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Poor eastside steelhead rivers.

12K views 105 replies 51 participants last post by  Ernie Adams 
#1 ·
Their niave, rustic, innocent little bodies of water never stood a chance :(
 
#9 ·
I agree. I have been attacked for saying that. Called an asshole. Called xenophobic or something like that. Called all kinds of crap on this site....

So many ignorant anglers who haven't fished long enough to know..........I realized how things go and how important keeping a low profile is when the Sky C&R closed ten years ago and suddenly the Skagit C&R had 4X as many boats and anglers. That might as well have been 100 years ago to the internet fishermen.

I think all these newer anglers just don't realize what it is like to lose something like that but they will certainly know in time. :hmmm:

They have the passion but not yet the wisdom.

Was anyone there when the Methow re-opened in 2002? There was hardly a soul around and the fishing was stupid. So stupid I put my rod down. So stupid I didn't take a picture. So stupid it ruined my long time steelhead partner. He caught 30+ in a day including many natives and he just didn't want to go back to the Skagit. After that experience, the last thing I was going to do was run for the nearest computer and start propping up my ego. I think there are a lot of us types but our voices get drown out by a bunch of lazy whiners who want steelhead by the truck load and hope to someday be called the "greatest" or "legendary" or.........

And don't get me wrong, I think there is a place for an internet forum on fly fishing in WA. I come here to learn a few new tricks. Hear some new perspective. Dispense technical advice when I can et cetera. I just wish anglers realized that these fisheries aren't here to stay, are very sensitive, and the quality of fishing goes down dramatically when they get played out by the internet.
 
#11 ·
Count yourselves lucky on the eastside. For the most part "they" just come for a few days and fish and then go home. Think about us from the westside. All the folks from the big cities (Seattle/Tacoma/Olympia) and the folks from out of state (east coast, california, and so on). They didn't go home after visiting...they frickin stayed and moved on in. Crowding out everything, making traffic congestion where there never was any, and whole slew of other shit.
 
#13 ·
Poor eastside steelhead rivers...

I agree, the crowds are tough. But anglers standing on every rock hammering hatchery fish is only one issue... and as long as Pan left the door open on interpretation as to why we should feel sympathy, here I go again...;)

Returns of steel to the Rhonde, Clearwater and mainstem Snake have been paralyzed by hydro projects on the Lower Snake.
In 1962 over 115,000 wild steel cam back to Idaho/WA/OR (Imnaha). 2009 you have something like 34,000.

Mourn the the east side rivers because we traded their living, breathing genetic heritage for a few Kilowatts of power so Cali (and we) can run their (our) air conditioners a little more cheaply...
Unless we make a decision to turn that around, our grandkids will surely wonder why we sold our rivers down the river. :beathead:
 
#14 ·
I have my own rock. I bring it with me so I always have one to stand on when I fish.

As for the thread heading, the same can be said of steelhead runs throughout their range. They never stood a chance. We begin by over fishing, then we degrade and destroy the habitat, further reducing potential abundance, and then we crowd around the last best places, competing for a rock to stand on to gain a chance at the last fish.

Sg
 
#18 ·
Poor indeed, went to the Methow for the first and for this year anyways last time this year, so feel safe with this report, and it was unbelievable. yes lots of people, but have never seen so many fish hooked up, maybe just a lucky day, so crazy that i just expected a tug with every cast, simply amazing, hope it keeps up. this was on Monday, nymphing of course :) . was at the Ronde after that and not even close in comparison. Hunt season here so i'm off from fishin'.
 
#21 ·
The Met fish were all stacked up in the lower river due to very low water, so ya, basically dredging for steelhead in a barrell. After getting absolutely pounded the first couple of days, catch rate dropped through the floor and got worse through the weekend.

Reminded me of the days when fishermen followed the hatchery "milk" trucks around to fish shoulder to shoulder where ever they dumped the hatchery trout. Quite sporting I'm sure. :beathead:

I'll wait until November; it's about a whole lot more than just catching fish.
 
#19 ·
In my opinion, fly fishing has become crowded in part due to advertisement "Come fish with us, where our office is waterside" "Legendary rivers, at your beck and call" etc. etc.
Yada yada yada, a lot of people are making a lot of money off of our public waters, which is fine, it's called guiding, but some people sure make fisheries known so they receive business. And not just paying clients hear about which streams are gems. Some of our best eastside steelhead streams are eating it because of crowds. Now there are plenty of fish, and anyone can still get em' but now a lot of people are forced to fish methods not considered as fun or traditional. Take swinging vs. nymphing. For example, who's gonna spend their precious weekend on the Klick swinging for mouth sore fish that got nymphed up by three boats full of guides and clients an afternoon before you arrived? Probably not going to be as effective, so now if you want a legitimate chance at catching some fish, you'll have to stoop to that level. Fly fishing, especially for steelhead has become very very popular, and what's happening now has been expected, and can't really be changed. It's all still fun, just a little more competitive, and the "whoring" out of rivers definitely can't help.
 
#20 ·
here's a perspective: As our water's become more crowded by shrinking opportunity and a larger population, traditional stream side ettiquette will be imperative as a behavior for us all to enjoy a day on the river. It doesn't matter the method used, just move through the run and give a fellow fisher an opportunity. If the concern is about numbers of fish caught at any cost the fishing will always be a disappointment to yourself and other anglers. Unfortunately, were loosing sight of the much bigger picture and that is of the fact we are fishing for a shrinking resource and more worried about our catching.
 
#23 ·
Look, ya will never catch anything with sour grapes, i was simply reported a good day and wanted to share with others thinking about going for the same reason, if catching fish is not important to you, thats you, i'm sure there are plenty of pretty places you can go, with no people and no fish and have a splendid time swinging. as for me, and maybe a couple other non elitist pricks, i want to go for a good time and some good fishing, the state asked for help and i did my part, in managing a beautiful stream for wild fish. i was happy to do it :)
 
#28 ·
Less fish to fish for, more people fishing for them....Throw in the internet, creative marketing from everyone in the industry; from the tackle mfgrs. to guides, outfitters, and lodges, which all promise to help a fly fisherman catch fish. Turn on the television and you will see plenty of commercials showing some dude who is usally a shitty caster in a serene setting with a big smile. And WOW, seems like more people fly fish now then ever before!

I was fishing the Clearwater in October of 92 when I asked this older gentleman who was half way down the run I wanted to fish, if he would mind if I jumped in behind him. He kinda looked me over (figured out i wasn't much of a threat to fish i guess) and snarled at me to go ahead. When I finished the run this guy was back up at his truck and asked me how I did. I told him the top part of the run didn't look as nice once I got to it, as it did from the road. He chuckled and said I was right,adding that you learn from experiance.
He then told me how the Clearwater was becoming so crowded and that in his opinion "with all the magazines and shows on TV, bowhunting, and fly fishing are being prostituted to death, that one day there are going to be so many damn people on the river and out hunting that a guy is going to have a hard time finding a decent size buck or steelhead much less landing one". I remember thinking to myself this guy is kind of nuts, no way this could happen. Man was I wrong...........

Remember, cast, swing (my prefrence),STEP, get your fish back on his way as soon as you can, and hopefully there will be room for all of us to fish in,and hopefully plenty fish around for all of us! :beer2:
 
#30 ·
I was fishing the Clearwater in October of 92 when I asked this older gentleman who was half way down the run I wanted to fish, if he would mind if I jumped in behind him. He kinda looked me over (figured out i wasn't much of a threat to fish i guess) and snarled at me to go ahead. When I finished the run this guy was back up at his truck and asked me how I did. I told him the top part of the run didn't look as nice once I got to it, as it did from the road. He chuckled and said I was right,adding that you learn from experiance.
He then told me how the Clearwater was becoming so crowded and that in his opinion "with all the magazines and shows on TV, bowhunting, and fly fishing are being prostituted to death, that one day there are going to be so many damn people on the river and out hunting that a guy is going to have a hard time finding a decent size buck or steelhead much less landing one". I remember thinking to myself this guy is kind of nuts, no way this could happen. Man was I wrong...........
Isn't it amazingly ironic that the baselines are different for every generation but the pattern is the same. That was 4 years before I caught my first steelhead and nowadays the places I fish seem 10X as crowded.........
 
#31 ·
HBH,

One of the differences is that you take less notice of the crowd, whatever size it is, when you first get into the game. The more you fish, and the more experienced you become, the more cognizant you are of everything going on in the rivers. So you notice the crowds more and more, so they appear to be even larger than they are. The river was already crowded when first you arrived, but it takes a while for it to really sink in. Then you really notice it, and the crowd grows even more. It's f'in amazing, or depressing.

I feel like the bed in Jimmy Buffet's motel. Oh the stories I could tell, and I'm not even an old timer. When first I fished the Sauk, it would be a packed weekend to see a half dozen fishermen. The Wenatchee in the 70s had a very few local anglers, and most were migrant farm workers spin fishing ineffectively and never bothering the fly water. If I saw another west side angler, it was someone I knew. The first few times I fished the Methow, I never saw anyone else fishing at all. Never even talked to anyone else who fished the Methow until the mid 80s, when the Wenatchee suddenly became more popular and Seattleites discovered it wasn't too far for a day trip.

Ah shit!

Sg
 
#32 ·
Take heart. If the statistics are right, anglers are a shrinking community. And most of you are old. And I will outlive you. Since fewer new entrants to the sport are coming in than those going out I can look forward to quiet Octobers on the GR again in the future. I'll nymph and bonk a few in your memory.

Oh and $8 a gallon gas would help too. Maybe some more "economic" downturn to get rid of other anglers disposable income. Won't bother me. I farm, so I'm broke already :)
 
#36 ·
This is just all part of the grand "re-distribution plan" that's raging across America. What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine ... even if one of us has little or nothing at all. It is completely unfair that some fisherman catch or have in their local waters more than others!

"Who is John Galt?"
 
#37 ·
I have been fishing east side rivers for nearly 40 years. Methow, Okanogan, Similkameen, Wenatchee, and others. My best year was 10 fish with most years equalling "ZERO". Those few years that produced a few fish came about due to previous years of good snow pack. Ocean predation, etc. etc. means nothing when the rivers simply don't have water and most of it quite warm. There have been years when I have seen the hardy, native white fish go belly up due to extremely warm water environments. Most of the fish I caught were 4 - 8 pounds and in piss-poor shape due to low, warm water, conditions and the very long distance these fish have had to travel.
 
#40 ·
I would expect to see less people on eastside rivers in the future bc the steelhead fishing isn't really any good on the Methow and Wenatchee Rivers. a few good skunkings for these Puget Sounders with rose colored glasses and theyll stay home. who wants to fish for +/- 6 hours/day over a long weekend for one hatchery brat?
 
#51 ·
Way to many people. I drove around for 2 hours before I could find a place to fish. Only hooked some damn ole chinook that was like fighting a water soaked log. Thinking about heading down to the GR. Read one guiding outfits report. Said it was on fire and their guides were doing good in the canyon. Think I'll take a weeks vaction and get a way from the crowds.
 
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