Butt head on the Wynoochee

[TheHunt]

I was walking out today and someone said there was a fish in the brush.  I walked down and sure enough someone opened up the fish just enough to see that it was a buck and they tossed it in the brush.  It was about an 8 lb steelhead.  What is wrong with people?  They tossed it yesterday.  There was nothing a LEO could do... 

[hollymaster]

  Wth is wrong with people? Bucks taste better! 

[7mmfan]

guess they only wanted the eggs? Yeah I agree for table fare, bucks are far better. If it was cold outside, I'd take that sucker home and filet it and give it the old sniff test. There is a good chance that fish was still edible   

[huntnphool]

Rookie steelheader, should have been easy to tell when he got it in and could have let it go.

[7mmfan]

Rookie steelheader, should have been easy to tell when he got it in and could have let it go.

  Agree completely with that. My guess anyone who is so hell bent on killing a fish for the eggs probably doesn't give much thought to what they are when they catch them either. We all know that the only thing that catches steelhead are eggs   

[Damnimissed]

Well, how'd you do? I bank fished it today too.

[TheHunt]

Well, how'd you do? I bank fished it today too.

I only got two hits.   Out of about 20 people on the bank as a whole the group got one fish. 

But the natives pulled their nets the day before.  I was kind of stupid as I was seeing a lot of rigs putting in at black creek.  WHICH should have fished much lower as the fish were low in the system.  Oh well, I should have known...  Stupid me!!! 

Holy smokes did it rain. LOL!!!   I really rained the entire time I was down there.    I still had fun with the exception of that fish on in the brush. 

[Damnimissed]

Yes, it did rain all day...I should've made one cast and went home because I banged a fish on the first cast of the morning and didn't touch anything the rest of the day. I just knew that was gonna happen, it always seems to work that way lol.  Speaking of butt heads, I had a few boats side-drift right through the hole I'm standing in  but they didn't escape without me "nicely" explaining drift boat etiquette. I also had some kind words for the boat with bobber/bead "fly" guys who hooked a fish in the tailout I had just started swinging into. I'm really starting to lose patience with jerks like that.

[TheHunt]

Dude, 1/3 of the Wynoochee boaters are that way. 

I just cast in their stuff.  I use some heavy line so I will win most of those fights.

[JimmyHoffa]

Surf rod with 100# braid will take care of most of it.

[BigGoonTuna]

...annnnd that's why i rarely fish that river in the winter any more.  hell, the pressure is so intense now that it's made it a waste of time to fish up by the dam, all the fish get picked off first.

sadly, not a whole lot of other good options around these days, i'm finding myself doing a lot less winter steelheading overall.  the fish you found in the bushes was probably a victim of the "all hatchery fish must die" mantra that's become vogue over the past several years.  if you don't want it, give it to someone, or put it back for someone else to catch.

[Crunchy]

Im not much for the taste of steelhead, catch and release only for me.  That being said, wynoch is one of the better steelhead rivers around these parts.

[Bofire]

  It is just not fun to go fish when you know you'll have to deal with butt heads.
Carl

[PolarBear]

It seems that "butt heads" are becoming the norm wherever you fish.  Buoy 10, the Nooch, Hump, Skookumchuck etc.  I will never fish the Cowlitz again due to all the dirt bag fishermen.  Whenever we drift around bankies, we always pull our gear up way ahead of them and don't drop back it until we are well past.  There is plenty of water to fish without being a turd!

[pilebuck]

Thanx this plunker give ya 

[Damnimissed]

It seems that "butt heads" are becoming the norm wherever you fish.  Buoy 10, the Nooch, Hump, Skookumchuck etc.  I will never fish the Cowlitz again due to all the dirt bag fishermen.  Whenever we drift around bankies, we always pull our gear up way ahead of them and don't drop back it until we are well past.  There is plenty of water to fish without being a turd!

Exactly! I normally fish the Nooch out of my buddies boat, but he bailed on my that morning. We always give plenty of room to the bankies.

[Bullkllr]

It seems that "butt heads" are becoming the norm wherever you fish.  Buoy 10, the Nooch, Hump, Skookumchuck etc.  I will never fish the Cowlitz again due to all the dirt bag fishermen.  Whenever we drift around bankies, we always pull our gear up way ahead of them and don't drop back it until we are well past.  There is plenty of water to fish without being a turd!

 
My first thought when I saw the thread title was "Only one Butt head on the Wynochee? Must be some kind of miracle..."

[PolarBear]

I split my time between drifting and being a bank maggot.  Treat others on the water how you would like to be treated.  The Skok is another river that I will never darken it's banks again with my shadow.

[bankwalker]

Geez....idk where you guys are fishing. I find solitude and limits of fish almost every time I'm on the nooch. If i float it, I Launch later in the day.
if I bank fish and there's 3+ cars parked I pretty much know what is happening on the water. It's my choice to join the crowd or not....
bush whack to secluded spots if it bothers you to see guys fishing
I make it a point to talk to guys in boats as they come up to me. A friendly conversation goes a very long way and 90% of the time they pass well below me before making a cast.
I welcome boat anglers to fish the same hole as they pass by. I encourage their success. Boats will pass by...it's what the current predicts.

All I'm saying is....is that YOU set the tone of your fishing. For every stupid negative thought you have about any fellow angler fishing along side you via boat or bank....it's safe to say they're probably thinking the same damn thing about you.

[Damnimissed]

Geez....idk where you guys are fishing. I find solitude and limits of fish almost every time I'm on the nooch. If i float it, I Launch later in the day.
if I bank fish and there's 3+ cars parked I pretty much know what is happening on the water. It's my choice to join the crowd or not....
bush whack to secluded spots if it bothers you to see guys fishing
I make it a point to talk to guys in boats as they come up to me. A friendly conversation goes a very long way and 90% of the time they pass well below me before making a cast.
I welcome boat anglers to fish the same hole as they pass by. I encourage their success. Boats will pass by...it's what the current predicts.

All I'm saying is....is that YOU set the tone of your fishing. For every stupid negative thought you have about any fellow angler fishing along side you via boat or bank....it's safe to say they're probably thinking the same damn thing about you.

Really? I was in a spot well up river from white bridge. It's a hike into this spot and I always have this entire stretch (big stretch) of river to myself as a bankie. I'm a very easy guy to get along with and am always friendly when boats come through, but when $!@&heads come through right in front of where I'm standing backs turned to me with lines in the water, casted right before they get to me, pretty sure I'm not the one setting the tone. There's no way in hell they are thinking the same thing about me unless I'm fishing the one spot on the drift that they wanted to plug through.

[Bullkllr]

Geez....idk where you guys are fishing. I find solitude and limits of fish almost every time I'm on the nooch. If i float it, I Launch later in the day.
if I bank fish and there's 3+ cars parked I pretty much know what is happening on the water. It's my choice to join the crowd or not....
bush whack to secluded spots if it bothers you to see guys fishing
I make it a point to talk to guys in boats as they come up to me. A friendly conversation goes a very long way and 90% of the time they pass well below me before making a cast.
I welcome boat anglers to fish the same hole as they pass by. I encourage their success. Boats will pass by...it's what the current predicts.

All I'm saying is....is that YOU set the tone of your fishing. For every stupid negative thought you have about any fellow angler fishing along side you via boat or bank....it's safe to say they're probably thinking the same damn thing about you.

Really? I was in a spot well up river from white bridge. It's a hike into this spot and I always have this entire stretch (big stretch) of river to myself as a bankie. I'm a very easy guy to get along with and am always friendly when boats come through, but when $!@&heads come through right in front of where I'm standing backs turned to me with lines in the water, casted right before they get to me, pretty sure I'm not the one setting the tone. There's no way in hell they are thinking the same thing about me unless I'm fishing the one spot on the drift that they wanted to plug through.

 
And I was more referring to the obvious zoo that it has become more than anything else. Personally never had a bad experience with any particular individual there... but when there is literally no room to park at any of the launches...

[hunt_fish]

Must've changed down there in the last couple of years.  Never had to deal with crowds when I was younger when my dad and I would fish there when I lived on that side.

[JimmyHoffa]

Must've changed down there in the last couple of years.  Never had to deal with crowds when I was younger when my dad and I would fish there when I lived on that side.

It has changed for a lot of the coast.  As many or more people fishing and less places to go.

[buckhorn2]

Last year just below the mouth a friend and I tried for sturgeon not a boat on the river the sun was out really a nice day and a couple small fish we turned loose. Then we hear a boat coming up the river and around the corner comes an indian gillnet boat. He slowed down and circled around then went over to the bank and tied the end of his net and started laying his net out. He layed the net out completely around our boat with the net about twenty feet from our bow and over our anchor line then they went in the cabin and shut the door. What a way to end a nice day fishing we had a really hard time getting our anchor out from under the net. Things have really changed in our area and not just up the river.

[YoterHunter]

There is a lot of jerks out there. I float that river all the time . I could not count how meany times I've had other boats fish right in front of me . Had a jerk last year kept on doing it to even after we had a talk.   It finally came down to me telling him his boat is about to sink from some holes that were about to get put in it. There's a lot of holes I don't fish if there is a bank guy there I'm in a. Oat so there is slot of water for me.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Yep once those put ins and take outs were full of rigs in the middle of the week that was the end of my Noochee days. Lots of good memories there but plenty other rivers with less traffic and outstanding fishing opertunities...

[huntnphool]

Must've changed down there in the last couple of years.  Never had to deal with crowds when I was younger when my dad and I would fish there when I lived on that side.

It has changed for a lot of the coast.  As many or more people fishing and less places to go.

 The Cowlitz used to produce high sport catch numbers and accommodated a high number of fisherman with its numbers and physical size. Now that they have "managed" it for several years, it no longer puts out the fish it used to, which has those fisherman going to the smaller rivers like the Nooch, creating the crowds everyone is seeing.

[JimmyHoffa]

Must've changed down there in the last couple of years.  Never had to deal with crowds when I was younger when my dad and I would fish there when I lived on that side.

It has changed for a lot of the coast.  As many or more people fishing and less places to go.

 The Cowlitz used to produce high sport catch numbers and accommodated a high number of fisherman with its numbers and physical size. Now that they have "managed" it for several years, it no longer puts out the fish it used to, which has those fisherman going to the smaller rivers like the Nooch, creating the crowds everyone is seeing.

A lot of that now.  The rivers and creeks along the strait/hood canal used to have decent amounts (not big numbers like Cowlitz)...but lots of different places to spread a bunch of people out.  Now, even the few that are barely open aren't even worth the time.  If you're gonna go fishing, might as well drive the extra hour and go to where you can catch too.

[BigGoonTuna]

not to mention that there is effectively zero winter steelhead opportunity in the south sound rivers any more.  i used to fish the carbon a bit, it was never a great river to me but you had a shot at a fish with some solitude at least.  when i started talking to guys on the skookumchuck who said they were driving down from everett, i couldn't believe it at first.  i'd probably give up fishing completely if i had to drive that far to fish a mudhole like that.

when i lived in hoquiam, i was 13 miles from black creek on the wynoochee and 8 miles from the lower hump.  i found myself mostly traveling a lot farther than that just to get some peace and quiet...at least until i started making friends with land owners on some of the smaller rivers...