I say keep it closed until the runs as big as it use to be so we can get the sturgeon population back up and open for retention again. Shoot the seals.
I agree. We used to go down to Castle Rock and "limit out" on one dip. We took our girl friends, waders, beer, a smelt net and pickle buckets and had a blast. We stayed in the motel and went out afterward and spent a bunch of money, but it was "all good" it was a hella' party we had, that we all looked forward to until the runs diminished.
We stuck a tooth pick through the eyes and hung them in a Lil' Chief smoker after brining them and they were a fan favorite while we still had some.
Lotsa' years ago though. If closing it for a few years would get the runs back: Hey: I am all for it. I would love to take the wife and kids down for a weekend, minus the after dipping hanging out in the bars and getting plastered, of course.
I have not been in decades, but I have fond remembrances of my mom taking us there, I have fond memories of groups like our group of high-school friends, who still hung together going down through our mid-twenties, and I remember families taking the family RV down there having the time of their life dipping smelt!
There is nothing I would like more than to make smelt dipping the family tradition it was while I was growing up.
