i have to agrey with what has been said to the most part.. snaggers should not be aloud to be in the spawning areas at that time of year..
but you all are looking at it the wrong way.. no where in the word Strawberry dose the two letters FG appear.. nore was the word cuthroat or june sucker brought up..
so with them 3 things left out the DWR will not care squat about what happons anywhere else…
Jim your efforts to stop the snagging in Linwood are very commendable. And your right, its a large body of water with lots of places to drop a line besides Linwood bay on the beds. When I stated that if the guides needed extra income due to a suggested 24/7 closure of the bay during the spawning period I didn’t direct that statement at you directly, but rather, all the guides in general.
Also, I commend you for not allowing the keeping of any Mac larger than eaters on your ride… I have my “Wall Hanger” and I won’t condemn anyone for keeping a trophy that they perhaps have sought for years be it a Buck, Bull, Bear, or Fish. But I do regret keeping the trophy I have and have caught much larger sense and would much prefer it was still swimming and awaiting my next arrival than to have it as it is now.
I can understand it must seem like a loosing battle for you when dealing with the “good ol’ boys” mentality but a man in your position has a great opportunity to spread word concerning the evils of snagging Mac, or even bothering the Mac during the spawn, by using a resource known as clients..
Have you stopped taking your clients into the bay during the period of Mac spawn? If not, have you considered taking such action by refusing to take them in bay during the spawn to show your support of the Mac?
We fished with Jim (actually his other guide Marcus) several years ago. We fished the week of Thanksgiving for 3 days and not once did we fish Linwood Bay. Marcus did take us there to show us the BS that was going on back then and nothing was being done to stop it. I caught the big fish of the trip, 34lbs. and it was no where near Linwood. Keep up the good work Jim.
Jim has Ok’d my posting of his PM reply to my question and I feel its very pertinet to this discussion.
"Don, I’m not sure about proper etiquette in using the board for such discussions, and I’ve already probably posted too much, but I want to address your valid point on me fishing in Linwood with customers.
I do take clients in there to fish this time of year. I do so with single hooks, and do not move my lures enough to foul-hook fish. I generally try to avoid fishing directly on the spawning humps, and target fish that are in deeper water around the humps or further out in the bay. Having said that, there are times I do fish directly on the humps, but feel I’m not affecting the spawning activity of the fish. It does give me the opportunity to point out what’s going on to my clients. They can see it with their own eyes. Most are horrified. I can explain to them what the snaggers are doing, the customer can see the activity first-hand, and can also see and experience that the fish can be caught and released in a sporting manner without significant harm to the fish or the spawn. I thinks its better to let them see it rather than shield them from it. And I don’t feel my fishing in there is harmful. If everyone would fish in a sporting manner, I would see no reason to even consider closing the bay. However, it’s the only way to get rid of the snagging, as I see it. I don’t hold out much hope at this point though, because I’ve been screaming and crying about it for 10 years, and “everyone” knows what’s goiong on, form the casual fisherman to top-level Forest Service and DWR personnel.
We’re all at the mercy of the DWR."
Let me add that I dont have a problem with the “fishing” that takes place in Linwood during the spawning period as long as its done in an ethical and sportsman like manner. Foul hooking will occur from time to time and should be expected any time fish and hooks are in the same location. But due to the unethical snagging practices of a few, and what appears to be blind eyes in use, or the lack of attention by others, the bay should be closed entirely durning the Mac spawn on ethical grounds alone.
Just one mans oppinion
well I just wanted to get this back up so that other’s that may have missed it could catch up I have spoke with Jack and Roger several time’s over the last yr and never heard eny thing back from them so I asume thay could give a flying and the wyo game and fish dont even want to touch this subject and I feel this is the same allover so what do we do I say keep at it and push it down there throut’s till thay are so tired of hearing about it that thay take a step back and see what is really going on hear and maybe in the long run we can win I’am working on an idea to get sfw involved and we can see what ya all think about haveing a meeting to get all are duck’s in a row and end the slaughter thank’s all fishley…
Who are you trying to kid the UT DWR wants to get read of as many lakers as possible, or haven’t you heard that is why they don’t do anything about it…
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