Washington Anglers Voice Disappointment
Hundreds of Washington’s anglers, many of them fly fishers, are disappointed with the reaction of Fish and Wildlife Department officials to their recommendations for changes in the fishing regulations for the 1996-97 seasons.
Some are convinced the officials just don’t want to create more fishing opportunities.
“They seem to be content with the status quo,” said Mark Pinch of the Inland Empire Fly Fishing Club.
“They don’t want changes,” said Donald Clough of the Washington Fly Fishing Club of Seattle.
Pinch and Clough are among the numerous anglers and clubs that submitted recommendations for changes in present fishing regulations. They’re typical of those who reacted to comments by department staff officials in the 78-page booklet, “1996-97 Sportfishing Rule Proposals.”
Anglers will get a chance to express their views at six “informational meetings” to be held this week and next throughout the state.
The first three are tonight in Spokane, Moses Lake and Vancouver. The Spokane meeting will be from 7-9 p.m. at the Spokane Falls Community College, 3410 W. Fort George Wright Dr.
The state’s anglers have had less than a week to digest the contents of the booklet and prepare rebuttals. Anglers throughout the state recommended more opportunities to fish the fly fishing-only and selective-fishery waters, including Amber, Bayley, Dry Falls, Lenice, Nunnally, Chopaks and Aeneas lakes.
The recommendations varied from opening the lakes early each year so anglers could take advantage of early bug hatches to opening the lakes to year-around but banning ice fishing.
Almost without exception the department’s officials indicated by their reaction that they didn’t want changes.
The anglers contended that extending seasons would result in less poaching at most of the lakes because law-abiding fishermen who would be at the lakes would discourage poachers.
Typical of the reaction by officials was this comment about recommendations for opening Amber Lake to catch-and-release fishing on March 1, when chironomids start hatching:
“In order to simplify the regulations, the number of standard seasons was reduced. This non-standard season recommendation would change the management objectives for this water.”
Most of the fly fishing-only and selective-fishery lakes are opened in late April and closed Oct. 31. Some of the biggest bug hatches each year occur before Lenice, Nunnally, Dry Falls and Aeneas are opened. Some fly fishers wanted the department to open the lakes April 1; others recommended opening them March 1 and closing them Nov. 30.
The department’s officials had this ambiguous comment: “An April 1 opener is not one of the standard seasons kept.”
At least the staff, in commenting on anglers’ recommendations to cut the daily limit at Bayley Lake from two to one, recognized that “a reduction in harvest may be warranted because of intensive fishing pressure … “
Many spin and fly fishermen recommended that Hog Canyon and Fourth of July lakes be opened to catch-and-release fishing each November. They argued they seldom get a chance to fish the winter fishing lakes early each season becasuse ice usually covers the lakes within a few days after the openers on Dec. 1.
Department officials reacted with these puzzling words: “These lakes are currently managed under a winter fishing season to provide a mix of angling opportunity on a regional basis.”
The staff’s reactions to proposals for the upper Spokane River disappointed numerous anglers. Currently, the daily limit for the section from Upriver Dam to the Washington-Idaho boundary is one trout longer than 12 inches. Some anglers want catch-and-release rules for the section to permit the trout population to recover from heavy fishing pressure.
The staff’s reaction: “Current catch and size limits appear to be sufficient to protect natural trout populations.”
Trout fishers aren’t the only anglers who are disappointed. The catch-and-release period for bass fishing at Long (Spokane) Lake is May and June. Some anglers want the catch-and-release season opened April 1 because some big fish are in shallow water earlier than May 1. The staff’s comment: “Current regulations are working well for largemouth bass.”
Some anglers’ proposals were unusual. A few anglers recommended night fishing be prohibited at Loon Lake, contending that the kokanee population is being depleted by heavy fishing pressure. The staff said, “The fishery remains strong and this proposal would eliminate one of the most productive fishing periods.”
Anglers made more than 240 proposals for the 1996-97 seasons for fresh and salt-water fishing.
Judging from the department staff’s reactions, relatively few changes will be made unless anglers take their case to the commission.
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The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Fenton Roskelley The Spokesman-Review