Salmon regulations

Idaho Fishing Forum Idaho Fishing General
21

It could have been anyone fishing. This time it was some Native Americans, Fishing their old stomping grounds. I may be wrong, But. I think most Native Americans are trying to help keep the water flowing and helping some fisheries. More than most on BFT.

As for the. “No snagging. Hand made dip nets, stick bows and spears are all good in my book. Snagging with a heavy action rod and high strength line is shameful”.

Now that is funny.

“They should have to drag their teepee down to fish camp from the reservations on their little ponies. Fish should all be dried on racks before the long journey back. No selling it.”

Even better.. I mean Wow.

Be grateful they did not throw a gill net.

Just Saying

Idaho

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22

Your comparison is not fair. What I do for fisheries vs the Indians as a whole? One on one comparison lets do it. I guarantee I have done more for fisheries that 99%. I have helped the F&G to transplant Bass into lakes, and trout into streams. I have helped with catfish studies, and walleye studies. Plus I have bought a licence for over 30 years and with that, All the things above were done and more. Every one of us helps with our dollars and some with time and dollars.

23

I agree with Ron. There is no denying the tribes have done an amazing job of helping the salmon recover… on that note so has IDFG and every single angler who has purchased a fishing license and salmon permit year after year. Not every tribe member who fishes for salmon, physically or financially helps with salmon recovery. The same can be said for the rest of us not associated with the tribe.

I am grateful they were not running gill nets.

I just happen to have the opinion that when it comes to a natural resource such as salmon, a group of people should not be able to claim traditions to have an advantage at the resource and use modern technology to further aid the advantage.

My great great grandfather used dip nets to harvest salmon but I can’t now? What gives? He was my ancestor.

24

The Shoshone Bannock tribes share the harvestable fish 50/50 with the state. They have an agreement with national marine fisheries on the amount of wild salmon they can harvest an still sustain the population. Believe me the tribes do not harvest as many salmon as the state.fisherman in idaho. They have to stay 100 feet from the weir.

25

Lol. Ya, I think most of us already knew the Wikipedia answer. The topic of the thread however, was that the way that it is supposed to be, ain’t the way it is. This scene that idahoron observed and reported wasn’t an isolated incident. It’s not the exception. It’s the rule.

Ever been to Rapid River in late June… or July for that matter? Do you really think anybody is counting how many fish they are harvesting? If you had been in the ball game very long you would know that the “state fishermen” get their harvest overestimated and the fishery shut down. The tribes harvest as many as they possibly can, and their fishery closes when there’s none left in the stream.

I get so tired of the PC comments. The truth hurts folks. And I’m also tired of the canned response about how much they’ve done for salmon recovery. I know what they’ve done. I am well aware, and I am darn proud of their efforts and thankful for them. They’ve done things that other agencies either couldn’t get clearance to do, or didn’t have the guts to. And it’s working! But let’s be honest, those aren’t the same people we are talking about in this thread. Not even close. The people we are referring to in this thread… Their ancestors that caught salmon hundreds of years ago would be ashamed at what they have become.

That being said, I ain’t too proud of the non-tribal anglers either. What a grubby, lazy, careless bunch we are as well. It never ceases to amaze me the state that we leave our beloved salmon bank in. What a privilege it is to get to go to such a beautiful place, and participate in something like that. And then people just turn and walk away from all the junk they threw on the ground, and stuffed under rocks, like it was just gonna magically disappear on it’s own. I don’t have enough time up there, or garbage bags to gather it all up. But the area I been hanging out in ain’t gonna look like that when I go up the hill. That’s for sure.

So there.

26

That’s where they got the money to transplant Canadian wolves to Idaho.

Maybe we should restore the native Americans to their native range?

They’ve had a few generations to develop some kickass lawyers. Just saying

27

I agree with Got Bait.

28

I agree that the conditions that existed when the treaties were written no longer exist in regards to salmon. If the tribes really cared they would recognize that. If they want to continue to have their own quota as stated in their treaties then they should have to use the tools that were available to them when the treaty was written, that means hand made stick bows and stone points, hand made lines and hooks, nothing modern. If they want to use modern rods, reels and line they should have to follow all the same rules as everybody else. At this point in time I do not believe that they have any more right to the fish than anyone else.

29

I think there’s a fundamental difference in philosophy here between sport and harvest. I see a lot of gripe here because the natives aren’t following any sort of “fair chase” in obtaining their quotas but that is essentially a concept of “sport”. Sport and fair chase are concepts that derived from the wealthy, land owning class of England. The natives were never in it for sport, its always been just a reaping for them. The value systems just aren’t the same. In fact, ask some natives and you’ll find that they think catch and release fishing is simply the pointless harrassing of a resource in order to gratify one’s own ego. But they aren’t complaining to Fish and Game about white men repeatedly hooking the same endangered sturgeon for fun…

I ain’t taking sides here, just pointing out that we wouldn’t like it if the natives tried to impose their value system over our fishing rules (I’m mostly C&R) so maybe we should just ignore how they choose to fish, if you want to even call that “fishing.”

30

That is exactly right on sore feet. And on the use of modern tools for fishing vs traditional ways. Some of there traditional ways were way more productive then a fishing pole. How about let them build a weir out of willows across the whole river or creek and run the salmon into a trap. That was a traditional tool.

31

Nope. Nope. I can only speak for myself here of course, but that’s not it either.

I am not complaining about how they fish, or how sporting I perceive it to be. I haven’t gone there at all. In fact, it’s my personal opinion that how they fish (the traditional methods anyway) are pretty neat. Building stuff from scratch and all. In discussion, and at face value, sure it sounds a little unfair. But I have sat and watched them fish, and it’s sporting enough for me. It seems to require practice, strength, skill, and determination.

Now others have commented about how they are trying to leverage both traditional ways, and current technology, to gain the maximum advantage possible. And although I agree with those statements wholeheartedly, I haven’t wandered into that largely grey area.

What I (and others) are most offended by, is pretty black and white. Its total disregard for the rules, and a (if nothing else, inferred) disrespect for the resource and everybody else that they share it with. If the sign says you can’t fish in this area, stay the hell out of there. And don’t just go and stand on the boundary and cast up into the area anyway. And when someone lets you know that you are clearly violating established rules, don’t act like they don’t apply to you and take the offensive. And when your quota is 6,000 fish, keep track of how many you are harvesting, and stop when you get to 6,000.

If you really cared about the resource and the future use of it, you would quit before you got to 6,000, before you took a risk of going over it.

We complain about our harvest getting overestimated, and getting the fishery shut down before our harvest quota is actually reached, but in the grand scheme of things, I think we all know that it ultimately ensures us another day on the river, and that erring on the other side of the mark is what is REALLY unacceptable.

I use a variety of methods to get notches on my tag. So sure, go ahead and reap away. Just remember, you reap what you sow.

32

One thing a “Old Timer” told me many years ago. Never take a knife to a gun fight. While fishing for Salmon.

He also said. Just enjoy the fishing…

To each their own.

Idaho