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[milo]

if you were around long enough to talk to the true old timers that fished the Thompson from the 1950's on wards, they would tell you that the last good year was in 1958 (could be out by a year or so) when nylon gill nets started to be used on the Fraser instead of cotton gill nets.
Steelhead and larger salmon could break through the cotton nets but not the new nylon nets back then.

Wow! That is rather revealing information.
Why did nobody back then speak up to try and ban the use of nylon nets on the Fraser?
Nothing traditional in using nylon gill nets, that's for sure.

[greyghost]

Why did nobody back then speak up to try and ban the use of nylon nets on the Fraser?
Nothing traditional in using nylon gill nets, that's for sure.

I will take a stab at this? It was the 50’s!!!! Tradition or is it Evolution!!!

[cas]

Here it is, plain and simple:

- NO, the use of bait on the Thompson didn't kill the Steelhead population.

- NO, the bait ban wasn't implemented too late - Ironically, the 30%, 40%, and then 80% collapse happened as soon as bait was banned in 2014. Figure that one out! Self-righteous, self-centred, and and egotistically agenda driven anglers could have done THEIR part in standing up for the real issues that faced Thompson Steelhead and IFS; fighting for minimal by-catch regulations, collaborating habitat restoration projects, joining clubs, writing letters, and overall, just working together as ANGLERS and CONSERVATIONISTS no matter the preferred method fishing.

It's plain and simple folks. Many fought for the wrong things when Thompson Steelhead needed our voice the most. The writing was on the wall 10 years ago, heck, even 20 years ago - some were just too focused on making sure they'd get to fish a fly through the Spur Bar before the selfless and volunteer driven gear angler "maybe" beating them to the spot.

If half the amount of nonsense that occurred up there in the last 10 years was put forth in building a better voice, the ball would be rolling a bit better on this topic - Am I saying it would have made a difference? Well, nobody really knows. Fisheries and Oceans can never seem to get this one right because if Thompson Steelhead and IFS were extinct, it would make their life a heck of a lot easier. The simple fact is that regardless of the outcome, more people would understand the severity of this, and a few more folks within the general public would certainly know as well.

Countless organizations have fought tooth and nail (and still do) for these fish, and many other iconic wild steelhead populations while many just sat on the sidelines bickering about a few bait guys enjoying their day on the most iconic and most important steelhead river.

For what it's worth, I have seen more Steelhead die on flies than on gear in that river. While not many, I'm sure most that are experienced and seasoned on this river, that most would say the same. And those dry flies... sheesh, those fish gobble them up like no tomorrow.

It is what it is.

Now - how about some people focus on the issues that still plague our governing bodies and the demise of Thompson and Interior Fraser Steelhead.