Commercial Fishermen.....Friend or foe?

     The battle between sport and commercial fisherman is again in the spotlight, for me it seems to be a double edge sword....
     At the turn of the last century around 1900, commercial fishing was probably at its peak, in the Astoria area alone there was estimated to be roughly 200 canneries whose sole purpose was to put salmon in a can. There were times when you could nearly walk across the estuary on commercial boats, and this did not include beach seines or fish wheels that sometimes were in place year around and fished 24-7. It was from these early days of commercial fishing that the need for hatcheries were born.
     By 1920 some stocks of wild fish on the Columbia River were already gone, the original June hog which was a run of salmon native to the Columbia River that exceeded weights of 80 pounds and more were gone. During this time we had a global population of under 2 billion people, but already the worlds desire for salmon was threatening wild stocks, as the demand went up, wild stock depleted more, and hatcheries ramped up production, until the entire salmon business was hatchery dependent.
     Now as you can see, nowhere in this article have I mentioned the word "Sportsman", that's because sportsman, or what we call sportsman today didn't evolve until sometime much later. You see, hatcheries were not meant to subsidize sport fishing, they were a need to produce fish to meet the ever growing world population who wanted salmon on their local diners menu. Today we have a world population about to reach 9 billion, we live in an age today where fish in general can be caught one day and on the plate of a consumer halfway around the globe the following day, Ive personally seen a 30lb spring Chinook in Seattle's Pikes Place Market for $1000... that's right..... A GRAND! 
     A recent battle was fought by anglers looking to put more salmon on rods and punch cards, that was to take commercial fishing nets off the mainstream of the Columbia River and limit them to sloughs and bays, this seemed like a great idea and in many ways it was, it would limit the impact on wild fish as well as steelhead, but that may not have worked in our favor as much as we had hoped. One such example of this is the Youngs bay fishery. The Youngs Bay fishery is based around salmon that have been raised in a net pen, what separates net pen fish from those released in a tributary is after these fish return from their journey in the ocean and come back to spawn they have no "home stream" to return to, so instead they return to Youngs Bay where they just swim around while waiting to be caught, sounds like a great idea in theory right?.....No! Here's the back lash in that. We'll use the Kalama River hatchery as an example. The Kalama River raises some 7 million fall Chinook that use to return to the Kalama River, we as anglers started catching those fish when the first of the ocean season opened and had continued opportunity to do so as they migrated up the Columbia and into the Kalama, then after the fish would spawn they were a perfect nutrient enhancement for the ENTIRE Kalama ecosystem. But now even though they that hatchery still may raise 7 million smolts , 6 million of those are trucked to Youngs Bay to imprinted so when they return the go no further and swim around till they are harvested, mostly by commercial fisherman. So getting commercial fisherman off the mainstream of the Columbia was a backfire, it limited our fishing opportunities, and keeps less hatchery fish from entering the tributaries which appeases groups such as Wild Fish Society who are against hatcheries in general.
     I DO AGREE that the practice of gill netting is an antiquated and very destructive way of fishing, the mortality rate on threatened species is horrible and there needs to be a better solution but my fear is this..... If we remove commercial fishing from the Columbia River we're going to lose sport fishing, as well, as I mentioned earlier hatcheries were implemented to support the impact of commercial fish, not sports fishing. Last year in the state of Washington commercial fisherman put 3 billion dollars into the states coffers while sport fishing contributed 1 billion, and since the job of raising hatchery fish is in the hands of the state its easy to see who they are more eager to listen to.
     I can honestly say I have no idea what the answer is, yes it would be wonderful to see commercial fishing gone, hatcheries ramp up production, and we live in a salmon and steelhead utopia, but lets all agree, that's not going to happen, again we live on a planet with 9 billion people that's soon to jump to 11 billion, who all want to eat fish. Jacques Couestou (forgive me on the spelling) once said this planet can not support any more than 500 million people, he was a man who knew our oceans better than maybe anyone before and possibly since, maybe he was right......

"Yule" be Outside

     For many outdoor enthusiast the holiday season is a great time to get outside and enjoy the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Children will soon be on holiday break, friends and relatives may be visiting from outside the area, whether it be spending time on the water fishing somewhere, taking a rip to the snow, or a cold morning in a duck blind, its a special time to get together and share our favorite passion.
     This year our local area has been hit with catastrophic weather, extreme amounts of rain, flooding, windstorms, and in one area even a tornado. All of this has a devastating effect on our landscape. In some places that I frequent there is almost a post war feeling when you drive through it, homes are demolished, roads washed away, and entire hillsides are gone, it leaves you awestruck when you see what mother nature can do in less than a 24 hour time frame.
     I know that for myself and many of you as well, this type of weather gives us "Cabin Fever", and we are itching to get out and make a few casts, clean up that favorite duck blind, or maybe just go for a drive, but let me remind you your favorite river is not the same familiar stream it was just a week ago. High water washes down a lot of debris, its not uncommon to see adult fir trees floating in the chocolaty mess, these trees can get hung up anywhere. Commonly called "sweepers".  These trees can make navigating around them dangerous and in some cases nearly impossible, anytime I float a river after a high water, I ALWAYS treat it as if its my first time down it, I set out prepared for the worst, extra rope, an ax, anything to help in case you may need to port your boat around an obstacle, and of course as always, LIFE VESTS!
     We who live here in the PNW, have never let the weather slow us down, while it rains here in the lower elevations the snow is piling up in the mountains making for some fantastic skiing conditions, the extra flooding lands opens up more water fowl opportunities, in Copalis we are finally getting a razor clam dig for the 3 days over Christmas. If "Yule be outside" over this holiday season, please be safe, and if you plan on being in Copalis, save me a clam or two! 
        

What If? Can we really save our Hatchery steelhead......

     More and more the debate over hatchery vs. wild steelhead is in the spotlight, currently a public meeting has been scheduled by the Washington department of Fish and Wildlife to discuss or maybe inform the public of some new policies about to be implemented on the Kalama River regarding  hatchery summer run steelhead. The general information on these new policies has already been anounced to the public and for those of us who love this fishery its a blow right to the mid section yet from another stand point they make some sense. What if the solution to this debacle meant thinking outside the box...
     In the state of Washington salmonoid are currently listed as a "food fish" making them legal to be commercially harvested. This is usually done by commercial trollers in the ocean where salmon are caught on hook and line to be sold commercially to seafood wholesalers where they end up in restaurants, super markets or in a can. In other places such as the Columbia River they are gill netted and their fate is the same as previously mentioned. While this commercial harvesting may not seem in best interest of anglers who are out to catch fish by hook and line, let me point out that some 100 years ago Washington State began building salmon hatcheries solely to supplement commercial fisheries.With that being said, in short no commercial fishery, no hatchery salmon.
    Steelhead on the other hand are considered a sport fish, sinceit is believed they are more closely related to trout than salmonoid. Thus being placed in this category, it makes them illegal to be commercially harvested, therefore no reason for the state to raise them in hatcheries.
     The states are struggling to manage what money they have ( though I believe the term mismanaged is more the norm than manage) so states are doing all they can to put money where they get the most in return. The commercial harvest of salmon is BIG MONEY, there are probably billions at stake, joint compact deals are made with adjoining states, countries, as well as tribes to divide up who gets what piece of the salmon pie. There is plenty at stake and plenty of reasons ($$$) to put more salmon into the pie, just 30 years ago small coastal towns were on the verge of turning off the lights due to the shrinking salmon seasons. Today those towns are booming.
     So how do steelhead fit in to all of this? I know some of you are going to cringe and probably even accuse me of steelhead blasphemy but what if we took steelhead off the sportfish list and made it legal to commercially harvest them? PUT THE GUNS DOWN and think of this. If we commercially harvested steelhead, there would be big money in the raising of hatchery steelhead, groups like the Native Fish Society wouldnt be able to block the release of hatchery steelhead, they simply wouldnt have the finacial backing to go up against the huge commercial fishing machine. Hatcheries would be OBLIGATED to raise more hatchery steelhead rather than looking for any reason to not raise them. could you imagine winter steelhead return like last years coho retuen, probably not, but its not an impossibility.
     Dont get me wrong I hold the same high esteem for steelhead that anyone reading this does, but our current progaram is not working. Some will say that there are streams that have great native steelhead fisheries but those are only working because in most cases there is zero retention, I happen to like to eat steelhead, yes eat them, a fresh summer run steelhead is one of the best table fare there is, and incredibly healthy for you at the same time. I dont expect steelhead to ever be listed as a food fish, I'm just asking you to think outside the box and imagine the possibilities if they were.

Low/No water Summer Steelhead!!

     It seems like just yesterday when we were in the middle of last years crazy coho season and we're already talking SUMMER RUN STEELHEAD!
     This summers drought conditions are going to change things up a bit that's for sure, rivers like the Kalama are already near season low levels and its only May! 
     We are taking advantage of these low water conditions and are moving to the Cowlitz soon, with current flows at 3000 cfs (and dropping no doubt) this should be ideal levels for us drift boat anglers, and it will be exciting to fish some new water (off the Kalama) for the summer, and if the Cowlitz is anything like last summer it should provide for some very exciting days!
     To book a trip with us you can always find us on the web at www.ErvigsOutfitters.com

Are they really just rumors?

      Recently my phone has been blowing up about the recent increase in daily bag limits of hatchery steelhead on the Kalama River that will come into effect March 1st. The reaction I'm getting from most everyone is the Kalama must be loaded with hatchery steelhead to support the increase, with anglers ready to book a trip and get out and fill the boat, unfortunately that is not the case.
      Hatchery steelhead have really come into the spotlight over the past few years, with more emphasis on "saving" our wild gene stocks. I'm not really sure where I stand on this whole issue, as a guide I'm never in favor of less fish, in other words decrease, or in some cases, terminate the release of thousands of hatchery fish in an "attempt" to save a few so called wild fish, BUT, one of my favorite steelhead streams this time of year has no hatchery fish at all, its all about catching and releasing big wild fish.
     Over the years I've heard many opinions and rumors about where our fisheries will be in the future, one such rumor now is there will be no more hatchery steelhead as of 2017, unless the river has or can implement a brood stock program, in other words hatchery fish that were live spawned from wild parents, and yet those of us who live to fish steelhead remember the thriving brood stock program on the Olympic Peninsula that was terminated without a justifiable reason, so who knows where the truth lies.
     Hatchery steelhead in the state of Washington are in most cases a terminal fishery, in other words put there only to be harvested by anglers. To give anglers more advantage of harvesting hatchery steelhead some systems such as the Cowlitz River and the Kalama River have a recycle program, meaning when hatchery steelhead come back from the ocean to spawn, if they are not caught, or "harvested", when they reach the hatchery from where they were raised they are collected in a pen, loaded up into a truck, driven downstream and realeased to make another journey upstream past anglers attempting to catch them again. On the Kalama River if a fish is able to make the journey several time without ending up being tagged on a catch record card, they are again loaded up into a truck and removed from the system entirely to places like Kres Lake in Kalama where they spend their remaining days swimming around the edge of the lake looking for some way to escape this HELL they've been dropped into, at this point their best hope is they WILL be caught.
     Raising the limit of hatchery steelhead on the Kalama is nothing more than another attempt to remove hatchery fish from the system to protect the wild gene pool that show up this time of year to spawn, apparently there are studies to support the idea that hatchery steelhead are a weaker strain of fish that if left in the system to spawn with wild fish it will pollute the wild genes, thus threatening the future of our wild steelhead...WHO KNOWS, all I have to say on that is QUINAULT.
     I think most of us will agree our steelhead fishery is under threats from all sides, but consider this, with recent record returns on salmon, maybe the steelheads demise will be that they are listed as a game fish,

thus making it illegal to end their life by being commercially harvested and put in a can......
        
 

     When I first got into the guide business  I wasnt sure what to expect, sure I knew that if things went well I'd make a living by taking people fishing, and I in return would get to spend the day on the water chasing fish. Now I didnt know who these people would be, or where they would come from, for some reason I imagined taking someone out for a day of fishing only to never see or hear from them again. Little did I know.....
     They say that in business 20% of your customers make up 80% of your business, or something like that, and I've found that in the guide world that holds true as well. After 30 years of rowing driftboats, and 12 years now as a full time salmon and steelhead guide, I've developed some very close friendships with some of the people I've had the chance to fish, and though we may only see each other once a year, we seem to pick up right where we left off the year before.
      Those people are like Drew and his Father Mark. Drew is one of those who is obsessed with fishing. I first fished with Drew and Mark 2 years ago when Mark booked a trip for Drew for his birthday that comes every year in October. Our first year together was a horribly slow coho year and the only fish caught were two late summer run steelhead that Drew caught pitching a Blue Fox spinner into riffles, what I noticed that day was that Drew was just one of those fishy people, he had it and had it bad. Well I fished with Drew and Mark again yesterday, this was our third year of fishing together centered around Drew being another year older. This year has been a great coho year, Drew and his Father mark took turns hooking and fighting fish, even managing to put some of those fish in the box. While we spent the day catching coho, life seemed to have picked up right where we left off from last year, Drew updated me on his out of control retriever that loves to eat off the counter, it was almost as if no time had passed at all, even though a year had passed.
     While I love to end the day with a fish box full of fish, it's these friendships that have become the most rewarding, my attorney friends in Montana who a year ago one of them become a father to twins, I could go on forever with just such people who have not only fished with me but have enriched my life, and through things like social media we're able to stay updated with each other.
     Being a fishing guide has been rewarding in ways I definately didnt expect, and to those of you who keep fishing with me I cant thank you enough, my dream job would not be what it is without you......

October 22nd 2014

     Mother nature gave us the first good bout rain this fall blowing out all the local rivers this morning. Its always a hard one for me to call when these things happen, the weather forecast has been predicting this for several days now, but I always hope that maybe the Gods will smile on us and somehow WE will we not be effected by the torrential rain that is coming our way. It never happens, crazy as it may sound finally the weather man is right on these things more often than not, but still I hold on to the last hour.
     My text to Tom (did not have the courage to call at 4 am)  was tough "Tom, I hate to do this at the last minute but every river on the west side of the state is rising and will be blown by the time we get on the water, I say we cancel and reschedule". "Again?" was the reply, Tom has fished with me several times and has been the victim of Mother Nature more than once. Any time I have to cancel a trip I always feel like that police officer showing up at your door with bad news, " are you Mr Smith, I'm sorry Mr smith but there was a horrible accident, you see the sky sprung a leak and all the water ran into the Kalama River, Have a nice day Mr Smith". The bad news seldom ends there, rain storms of this size do not go away overnight, chances are I could be off the water for a week, so this means that the new XBOX 1 that come out this week, the very thing that I've been holding over my sons head for the past month to get him to do things like the dishes, vacuum the floor, is now on hold for another week at least, do you know what living with him is going to be like?!?
     On the other hand a week off  the water means I'll get all those things done that I've been putting off, like sleep, lay around and eat snacks while watching recorded episodes of "Naked and Afraid" or "Ancient Aliens", I get to get to call my Dad and get caught up on all the family gossip and hear about his winnings and losses from the Casino or who he ran into while in line at the Buffet. The reality is I NEED some time off the water, its been a great year with little time spent on doing things packing wheel bearings on boat trailers, cleaning and oiling a box of reels that have just been fished to near death, or scrubbing the inside of my car that now seems to have the permanent  smell of bait.
     As I sit here and write this my son is sitting here next to me doing everything he can to be annoying, every sentence he rambles off has XBOX in it, its going to be a long week. If I end up going to jail for shoplifting video games, would some one please send me a copy of NorthWest Sportsman?