Bass and Walleye Rule change on the Columbia and tributaries-CRAZY

[BLUEBULLS]

I hope this doesn't stir the pot too much... Most of the "average" salmon/steelhead anglers will not be able to catch enough walleye to hurt the population at all. Now the guys who are really in tune with fishing and fish behavior shouldn't and probably will not take this the wrong way but on this side of the state, most "seasonal" salmon/steelhead anglers don't have the knowledge to do that well on walleye.

I'm not at all trying to put anybody down but most times of the year it's not exactly easy to do well on walleye. They're a mysterious fish and at times very hard to predict and find.

I'm not at all against keeping a few to eat but I see no need to "waste" any. We undoubtedly have the worlds BEST trophy walleye fishery and I feel it should definitely be managed.

I fish for Walleye, Bass, Steelhead, Salmon, Sturgeon, you name it. I don't want to see any of them go away.

[walleye1]

Rocky mt elk are not native to washington either. Let's kill all them too.

[xd2005]

Rocky mt elk are not native to washington either. Let's kill all them too.

I'm trying, I'm trying! 

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Biggest smallie i have got out of there is 5.5 lbs. It was good eatin! As for other big bass i have eatin. A 7.5 lb large mouth that aite good to. The theroy of big fish dont eat good is out the window with me. Bigger fish means more better eatin than a small one! 7.5 lb walleye eat supper good as well! 

[Sniper101]

Biggest smallie i have got out of there is 5.5 lbs. It was good eatin! As for other big bass i have eatin. A 7.5 lb large mouth that aite good to. The theroy of big fish dont eat good is out the window with me. Bigger fish means more better eatin than a small one! 7.5 lb walleye eat supper good as well! 

well arnt you a cool cat!!!

[Sniper101]

for one, the big bass don't even taste good, and they are all Im concerned about. Just release the bigger fish. We can regulate bass without killing every one we catch!! Bass arnt some evil fish.

And wolves aren't evil dogs. Sure, they eat some deer and elk here and there, but that doesn't mean we need to get rid of all of them! Ad biologists are re-introducing them, so they must be good. 

no, all wolves need to die...Thats a s different story but they have havnt been around near as long as bass, the ecosystem hasnt adapted to wolves like the columbia has adapted to smallmouth....and by the time the ecosystem adapts to wolves...there wont be much left cuz thats the the closest thing that could happen to adapting!!

[Sniper101]

I hope this doesn't stir the pot too much... Most of the "average" salmon/steelhead anglers will not be able to catch enough walleye to hurt the population at all. Now the guys who are really in tune with fishing and fish behavior shouldn't and probably will not take this the wrong way but on this side of the state, most "seasonal" salmon/steelhead anglers don't have the knowledge to do that well on walleye.

I'm not at all trying to put anybody down but most times of the year it's not exactly easy to do well on walleye. They're a mysterious fish and at times very hard to predict and find.

I'm not at all against keeping a few to eat but I see no need to "waste" any. We undoubtedly have the worlds BEST trophy walleye fishery and I feel it should definitely be managed.

I fish for Walleye, Bass, Steelhead, Salmon, Sturgeon, you name it. I don't want to see any of them go away.

i agree, Im the same and I think that applys to bass too, however, EXCLUDING when the big fish are spawning and proecting there bds, then they are close to the banks where everyone fishes and could just happen upon a spawning flat where any fish will eat whatever you throw any where near them.

[Button Nubbs]

I hope this doesn't stir the pot too much... Most of the "average" salmon/steelhead anglers will not be able to catch enough walleye to hurt the population at all. Now the guys who are really in tune with fishing and fish behavior shouldn't and probably will not take this the wrong way but on this side of the state, most "seasonal" salmon/steelhead anglers don't have the knowledge to do that well on walleye.

I'm not at all trying to put anybody down but most times of the year it's not exactly easy to do well on walleye. They're a mysterious fish and at times very hard to predict and find.

I'm not at all against keeping a few to eat but I see no need to "waste" any. We undoubtedly have the worlds BEST trophy walleye fishery and I feel it should definitely be managed.

I fish for Walleye, Bass, Steelhead, Salmon, Sturgeon, you name it. I don't want to see any of them go away.

Gotta disagree. It will not take long for anyone who is really in tune with any type of fishing to figure out a certian species.

The first time I ever fished walleye I took my boat to mar don and we murdered them. We came back to the launch and people did not believe us when we told them how we did. Most others were gettin one or two fish per boat and we hooked on average 15 per day. It only took a couple fish to figure out the pattern and really lay the smack down on them.

[lokidog]

Biggest smallie i have got out of there is 5.5 lbs. It was good eatin! As for other big bass i have eatin. A 7.5 lb large mouth that aite good to. The theroy of big fish dont eat good is out the window with me. Bigger fish means more better eatin than a small one! 7.5 lb walleye eat supper good as well! 

well arnt you a cool cat!!!

Sorry Sniper, but I agree with Huntin, big fish taste gooood.

As to bass/walleye equalizing/being part of the current ecosystem, they are an introduced species.  Something will prosper less as a new species prospers more, it is simple biology.  When there is a limited food/habitat/space resource, competition WILL occur.  The big question is this - with salmon/steelhead already reduced from historic numbers by dams, sea lions, birds, nets and other negative impacts of humanity, does the impact of bass/walleyes/even pike have a noticeable effect on salmonid populations?  If the reduced numbers of native fish has led to an increase in bait for the juvenile fish, is there competition with the spiny ray juveniles for food?  Maybe not.  But, then the predatory aspect of spiny rays on juvenile salmonids also has to be considered.  This is where the impact, if there is one, is most likely to occur since, I would argue, that competition for food has been reduced for the juveniles of both because of the decrease in salmonid populations, and there is increased predation on small fish (juvenile salmonids) since along with the birds the spiny rays eat them as well.

At historic levels of salmonid populations, the impact of spiny rays on juvenile salmonids might not have even been statistically significant.  However, because of the reduced salmonid population, not so much due to spiny rays to begin with, the impact of the predation by spiny rays is much more significant and may actually cause a statistically significant portion of juvenile salmonid mortality.

So, in the end, barring bird/sea lion/dam/net removal, a significant increase in juvenile salmonid recruitment may be obtainable with a large pecentage reduction of spiny ray predators.  Whether that reduction can actually be done, remains to be seen.  I would bet that without huge amounts of gillnetting operations targeted at walleyes, the actual system-wide impact will be small.  Unfortunately, many a bass/walleye fisherman's honeyhole may, however, be affected.

I would rather see WDFW fish stocking monies going to support spiny rays in areas where impacts on native salmonids would not be significant, than the amount of money they spend on planting rainbow trout, which are also mostly an introduced specie as well.  I like to eat bass, panfish, walleyes much more than almost any stocker trout I have caught.

Just my 

[BLUEBULLS]

I hope this doesn't stir the pot too much... Most of the "average" salmon/steelhead anglers will not be able to catch enough walleye to hurt the population at all. Now the guys who are really in tune with fishing and fish behavior shouldn't and probably will not take this the wrong way but on this side of the state, most "seasonal" salmon/steelhead anglers don't have the knowledge to do that well on walleye.

I'm not at all trying to put anybody down but most times of the year it's not exactly easy to do well on walleye. They're a mysterious fish and at times very hard to predict and find.

I'm not at all against keeping a few to eat but I see no need to "waste" any. We undoubtedly have the worlds BEST trophy walleye fishery and I feel it should definitely be managed.

I fish for Walleye, Bass, Steelhead, Salmon, Sturgeon, you name it. I don't want to see any of them go away.

Gotta disagree. It will not take long for anyone who is really in tune with any type of fishing to figure out a certian species.

The first time I ever fished walleye I took my boat to mar don and we murdered them. We came back to the launch and people did not believe us when we told them how we did. Most others were gettin one or two fish per boat and we hooked on average 15 per day. It only took a couple fish to figure out the pattern and really lay the smack down on them.

Mardon is a little different story.  You may be in the "10%" of fisherman who catch "90%" of the fish.

[Bullkllr]

What I haven't seen mentioned here is $$$$.

If the ecosystem has indeed "adapted", and salmon/steelhead are doing well in the Snake/Columbia (which many would question), it has only been a result of literally millions of dollars per year being shelled out through all of the agencies involved.

I haven't seen the latest numbers, but I am aware it is millions and millions of dollars per year.

Obviously, reducing non-native spiny rays by removing the catch limit comes "free" for the WDFW.

[Alchase]

Seems to me they are not willing to address the bigger issue effecting the salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and tributaries, the cormorants and the sealions!

There is a big pink elephant in the room everyone is ignoring

[bobcat]

Probably because nobody wants to eat cormorants or sea lions so they can't justify a hunting season for them. And who's going to do the killing, if not hunters?

[MtnMuley]

Well Sniper, you got someone to agree with you. Take as a win. 

You mean someone with enough sense to look at the problem at hand with a fair eye??

I'm with ya sniper101.  Pathetic management strategy at best by WDFW once again.  I wouldn't take too much of this argument on this topic to heart.  Just like with many other debate topics here, many of the posters just try to stir the pot or prefer to argue that water isn't wet.

Do you not think they are a problem or just not think many will kill them?  If you are interested, try a google search for the key words "bass," "Yakima River," "fall chinook" and "smolt."  You will find studies showing they prey heavily on smolt, especially native salmon smolts due to their smaller size. 

I obviously can't predict how many people will kill them.  I know that I plan to kill every single one I catch, but I also don't fish for them often.

Nope.  I don't think they are a big problem.  Surely they eat a few, but not near the numbers as other fish like the pikeminnow.  As said before, these salmon runs are doing great, so I feel the management of bass and walleye shouldn't go unregulated.

The salmon runs are only doing "great" compared to what they became after we f'd everything up (dams, logging, etc.).  The Columbia is producing something like 1/25 of the salmon it used to, and most of those fish are hatchery fish.

Well, this is 2013 and not the 1800's.  Doesn't make sense to me to compare todays runs with those of the pre-dam/logging.   

[woodywsu]

I support the regulation change. However, this will not wipe out any species. I know of certain areas on teh Mid-C that are electrofished for native pikeminnow removal that are also taking ALL smallmouth and walleye encountered as well. And there are areas where smallmouth are thicker than pikeminnow.This is a larger impact that any group of fisherman can impose. And just because smallmouth have been here for 50 years doesn't make them native. They are invasive. WDFW planted them here long ago. WDFW also planted the Russian olive tree along crab creek corridor in the 60s for habitat improvements. 

Buttonnubbs, I would be suprised if you can catch a limit on teh Mid-C. Let along catch enough to impact the population.