Gill Nets in the Stilly?

[White Tornado]

Yesterday evening, while out for a ride in the boat and looking for signs that the mighty humpy run was on track for the Sept 1 opener,  I saw a tribal gill net being set in the lower Stillaguamish River (Hat Slough). I don't understand why anyone, tribal or not, would be allowed to set gill nets in a river that has such a small number of native chinook returning each year. The forecast for this year was under 800!!! This just really makes me believe that there are those out there that just do not give a crap about the future of these fish runs. Why take a chance on killing some of the last few native chinook just to net some pinks? There must be places and ways to net humpies that would not put the Chinook at risk.To me this seems like pure stupidity and indifference for the future of the wild fish.
         By the way I did not see a single fish jump or roll all evening.

[Kola16]

That is the river I fish I went fishing last night there just to catch and realease. There wasn't a whole lot jumping and I only hooked into one but it got off It still put up a good fight. Another guy that was fishing next to me said that last week he had caught 13. He didn't catch any last night. I have only caught one king out of that river and that was in 08. It's kings definetly should be protected a lot better.

[D-Rock425]

The stilly gets netted more often than people think.  My aunt lives in silvana and has had problems with Indians driving through here property to get to the river to net for years.

[6x6in6]

Sad isn't it.
I wonder how it works for the "incidental" netting of Chinook since their quota was only 25 this year and the netting season for Chinook ended a week ago?

Here's their most current netting schedule for pinky's.  Feel free to click but it will just piss you off.  The damn fish only get a 24 to 48 hour net free opportunity to make the mad dash. 
http://stillaguamish.nsn.us/fishing%20regs.htm

[fish vacuum]

That is the river I fish I went fishing last night there just to catch and realease.

For pinks?

[Kola16]

Hoping to get real lucky and get a steelhead (hatchery). Hatchery steelhead is the only thing that you can keep right know. If I were to catch a pink I would half to release it. No problem though, I half to release most of the pinks in that river anyway because when I catch them, most of the time they get foul hooked. I can't get them to bite in that river (can in every other river though)

[fish vacuum]

You said you went just to catch and release.....hatchery steelhead I guess. That's cool. At least you weren't just skirting the rules and trying to catch humpies.

[Kola16]

I didn't catch anything besides 1 humpy that just got off at shore. It didn't even bite the spoon that I was using. The guy that was fishing next to me said that he caught a steelly two weeks ago but that is all I have heard. It was native though and there is not a whole lot of hatchery fish in the stilly

[birdmanwa]

Sad isn't it.
I wonder how it works for the "incidental" netting of Chinook since their quota was only 25 this year and the netting season for Chinook ended a week ago?

Here's their most current netting schedule for pinky's.  Feel free to click but it will just piss you off.  The damn fish only get a 24 to 48 hour net free opportunity to make the mad dash. 
http://stillaguamish.nsn.us/fishing%20regs.htm

And  all  this  talk about  salmon restoration, what a joke. The Indians  control the  salmon and they don't care about the future. They are the worst thing for our salmon future.

[fish vacuum]

It's kings definetly should be protected a lot better.

It's closed to salmon fishing until Sept 1st to help protect the kings while other neighboring rivers are open in August. Incidental catch and release of kings is one of the big limiting factors on other salmon fisheries on the Stilly. One more reason people shouldn't be out just to CnR before it's open.

[birdmanwa]

It's kings definetly should be protected a lot better.

It's closed to salmon fishing until Sept 1st to help protect the kings while other neighboring rivers are open in August. Incidental catch and release of kings is one of the big limiting factors on other salmon fisheries on the Stilly. One more reason people shouldn't be out just to CnR before it's open.

But when there are nets in the river, a couple people fishing isn't going to kill as many as a gill net. Just like the Skagit, think how many kings are killed in the Indian nets versus how many are caught a sportsman, its a joke.

[longknife]

Saw a mountain of fish one year near sylvana. On shore, at least 12' in diamiter, and 4-5' high, dead fish everywhere!
Throw some bales of straw rite down the middle of the river, they dont care about anything, why should we??

[Kola16]

My brother in law used to do that all the time

[singleshot12]

I'm not sure why the indians would be netting pinks? it's not worth their time. Maybe they were netting sturgeon?

That river used to have a special run of White Kings, the best eating fish there was, all gone now, the last one I heard cuaght was in 1980 something.

[longknife]

I bet they are targeting kings, and silvers. Sturgeon would be rite next to the mouth, and rip up their nets, Pinks are worthless to indians. Would love to know where the nets are...