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[Flubberdubber]

Because the Government is blind!

[Drewhill]

I don't have exact figures but last year's total sport catch of sockeye (including saltwater) was around 100 000 fish compared to 6 million commercially harvested(not incl FN). Why are we missing the elephant in the room.

x2

But let's say just for fun 100,000 would be caught in fresh only. Change the limit to 1 and suddenly only 50,000 are taken. Then take away even more from people who live in places like Vancouver that aren't going to make the drive because it's not worth it and you could be at 25,000 (obviously rough number). That's a lot of fish saved right there.

They are never going to hire more officers. They are already having a tough time keeping the officers that they have due to cuts. Leader length restrictions don't make sense because they just don't have the time and what do they do with fly fishermen? And I noticed some guys last season were bouncing but had a float on. Is this still bouncing? Would this be a loop hole if they banned bouncing completely?

[ByteMe]

I don't have exact figures but last year's total sport catch of sockeye (including saltwater) was around 100 000 fish compared to 6 million commercially harvested(not incl FN). Why are we missing the elephant in the room.

Precisely, regardless of which method you use the sport fishery only takes a small percentage of sockeye harvested, and there are almost as many threads started about flossing, snagging, BB, this dead horse will continue to be beat till the day we run out of fish to catch then some more......if you want to conserve  a stock, just put a 10 fish limit tag on each fishing licence, much like what they are doing for springs, then let all hell break loose on fishing methods till the licence is filled up

[Drewhill]

Precisely, regardless of which method you use the sport fishery only takes a small percentage of sockeye harvested, and there are almost as many threads started about flossing, snagging, BB, this dead horse will continue to be beat till the day we run out of fish to catch then some more......if you want to conserve  a stock, just put a 10 fish limit tag on each fishing licence, much like what they are doing for springs, then let all hell break loose on fishing methods till the licence is filled up

People would just print a new license every time they fill one up.

[ByteMe]

People would just print a new license every time they fill one up.

Well it's a start, as fishing methods cannot be defined appropriately. As a fly fisherman, I use 9'-12' leaders, guess that would make me a flosser by today's terms of flossing. I also feel my sinktip ticking the bottom, so that would make me a BB, so by today's terminology I am fishing with illegal methods?? And when I raise me rod tip at the end of a drift to recast, guess that would make me a snagger

[typhoon]

Well it's a start, as fishing methods cannot be defined appropriately. As a fly fisherman, I use 9'-12' leaders, guess that would make me a flosser by today's terms of flossing. I also feel my sinktip ticking the bottom, so that would make me a BB, so by today's terminology I am fishing with illegal methods?? And when I raise me rod tip at the end of a drift to recast, guess that would make me a snagger

Any horizontal presentation 1-3 foot off the bottom can be used as a flossing tool. If you are fishing the mainstem Fraser with very limited visibility then you are a flosser.

[DanJohn]

It's a harvest fishery. Sockeye and spring tags. Up the price. I don't fish sockeye, I don't bottom bounce, I have nothing to do with that fishery. Why are steelhead and sturgeon have their own tags? To protect limit the resource. Give them all tags.

Also commercial obviously had the largest effect, so address that first

Maybe harvest licenses? Rec fishing for recreation. Harvest fishing for harvest?  Snag them, get your two, get out. Could also do it in certain areas.

Before anything, we need people who can push changes to give a $hit. Get those. Then, stop talking, start experimenting.

[ByteMe]

Any horizontal presentation 1-3 foot off the bottom can be used as a flossing tool. If you are fishing the mainstem Fraser with very limited visibility then you are a flosser.

So I guess you are saying one can only fish a minimum of 4ft of water with 1ft of leader, and no fishing The Fraser at all because of limited visibility or else you would be flossing 

[canoe man]

well there are certainly a lot of good ideas been posted here
some well worth debating
I do like the sound of an additional tag for sokeye but how do we make sure that money goes back into sokeye development

I will admit that yes I do bottom bounce but when and only when sokeye are open if I catch a spring in between my two socs well its a bonus but when ive got my two socks that rod goes away and I pull out the bar rod  sit and crack a bevy and relax all that casting is a lot of thirsty work

it maybe difficult to enforce but when you have your two socks no more bbing

but the biggest problem is getting all of these ideas to the ears of the people who can actually do something about it so please get out and vote it is more important than ever

cnm

[typhoon]

So I guess you are saying one can only fish a minimum of 4ft of water with 1ft of leader, and no fishing The Fraser at all because of limited visibility or else you would be flossing 

No. I am saying that fly fishing in the mainstem Fraser with sink tips is flossing. Go somewhere else and fish ethically.

[Sandman]

Leader length restrictions don't make sense because they just don't have the time and what do they do with fly fishermen?

You could exempt fly fishermen easily enough,  but then I rarely use leaders longer than 3 feet when fishing the sink tip lines needed to get down on big rivers like the Fraser.  Long leaders cause the fly to ride higher in the water column, negating the effect of the sinking tip.  Also, since "fly fishing" is already defined in the regulations as a method where nothing else is attached to the line (see fly fishing only regs), using a split shot would cancel the exemption for anyone trying to get around it.

[chris gadsden]

well there are certainly a lot of good ideas been posted here
some well worth debating
I do like the sound of an additional tag for sokeye but how do we make sure that money goes back into sokeye development

I will admit that yes I do bottom bounce but when and only when sokeye are open if I catch a spring in between my two socs well its a bonus but when ive got my two socks that rod goes away and I pull out the bar rod  sit and crack a bevy and relax all that casting is a lot of thirsty work

it maybe difficult to enforce but when you have your two socks no more bbing

but the biggest problem is getting all of these ideas to the ears of the people who can actually do something about it so please get out and vote it is more important than ever

cnm

Thanks for your ideas and to others as well that are posting what needs to be done. I am compiling all solutions from this thread and will present at out first fall meeting of the Fraser Valley Salmon Society in October. All directors have been asked to give their opinions as well in writing so we can come up with what to present to the Upper Fraser Valley Sports Fishing Advistory Board meeting in the fall.

[RalphH]

some folks have expressed concern that the # of springs caught by bottom bouncers has a negative impact on that population of fish - one easy fix is change the salmon retention from 4 to 2 for July and August. That should cut down on the number of people who stay on the river trying to get a spring after they kill 2 sockeye. Personally I don't have a problem with bottom bouncing for sockeye. I think it's a legitimate harvest even if it doesn't pass some people's sniff test as a form of sport fishing - but sport simply means for fun and pleasure, nothing more. I've never found the idea of hanging a pound to a pound and a half of lead off the lip of a 15lb chinook 'sporting'. If you're that desperate to take a fish why not contemplate golf? (jk) Most of this is all 'relative' and hardly a matter of serious ethics.

Another possible fix - ban use of bare hooks or hooks dressed only with any form of wool or fabric if fished with weight unless sockeye are open. This could be a seasonal ban - July and August so it doesn't interfere with cool season trout fishing.

I'm not sure leader regulations would be effective since fish can be flossed on a few feet of leader and while fly fishing I've caught sockeye using a sink tip and a few feet of leader and best I recall the first test fisheries used just 3 feet of leader.

Licensing - how about a seasonal limit on sockeye including punch cards or license marks? Ten to twenty should be enough Yes most of us buy our licenses on line but the ability to print multiple license copies can be restricted or eliminated - I believe that would be a fairly straightforward technical fix.

Lastly why not ban any weight that looks like a golf ball from every stream in the Province?

[TNAngler]

I don't have exact figures but last year's total sport catch of sockeye (including saltwater) was around 100 000 fish compared to 6 million commercially harvested(not incl FN). Why are we missing the elephant in the room.

And the FN in the river is another huge number.  People on this site don't want to see the elephant.  They want to look at the other dog getting scraps from the table and complain that that other dog got their scraps incorrectly instead of looking at the what was on the table and where the real issues are happening.

[RalphH]

when the commercial fishery happens the 1st Nations take (both the food/ceremonial part of the economic opportunity part) is usually about 20% of the total. After about a century of injustice that amounted to racist theft, 1st Nations in BC won back their right to fish and 1st priority access to the resource. That's not going to change for a very long time, if ever. I also would not want to see or expect netting in river or at the mouth to be brought to an end. The alternatives simply are not all that workable. The commercial fishing industry is how the general public gets access to the resource, so it is necessary. Better management and techniques can substantially reduce the unintended impacts of net fishing.