fishing for Atlantic salmon

starcrafttom · Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2017 12:58 pm Post subject: fishing for Atlantic salmon

These fish are great. fun to catch and really put up a great fight. I was surprised at the size of some of them. We saw fish in the 20 # class caught. Its a lite bite but once hooked they take off and run deep like a king at first. Then they come to the surface and jump like a silver. Just great fish. We need this every year.

We ended up with 7 and lost 4 because our gear was to lite. Going Monday again.

chipwagon · Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2017 4:25 pm Post subject:

Sounds fun, and it's a public service to catch them. The ideal fishing opportunity. Are any of these fish wandering near the Canadian border? I'm taking the boat to Sidney next weekend and wouldn't be against trying BBQ Atlantic salmon.

drbridge · Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2017 8:33 pm Post subject:

Reports say they have been catching them off the beach at Port Townsend and in Sekiu/Clallam Bay and Neah Bay as well as some of the rivers. They are moving fast and in all directions, so they are probably heading to Canadian waters too. I was marking a lot of fish on my sonar while tending our crab pots at the entrance to Sequim Bay. According to Washington fish and wildlife you can only fish for them in areas that are currently open to Pacific Salmon. area 6 is closed so We did not fish. That's OK though as our freezer is currently plugged with Kings and Crab.

Saxe Point · Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 12:49 pm Post subject:

I've seen a lot of Facebook posts and pictures showing them being caught off the east and west coasts of Vancouver Island. It's almost a third of a million fish, so lots to go around.

starcrafttom · Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 2:35 pm Post subject:

The real number of fish released is closer to 10,ooo maybe 20,000. The 300,000 number was the total fish in the ALL the pens. the floats are divided up into a lot of pens. Again the press never gets it right. We are headed out again now.

rogerbum · Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 4:34 pm Post subject:

Dreamer · Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 11:39 pm Post subject:

Saw you on TV Tom! Fill that freezer.

starcrafttom · Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 10:43 am Post subject:

I did not get to see me as I dont watch broadcast tv. I will have to find the clip somewhere. We got 8 more last night but had to work for them. They have stopped biting and there is no food in their stomachs. I think they will all be dead soon.

chromer · Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 7:33 pm Post subject:

I found the KOMO video .

http://komonews.com/news/local/cleanup-of-collapsed-fish-pens-removes-120000-farmed-salmon

The DNR girl was titled Tom Elliott Laughing

chipwagon · Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 9:13 pm Post subject:

I noticed a map in the video, found it at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/salmon/atlantic_catch_map.php . Should be helpful for anybody looking to pitch in and catch a few. It doesn't look like they are going west in Canadian waters, but that might also be due to closed portions of Washington area 7. I'm not aware of any organized tracking efforts on the Canadian side but reports of at least a few showing up http://www.iheartradio.ca/cfax-1070/news/dfo-confirms-atlantic-salmon-caught-off-vancouver-island-1.3199065

hardee · Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 3:26 am Post subject:

Hey Tom, You looked great.

I went to a meeting tonight about fish farm / open water fish pens put on by a coordinated effort of three organizations: Puget SoundKeeper’s, Washington Wild Fish Conservancy, and Sierra Club. It was very enlightening.

The main speakers were Chris Wilke, from Puget Soundkeepers who gave a family album of the PNW salmon, which for me was very enlightening since I am not a fisherman. He talked about the general 5 species, and then the additional 3, Char, Steelhead and Rainbow (I think was the other one). The last three are related, but depend on whether they go to the salt water or not as to what they are.

The second main speaker was, Kurt Beardslee, Director of Wild Fish Conservancy. He is a Researcher and Director with 28 years of research in Puget Sound and on salmon environments in the PNW, with 5 years associated with Alexandra Morton working in BC waters. He was the first scientist, and first boat at the Cypress Island pens after the pen collapse. He was also the scientist that warned the DFW about a pending IHN virus outbreak in the fish pens at the South end of Bainbridge Island about 10 years ago.

He has been collecting samples of the escaped Atlantic Salmon for dissection and testing for disease and anomalies. He reported disfigured fish, internal tumor like growths, fatty hearts, and soft (easily torn) flesh, and empty stomachs. One of the tests they are doing is for viruses and there are no results for those tests back yet. His comment, “Not something I would eat.”

For anyone interested, there is going to be a flotilla meeting on the water at the south end of Bainbridge Island, on Sept 16, between 2 to 4 PM, (bring your vessel – kayak to research ship) and Alexandra Morton will be in attendance on a 70 foot research vessel. The purpose of the flotilla is to draw attention to the fish pen farms there, to deliver the signed petitions (See this site:

https://www.oursound-oursalmon.org/#take-action

) to the Washington State Governor at his home on Bainbridge Island, and to attract media attention to the fact that the Governor supports the fish pens being in the water of Washington State, The only state on the West coast that has allowed open water fish farm pens in out waters.

I’m not a fisherman but I am a promoter for wildlife, clean water, and sound ecological practices, (and I like using my boat for "community service" projects) And, there is always time to learn.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

hardee · Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 5:01 am Post subject:

You can sign an electronic petition to Washington State's governor to stop open pen fish farming in WA State waters here:

https://www.oursound-oursalmon.org/#home

The Wild Fish Conservancy can be found here:

http://wildfishconservancy.org/

Recommendations for net pen fish farms are here:

http://wildfishconservancy.org/atlantic-salmon-net-pen-recommendations-comments

For those who are interested.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

starcrafttom · Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 4:25 pm Post subject:

Washington Wild Fish Conservancy- this is anti fishing group and I do not believe anything they have to say. I ate these fish last night taste great. I have cleaned over 15 of them and have not seen anything of concern. Sorry but the new pen location is great. Most of the problems associated with net pens ( real ones not the made up WWFC bs) are due to low tidal flow. Having a pen in open water is the answer. Removes waste and unused feed. I mean if it works for the city of Victoria it will work for a few fish.

hardee · Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 9:58 pm Post subject:

Dilution to pollution is the solution

Not.

I am not a fisherman, nor am I anti fishing. I am anti fish pen farming.

If you want to be able to keep fishing in Puget Sound / Salish Sea, you need to keep the fish pens out because they concentrate disease (salmon lice and viruses) in the pens and yes, the tidal currents will flush that, plus the pens allow fry to pass through, contract the lice or other diseases and then carry them out of the pens to the natural habitat, or in the case of the fry, collecting about 6 lice can be fatal to the fry before they grow to return as adult, catchable salmon.

starcrafttom · Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 2:27 am Post subject:

if you want to keep fishing in Puget sound then you have to keep the nets out of the river, increase and reform the hatchery's and stop the practice of gill netting all together. Net pens have their problems but they are not the problem only a scape goat.

Also you are protesting the solution to the net pens ( more open water) with bumper sticker quotes from the commercial fleet that put us in this mess to begin with.