Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[fishnjim]

i dislike idea of bait ban on the thompson.  if such a drastic measure must be taken, why not limit it to the months of Oct to closing..that is if steelhead is open.  my concern is the salmon and trout fishing experience june1 to when it closes in sept.  i live to fish at this time with bait where permitted. 

[buck]

Just a few figures to ponder. Over the last 28 years  approximately 2200 wild steelhead have been taken by gear guys  for our hatchery program on the Chilliwack River. Of that number I can only recall 2-3 fish that did not survive the initial transport back to the hatchery. Many of these fish were caught using bait and we had the occasional bleeder that recovered and went on to spawn. I would be more concerned about the number of Thompson fish that are being intercepted by first nations gill nets. Water use by farmers on some of the tributaries would also be a high priority.



 

[StillAqua]

Increased hooking mortality from bait has been studied a lot in trout and other fish (don't know about steelhead specifically)...that's why bait bans are a very common management practice to protect vulnerable fish pops.

Taylor, M. J., and K. R. White. 1992. A meta-analysis of hooking mortality of nonanadromous trout. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 12: 760–767.

The results of 18 studies of hooking mortality of nonanadromous trout were integrated with meta-analysis......The analysis showed that trout caught on bait died at higher rates than trout caught on artificial flies or lures, that fish caught on barbed hooks had higher mortality rates than fish caught on barbless hooks, that brown trout Salmo trutta had lower mortality rates than other species of nonanadromous trout, and that wild trout died at higher rates than hatchery-reared trout.

[nosey]

I thought there already was a bait ban in the Nahatlatch?

[nosey]

Ban the spey fishermen, might not increase the fish but it would sure make the Thomson a more pleasant river to fish in. You can be well out of shouting distance and they'll still walk down and accuse you of taking away "their" water, one even told me they didn't like to see "you Vedder River types" up here didn't he realize that we'd been fishing the Thomson since long before anyone ever figured out how to floss with a two handed fly rod. I can't see how float fishing with bait could increase mortality and seeing as that is the most popular method of fishing steelhead by far why waste your time banning bait, falls under the heading of give me a break, go hug a tree.

[DionJL]

I don't think the argument is that bait causes gut hooking/higher mortality (anymore at least, as this was the argument at one point), rather now those for a bait ban say it would help the fishery by reducing 'repeat catches." The claim is that bait is more likely to catch a steelhead that has already been hooked. This doesn't have any scientific proof to back it up but is merely based on biased fisherman observation.

[bluesteele]

Ban the spey fishermen, might not increase the fish but it would sure make the Thomson a more pleasant river to fish in. You can be well out of shouting distance and they'll still walk down and accuse you of taking away "their" water, one even told me they didn't like to see "you Vedder River types" up here didn't he realize that we'd been fishing the Thomson since long before anyone ever figured out how to floss with a two handed fly rod. I can't see how float fishing with bait could increase mortality and seeing as that is the most popular method of fishing steelhead by far why waste your time banning bait, falls under the heading of give me a break, go hug a tree.

I fish both spey and gear on the T if you low hole me I will be shouting too.    Vedder river types is exactly right as well.

The idea is to bring the T in line with other classified waters in BC. No Bait.  Whats the big deal.

What about the fish? Too much of the me me me crowd out there. Put the fish first.

What are the pro-bait guys really afraid of??? I really dont get what they think they are losing.
Fishing is a privilege not a right.

Why should bait be allowed?

Bluesteele

[Fish Slayer]

Yes the fish are the ones that we should be thinking of, so how about it is closed to all fishing while the steelhead are in until their numbers increase drastically.

[bluesteele]

I would have no problem with closing it. I do believe in having eyes on the river so to speak. But we all get by with the Coq closed.
 I hate that it's closed but if the fish arent their shut it down.

What about Squamish numbers. Bait ban and not alot of steelies.

Why should bait be allowed on the T ? Who's losing what if bait is banned?

[chris gadsden]

Starting bait bans could be the thin edge of the wedge. I would agree flossing with a spey rod is not a major issue on Thompson but we know it can be an effective fishing machine on rivers where fish are more numerous and stack up like they do on the Lower vedder late in the season in low water conditions.

[quill]

Yes the fish are the ones that we should be thinking of, so how about it is closed to all fishing while the steelhead are in until their numbers increase drastically.

How and when will this miracle happen? What about the people who live in towns like Spences Bridge who depend on the income from steelheaders? You likely know that the river is closed until a minimum of 800 steelhead pass the Albion test fishery.

Chris, unfortunately there are idiots with every gear type. Having a spey rod doesn't necessarily disqualify someone.     

[jetboatjim]

So greg are you putting a price on steelhead? referring to the people of spences bridge .

Its kinda funny how many people get involved in issues like this on the net, but when it comes to the real projects/problems, most just sit at home behind the computer screen !

[jetboatjim]

I would have no problem with closing it. I do believe in having eyes on the river so to speak. But we all get by with the Coq closed.
 I hate that it's closed but if the fish arent their shut it down.

just a note, the coq remains closed year after year by angler pressure ( a local group that always get flack) for the benifit of the fish, its not the numbers that keeps the coq closed , its the water conditions...too warm/low in august.


kinda funny a bunch of "gut chuckers" care more about the fish than the catching.......but if you were involved you would see the bigger issues!

[jetboatjim]

Why should bait be allowed?

Bluesteele

why should the same fly guys that want the bait ban, beat up on the fish at the "y"  or several other spots through december on the T, I can name them and flyfishing with 15 feet of T-14 and lead eyed jigs just aint flyfishing !

drive up there in december and you will be suprised how many fly guys are there in december !

and staying at hilltop, ot steves house dose not help the local economy.

[kingpin]

I don't think the argument is that bait causes gut hooking/higher mortality (anymore at least, as this was the argument at one point), rather now those for a bait ban say it would help the fishery by reducing 'repeat catches." The claim is that bait is more likely to catch a steelhead that has already been hooked. This doesn't have any scientific proof to back it up but is merely based on biased fisherman observation.

pretty hard to gut hook them using a 3/0 hook....