Corey_lax
Crew Member
DFO probably thinks the early closure was the reason for the good fishing once they finally opened it up... They will announce that and the public will applaud them...
SpringVelocity
Crew Member
It wasn't lights out fishing in all areas. Some areas were better than others but they also tend to be where we allowed fish to pass. There are still are some problems we are going to have to accept. The absence of early timed Fraser run Chinooks is reality, and I am still trying to get my mind around was the fishing good in some areas because commercial fishing was stopped. The escapement numbers should confirm the story. Not trying to be negative here, but there are some issues with the stocks. We need to push DFO to do more for enhancement on Fraser river or we won't have access years to come.
Marked select fisheries need to be put in place instead of full non-retention on times of concern. Only way.
Let's see what escapement numbers say. We better hope they are good.
Marked select fisheries need to be put in place instead of full non-retention on times of concern. Only way.
Let's see what escapement numbers say. We better hope they are good.
sir-vivor
Well-Known Member
Well my intent of this thread was not scientific but those comments are justifiable, but is to simply report a good catch year or not and not really a reason why . Then hopefully DFO will see this and think what the hell they want . ITS NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM like they want us to believe. I'd like to hear from the common fisherpersons who love the sport and are a sick as I am about hearing every day the SKY IS FALLING and IT DOESNT , The science fails us year after year yet I'm forced to listen to their BS ,time to hear something positive
RiverBoy
Well-Known Member
This has been hands down, the best salmon fishing year for me ever, and it’s not even close. The same sentiment applies to all my fishing buddies and neighbors. when i heard of the commercial closures , my immediate thought was “ man the fishing is either gonna suck, or it’s gonna be biblical.
turned out biblical.
the other thing though was the ridiculous abundance of feed that hung around the hump and the green can all summer. all large 6” plus herring. it was actually weird to NOT be in bait as i did the hump drift to the lighthouse, downrigger cables bouncing and pulsing as it made its way thru the bait.
it’s sept 21 today and the fishing is still bonkers here in CR and they’re still coming.
turned out biblical.
the other thing though was the ridiculous abundance of feed that hung around the hump and the green can all summer. all large 6” plus herring. it was actually weird to NOT be in bait as i did the hump drift to the lighthouse, downrigger cables bouncing and pulsing as it made its way thru the bait.
it’s sept 21 today and the fishing is still bonkers here in CR and they’re still coming.
wildmanyeah
Crew Member
Fishing in vancouver was great for two reason
1. The fish actually made it back to vancouver and the fraser river, By restriction area g and especially area F commercial trollers, Then add onto that that the whole coast was shut down to recreational fishing. Your probably talking about based on past years catch numbers about 30K-50k more chinook not being caught on their way to the fraser river.
2. 2015 was a good year, That is this years parents so in some respects this year was going to be good if ocean conditions were good.
So it's a little bit of 1 and a little be of 2. Vancouver in the month of august benefited huge from the restrictions.
2016 was on of the worst years for fraser chinook tho so next year is going to be a different story. Unless by some miracle ocean survival was good.
1. The fish actually made it back to vancouver and the fraser river, By restriction area g and especially area F commercial trollers, Then add onto that that the whole coast was shut down to recreational fishing. Your probably talking about based on past years catch numbers about 30K-50k more chinook not being caught on their way to the fraser river.
2. 2015 was a good year, That is this years parents so in some respects this year was going to be good if ocean conditions were good.
So it's a little bit of 1 and a little be of 2. Vancouver in the month of august benefited huge from the restrictions.
2016 was on of the worst years for fraser chinook tho so next year is going to be a different story. Unless by some miracle ocean survival was good.
Corey_lax
Crew Member
This will **** off some people on this forum, but maybe fishing should be more like hunting in the sense that if you want fish, go spend the money, gear, training and go get it yourself? Instead of buying it from a store that someone dragged a big net to scoop up a ton of fish? If you want deer/moose/elk, you can't just go buy it. You gotta hunt for it.
If you want land-based farmed salmon from a store, have at er.
Nice thought but good luck selling that to the Fraser FNs. If we manage to convince the natives to stop the in-river gil nets and adopt a more selective fishery, that might start a positive change.
This year was good fishing in the south coast but there are still a lot of unanswered questions for DFO as to why they pushed for a coast-wide closure of sporties, state of chinook and sockeye runs and the future of stocks management in the proposed “government to government “ negotiations.
sir-vivor
Well-Known Member
Great comment ...a bit off topic but You are bang on 100% BC Ringo ...thanks for input !!
fogged in
Well-Known Member
I think I heard Wilkinson say not to expect any relief from this years Sport Fishing regs. in 2020
Yes? No?
Area F trollers at the top end of the queen charlottes catch a miniscul number of fraser bound chinooks, all the rec boats in the gulf being closed till July 15th would have a much larger impact on the increased number of Fraser chinooks but it was a nice try placing blame else where.
Knowing DFO they will think this years restrictions were handled by everybody so maybe we can make it just a bit tougher next year. Easing the restrictions is NOT something DFO will ever do IMO.
Knowing DFO they will think this years restrictions were handled by everybody so maybe we can make it just a bit tougher next year. Easing the restrictions is NOT something DFO will ever do IMO.
fogged in
Well-Known Member
"Hey DFO the fishing was great"
and the topic is???
We had a great season fishing Chinook and easily reached our 10 fish annual limit.
Will the DFO restrictions be the same next year. The word I hear is "yes"
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wildmanyeah
Crew Member
according to DFO numbers it was 20 0r 30k that's not miniscule. They catch a significant portion of the summer 4-1, It's the spring early fraser chinook they catch very little of
wildmanyeah
Crew Member
I agree its on topic, has a lot to do with the way this years fishing was shaped.
sir-vivor
Well-Known Member
TOPIC is ; How ya did !
And ...Thanks for your contribution fogged in
sir-vivor
Well-Known Member
Agreed , Its really important how we got there BUT this thread doesnt give a **** how we got there , it's just WE GOT THERE ! AND IF IT WAS A GOOD or GREAT YEAR OR NOT. I'm definitely not saying let's release the pressure on DFO because I wont. But again , the sky's not falling in like chicken little (DFO) is saying it is ...I dont buy it at all
tincan
Well-Known Member
pretty bang on with this quote below @SpringVelocity. There's no doubt that curbing the commercial troll fleet off NW Haida Gwaii had a huge impact on the number of chinook not only in that area but all the way down the coast. I don't know what the total catch for that troll fishery ended up being (once it re-opened) but I would guess that another 50,000-100,000 adult chinook that are normally caught were allowed to proceed to coastal waters in BC. That is a significant number.
To say DFO 'totally missed the ball' because we (south coast, SOG) had a good summer of chinook fishing without accounting for the fact DFO essentially closed commercial chinook fishing and early rec chinook fishing is really missing the mark. What if the only reason our south coast fishing was so good beacause of DFO's decisions to curb commercial and early rec fishing? Not saying that is the case but we can't simply ignore those significant changes.
Finally, there are now somewhere around 400 conservation units of salmon in BC. Some are bordering on the brink of extinction. Many Fraser chinook stocks are doing terrible. Several other Fraser stocks are doing well. Salmon status is a complicated mess and even the most educated people on the topic know that there's a lot they still don't know. We need to look after stocks of concern. We can do so while also having a sustainable fishery focused on those BC populations (and US stocks) that are more plentiful. An MSF is certainly one route to go during migration times when endangered stocks are returning. More selected harvest methods in-river are essential as well.
To say DFO 'totally missed the ball' because we (south coast, SOG) had a good summer of chinook fishing without accounting for the fact DFO essentially closed commercial chinook fishing and early rec chinook fishing is really missing the mark. What if the only reason our south coast fishing was so good beacause of DFO's decisions to curb commercial and early rec fishing? Not saying that is the case but we can't simply ignore those significant changes.
Finally, there are now somewhere around 400 conservation units of salmon in BC. Some are bordering on the brink of extinction. Many Fraser chinook stocks are doing terrible. Several other Fraser stocks are doing well. Salmon status is a complicated mess and even the most educated people on the topic know that there's a lot they still don't know. We need to look after stocks of concern. We can do so while also having a sustainable fishery focused on those BC populations (and US stocks) that are more plentiful. An MSF is certainly one route to go during migration times when endangered stocks are returning. More selected harvest methods in-river are essential as well.
Rum Buddies
Well-Known Member
do you not think the closers had anything to do with better fishing later on?
This is a balanced take... Just because you or your buddies had a great season doesn't mean everything is all good.
For some reason recreational guys have a hard time accepting, we do take fish out of the water and we do impact returns in a very real way. So when the majority of the coast is shut down, that means more fish left in the water for when it opens up. Don't be fooled.
This is a balanced take... Just because you or your buddies had a great season doesn't mean everything is all good.
For some reason recreational guys have a hard time accepting, we do take fish out of the water and we do impact returns in a very real way. So when the majority of the coast is shut down, that means more fish left in the water for when it opens up. Don't be fooled.
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