| Subject: Re: Regulation Change |
Author:
billegan
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Date Posted: 06:37:22 04/16/01 Mon
In reply to:
Concerned Anglers.
's message, "Regulation Change" on 14:23:43 04/14/01 Sat
>I am in complete agreement with your assessment of the long leader epidemic. I am pretty much a staight bobber fisherman, a method which I suggest is one of the few legitimate ways to catch steelhead legally. As I am primarily a dead of winter fisherman, I can attest to the fact that there are days when I drive five hours to catch no fish. That's just the way it is. I'm happy if I hook one or two fish on a given day, as long as I know that they were hooked legally. Anyway, I fished with one of the famous guides who claims he lands 2of 18 fish on a day when I haven't had a hit. I wonder how he does it??? I know how he does it, he's lining fish and he's so terribly full of himself that he posts all these letters from gratified anglers claiming he is the premier guide. It's a sham!!! People should be aware of that.
I am still up in the air on this one, but everyone
>needs to hear both sides.
>
> Regarding the recent proposals for regulation changes
>on Lake Ontario tributaries, We would like to the
>opportunity to reiterate our support for specific
>changes in tackle restrictions aimed at modifying or
>restricting the illegal and un-ethical taking of our
>pacific salmon and steelhead resources. Specifically;
> I. Restriction of floating lure (plugs) to include:
> A. One (1) single hook point having no more than
>1/2" gap from
> shank to point.
>
> B. Restriction in distance that said hook point
>may trail
>behind any floating lure to 1 1/2".
>
> C. Set specific season: (Sept. 1st to Oct 30th)
>That these
>tackle restrictions shall be in effect.
>
> II. Regulation prohibiting the positioning of
>weights (lead) below
>the hook while angling for pacific salmon or steelhead
>year-round.
>
> Also, Consider this letter a document or instrument
>of our support for:
> III. A year round tackle restriction limiting the
>maximum distance between
>the hook point and any added weight (lead) to not more
>than 48" (four
>feet) while angling for steelhead or pacific salmon.
>
> We base our support for this tackle restriction on
>our years of experience angling and/or guiding
>sportfishermen for both great lakes steelhead and
>finger lakes rainbow trout.
> Prior to the late 1980's, much of the ethical and
>successful
>steelhead angling on the Salmon River was accomplished
>utilizing egg
>sacks, single hook spinners and spoons, or floating
>lures. (eg. hot
>shots) The water flow regimes existing at that time
>consisted mostly of
>peaking flows in the 750 to 1,500 CFS range as a rule.
> With the onset
>of DEC mandated lower water volumes, the tactics of
>steelhead angling
>changed drastically. Where before, fairly heavy test
>monofilament (8 to
>10 lb test) would work suitably in high water and when
>fish were biting
>in those heavier flows, they were easily caught. If
>fish did not choose
>to bite, then they simply were not caught by
>legitimate and ethical
>angling methods. However, the newer lower flow
>regimes of the 1990's,
>convinced many anglers to change tactics and utilize
>lighter test line
>and longer noodle rods to try and up their odds of
>hooking increasingly
>warier and spookier steelhead in the much lower,
>clearer water flow
>conditions.
> As time progressed, it became apparent that the use of
>increasingly longer leaders and very small flies in
>black, green, or
>brown either weighted or unweighted would HOOK fish
>when all other
>methods failed to produce. Notice we said HOOK, not
>catch. The vast
>majority of these fish were foul hooked and never
>landed but produced
>("action"???) when they would not bite. It is a
>generally accepted fact
>that the vast majority of wintering or pre-spawn
>steelhead feed very
>little, if at all. Egg sacks emitting a
>"sexual-oriented olfactory
>stimulation" scent trail are the sole exception as a
>proven lure. Having
>examined the stomach contents of hundreds of wintering
>steelhead and
>finding only eggs, we can unwaveringly attest to this
>fact.
> When extremely low flows and cold water temperatures
>curtail the migration
>and activity levels of steelheads in december,
>january, february, and
>early march; All angling methods take a serious drop
>in success levels
>yet small flies and extremely long leaders continue to
>"take" steelhead
>that aren't biting. These fish refuse to hit minnows,
>worms, mousie
>grubs, crayfish, spinners, spoons, hotshots, rapalas,
>larval insects, or
>egg sacks but a tiny bit of yarn, fur, feather, or
>tinsel fished on a
>VERY LONG, thin, leader produces hookup after hookup
>all day long like
>magic. But like most magic, it's just an illusion,
>not reality based
>fishing. Most of these steelhead are never landed to
>expose this fraud to
>the light of day but many are landed foul hooked and
>illegally creeled
>due to a distinct lack of law enforcement during the
>winter or are
>released to die after being dragged in tail first for
>too long.
> Many steelhead kept as legitimate catches are
>actually foul hooked on the
>outside of the mouth. And contrary to popular belief,
>the mouth is not
>the mouth unless it is from the inside out. In any
>case, these
>illegally hooked fish are creeled and they were not
>attracted to bait as
>the state's legal standard demands. They are
>illegally hooked, creeled,
>and removed from the fishery under the guise of
>legitimate angling and
>this practice is rampant in the winter fishery to the
>point where
>legitimately caught fish are a vast minority.
>Illegitimate, unethical
>perpetrators are misusing an otherwise legitimate
>technique and have
>succeeded in decimating our winter steelhead fishery.
> This is not an isolated situation to be swept under
>the rug with a who cares attitude. This has become,
>like the j-plug issue, an epidemic. No wonder
>everyone's been asking: where have all the steelhead
>gone? the last ten
>years. They have all been removed one fish at a time,
>on a consistent
>day to day basis, all winter long by a mostly
>illegitimate, illegal
>mechanically efficient technique or method of long
>line snagging right
>under bureau of fisheries (and law enforcement's)
>noses because little
>has been done to protect or manage the resource. The
>day is long gone
>when the QUANTITY of our QUALITY steelhead can sustain
>the illegal
>harvest and removal of vast numbers of our finite
>steelhead resource.
>Steelhead that did not bite, weren't attracted to
>bait, are being
>illegally removed by unscrupulous, unethical snaggers
>misusing long
>leaders.
> In all our years of legitimate steelhead angling, we
>have not ever
>found it necessary to use a leader in excess of four
>feet to
>legitimately catch active, BITING steelhead. If we
>don't catch
>steelhead, it's because they aren't biting. (as they
>are often not) And
>Isn't that really the point here? Steelhead that
>aren't attracted to
>bait and are not biting should not be creeled
>regardless. Case closed.
>Please feel free to utilize our comments to advance
>the case of a maximum
>length leader of four feet. WE fully support the
>implementation of the
>above tackle restrictions in the pursuit of
>legitimate, ethical angling
>techniques.
>Respectfully, Osewgo County River Guides and concerned
>anglers.
>
>If you would all please help show support for the 4
>foot leader law, email or call all of the below:
>
>Regional Director
>Ken Lynch 315-426-7403 kplynch@gw.dec.state.ny.us
>
>Les Wedge 607-753-3095 Ex 212
>lrwedge@gw.dec.state.ny.us
>
>Fran Verdoliva 315-298-7605 fjverdol@gw.dec.state.ny.us
>
>Dan Bishop 607-753-3095 Ex 203
>dlbishop@gw.dec.state.ny.us
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