The moral decline of Western WA. fisherfolk

[cuttstosteelies]

When did fishing become what it is today?  When did corkies become the rave for stacked up salmon?  When did standing chest deep in a hole with spooky fish become the norm?  When did people start giving true fishermen "weird" looks when the true fisherman is throwing eggs?  When did a snagged fish mean you did something wrong and try to adjust your technique, not snag more?  As much as I love this sport, I have seen a drastic, let me rephase that, a substantial, wait no, a ridiculously poor approach to fishing overtake this region in the past five or six years.  what has caused this decline in the moral character of fishermen?  After stopping by the lower Satsop briefly a couple of weeks ago and running into Terrapin and Moose Eyes I could see the frustration boiling over in their veins.  Not 100 yards below them were the typical, corky tossing, snaggers that have overrun our rivers over the past few years.  This has gotten absolutely insane.  Only three years ago I had a hole on the Nisqually not 10 minutes from my house all to myself.  It was a daily venture for me as I would get off work, hop in the rig and fish a sacred tailout with nothing but the annoying train in the background.  I can remember one fella spotting me catch an nice coho and the very next day there were six fellas standing in the same spot.  Weeks later it turned into an all out combat zone with as many as 25 anglers lined shoulder shoulder to toss their 10 foot leader under the tree in which I was spotted landing a coho......  I am not proclaiming to be a saint.  I have flossed many of salmon in my day.  As a matter of fact, on an egg hunt earlier this year I was a corky tossing bozo on the Puyallup for a few hours on two different occasions.  However, I know how to fish.  I know when to say when, and more importantly, I know that corkies and yarn don't get fish to bite in 1" vis water (matter of fact, I don't believe that ANY salmon, with the exception of a retarded chum or humpy here or there, willingly bite corkies) but that's for a different day......  When oh when?  This is a joke.....  The shnidt really hit the fan for me just three weeks ago when I saw two bozos hucking pegged corkies in the freakin' Calawah ponds for pooled up, spooked steelhead in 60 CFS stagnant water.  Un freakin' real......  After stopping and staring at them without moving a muscle for over 20 minutes they packed up and left but I overheard them saying on the way out that "green" pegged corkies were the ticket the day before.  Did I mention that I hate corkies?
Sorry, but Ron, your conversation with me over the phone last week really opened my eyes to the mess that is salmon and steelhead fishing within a 100 mile proximity to puget sound.....

[dardevle]

Pretty sad but true Cutts.  I find it comical that the new anti-snagging rule totally avoided the biggest issue in salmon fishing... the "flosser". 

[Andrew]

When?

I don't think there's been a "sudden" collapse... more of an exponential decay. I vividly remember fishing below the Carbody Hole on the Green with my dad when I was 12 and having the art of flossing burgundy coho carefully explained to us by one of the regulars. I remember running into an old timer two summers back who described to me "gigging" for salmon in upper tributaries of the Chehalis as a boy... and as a teenager, running a gill net across Big Creek on the Quinault at night from bank-to-bank while he and his family played pinochle in their cabin. Lastly, I remember all too recently descending into the holiest of canyons to find a half-used container of roe. Really? Here? I could have cried. Or killed.

It's not just Corkies. It's illegal bait, barbs and other blatant violations, stemming from a combination of poor fishing, poor ethics, and laziness. I'd say all three have been on the rise during my lifetime, while the bargain basement pricing on Corkies has remained pretty much constant. I suppose that's your answer - not a date, just a continuous decline in the practice of angling.

I could do a lot with about $4 million. Step 1: Buy out nets on Queets River for 3 months/yr. Step 2: Buy out production rights on Corkies and all like products. Increase retail price tenfold. Befuddle cash-strapped yokels. Step 3: Hire "A-team" of elite game enforcement personnel. Protect sensitive areas via heavily armored helicopter patrol. Step 4: Go fishing.

Feel free to send donations. There's not much time.

Andrew

[rvrfshr]

Moral decline, let me count the ways Cutty. It is a shame to see "The Ponds" fished with green corkies... Or any lure for that matter.

I could do alot of things with about 4 million as well Andrew, one of which would be stopping fishing for steelhead forever. Buying out and eating higher priced corkies however is out of the question.

Good luck Flosshington.

[Barbless]

Cutts.... that pretty much sums it up.  Pink years are the worst, everyone is a "Salmon Fisherman" all of a sudden.  And that is why I have only fished once so far this season for salmon.

[cuttstosteelies]

Andrew, I like it.  I want first dibs on the elite enforcement team.  Can the leftover funds purchase a helicopter?  I'll gladly invest in a corky buy-out as well!

[cuttstosteelies]

Moral decline, let me count the ways Cutty. It is a shame to see "The Ponds" fished with green corkies... Or any lure for that matter.

Tryin' to get me goin, huh, Joey   Corkies, yes, jigs, no.  Still not sure why I love that place.

[Chum Man]

blaming corkies for snagging is like blaming guns for violence!  used properly, there's nothing wrong with them, but of course, many seem to deviate from that.  if you go back around 20 years in the fishing rags, they were mainly touted as a steelhead lure and drift bobber for keeping bait off the bottom in other cases.

most people that know me, know that i put a lot of blame on a certain "fishin" site, who's explosion of popularity a few years back seems to correlate with the sharp increase in river crowding and sharp decline in ethic.  i raised the issue of the ethical decline on there a few years ago and got roasted back into the stone age with cries of "elitist!"(like tossing sand shrimp tails or #5 spinners can be thought of as "elite"!).  the rookies that are looking for advice are always "helpfully" told to put on a 6 foot leader and #14 corky as a catch-all setup, and to set the hook at the end of every drift!

the gaffing and illegal netting have gone on for decades, i wouldn't consider that to be in the same category as the "sport snaggers".  i would venture to guess that there's probably less of that now than there was 20 years ago with the increase in population.

[Fast- eddy]

blaming corkies for snagging is like blaming guns for violence!  used properly, there's nothing wrong with them, but of course, many seem to deviate from that.  if you go back around 20 years in the fishing rags, they were mainly touted as a steelhead lure and drift bobber for keeping bait off the bottom in other cases.

most people that know me, know that i put a lot of blame on a certain "fishin" site, who's explosion of popularity a few years back seems to correlate with the sharp increase in river crowding and sharp decline in ethic.  i raised the issue of the ethical decline on there a few years ago and got roasted back into the stone age with cries of "elitist!"(like tossing sand shrimp tails or #5 spinners can be thought of as "elite"!).  the rookies that are looking for advice are always "helpfully" told to put on a 6 foot leader and #14 corky as a catch-all setup, and to set the hook at the end of every drift!

Well put Kyle............. Way too many Ga******ers on my home rivers that is for sure. I believe they even sponsor a Chum-athon on Cutts home river. dang shame! 

[Andrew]

Joe - Could I then get about 2 dozen black LBDs (no worm needed) and a lot of 2/0 sickles to match? 

Cutty - Helicopter is part of the A-team budget. 

Kyle - Actually, blaming Corkies is more like blaming semi-automatic handguns. Sure, they can't commit crime independently, but if you watch the owner of either long enough he's sure to do something stupid. 

It's not just GF (Puget Sound waters will never be the same), or PP (I bet BC feels happy right about now), or iF (nice knowing you, SW WA), but the more general problem of Internet angling ease. That's what I always loved about this site. Nary a drop of where, a little indication of when, and a little more focus on how. Kind of like reading a book. Which reminds me, be sure to check me out on Twitter for running reports on the Green River Gorge, or any other waters you may hold dear. 

On a more positive note, some much needed water has arrived, and even the best Corky fishermen have a hard time in the high flow.

 

Andrew

[chum77]

blaming corkies for snagging is like blaming guns for violence!  used properly, there's nothing wrong with them, but of course, many seem to deviate from that.  if you go back around 20 years in the fishing rags, they were mainly touted as a steelhead lure and drift bobber for keeping bait off the bottom in other cases.

most people that know me, know that i put a lot of blame on a certain "fishin" site, who's explosion of popularity a few years back seems to correlate with the sharp increase in river crowding and sharp decline in ethic.  i raised the issue of the ethical decline on there a few years ago and got roasted back into the stone age with cries of "elitist!"(like tossing sand shrimp tails or #5 spinners can be thought of as "elite"!).  the rookies that are looking for advice are always "helpfully" told to put on a 6 foot leader and #14 corky as a catch-all setup, and to set the hook at the end of every drift!

Well put Kyle............. Way too many Ga******ers on my home rivers that is for sure. I believe they even sponsor a Chum-athon on Cutts home river. dang shame! 

 BAM ! you guys hit it on the nose big time, thats how i feel about things as well, since a certain fishing site that has fishing reports has been around i always watch my back when i go to my secret spots so i don't have anyone posting it on there god for saken web site and have it blown out the next day and forever. Shoot if someone is following me its gotten to the point were i will fish false spots until they leave i mean it has turn into some real cloak and dagger stuff, and please sign me up on this elite team as well please  

[Fast- eddy]

Andrew,Never to high.......Put on a larger cannon ball sinker,braided line, and a longer leader,say 12 foot and your golden.

[riverwader]

  This year has been the worst I have seen on any of the rivers I have fished. I blame most of it on the Pink run, but there has been a steady decline every year. I was also on the lower Satsop last week and any hole that would hold fish was full of corkie and yarn (snaggers) fishermen. The week before was worse!!!!!! I expect this on the Carbon and the Puyallup, but haven't seen it on the Satsop before.
  I attribute most of this to the lack of fishing knowledge of the general public, of which I was one myself at one time. They take what works for pinks and carry it over into eveything they fish for. It is not just the way they fish, but all of the garbage they leave on the rivers and in the parking areas. I know I am waiting for the bad weather to thin some of them out, as it always does. I think the big pink run we had this year made alot of morales slip. I tried boat fishing, but a river bank is my true love. I am getting to old to confront people anymore, so I will just shake my head in disgust as I am leaving. I would spend the 4 mil. to educate the snaggers!!!!!!!

[Finfollower]

You know to help that 4 mil. go even farther start a reserve program for game wardens like they do for law enforcement. They are trained, and have limited citing power. Turn them loose on the big problem spots and watch the people scatter like a dog dropped in a room full of cats! Twice the impact for half the price.

[chum77]

You know to help that 4 mil. go even farther start a reserve program for game wardens like they do for law enforcement. They are trained, and have limited citing power. Turn them loose on the big problem spots and watch the people scatter like a dog dropped in a room full of cats! Twice the impact for half the price.

 i second that