Closed rivers

877 Views 10 Replies 9 Participants Last post by 7919, Feb 12, 2010

Mikey_Mac

Discussion Starter · Feb 12, 2010

Ok Folks, I realize this may be a naive question, and I am new to fly fishing, so please don't call me dumb.

I figured I'd rather be laughed at than fined or worse. So, if a river is closed for the rest of the season, does that mean there is NO fishing whatsoever, or just no taking fish? If a river is open oct- nov or whatever, can we catch and release dec-sep? Just wanted to check- thanks for the reply.

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Flyborg

· #2 · Feb 12, 2010

Closed means no fishing. If it's catch and release only, it will say so.

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Daniel Nelson

· #3 · Feb 12, 2010

i'm not an expert on washington regs but i believe you can still fish the river if it is closed to protect a certain fish. if the river is closed to all game fish then no fishing is allowed at all. if you are fishing a river that is closed for steelhead fishing but open for trout then your ok to catch trout, if you happen to hook a steelhead then it must be released imediately. if you are using say a dry fly to catch the trout it would be obvious that you are targeting trout and trout only but if your using an egg sucking leech then you might have a tough time proving to a CO that you were only fishing for trout.

like i said, im not an expert on the regs in washington so if im wrong someone please correct me.

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Steelheader69

· #4 · Feb 12, 2010

Daniel is on the right track. The regs say it all. You have the general rules, but the special rules per river add or subtract fishing. Some rivers are open year around, but only a few months for salmon (and then certain species at that). But if the regs say "closed to all fishing" or something like that, then it's totally closed. No C n R fishing at all.

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Daniel Nelson

· #5 · Feb 12, 2010

Thanks Jerry

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Mikey_Mac

Discussion Starter · #6 · Feb 12, 2010

Rad- thanks guys!! It was a bit different in PA- so I am glad I asked.

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wetline dave

· #7 · Feb 12, 2010

Adding to Jerry's fine post one has to be aware of changing conditions and emergency closures. Even if the regs imply a river is open and there is an emergency closure then the river is closed regardless of what the regs say.

Dave

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Gary Thompson

· #8 · Feb 12, 2010

You can sign up with the WDFW and get email updates.
Stay informed and stay out of trouble.

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Bug Out

· #9 · Feb 12, 2010

Or you could just fish ID. Regs are pretty straightforward and they change so little that for 2010 they didn't even bother to print new regs. Instead they just reprinted the old regs and sent them to sporting goods stores with a sticker on front page that reads "No change from 2009"

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Old Man

· #10 · Feb 12, 2010

Same for Montana. Just the opening dates are different.

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7919

· #11 · Feb 12, 2010

Daniel Nelson said:
i'm not an expert on washington regs but i believe you can still fish the river if it is closed to protect a certain fish. if the river is closed to all game fish then no fishing is allowed at all. if you are fishing a river that is closed for steelhead fishing but open for trout then your ok to catch trout, if you happen to hook a steelhead then it must be released imediately. if you are using say a dry fly to catch the trout it would be obvious that you are targeting trout and trout only but if your using an egg sucking leech then you might have a tough time proving to a CO that you were only fishing for trout.

like i said, im not an expert on the regs in washington so if im wrong someone please correct me.

Honestly officer, I am a trout advocate and I feel the only way to fish these fish is with 2x tippet on this here 8wt spey rod, because we want to get them to hand as fast as possible and not risk losing any flies in the mouth of the fish. As far as the egg fly? Can't tell ya it is a family secert.

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