if it's over 80cm and ??

[John Ingram]

In the last half dozen years fishing at Gonzales Point I have taken quite a few fish over 80cm. Some of these fish hit the lure so hard that they become gill hooked and have been bleeding out by the time I land them.

Even reducing the size of hook over the years has not stopped this from happening at times.

I will not release a fish that is bleeding out if it is over 80cm. and watch it sink to the bottom only to become seal or crab food. I NOW only have the month of August to hopefully feed my family a salmon.

AND I will also let any DFO officer that I see that it's just a simple waste to put any hard bleeders back. Hopefully I will NOT have to take one for the team this year. Sorry but I had to get that off my chest!!

 

[scott craven]

Sorry, but you will be fined
even though it makes no sense.

 

[leaseman]

Yes, got to follow their rules no matter how stupid!

 

[Aces]

In the last half dozen years fishing at Gonzales Point I have taken quite a few fish over 80cm. Some of these fish hit the lure so hard that they become gill hooked and have been bleeding out by the time I land them.

Even reducing the size of hook over the years has not stopped this from happening at times.

I will not release a fish that is bleeding out if it is over 80cm. and watch it sink to the bottom only to become seal or crab food. I NOW only have the month of August to hopefully feed my family a salmon.

AND I will also let any DFO officer that I see that it's just a simple waste to put any hard bleeders back. Hopefully I will NOT have to take one for the team this year. Sorry but I had to get that off my chest!!

Then don’t fish there.
That’s what I had to do.....stop fishing my best Halibut hole because they were mostly overs there

 

[Tips Up]

“Even reducing the size of hook over the years has not stopped this from happening at times. ”

try larger hooks not smaller. Larger hooks are less prone to get hooked Deep in mouth, hold fish on better and do less damage overall. Large single hook is your best bet.

And... hear what you are saying but those are the regs and you will not win the argument with DFO and will be fined if caught.

 

[John Ingram]

Then don’t fish there.
That’s what I had to do.....stop fishing my best Halibut hole because they were mostly over there

Thanks Ace, Lease man Tips up and Scott for the replies.
If I do have to take one for the team I will Defiantly take it to court. And below will be my reason that I will put before a judge.

(1) I do not own a boat and have limited area's to fish for Salmon from the shore. With health issues I do not drive a much any more.
(2) In the last 45 years of fishing these shores I have never taken my quota of 30 salmon per year (average per year is 5 Fish)
(3) Some years I do not even fish or buy a license if the fishing is poor or if I just wanted to take a break.
(4) I have saved ALL of my fishing Licenses for those 45 years and have only taken a grand total of just 50 salmon.
(5) I can not fish for Halibut (no boat) I rarely even try to catch cod.. They are all to small to even attempt to catch without a boat.
(6) I have religiously practiced catch and release of Salmon that are undersized and have also religiously turned in hatchery heads.

 

[Fins -n- Skins]

I,m sure there is alot of guys who have had bleeders already this year and had to make a decision on what to do ? I let 2 Hatchery fish bleeding go and watched them sink to the bottom. That will not happen again. DFO will say why were you fishing in the first place when its closed. Good point but when it comes to fish over 80 cm and bleeding well ??

 

[SpringVelocity]

You will be fined goes back in. Just remember as a warning. If lots do it and gets back to Co's then they can adjust and shut the fishery down. Even though it makes no sense.

I hear what you are saying casting off shore. That is tough one.

 

[John Ingram]

You will be fined goes back in.

That's if I even see a fisheries officer at Gonzale point.. The last time I was checked there was 10 years ago.
I see them go scooting by and off to the flats or off towards Sooke or 10 Mile point to check boats but they don't
like to come into the shore for some reason.

 

[UkeeDreamin]

First, if there were exemptions the number of “bleeders” magically goes up, rec harvest impact adjustments rise and we’d likely see even harsher restrictions. IMHO posts like this on a public forum do the rec sectors cause, ie that we can fish recreationally when there are stocks of extreme concern, a great disservice. As Aces said, fish somewhere else then, or try other techniques.

As a result of the strict restrictions off Washington and Oregon, many fishers their use “hang back” hooks off 3-4” of braid so when the salmon hits the spoon the hook is outside the mouth and hooks from outside in, thus very low chance of throat or gill hook ups.

Lastly, nature wastes nothing. Dead fish feed the ecosystem which is not a bad thing, assuming the #’s of C&R mortality are as low as our sector advocates they are. Again, publicly posting that C&R mortality may be a lot higher than what we’re advocating isn’t doing us any favours!

Cheers!

Ukee

 

[Tockeyetalmon]

In the last half dozen years fishing at Gonzales Point I have taken quite a few fish over 80cm. Some of these fish hit the lure so hard that they become gill hooked and have been bleeding out by the time I land them.

Even reducing the size of hook over the years has not stopped this from happening at times.

I will not release a fish that is bleeding out if it is over 80cm. and watch it sink to the bottom only to become seal or crab food. I NOW only have the month of August to hopefully feed my family a salmon.

AND I will also let any DFO officer that I see that it's just a simple waste to put any hard bleeders back. Hopefully I will NOT have to take one for the team this year. Sorry but I had to get that off my chest!!

I agree. If it’s 83 cm and bleeding I will cut its head off, gut it and throw in the cooler. We’ve been dragged through the dirt enough already.

However that’s something for me to know..
I assume this thread should be deleted.

 

[walleyes]

We’ve been doing it for years with other species across this country boys it’s only now starting to hit out there. Slot size limits have been very successful in other species. It is what it is, abuse it and it will be shut down completely, ruined for everyone by a few. Nothing goes to waste in nature anyways, just because we don’t eat it doesn’t mean it rots and goes to waste something else in the food chain will benefit from it if it doesn’t make it.

 

[It'ssooooeasy]

Thanks Ace, Lease man Tips up and Scott for the replies.
If I do have to take one for the team I will Defiantly take it to court. And below will be my reason that I will put before a judge.

(1) I do not own a boat and have limited area's to fish for Salmon from the shore. With health issues I do not drive a much any more.
(2) In the last 45 years of fishing these shores I have never taken my quota of 30 salmon per year (average per year is 5 Fish)
(3) Some years I do not even fish or buy a license if the fishing is poor or if I just wanted to take a break.
(4) I have saved ALL of my fishing Licenses for those 45 years and have only taken a grand total of just 50 salmon.
(5) I can not fish for Halibut (no boat) I rarely even try to catch cod.. They are all to small to even attempt to catch without a boat.
(6) I have religiously practiced catch and release of Salmon that are undersized and have also religiously turned in hatchery heads.

this just in from the cdn judiciary...……..

"well kind sir, these are excellent points, yet frankly we don't care...…….would prefer to pay by cheque, debit or paypal?"

sadly, while you sound like an honorable chap, there is zero doubt that if you were shown leniency there would be thousands of bleeders hitting the dock daily

that's the world we live in - dumb everything down to the weakest link

xo

 

[Saxe Point]

Lastly, nature wastes nothing. Dead fish feed the ecosystem which is not a bad thing, assuming the #’s of C&R mortality are as low as our sector advocates they are. Again, publicly posting that C&R mortality may be a lot higher than what we’re advocating isn’t doing us any favours!

Cheers!

Ukee

Very good point. And the reality is that lots of salmon are eaten by seals, orcas and maybe other creatures. And this could very well happen after a fish is released when completely healthy. Keep the illegal fish at your peril.

 

[Whole in the Water]

this just in from the cdn judiciary...……..

"well kind sir, these are excellent points, yet frankly we don't care...…….would prefer to pay by cheque, debit or paypal?"

sadly, while you sound like an honorable chap, there is zero doubt that if you were shown leniency there would be thousands of bleeders hitting the dock daily

that's the world we live in - dumb everything down to the weakest link

xo

Yup, like it or not that is exactly what will happen. The reasons for violating this reg/law (however stupid it is) will not stand up in court. I agree with the posters above you do the public fishery harm by posting your intent to ignore the law. Enemies of the public fishery love this kind of sentiment and use it against us. If it happens enough they will shut us down and that is not helping us is it. There are better ways to express your frustration and help the public fishery at the same time - join and volunteer for a public fishery lobbying group.

 

[John Ingram]

Well I'm sure that everyone here that has answered my origional post has the option of going out on their boat winter and summer to catch salmon.
Winter springs,coho,halibut and ling cod. Being on the shore is VERY limiting now. Hopefully I will be able to catch just 1 nice 12 -14# salmon this year.

AND I will measure them and will toss back the 25-30 #ers.

Just such a joke as most of the salmon down this way are Washington state hatchery fish

 

[scott craven]

Just such a joke as most of the salmon down this way are Washington state hatchery fish

You are correct John, about 90% of the Chinook we catch in Oakbay from May till August are Puget sound hatchery fish.

 

[Aces]

You are correct John, about 90% of the Chinook we catch in Oakbay from May till August are Puget sound hatchery fish.

And so many of them are 25-30 lbers

 

[John Ingram]

And so many of them are 25-30 lbers

Over the last few years at Gonzales point a good percentage of the fish I have taken are in the mid to high twenty's
I have learned over the years that The Bigger fish are near the shore hiding in the kelp beds.....
It's the bigger fish have learned that staying close to shore it's easier to catch their prey and easier to stay out of the
current

 

[prodjsaig]

Yup it sucks evening reading the regs on slot limit both clipped and non clipped. What is the harm in letting us have a nice hatchery fish. The only saving grace is the bigger late springs. So sandheads is off limits this year?