Bait Hookers Wary

Fishing

An advocate group’s proposal to rewrite fishing regulations on part of the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River is drawing a line between fly fishing and bait fishing.

Some bait fishermen worry it is the first step down a slippery slope toward fly-fishing only. They claim the conflict is part of a larger strife between Idahoans and tourists, and the rich and poor.

The heart of the issue is the Idaho Department of Fish and Game’s proposed five-year fisheries management plan.

A faction led by the Henry’s Fork Foundation wants wild trout regulations on the reach from Island Park Reservoir to the Henry’s Lake outlet. They would include a two-fish maximum with a slot limit on that stretch to protect fish between 8 and 16 inches. There would be no stocking and no gear restrictions.

The slot limit has been praised on the lower stretches of the Henry’s Fork and the South Fork.

But some anglers want the current regulations for a six-fish limit with no gear regulations and hatchery fish stocking.

They say the proposed regulations are elitist and anti-Idaho.