Please Explain Sturgeon Regs

[knob221]

Hi, I would like to try harvesting sturgeon after learning of the opportunity. Reading info on white sturgeon from WDFW on this page, https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/reports/creel/sturgeon#reservoirs I come across this data presented without context. I only have guesses as to what the numbers presented here mean or how these dates relate. Could somebody explain, please? Thank you

[Stein]

Top one shows a quota of 675 fish of which 347 have already been caught.  Those numbers are as of Jan. 3 (fishing was open Jan 1 and Jan 2).  Season is open Mon/Wed/Sat only until quota is achieved or March 22, whichever comes first.

In other words, better get at it, the season will be short.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

There was definitely a bunch of effort today with the amount of boats  on the river. The weather wasn't the most pleasant though.......

[MeepDog]

Upriver can be far more finnicky. You have to watch emergency rule.changes like a hawk to even figure out there's an opportunity. Up in lake roosevelt theres been a pretty consistent season lately, but most other upriver fisheries are rare and fleeting.

[knob221]

Top one shows a quota of 675 fish of which 347 have already been caught.  Those numbers are as of Jan. 3 (fishing was open Jan 1 and Jan 2).  Season is open Mon/Wed/Sat only until quota is achieved or March 22, whichever comes first.

In other words, better get at it, the season will be short.

Thanks Stein! Wow, that is a huge effort in just a couple days. This is what I had assumed the numbers were, but found it hard to believe.

[knob221]

Are there generally multiple seasons throughout the year?

[Stein]

I used to fish the Big C a bunch when I lived down there.  What a mess, you have to check daily, sometimes multiple times a day.  It opens with next to no warning and closes the same way.  Different regs all the time, barb, no barb, you need to know all the river boundaries and everything else.  It's super hard for the average guy working M-F to get in on some of them.

It can be an amazing fishery, but the way they manage it sometimes takes much of the fun out of it.  Same with Puget Sound for chinook and shrimp, it piles all the guys in the same area at the same time for an incredibly limited resource.  Long launch lines, bumper boats, grumpy people, surprise shutdowns.

[Jake Dogfish]

https://wdfw.wa.gov/newsroom/news-release/bonneville-pool-closes-white-sturgeon-retention-beginning-jan-12

[Jake Dogfish]

That’s all folks.
https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/emergency-rules/sturgeon-retention-closes-john-day-pool-2023-01
https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/emergency-rules/sturgeon-retention-closes-dalles-pool-2023-01

[Ridgeratt]

Looks like they are going to cut the slot size in Roosevelt.

https://www.bigcountrynewsconnection.com/local/the-washington-department-of-fish-and-wildlife-schedule-public-meetings-to-discuss-changes-to-lake/article_362c8c66-bd5d-11ed-8256-4bd6dd1ef477.html




The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife schedule public meetings to discuss changes to Lake Roosevelt white sturgeon season
Staci Lehman Mar 7, 2023 Updated 12 hrs ago

Sturgeon
Photo: Rick Swart, ODFW

SPOKANE – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will host two public meetings in late March to inform anglers of planned changes to future (including 2023) white sturgeon fishing seasons on Lake Roosevelt in northeast Washington.

Since 2018, the Lake Roosevelt sturgeon fishery has opened in mid-June and closed at the end of September. In 2023, it will transition to a fall fishery to take advantage of cooler water temperatures which reduce stress on wild adult sturgeon caught by anglers.

Changes to other area sturgeon fishing rules will be made as well. As an example, sturgeon reared and released into Lake Roosevelt between 2011-2016 didn’t survive as well as those released in earlier years of the project. The 2011-2016 fish are of high conservation value and cannot sustain harvest, so changes to the harvest slot (the size of fish legal to harvest) will be necessary over the next five to seven years to ensure the population is not negatively impacted. Beginning with sturgeon produced in 2017, hatchery fish were larger at the time of release, which generally translates into higher survival. That means a surplus of harvestable sturgeon is once again anticipated as those fish grow into harvestable sizes (likely beginning in 2029 or 2030).

“The white sturgeon population and fishery of Lake Roosevelt are incredibly valuable,” said Region 1 Fish Program Manager Chris Donley. “Changes to the fishery rules and season are based in conservation, and we are holding these meetings to share what we know with the public. We want them to know these decisions aren’t made lightly and are done to ensure conservation of the species and to preserve future fishing opportunity.”


The two meetings on the changes to the Lake Roosevelt sturgeon fishing season will be:

Wednesday, Mar. 22, 2023 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at WDFW Region 1 headquarters, 2315 N. Discovery Place, Spokane Valley, and
Thursday, Mar. 23, 2023 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Ag Trade Center, located at the Colville Fairgrounds, 317 W. Astor Ave., Colville
Each meeting will consist of a presentation followed by a question-and-answer session.

[Ridgeratt]

Sturgeon regs I found.

Sturgeon Season: Open year round, except closed between the
China Bend Boat Ramp and The US/Canada Border from June 1
through July 31.
Sturgeon Harvest Restrictions: White Sturgeon between 38 and 63
inches fork length (measured from tip of snout to fork in tail – see
Figure 4 on page 25) may be retained. No daily catch or possession
limits.
Sturgeon Gear: Recommend barbless hook size of 8/0 or less and
of circle type with offset point to prevent hooking of wild oversize
fish.
Setlines allowed. Must be secured properly (tied to shore or
adequate size – 30 lb – anchors on each end) and marked with buoys
on each end that possess the fisher’s contact information. Must be
checked daily. Recommend setlines no longer than 100 feet
possessing no more than 5 hooks

[Ghost Hunter]

Sturgeon regs I found.

Sturgeon Season: Open year round, except closed between the
China Bend Boat Ramp and The US/Canada Border from June 1
through July 31.
Sturgeon Harvest Restrictions: White Sturgeon between 38 and 63
inches fork length (measured from tip of snout to fork in tail – see
Figure 4 on page 25) may be retained. No daily catch or possession
limits.
Sturgeon Gear: Recommend barbless hook size of 8/0 or less and
of circle type with offset point to prevent hooking of wild oversize
fish.
Setlines allowed. Must be secured properly (tied to shore or
adequate size – 30 lb – anchors on each end) and marked with buoys
on each end that possess the fisher’s contact information. Must be
checked daily. Recommend setlines no longer than 100 feet
possessing no more than 5 hooks

   Pull that out of the archives? 

[Ridgeratt]

No those are the current regs for the CCT. The wdfw is going to reduce the slot for you and have a season from June to September.  Unless they reduce the length of time you get to fish. Along with a no limit on the harvest they get and you are allowed only 2 fish.

[Ghost Hunter]

No those are the current regs for the CCT. The wdfw is going to reduce the slot for you and have a season from June to September.  Unless they reduce the length of time you get to fish. Along with a no limit on the harvest they get and you are allowed to 2 fish.

    I couldn't find that on their 1 1/2 pages of fishing regs.   

[Ridgeratt]

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56f45574d51cd42551248613/t/62cf1272499615698c9d3c5a/1657737844725/Member+Resident+Fish+Regulations+2022-2024.pdf