Coastal shutdown

[metlhead]

Yay! Don't gotta worry about fishing the Chehalis system at all this season. Seems we could have left it open through January with minimal impact. So, what happens to all the extra hatchery fish that return? Maybe they can pass them out to license holders. Never happen

[snake]

Yes! Shutdowns are the best!

[duckmen1]

It seems as if the run is gonna be really bad this year for chehalis systems. Even says the tribes agreed not to net. So I am in full support in the closure since it seems they are gonna go all the way with it. But my only thing is hatcheries still will make egg count which seems as if they could expand higher counts or make hatchery programs larger but they won't. But then they will surplus the rest of the fish once egg counts are met. Not sure why all the fish aren't released back after spawning. In a way I get that but also seems as if say 500 fish don't get put back in could and would benefit future return of steelhead. Hopefully we will see halfway decent numbers and we will at least get a late opener for a bit.

[ASHQUACK]

On one of the Chehalis tribs I've landed kelts. Multiple times in a single day. One of my bigger steelhead ever was a kelt. So, yes I agree with turning them back into the river when they are done with their job at the hatchery. However, in the last couple of years we were shot down on brood stocking the river, that needs to change.

[duckmen1]

100% agree we should be brood stocking every trib that has a hatchery. To my knowledge it is very beneficial in all the broodstocking programs. Take one prime example. Quinault tribe brood stock program. Can't argue with results. Yet state could follow and step up there game implementing same programs and I would thing it would be very beneficial.
I think one thing the state could do and if done right I think fisherman would be ok with is small fee donation or stamp to fish areas with those programs to help fund more. If fisherman saw good results and had good opportunity they wouldn't mind something like that. But of course we don't want to pay anymore when we see nothing good coming our way.

[Stein]

Hatchery fish are evil, just ask one of the many groups bending the ear of WDFW.

[duckmen1]

Hatchery fish are evil, just ask one of the many groups bending the ear of WDFW.

And broodstock are wild fish too.  let's just keep telling the other side that part

[Dan-o]

 

[ASHQUACK]

Funny thing is the broodstock programs are essentially free to the state. Other than normal hatchery costs. We do it at absolutely zero cost to them. But last year they took is off the river along with everyone else.  Such a loss to the programs that Actually work.

[HUNTIN4SIX]

If one does a little research you would find wdfw has cut hatchery production almost in half in many cases.  This has been done over the last twenty years.  Most cuts actually mirror the returns.  WDFW caved to special interest groups and created the new hatchery genetic management plan. That was implemented to phase out hatchery fish and create a wild fish utopia.  Hatchery fish are essentially wild fish.  Wdfw has in my opinion screwed this up and convinced user groups it’s environmental problems.  Simply raise more fish and get more returns, is plausible with some understandable indifference. Funny thing is this whole debacle has come full circle with the orcas “starving”.  The same type of folks against hatchery fish came crawling back to the state begging for more hatchery salmon production to feed the poor orcas.

[metlhead]

As unglamorous as the Skookumchuck is, being a terminal fishery should allow for harvest up top with little impact. Same with most rivers through January. I don't believe anyone knows for sure how many wilds return.

[steeleywhopper]

Funny thing is the broodstock programs are essentially free to the state. Other than normal hatchery costs. We do it at absolutely zero cost to them. But last year they took is off the river along with everyone else.  Such a loss to the programs that Actually work.

WDFW has never really had a track record of keeping things that work going... Nor does our Governor

[WSU]

I question why we even have steelhead hatchery programs on most rivers?  Fishing is dismal if it's even open.  Why spend the money?

I'm also not sure I'd point to the QIN program as a success.  Their returns have been very poor also, and the wild runs are doing poorly.  They also have the best habitat in the state to work with because of the national park.

[Bullkllr]

I question why we even have steelhead hatchery programs on most rivers?  Fishing is dismal if it's even open.  Why spend the money?

That's already been a thing. The state quit planting most of the streams in the South Sound several (?) years ago saying the return rate was near zero anyway. I don't have numbers at hand, but plants overall are waaay down from what they were. So I think when the returns are low enough it gives them the excuse to pull the plug. It's a shame that's the go-to rather than change/improve hatchery practices to continue to allow opportunity and some harvest.

Another example of the lowering bar of what's acceptable. Let's hope the writing isn't on the wall for the remaining programs.

It's all about the money at some point. It's obviously not the only problem, but unfortunately not enough people care about hatchery steelhead to make producing them a priority. Even back in the 80s my best friend's sister was a staffer in the state senate and she related that even then cutting back on "expensive" steelhead hatchery production was a major topic of interest in state gov't.

[WSU]

It's a terribly sad state of affairs.  I love steelhead and used to love fishing for them.  I quit fishing the OP as things got worse and worse because I felt like I was part of the problem.  I still would like to target hatchery fish (if they existed).