First oversize of 09' !

[luvtohnt]

No, no padlock! I was just pointing out you can't judge a picture by how it looks. For all we know he could have read his phone wrong and it could have been 8:35!!

Brandon

[GigPig]

Yes please spare us    I know I do not have to read the posts or the topic for that matter...but, this kind of   gets real old.

[jackelope]

i doubt he read the phone wrong. come on now.

does fishing stops an hour after dark mean cut the line? or can you finish the fight?
i think thats the question here, it's clear that the time that the hookup happened he was legal. but if you're supposed to be done an hour after dark as in cut the line, then the man broke the law by his own admission, in which case it's kinda stupid to post that on the WWW for the free world to see, especially if you're guiding.

flashes make background darker.

[luvtohnt]

Well I just re-read the rules and I would think that the line needs to be cut at 9:38 according to the official sunset time. But at the same time I just went and looked at the time stamp for the picture they took before releasing and the time stamp was 8:38 (assuming the camera was only off by one hour from daylight savings time) it was all perfectly legal but definatly pushung the line!


Brandon

[Dmanmastertracker]

 Fishing is fishing. Paul's a good kid I think, I hope he realizes we don't dislike him, Josh knows how I am even with my friends, honesty is the best policy. I'm not perfect either, but part of becoming better at what you do is learning from it.

[tmike]

Hoyt nice fish ! Treat them with care!
My  Unless it's blatant poaching we should just enjoy the successes of others without scrutinizing every detail. Do you want people to quit posting for fear of having their experiences rained on? I know it makes me think twice before throwing something up here on the old WWW.

[huntnphool]

Thanks man! bout time someone else says they are getting tired of it

 After all the replies and debate about you going out and targetting these oversize fish on the last thread, I thought you would have realized there are a lot of members that find this unethical. For you to thumb your nose at them and post up more picks of doing it again is just plain stupidity if you think its going to go unnoticed and get no negative replies. Wake up Paul, if you don't want the negative comments then don't stir the pot, its that simple.

 As a guide trying to make a name and living in the fishing business, you are not doing whole lot to attract new clientele.

[M_ray]

 I am wondering??? I thought you bragged on that other post that you catch like 7-10 of these each time out? And that they are a 20 minute max battle on the right gear as to not stress the fish? Or is that not quite right now either?  Once again Hoyt's story doesn't add up  Gee that's a shocker!!! Hoyt you just don't get it, you are like the boy who cried wolf. When are we supposed to believe you??? 

[Hoytstaffshooter83]

yes during the peak of the season at  the end of the month 7-10 in a full day is certainly doable and very common, this is still early. and I said the AVERAGE fight is 20-35 min.. 31 in falls into that quite well.... maybe next time you should question something you have prior experience in?

[Hoytstaffshooter83]

Thanks man! bout time someone else says they are getting tired of it

 After all the replies and debate about you going out and targetting these oversize fish on the last thread, I thought you would have realized there are a lot of members that find this unethical. For you to thumb your nose at them and post up more picks of doing it again is just plain stupidity if you think its going to go unnoticed and get no negative replies. Wake up Paul, if you don't want the negative comments then don't stir the pot, its that simple.

 As a guide trying to make a name and living in the fishing business, you are not doing whole lot to attract new clientele.

I have no issues with negative comments that have some form or merit.. none of these do..  there are some on here yourself included that have a opinion that differs from mine, however there are more that find nothing wrong with catching these great fish, like myself.. so im not sure how I am stirring any pot by posting pics just because a few of you dont agree? I think I have more then every right to do so.... some people post pics of stocked lake caught trout.. thats about as far from fishing you can get IMO, but I dont bash thier posts and I let them enjoy thier catch and share it with all of us..... yet somehow I cant do the same?

[Hoytstaffshooter83]

Do you guys have to question ethics every time anyone posts anything. I for one am really getting tired of it. Seems like it doesn't matter what the topic is, someone has to start complaining.

I think people are overly concerned because sturgeon fishing is a delicate fishery. Nobody has really fished them much until just the last ten years. These oversize spawners are 30-80 years old on average. Sturgeon fishing appears to be very popular sport now with dozens of guides and "a ton" of uneducated fishermen out there targeting these oversize fish for the thrill of the fight.
I don't think sturgeon are AS TOUGH as people think they are.These fish go under a tremendous amount of stress being hooked,fought,and handled. I have personally found several 6 to 10 footers the last few years washed in dead from apparently over exhaustion or from being poorly handled
If this continues this fishery will be shut down,,and I think that is why some of us are overly concerned

Well said. Some don't get these comment's, younger folks that are encouraged by one or two older folks who should know better. I don't blame the young guy, who is learning, but those that encourage unethical behavior by cheering them on, and to the poster that said ethics aren't important, that is the ONLY thing that is important in fishing and hunting. I too have seen these fish washed up on shore. To me it's the equivalent of fishing a closed salmon season, having a photo shoot and calling it a good day, it just isn't done by any of the well-respected guides on the Sound. I feel like I'm trying to do someone a favor and they don't get that. Reputation is everything in guiding, it's the difference between getting new clients, or not.  

This topic is so funny to me, so many of you take the very little studies as cold hard facts on these fish.. some studies say sportfishing has a direct effect, some say the spawning fish dont feed during this time.. so sportfishing should have no impact on them....... seeing dead fish you AUTOMATICALLY  assume a sport angler killed the fish, old age or other natural causes cant even be the issue right? of course not.. and as far as guides not targeting them in the sound? the sound is not the columbia.. lets be honest here.. the columbia is still the best sturg river on the planet.. if there were viable areas that those fish concenrate in, you bet guides would target them....... whether your personal opinion agrees or not there are stil plenty of people that want to fish for these, Im booked solid as are most other guides down here for these fish the next 4 weeks......

[Dmanmastertracker]

 Missing the point again, as a former wildlife tech and fisheries member, I can tell you that the cartilaginous fish are by FAR the weakest overall and should never be handled excessively, or even caught if you can help it. This is coupled with the stress of the body weight of the fish you are catching, on top of a very weak skeletal structure. The problem is that you perceive this as OK for the health of the fish. How many in a season would you say you catch, 70, 80, more? Say you only lose 10 of those to mortality, which is very realistic and likely higher than that. That is tens of millions of young and thousands of future adult's lost annually for good for only the sake of sport. If I were a guide and was interested in sturgeon fishing, I would want to hire the guide who could take me to the legal fish, not put me on non-legals all day, to me that would be a waste of money.

[jackelope]

there's at least a couple people here who don't think it's cool to stress giant 80 year old spawning fish and simply don't express their opinions.

[jackelope]

the other thing i would add is that for the sake of your business, the last thing i would be doing is posting this stuff on the web especially when you know everyone is going to rip you apart. you are jeopardizing your reputation, and you seem to know you are gonna get ripped.

[Intruder]

Couple legit questions here:
- Why doesn't the F/G shut down sturgeon fishing during the spawn?
- Does the length of the fight play a major role in the stress level as it does in other fish? 
- Is 20-30 minutes a long fight, average, short for sturgeon of that size?

I totally understand the ethical argument but it seems like he's within the law in fishing for em, and he seems like he's handling them responsibily or at least trying to minimize the stress.  Is there any objective data that shows mortality associated with this?  Again, I understand the concerns but if it is so impactful on what is known to be such a fragile (as some one put so well) fishery why is it even legal?

Not tryin to take sides.... truly tryin to better understand.