Re: My Skeena report
Ok - I just spent the month (October) in Skeena country. I put in major time fly fishing on most of the river systems. This is my opinion.
(1) Look at the river systems that have been hit the hardest in the past few years. The first to go was the Sustut. The runs are so poor up there now that the one lodge on the river is for sale (or was for sale). Yikes, I can't say that there is excessive sport fishing pressure, first nations netting pressure, or logging/habitat destruction are to blame on that system. So this fish must be perishing somewhere along the way, either in the ocean or in the mainstem Skeena.
(2) The next systems to go were the Kispiox and the Babine. These rivers had terrible returns this year, and similar problems last year. That was my experience as well on these systems for the past 2 years. The Bulkley didn't fare too well this year either - fishing was spotty at best.
(3) The lower systems (Copper, Kalum) and the Nass systems seem to be doing OK, not great, but OK. Again, somewhat spotty fishing, but according to most reliable reports, fishing was at least reasonable this year.
I think you have to take a serious look at the timing of the steelhead runs. Later than usual??? I doubt it - the run seems later becuase in my opinion, the first part of the run is landing up in commercial nets. That's why the Sustut, Babine, and Kispiox have been hit so hard. I speculate the steelhead for those systems end up in the mainstem Skeena earlier than those for the lower systems. That's why they get picked up in amongst the sockeye fishery.
END RESULT: WE ENHANCE THE HECK OUT OF THE SOCKEYE RUN,THEN THE COMMERCIAL GUYS OVERFISH IT, TAKING OUT THE EARLY ARRIVING STEELHEAD.
Need more proof? Look at the year 1998. I was 16 years old that year, and definately not fly fishing the skeena. But if you talk to the locals, they say it was the most stellar year for steelhead fishing in decades. Was it a coincidence that the commercial fishery for sockeye got shut down that year due to poor sockeye returns? I think not.
In my opinion, the science is there. What more proof do we need?? 1998 was a "control" year. The skeena steelhead are in serious trouble and it's time to do something about it. But what??? The commercial guys sure know how to make their voices heard.... shouldn't we recreational fisherman/guides/lodges be the same?? Sport fishing is an industry up north just like commercial fishing is.
Any thoughts?
Ok - I just spent the month (October) in Skeena country. I put in major time fly fishing on most of the river systems. This is my opinion.
(1) Look at the river systems that have been hit the hardest in the past few years. The first to go was the Sustut. The runs are so poor up there now that the one lodge on the river is for sale (or was for sale). Yikes, I can't say that there is excessive sport fishing pressure, first nations netting pressure, or logging/habitat destruction are to blame on that system. So this fish must be perishing somewhere along the way, either in the ocean or in the mainstem Skeena.
(2) The next systems to go were the Kispiox and the Babine. These rivers had terrible returns this year, and similar problems last year. That was my experience as well on these systems for the past 2 years. The Bulkley didn't fare too well this year either - fishing was spotty at best.
(3) The lower systems (Copper, Kalum) and the Nass systems seem to be doing OK, not great, but OK. Again, somewhat spotty fishing, but according to most reliable reports, fishing was at least reasonable this year.
I think you have to take a serious look at the timing of the steelhead runs. Later than usual??? I doubt it - the run seems later becuase in my opinion, the first part of the run is landing up in commercial nets. That's why the Sustut, Babine, and Kispiox have been hit so hard. I speculate the steelhead for those systems end up in the mainstem Skeena earlier than those for the lower systems. That's why they get picked up in amongst the sockeye fishery.
END RESULT: WE ENHANCE THE HECK OUT OF THE SOCKEYE RUN,THEN THE COMMERCIAL GUYS OVERFISH IT, TAKING OUT THE EARLY ARRIVING STEELHEAD.
Need more proof? Look at the year 1998. I was 16 years old that year, and definately not fly fishing the skeena. But if you talk to the locals, they say it was the most stellar year for steelhead fishing in decades. Was it a coincidence that the commercial fishery for sockeye got shut down that year due to poor sockeye returns? I think not.
In my opinion, the science is there. What more proof do we need?? 1998 was a "control" year. The skeena steelhead are in serious trouble and it's time to do something about it. But what??? The commercial guys sure know how to make their voices heard.... shouldn't we recreational fisherman/guides/lodges be the same?? Sport fishing is an industry up north just like commercial fishing is.
Any thoughts?
issed:
