Free: Contests & Raffles.
There has been zero studies done on Lake Washington to prove this being a fact.
https://depts.washington.edu/oldenlab/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/FreshwaterBiology_2012a.pdfTo sum it up...Chinook are sitting ducks to smallmouth...1. Non-native predators might inflict proportionally higher mortality on prey that have noprevious experience of them, compared to species that have coexisted with the predator for sometime.2. We tested whether juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) were less able torecognise a non-native than a native predator, by investigating behavioural responses to thechemical cues of the invasive smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) and the native northernpikeminnow (Ptychocheilus oregonensis) in both laboratory and field experiments.3. Laboratory results demonstrated strong innate antipredator responses of individual juvenileChinook salmon to northern pikeminnow; fish spent 70% of time motionless and exhibited 100%greater panic response than in controls. By contrast, antipredator responses to the chemical cues ofsmallmouth bass did not differ from controls.
i really have mixed feelings about this. on one hand, our salmon populations are struggling and need a lot of help. on the other hand, i'm not a big fan of wiping out a thriving fishery so that one that is functionally gone *might* benefit.if we got rid of all non-native fish in this state, it sure would be some lousy fishing for the most part. most lowland lakes don't even support natural populations of trout. hope you like suckers and chub.anadromous fish have incredibly complicated biology and it's a folly thinking that eliminating one threat to their existence like taking out predators, or dumping 10x more fish from a hatchery will restore their populations. it's a death of 1000 cuts and a big part of that is that these fish don't really get along well with modern civilization. they need cold, clean water (gone in the puget sound area), habitat (also gone), food (mostly gone) and predator control (good luck with our state government and the MMPA)as sad as it is, i think that we are past the point of no return on a lot of salmonid stocks, and fishing for them as we knew it is pretty much gone. how much opportunity have we lost in just the last 5 years?
For better or worse the Muckleshoot bios are back at it running 25 lines of nets 5 days a week on Lake WA. Hit up some great spots yesterday for 5 hours. Perfect weather, perfect time of year. Caught 1 largemouth that was small enough to fit through their nets. Saw ZERO largemouth up shallow in spots where I normally catch at least 2-3 fish per spot. Caught 2 smallmouth when I normally get 3-4 per hour on a day like yesterday early May. Found nets strung from frost point through the west channel off Mercer. They had a couple points and bays COMPLETELY choke off and triangulated with nets.Bio was there when I launched. Said they were now “studying” shad which are in the lake. He also said they were definitely targeting bass.
I hope they are not wasting ANY fish from anywhere. Sturgeon left to rot would seem to be a criminal offense, would it not? Actually, any fish?I am not familiar with the rules on Lake Wa Bass tourney's, but I have seen them out there. I would have to think if they did NOT return them to the water it would put at least a dent in the population?The number of Walleye caught by WDFW during their yearly 'test runs' has increased every year as well. Only a matter of time before that becomes a problem. Like the crab issue, you can NOT continue (of course you can!) to harvest to the max 'anything' and have it sustain. While I believe the Tribe's and WDFW work together, and they have 'rights' to a certain amount of available fish, the 'Sovereign' part is a bit blurred these days, with the Fed Gov't giving them (our) money/grants and Tribe's getting exclusive and first pick of harvest of most critters of all types. I believe the treaties should be held to, but should it be based on the number of people in the Tribe's that lived 'at the time', or the number of fish 'available at the time'? Not sure how the agreement was worded, and that would make a difference. Probably a bigger issue is the commercial harvest and 'accidental' catch effecting all fish types. The world has more mouths to feed, and a limited harvest available to do it with.