Fishers cry foul over 'flossing'By Jennifer Feinberg
The Progress
Nov 03 2006
Something has to be done to quell a controversial angling practice that's increasing without concern for conservation or sportsmanship, say critics.
"When you go onto the Vedder River now, most of the fish you see are being caught by the method of flossing," explained Gord Park, who calls himself a concerned local angler.
Flossing - using an extra-long leader line that is drawn across the fish's mouth like dental floss - has become a growing practice that's increasingly dividing the angling community.
"To catch a fish in the Vedder using a 10-foot leader doesn't make sense," said Park. "It should be a two-foot leader maximum. It's all you need."
The flossing method mushroomed with the growth of the Fraser sockeye fishery over the past decade and critics are worried it has now spread to fisheries for other species like coho, and chinook on the Chilliwack-Vedder system.
The flossing method, which often results in foul-hooking fish, is raising the hackles of conservationists and those who advocate better sportfishing ethics. But those who defend the practice argue it's no more unsporting than other ways of fishing.
Park said he recently spearheaded an effort to help educate fellow anglers on the alternative methods to flossing. Interested fishermen were invited a spot on the Abbotsford side of the Keith Wilson Bridge last month for a free session on fishing techniques considered more sporting and fairer to the fish.
"The purpose was to show people another way instead of flossing and snagging the fish," Park said.
With the rapid rise of the sockeye fishery specifically, some anglers never got the chance to learn any other methods, he suggested. A small group showed up to learn about options like using a short float, drift fishing, spin casting and fly fishing, said Park.
All of these can be strong alternatives to flossing, he argued, and they hope to be able to host another similar session soon.
"I wanted to do what I could to help get people away from bottom-bouncing and using a 10-foot leader, as they tend to do during the sockeye season on the Fraser River," he explained. "The whole idea is to have the fish commit to the bite."
The divisive problem, debated vociferously among members of a few on-line fishing forums across the province, is exacerbated by low flows in the river system now.
What's been called a 'snagfest' on the river has led to increasingly urgent calls for change, coming from within the sportfishing community itself, and appeals are going out for more enforcement by Fisheries and Oceans Canada personnel.
"I'm not in favour of what's been going on - it's not right - however I don't think it's just the problem of Joe Q. Angler," said Frank Kwak, president of the Fraser Valley Salmon Society.
There's a "need for increased education" among the throngs of fishermen who flock to local rivers, and that's something local groups have applied to get funding for, to no avail, Kwak said.
The real challenge is when anglers line up "bumper to bumper" along the riverbanks, he said.
"If they're are legitimately fishing, that's one thing. But if they're throwing their lines into a deep pool and fish are being repeatedly foul-hooked, it just behooves them to realize they're not fishing correctly and to move on."
The answer is for DFO to start fining people when they're caught, Kwak offered. He said he's seen ample evidence of some questionable practices around the Vedder Canal and the Keith Wilson Bridge so far this fall, including mishandling of fish as they're being returned to the water.
"The water has been very shallow of late, meaning the fish can't move up the river system," said Kwak. "They sense there's no water up ahead and they'll hold in areas where there's a hole, or a pool."
As an enthusiastic angler in B.C. for the past seven years, he spends about $100 a year on licences. But in all that time, he said he's never been checked even once by a DFO officer.
The one time he watched an enforcement official laboriously write out a ticket, and he estimated it took about 30 minutes. That's "way too much time" spent writing out a ticket, he said, not to mention recording the details back at the office later.
"Part of the answer to the problem is increased ticketing, but the enforcement seems to be going down just when we need it to step up to the plate," he said.
Anglers themselves are also responsible for knowing the rules. The sportfishing advocate said he's not in favour of river closures as a way to address the problem, unless there's a fish stock of conservation concern at risk.
He is also loath to lay the blame solely at the feet of DFO enforcement.
"They have limited resources, and they're doing what they're told," he said, adding part of the challenge is also that there are simply not enough of them out there. "But I do think the reality is that DFO enforcement needs to pick up the pace and fine or ticket people - lots of people - which includes those who are throwing hooks into pools, and hooking fish in areas other than the mouth."
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