squaw fish on the columbia

[the shootist]

Does anybody know if they are going to have a squaw fish bounty on the columbia this year? if so what areas does it include, and what are they paying. Also does anybody think that this has helped the salmon fishery? just curious.

[Curly]

Yes, the bounty system has saved a bunch of salmon smolts.

The bounty system starts May 1.  Here's a link:

http://www.pikeminnow.org/

[cohoho]

At the Sportmans show their booth had a chart that showed one guy got like 40K for fishing for them....

[Black Plague]

wow that would be a sweet way to pay for gas and new fishing stuff...go target them fro a couple hours just for some extra coin and then go catch some real fish...ha ha or stay out all day and work on paying your bills....the guys that are really good at it can make some major coin...if you figure 5 fish per hour thats 20 bucks an hour to catch fish...sweet!!!...

[bowhunterforever]

What do you use when you target squaw fish?

[Quackwhacker]

An old indian friend told me that nets work well. 

[Blacklab]

At the Sportmans show their booth had a chart that showed one guy got like 40K for fishing for them....

A buddy of mine works at the dam. Says theirs a couple people there that work it like a job. Bringing in anywhere from 30 to 35 K  a yr

[Mudeater]

I met a guy out at Vernita bridge a year or so ago, lived in his motorhome and fished squaw fish full time. Living kinda rough but the guy was having a great time and making enough to live on. very cool, really.

[runamuk]

I have a kid that would love that too bad we are not closer to the river he could turn it into a summer job...lol...he spends all his spare time fishing anyway

[Special T]

Do you require a fishing licence to fish them? You don't for carp..... just curious...

[woodywsu]

Do you require a fishing licence to fish them? You don't for carp..... just curious...

Yes you need a fishign license to fish for anything in Washington, even carp.

[fishnate]

There is also a derby in wenatchee every year Hooked on Toys puts it on.

[shoot-em-dead]

I tried it last year- spent 100 on feul- another 20 on bait and hooks and sinkers. Spent 8 hours on the water and caught 2 pikeminnow. I made a whopping $-116.00 I plan on trying again this year but don't have high expectations. In order to make 30,000 you would have to catch 3,950 fish in the 5 months of time. If you fished all 153 days it is open you would have to catch 25.8 fish per day. Unless of course you catch some of the reward fish which are worth $500 each.

[cohoho]

Never looked at it that way, the guy must have caught all the tagged fished..  Or knew where to fish for them...... There was like three others with his same last name that were in the 25-30K also.  Russian sounding name...  But here is what they get for them....  I can't find the listing of top winners at this time...

http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regions/reg5/reg5.htm

[Special T]

Q: Which fish do I need a license to catch?

A: You need a license to fish for everything but albacore, tuna, carp, crayfish and smelt. You also need a shellfish license to take anything classified under state shellfish regulations, including sea cumbers, sea weed, and squid. Check the current Fishing Regulations pamphlet for exact instructions. There is one exception - Free Fishing Weekend, which corresponds with National Fishing Week, is a great way to catch the fishing bug.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/faq/fishfaq.htm

I guess you do need a lic for squaw fish but not carp...