The State Takes More Food Away From My Family....

[BOWHUNTER45]

The dept. wants to come and talk to me in the next fews days    I will handle this for you !    

[h20hunter]

Dare i ask why?

[Jerome]

  I would dare say that I fish a lot more than the average Area 7 fisherman, for bottomfish anyways.  Yet, I still only caught 5 Cabezon last year, in five or six months of fishing!! 

If this is the case,do you not think that maybe the population of Cabezon isn't as healthy as you think it is?

Not necessarily, you won't catch many cabezons while targeting lings.  You will catch a few a year this way but they like different terrain.  The few guys I know that target them like I do have no problems filling the two fish limit.

[BOWHUNTER45]

Dare i ask why?

They claim a friendly conversion out on my porch  that would be nice .... hahahahaa

[lokidog]

Lokidog get your boat ready.  Lets limit on lings and cabs everyday this season.

Sounds good, if the boat is not in the water, it is 5 minutes away....  Share some gas costs and we're good to go.

quote author=bearpaw link=topic=120144.msg1585160#msg1585160 date=1362598038]
   If they reduced season on just cabezon there must be a reason. Has anyone asked WDFW why? It would be good to hear their reasoning.
[/quote]

Because there is nothing left to reduce the season on....     Wait, watch out you greenling and flounder/sole fishers, they are after you next.

  I would dare say that I fish a lot more than the average Area 7 fisherman, for bottomfish anyways.  Yet, I still only caught 5 Cabezon last year, in five or six months of fishing!! 

If this is the case,do you not think that maybe the population of Cabezon isn't as healthy as you think it is?

Not necessarily, you won't catch many cabezons while targeting lings.  You will catch a few a year this way but they like different terrain.  The few guys I know that target them like I do have no problems filling the two fish limit.

I do pretty much just fish for them in the same spots I would for lings/rockfish.  Part of my point is, they don't know what the populations are either, nor what the harvest levels are either.

The other thing is, with the price of gas, the number of people out here fishing, outside of ling or pink season, is almost non-existent, so how can the harvest numbers be very high?

[Becky]

I don't know much about fishing for bottomfish/cabs, but I'm interested in this thread and the new regulations. Seems like you mostly can only catch ANY bottomfish with a boat - correct?

I got ONE cabezon while on a charter boat for rockfish, I was the only one who got one, and it was probably the tastiest fish I've had. I want more lol.

[bobcat]

I found this letter to the WDFW with a google search: 

http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/rule_proposals/comments/files/Proposals65n69_NormBaker.pdf

[lokidog]

I don't know much about fishing for bottomfish/cabs, but I'm interested in this thread and the new regulations. Seems like you mostly can only catch ANY bottomfish with a boat - correct?

I got ONE cabezon while on a charter boat for rockfish, I was the only one who got one, and it was probably the tastiest fish I've had. I want more lol.

Correct.  You can get some bottomfish off the jetty out in Westport but that can be a pretty hard fishing trip.  Some people fish off the rocks like at Washington Park in Anacortes for Greenling. 

[lokidog]

From the Sierra Club -

Third, Sierra Club also supports proposed change #65 which provides a minimum size limit on
Cabezon. Although Cabezon are not a species of concern, WDFW data shows that Puget Sound’s
Cabezon population is a fraction of its historical abundance. Reducing the fishing pressure on
Cabezon populations will benefit them immediately.

Not a species of concern?  Then WTF??  Take out a few harbor seals if they want to make a difference, between the bottomfish the seals directly eat and their competition for herring, they cause more of a problem than fishermen.

And this is another bunch of BS

First, Sierra Club supports the proposed change #69 which reduces the Lingcod season in Area 4B to
align with the rest of Puget Sound. This step is necessary due to the significant protected rockfish
bycatch associated with the Area 4B Lingcod season in July, August and September documented in
the WDFW 2011 Area 4B test fishery. Data from the test fishery shows that for every legal Lingcod
caught during the test fishery, thirty-five ‘protected’ rockfish were caught and probably killed or
damaged due to barotrauma and possible physical injury. This should not be allowed to happen.

Granted, I am not in region 4, but in the last seven years, out of easily a thousand or more rockfish brought to my boat, including off the coast, THREE (3) of them were "endangered" ones, two swam away unharmed and the third was eaten by a shark before it regained its senses.

THIS LETTER IS JUST MORE PROOF ABOUT WHO wdfw WORKS FOR, IT AINT US!!

[Fishstiq]

I may have to get my speargun sharpened up so that I can go out every single legal day and shoot a ling or cab this year in my month and a half of season.... 

You're preaching to the choir!  Spearing season is about half what hook and line guys get for ling.

So lemme get this straight.  2 years ago, the brilliant minds at WDFW made a "slot limit" rule for ling cod, over 24 inches but under 36.  Due to so many lings being harvested under the slot limit and being thrown back either dead or dying, they removed the bottom of the slot limit.  This year, they put a bottom end limit on Cabbie.

I'm no architectural engineer, but I think I see a potential problem....   

[Special T]

I stopped most of my fishing a long time ago so i don't have a dog in this fight. This Does show  what a POOR job the WDFW does communicating  the science of its decisitons. (This is not just a Fishijng issue) They are mandated to use sound science to make thier decisions. BEACAUSE they do not back up thier actions with science theyare not making partners in thier decisions. SPORTMEN are supposed to be the WDFW biggest ally.  I Thier actions, or lack there of says way more that whatever they say... The agency shows us that they are moving AWAY from sprotmes concerns not really adressing them.

[Special T]

The dept. wants to come and talk to me in the next fews days    I will handle this for you !    

There is an old proverb that states " It is the nail that sticks up that gets hammered!" BH45 There is no hiding now so you either have to keep being hard headed, or submit. 

[Curly]

If the Sierra Club is so concerned about fish, then why don't they support culling a couple thousand CA Sealions and some seals? 

[Rick]

For those of you complaining about the new regs,how many commission meetings in Olympia did you attend?

[Curly]

It is really a shame that WDFW has to be run that way.  Why do we have to constantly attend meetings and give public input to WDFW instead of them just doing the right thing without us having to watch them like a hawk.?  I just hate that it has to be this way...........