Post by: lokidog on May 08, 2016, 09:39:42 AM
However, the leader of the group has other scientific permits available, one happens to be a permit for tagging Rockfish. Since we catch a lot of Rockfish while fishing for Lingcod, Cabezon, and Greenling, I managed to get myself put on the permit for doing some tagging. Hopefully, this will help show that the populations of Quillback and Copper Rockfish are sufficient to resume the limited season that we have enjoyed in the past.
I will be tagging Rockfish with small spaghetti tags. They are a dorsal fin tag that have a number on them. If anyone happens to catch one, please do not remove the tag, simply record the number, date, location, and length of the fish and contact me (edprairiecreek@gmail.com) or Russel Barsh (info in attached article). The article, however, is a stock release from a few years ago. I will be tagging all Rockfish caught, except those with "endangered" status (not that we actually catch many of these anyways unlike what the state wants people to think, three in ten years of fishing out here), and will be tagging in areas other than the south end of Lopez.
Please give as accurate of a gps location as possible, this info will not be publicly shared as I already know where the fish was caught previously. 8)
http://www.islandssounder.com/news/378185781.html#
Thanks and Good fishing!
Post by: Widgeondeke on May 08, 2016, 09:57:35 AM
Good on ya Loki
Post by: lokidog on May 08, 2016, 10:08:52 AM
Post by: lokidog on May 10, 2016, 10:59:09 PM
Post by: Becky on May 10, 2016, 11:01:53 PM
Post by: carpsniperg2 on May 11, 2016, 12:12:37 AM
Post by: RadSav on May 11, 2016, 12:56:04 AM
Post by: Skyvalhunter on May 11, 2016, 05:05:59 AM
Post by: h2ofowlr on May 11, 2016, 07:07:13 AM
Post by: Gobble Doc on May 11, 2016, 10:44:42 AM
"Looking at Puget Sound today, it’s hard to imagine the days when local wharves were crowded with fishing boats. But between 1920 and 1990, local seiners, draggers, gill-netters and longliners landed nearly 700 million pounds of groundfish — anything that’s not salmon or shellfish.
When one species went bust, there always seemed to be another to take its place. The latest target was rockfish, which sport and commercial fishermen latched onto in the 1970s after tribes won the right to half the region’s salmon. Most bottom trawling in Puget Sound was banned by the late 1980s, but not before three rockfish species were so decimated they made the endangered species list this year."
Post by: lokidog on May 13, 2016, 10:29:09 PM
How do I volunteer for this program. I think we caught 16 or so rockfish last week. Using swim baits and worm jigs seems to up the catch on those while targeting lings.
Ya gotta be connected.... 8)
Gobble Doc, I think the Sound is still trying to recover from the draggers and the habitat destruction (spawning areas maybe). The state thinks there is a huge bycatch by us shallow water fishermen, but the reality is the halibut fishers probably catch more of the endangered ones.
Post by: elkfins on May 20, 2016, 04:55:00 PM
One of the biggest obstacles to recovering the endangered rockfish is the fact that they are extremely slow growing. A 10lb canary or yelloweye will take many years to get that big.
Post by: seth30 on May 20, 2016, 05:37:37 PM
Post by: Limhangerslayer on May 20, 2016, 10:01:47 PM
Post by: lokidog on May 21, 2016, 09:28:00 PM
Sounds fun! In six years fishing over there I've only caught one black rockfish, but tons of copper, China, and quillbacks. This past weekend shrimpping we only got three keeper lings, but thirty or forty rocks.
I've never caught a Black Rockfish here. There are certainly plenty of Coppers and Quillbacks, enough for a season. I wish they would at least do a ten fish a season punch card or something like that. I tagged number 020 today, lost about a 40" ling when it bit me off after its third run and landed a just legal one.