
Should it be fishable, how many other rivers allow you to fish that close to the hatchery?

I think that how some one uses a tool to catch fish shouldn't be of your concern. The fact that you would would judge someone on this forum because they use a rod differently then you might is hillarious.

Stop judging and go fish.

[Darian]

I'm not advocating starting a flaming session, here or elsewhere, but maybe we should start a separate topic to express our concerns over fishing problems dealing with things like targeting spawning fish or fishing next to hatchery, etc. :? :? we all have our pet peeves. :lol: :lol:

I certainly share the concerns expressed here on that subject area but how equipment is used or not used interests me only in the sense that some new method may evolve that I might try sometime.... :) At some point in my life, I've used almost every tool available for catching fish (including a 50' seine in the Gulf of Mexico) and feel a bit hypocritical about condemning others for using something different than I would choose.... :( :(

[Jgoding]

I was gonna go on a rant but I thought better of it.... fishing is fishing and we're going to all see something that doesn't seem quite right or some a-hole snagging or keeping wild fish going over their slot limit... that's just human nature... most people just don't have the foresight or the compassion to think about nature in a humane way, it's just another resource to be consumed until it's all gone...

My humble opinion is that all spawning areas should be closed to fishing and all slots should be reduced for anadromous species when their in the birth waters... If the runs are healthy then I don't really see any problems though but with runs or species that are in decline we seriously need to re-think how we manage them. Honestly, I would even go as far as having no-take years or periods of time for certain species to help boost their populations. then again I'm almost on the verge of just saying F$%^ it, let everyone keep everything til it's gone then maybe people will finally get it....

[Darian]

Good thoughts Jeff.... Some spawning areas for Salmon and Steelhead were closed thru at least the early 70's. Also, seasons were defined as From mid-November thru the end of february..... Year round fishing was only allowed on certain rivers. 8)

All of this changed around the time that the water level requirements for coastal rivers/streams was established.... 8) I'm sure that there have been some tangible results from the chnages but I'm really not sure whether it was better managed before or since.... :? :? Fishing was better in coastal rivers/streams then but habitat was not as degraded as it is now. Fishing pressure is unbelievable now. :shock:

One of your ideas especially resonates with me. The periodic or rotating closure of specific waters is interesting. Lots to work out, tho. Actually, I'd like to see better implementation of watershed management; a comprehensive approach that would include managment of riparian issues, logging practices and water usage.... 8) Maybe that's all BS, tho. Politics has rendered the EIR process ineffective without ltitgation to enforce it's provisions. Plus, EIR, itself, has some unintended consequences.... :? :( :(

Oh well,..... 8) 8)

[Charlie Gonzales]

I do appreciate the thoughts shared by everyone. Without discussion then we would never learn anything but our own opinion. :P

[smokeater]

Just for clarification, when I said I needed to pick up a spey rod.......it was because the guy fishing above me was swinging flies and was able to cover the entire run while barely setting foot in the water. For the most part the guys I see with spey rods around there swing exclusively, and if they were highsticking so what if they were. Most of the time I see them release their fish without even handling them (allowing them to simply shake off the hook). That is far better than the guys I see shooting their photo portfolio for 15 minutes on one fish.

This type of discussion wasn't what I was expecting when I posted my report for that day, but everyones opinion is appreciated. It reminds me of a discussion we had on the board about this time last year regarding the ethics of fishing near redds.