A letter to you

[Button Nubbs]

To: Mr. Lowholer, Mr. Longline, Mr. Spotpoacher, Mr. Outofsequence, Mr. Loudmouth, Mr. Fishthru, Mr. etiquetteless, Mr. Snagger and finally Mr. Whinecauseihadtoletanativego

I am writing you this letter to let you know that you have ruined something that was once my favorite thing to do, something I once used to dream about day and night, something that helped me relax, something that I was once so passionate about I could do it from the crack of dawn til the twilight of dark. Something I once truly loved.

You leave your trash on the bank to be washed down river and claim to be a steward of the fish, you show no etiquette towards your "brothers", you couldn’t give a rip about the fish you supposedly love, you are so fish hungry you have absolutely no common decency for the others around you, you cast out of sequence and repeatedly tangle everyone else up because you want that one more cast, you won’t hesitate to walk in on someone and just say "oh well." Worst of all you complain when you have to let a wild one go. You my "friends" have ruined steelhead fishing for me.

Steelheading shouldn't be about being shoulder to shoulder with 50 people you don’t know, it shouldn’t be about whom can hook the most fish or limit out the fastest, it shouldn’t be about beating the next guy to the hole, it shouldn’t be about frustration and anger. Steelheading shouldn’t be what it has become.

Steelheading should be about enjoying time spent outdoors in some of nature’s most beautiful settings, it should be about spending time with your friends and family or enjoying the solitude of the sport, it should be about getting the chance to do battle with one of the most beautiful, amazing creatures this planet has to offer. Steelheading should be about fun and passion.

As I sit here typing this with a wild steelhead fresh on my mind I reminisce about more than a decade of enjoyment. Sadly, for me, this decade has come to an end and it’s time to start a new chapter. With less and less fish returning every year I have serious doubts that my future children and their children will have the chance to have the passion I once had and that saddens me. This has been a long time coming and I have finally reached a boiling point. As the masses descend upon the rivers at terminal zones every winter and summer I will not be anywhere around.

All that said, I truly want to thank you. I want to thank you for reminding me what it’s all about. I want to thank you for forcing me to give up something I loved for something I am still passionate about. While you are all lined up like canned anchovy’s hoping to get lucky with a crack at a hatchery fish I will be nowhere around. I will be chasing a memory of what steelheading once was, chasing dreams of chrome, chasing an adipose. Honestly THANK YOU for reminding me what it’s all about!

At the end of the day I will be much happier knowing I did battle with ONE of gods most beautiful creations, than I would have catching 10 of those wrinkled finned, adipose missing, line shy fish that people call steelhead. I will continue to dream about steelhead, true steelhead, wild steelhead.

Sincerely,

Button Nubbs

[87Ford]

Bad day on the Sky?

[carpsniperg2]

Sorry to hear about that. As most know I am a avid steelhead guy. I gave up fishing for 2 years over the same thing. Did not fish at all. Then I got back into fishing and found my love for it again. I found that my love for fishing for steelhead was stronger then my disgust for some of the fisherman out there. Sorry to hear about your bad day on the water. I had more then a few last year. From people not reeling in and people snagging next to me, to people keeping wild fish, its hard at times. I know you were looking forward to getting back to fishing, sucks it had to be like that.

[Button Nubbs]

Bad day on the Sky?

not completely, let a beautiful little wild hen go. ask any of my buddies and they will tell you this has been coming for a while. it just reached a boiling point today.

[shedcrazy]

The times they are a changing

[mallard79]

And i thaught i had a bad day at the launch. What is with people? Is it really that hard to use common courtesy or some sense?  Get your boat loaded and ready BEFORE you launch, NOT while blocking one lane of a two lane launch  , ESPECIALLY on opening day! This humpy season should be a gem........   

[wildmanoutdoors]

Id rather drive 3 hours for a chance at one wild fish and solitude than 30 minutes to any of the Puget Sound rivers.
I make it a point to never fish East of I5.

[CallMeBigPapa]

Damn T-man I can relate. My little river got blown up about 6 years ago. All the things that got you pissed got me also. I've had to adjust my game over the years so that I can enjoy the quest.
Come fish with me, I know a good time can still be had. 

[bass2elk]

Unfortunately its called combat fishing for a reason.  Thats the number one reason i bought a boat and now primarily bass fish.

[Button Nubbs]

Good times are always had fishing with you guys bigpoppa

[Ripper]

I'm with ya Mallard, what the @#$% is up with peeps at the launch? I think every person that buys a boat should have to pass a class on how to backup a trailer before they can get it licensed! And for the love of humanity, get your stuff ready before you get to the launch. And hook up the hose and run your engine sometime before you launch so you don't block things up trying to fix it. I know things happen sometimes but poleeese! Some folks haven't a clue.

[Ripper]

oh yea, pick your garbage you pin headed slobs! I hate litter as much as I hate poaching. Neither is acceptable.Thank you Button Nubs for a venting thread. Maybe, I'm not holding my breath though, someday at least a few folks will wake up. Unfortunately, some of the worst offenders, not all, can't read or understand English.

[chongo469]

That is why when fishing any of the "S" rivers , I always try to locate spots that I will be fishing far from others or just a couple of people will fit in....If I dont like being crowded , I just start side casting so I know I have at least 12-15 ft on either side of me and If I really dont like my company I will constantly cast out of sequence so as they have to cast over me...I use braid for float fishing and after a few times of me setting on nothing and cutting there sh!t off , they normally leave me alone....I only do this if I was in the hole first...If I arrive late then I will go somewhere else as to be alone......

Pack your trash.......I have a large pocket in the back of my vest just for that reason

[klickriverchromer]

Crappy people everywhere!! Just have to weed them out as we can! Licence plates, names, where it happened, pictures and turning them into the law enforcement will eventually catch up to the litter bugs at least..

[dscubame]

Sounds like someone needs some cheese with their wine.

[Button Nubbs]

Sounds like someone needs some cheese with their wine.

your always right there like a fly on shi+ with everything i post. im starting to think you have some sort of weird internet stalker man crush or something... maybe not but either way,CREEEPY!

[huntnnw]

yup lots of cheese..if you were truly passionate about a specific thing you enjoy doing u would never give it up EVER! I would never give up cause of people... if u are as passionate as u say u are about heading u would be nowhere near hatchery holes or the masses.. I fish steelhead and salmon every year adamantly and can get away and fish holes to never see a sole!

[Button Nubbs]

i am truly passionate. just sayin hatchery fish dont do it for me anymore and it gets frustrating when you have great spots and they just keep getting more and more and more crowded. i cant tell you how many spots i have lost in the past few years due to more and more people showing up, i just cant do it anymore. im just waiting for the rivers to drop and ill be back at it looking for wild fish, finding more out of the way spots.

[DeerHarvester]

Sounds to me like you need to move out of the rat race.  One of the major reasons I moved.  People are stupid, plain and simple.   

[BOWHUNTER45]

   Ya we have this same problem on the skagit ..not so much with steelhead fishermen because their are not many left ... you the tribes and all but humpy season is a total freaken dicusting liter fest !! shrimp containers floating out to sea by the thousands....why can not these people pick up their sh$t .. cant figure it out .. but humpy season brings out everyone and most of them have no respect for where they live... need law enforcement to step up and write a few tickets !!

[singleshot12]

It gets frustrating when you have great spots and they just keep getting more and more and more crowded. i cant tell you how many spots i have lost in the past few years due to more and more people showing up, i just cant do it anymore. im just waiting for the rivers to drop and ill be back at it looking for wild fish, finding more out of the way spots.

Well if you do find that uncrowded spot with fish TELL NO ONE not even your mother   

                                                                             

[singleshot12]

  shrimp containers floating out to sea by the thousands....why can not these people pick up their sh$t .. cant figure it out .. but humpy season brings out everyone and most of them have no respect for where they live... need law enforcement to step up and write a few tickets !!

Any body new shows up at the fishing hole I always go out of my way and tell them I picked up some garbage from the pigs that were here before me. I can usually tell by the look on their face if they're were the ones. Hopefully makes them think the next time they think about leaving behind their beer cans and shrimp containers.

[Alchase]

The Puyallup during a pink year is disgusting! No sure why, but pinks seem to bring out a different breed of fishermen then the regular stealhead and salmon runs. It takes a whole year for the garbage to get cleaned up after a pink run.