Northwest Fishing Reports

Here is what the Tribe and the State has instore for the PO River...Kalispel tribe vice chairman Raymond Pierre III, who is also lead fisheries technician for the Kalispel Natural Resources Department, holds a large pike from the Pend Oreille River. This photo was taken during a 2007 study while sampling pike with rod and reel for a diet study in Everett Island Slough just south of Skookum Rendezvous.
By Janelle Atyeo | Of The Miner
• March 09, 2011
NEWPORT – They’re great fishing and even better eating, local anglers say, but the state of Washington wants to stop the spread of northern pike in the Pend Oreille River.
The Kalispel Tribe of Indians and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) are keeping an eye on the pike population, and are looking into ways to reduce their numbers.
“People enjoy pike as an exciting sport fishery, but unfortunately they really don’t belong here,” said Bruce Bolding, warm water fish program manager with WDFW’s Olympia office.
The population is booming and their range is growing. A survey conducted in the Box Canyon reservoir seven years ago turned up 26 northern pike. Last spring, the count was up to 755. Most were 20- to 25-inch-long 2 or 3 year olds. That means the population is quite young and expanding rapidly right now, Bolding said.
The pike surveyed last year were as big as 44 inches and 30 pounds. They were found to be eating perch, northern pike minnows, suckers, pea mouth and bass.
“There’s some real monsters in there. There’s a state record I’m sure,” Newport fisherman Robert Reininger said.
Northern pike tournaments have become increasingly popular. Last spring a 23.5-pound, 39-inch northern pike was caught by a local angler.
Reininger fishes for pike from the bank, using a dead perch as bait. Reininger doesn’t feel pike are a problem. He said the Pend Oreille River seems to be healthy.
Researchers point to their data that shows the opposite. They’re a “voracious top-end predator,” Bolding added, and the state fears the big eaters will significantly reduce all other fish in the reservoir.
They can destroy popular fisheries such as trout, he said. People fishing for bass have been against the pike for a number of years now. There have been reports of bass anglers slashing the pike and leaving them on the shore to die.
Jason Connor, fisheries project manager for the Kalispel Natural Resources Department, said almost every other fish species in the reservoir has decreased in recent years. Whether that’s directly attributable to the pike he hopes to find out through continued study. Bolding said letting their population go unchecked will mean a significant impact to other fish, including the native westslope cutthroat trout and the threatened bull trout.
He suggests anglers looking for a pike-like sport fish try for tiger muskie. The cross between a northern pike and a true muskie cannot reproduce, so the state can control their numbers precisely. The state stocks them in seven lakes, including three in the Spokane area: Curlew, Newman and Silver.
State, tribe look into population reduction
Dealing with pike will likely come down to manually reducing their population. The state and the tribe are discussing target numbers. The pike population may need to be reduced by half to start seeing a downward trend, said fisheries biologist Marc Divens, lead of WDFW’s regional warm water fish team based in Spokane.
One of the studies to be conducted starting this month through early June will try to pinpoint the pike’s spawning season. The idea, Connor explained, is to find the times when they’re congregated in backwater sloughs. The goal is to remove the fish before they spawn, and the study will reveal the most efficient time to do so.
So the tasty fish don’t go to waste, Connor looked into ways to use them. The Newport Food Bank agreed to take the whole fish and process them.
Bolding said if pike show up in area lakes, the state might look to a total rehabilitation. That can mean treating the lake with a chemical to kill off all fish life and starting over. That’s not feasible in the Pend Oreille River. It’s too large, and it would be impossible to spare the native fish.
Once WDFW decides on a method of capturing or controlling pike in the Box Canyon Reservoir, it won’t be up for public comment.
Traveling pike
Northern pike found their way to the Pend Oreille River from lakes in western Montana where they were illegally stocked, Bolding explained. They traveled down the Clark Fork River, through the Noxon and Cabinet Gorge reservoirs and into Idaho’s Lake Pend Oreille.
Pike are now found behind Box Canyon and Boundary dams in Pend Oreille County. The region’s major lifeline, the Columbia River, could be next. Bolding said pike have been spotted north of the Washington/British Columbia border in the main stem of the Columbia, but it’s thought that those came from Kootenay Lake near Nelson, B.C.
Two lakes in Spokane County were stocked illegally, Bolding said.
“It’s a really, really horrific thing to do,” he said.
More than 60 lakes in western Montana have been illegally stocked, he added, and it destroyed a blue ribbon trout fishery there.
Idaho Department of Fish and Game doesn’t have a specific program to reduce the number of pike in the area, but it also doesn’t promote them as a sport fishery.
“Regardless of that, they’ve really caught on with a number of anglers. People are really enjoying fishing for them in Lake Pend Oreille,” IFG’s native species coordinator Scott Grunder said. Hayden Lake is another popular spot. “Anglers have found them and they’re excited about catching 30-pound northern pike.”
He added that Idaho has similar concerns as Washington as far as protecting native fish from the predator. There is an active program at Lake Pend Oreille to restore native trout by increasing kokanee numbers.
That’s something the state of Washington doesn’t want to do.
“We don’t see pike in Washington as a sporting opportunity. We’re looking at them as a problem, and a very serious problem,” Bolding said.
Pike are currently listed as a game fish in Washington, but WDFW is taking steps to change that listing to prohibited species. That will give some leverage to the fine for transporting the non-native fish. Currently, a person found guilty of illegally transporting or releasing live fish is as much as $1,000 and a year in prison. The guilty party could also be responsible for covering costs of capturing or controlling those fish – up to $500,000.
Other western states have taken the spread of pike very seriously. Nevada fines a person caught stocking up to $250,000, and in California it’s up to $60,000 for being in possession of a live or dead pike.
“We are trying to get ahead of the problem before Washington turned into another western Montana,” Bolding said.
Studies will show impacts
Along with the spawning survey, the state and the tribe are planning two other pike studies this spring.
In late April, they’ll begin an index netting survey that tracks the abundance of pike over time. It’s a repeat of last year’s study, but the study area will be expanded to cover the entire reservoir. Last year covered the area from Pioneer Park near Newport to Riverbend with a few nets further north. If the state gets into controlling the population, this study will tell them if they’re accomplishing their goals.
While the index netting targets pike in particular, another reservoir-wide study planned for mid-May will look at all warm water fish. This is a repeat of the 2004 survey, and it will tell how the other fish in the reservoir have been impacted. Biologists will capture fish with an electro-fishing boat that shocks them to the surface of the water and with gill and fike nets.
Local anglers have expressed concern about those methods harming fish. About half of the fish caught in the gill nets die. The pike are captured and dissected, but the other species survive.
L

Yankin Jaw Guide Service wrote: "Once WDFW decides on a method of capturing or controlling pike in the Box Canyon Reservoir, it won’t be up for public comment."

Sounds pretty Thuggish and strong armed to me.

And correct me if I'm wrong but isn't a bigger reason these trout don't do so well anymore water temps? Once Box Canyon Dam went in it effectively changed the river to a warm water fishery correct?

Here is a little bit of info I took from a report done by Becky L. Ashe
and
Allan T. Scholz

Upper Columbia United Tribes Fisheries Center
Department of Biology
Eastern Washington University
Cheney, Washington 99004

Prepared for:
Fred Holm
Project Manager
U.S. Department of Energy
Bonneville Power Administration
Division of Fish and Wildlife

March, 1992



The Pend Oreille River, located in northeast Washington, was
historically a free flowing river which supported anadromous
steelhead trout and chinook salmon, and large resident cutthroat
trout and bull trout. In 1939, Grand Coulee Dam eliminated the
anadromous species from the river. In 1955, Box Canyon Dam was
constructed, inundating resident trout habitat in the river and
creating many back water and slough areas. By the late 1950’s the
fishery in the reservoir had changed from a quality trout fishery to a
warm water fishery, supporting largemouth bass, yellow perch and
rough fish (tenth, suckers, squawfish).
The object of this study was to examine the existing fishery,
identify fishery improvement opportunities and recommend fishery
enhancement projects. Three years of baseline data were collected
from the Box Canyon portion of the Pend Oreille River to assess
population dynamics, growth rates, feeding habits, behavior patterns
and factors limiting the fishery. Fishery improvement opportunities
were identified based on the results of these data.
Relative abundance surveys in the reservoir resulted in the
capture of 47,415 fish during the study. The most abundant species
in the reservoir were yellow perch, composing 44% of the fish
captured. The perch population in the river is stunted and therefore
not popular with anglers. Pumpkinseed composed 16% of the total
catch, followed by tenth (9%), largemouth bass (8%), mountain
whitefish (6%), largescale sucker (5%), northern squawfish (4%) and
longnose sucker (3%).
i
Largemouth bass were the largest game fish captured in the
reservoir and currently the only species of sufficient size and
population to provide a recreational fishery. Current biomass of
largemouth bass, age 1+ and older, in the river is 8 Ibs/acre.
Production of a quality bass fishery is around 15-20 lb&acre, so,
despite the apparent optimal habitat of the Pend Oreille River, bass
production is limited. Despite limiting factors, quality sized
largemouth bass (>500 mm) were often captured. The three bass
tournaments held on the river in 1990 resulted in the second highest
CPUE (catch-per-unit-effort) (0.19 fish/hr) for bass tournaments in
Washington State. The Pend Oreille River also produced the third
largest tournament fish in the State during 1990. Based on habitat
utilization (determined by sonic and radio telemetry), the amount of
available habitat and the abundance of preferred prey species
(yellow perch) in the reservoir, the Pend Oreille River could support
a much larger bass population.
Of all the fish captured, trout species were the rarest;
composing less than 1 percent of the total abundance. Brown trout
were the most abundant trout species. Factors limiting trout
production in the reservoir were identified as warm water
temperatures, lack of habitat diversity and food availability.
Trout were more abundant in the tributaries to the Pend
Oreille River, which supported mostly brook trout and brown trout,
although cutthroat, rainbow and bull trout were also captured.
Production potential of the tributaries is limited. The spawning
habitat in most tributaries is of good quality, however the streams
are high gradient and low order which are typically unproductive.
Grazing and logging impacts present problems in several tributaries
while immense beaver dams constitute migration barriers in others.
Calispell Creek, the largest tributary to the river is not accessible
to fish due to blockage by a hydro-project dam at the mouth.

Ok,

You can bet I am going to add my 2 cents into this being that I am a true Mid-Western Boy who has been fishing Pike for well over 20 years. Yes, I admit I am a Pike fisherman and darn proud of it!!! I do however love my Muskie as well, just that I have had a whole lot more hook ups in my life with Pike than I have with Muskie so I understand them a little better. Anyhow, getting back on track. I will first say that it sounds to me as if the WDFW needs to become a WHOLE lot more educated and understanding of what the Pike is all about and what it takes to control the population of this Great Fish!

My first suggestion would be to call the Wisconsin and Minnesota Fish and Wildlife Conservation Offices and ask both of them what they do to curb the growth of the Pike population in those 2 states on the lakes and rivers. Here is one of the answers that the WDFW will get, put MORE BIG BASS in the darn Pend Oreille River!!! Those BIG OLE BASS will eat the Pike Fry and fingerlings and will help control the Pike population. I know this may be a hard thing to believe but this is what was done on the CHIPPEWA FLOWAGE in Hayward, Wisconsin about 10 years ago and IT WORKED!!! The Pike population evened out and the Bass population is better than it ever has been on this lake and No WDFW the other fish haven't gotten eaten by the Pike. The populations of Walleye, Crappie, Bluegill, Perch, Sunfish and other species are flourishing and are thriving on a level that has never been seen before on the Good Ole "Chip".

Now, my other concern to the decision of using Gill Nets is what benefits do the other fish that are in the Pend Oreille River really get out of doing this? Other than making an assumption (which we all know what that does for a person) and taking risks to try and catch these Pike knowing full well there is a very high possibility of catching other species as well which could also be very damaging. Please don't feed me the line that these Gill Nets are only suppose to catch Pike, because we all know that answer is just Political talk to smooth over the rough edges of what is actually being done. Why not look at the numbers in other areas of the country with Pike and find out what works for these Conservation Teams (Work as a Team) and then stand back and look at the ECONOMIC IMPACT of Gill Netting Pike. Do you seriously think this is going to help create a better fishery within Washington? How many more people now fish the Pend Oreille compared to 10 years ago and we will start with ME! I am 1 of I am sure Many others!!! I know that Bass Master's was on the Pend Oreiller River for fishing and they didn't have much to complain about, see Video from this Website (1u4m1ERZ4lI) By the way did I mention that Bass Master's Organization is A GREAT ORGANIZATION to get in touch with about finding out the Benefits of Bass in local rivers and lakes. I am almost positive that B.A.S.S. and founder Ray Scott could also give some great input to the WDFW on how to help build a fishery and help with evening out the playing field with other aggressive species of fish. Am I getting thru to you WDFW??? There are other means, resources and ideas out there to possibility decrease the population but YOU HAVE TO RESEARCH!!! DO YOUR JOB!!! My Fishing License and I am sure Washington Tax Payer dollars depend on organizations like yours to NOT Destroy Fisheries!!! And if it is about Money then you might want to step back and look at the bigger picture of who's Wallet the WDFW would be affecting. You destroy a fishery like the Pend Oreille River and people will take business elsewhere. The will go fishing across the border in Idaho and maybe even into Montana instead where they don't have to deal with this type of ridiculous act against a fishery. Alright I am getting off my Soapbox now, if I keep going I am going to go nuts thinking about this crazy idea put together by a bunch of WDFW Biologists. If someone knows how to get this over to the WDFW please feel free to copy and paste this and forward it onto them for reading!!! Thanks

Nate

We will be having a guest speaker at our next meeting on March 22nd Bill Baker, and Jason Conner who will be discussing what the State, and tribes plans are for the PO River. I would encourage everyone to attend this meeting please. If you enjoy Pike fishing in the PO River then please attend the Chapter 60 Mountain Muskies meeting at the 5 mile heights pizza at 6pm...if you have questions please email me at melodie@yjguideservice.com and ill try and get you the answers.....Long live the Pike and Amen Natebg1 I agree with everything you wrote....

Mark good job on exposeing that the fishery on the river for Bass,trout and other fish was has been on the decline since 1992 and not the fault of the Pike....Dont know where all the Smallmouth came from but they are deffinetly thriveing.

Ok, I find this whole thing very disturbing. From what I read, the job of the WDFW us to protect the fishery and preserve the fish. Why do the pike not fit in this category since they are listed as a game fish? This fishery has brought recognition to our area. The pike are well known (and loved) in the east and Canada, so why are they so feared here? How do they survive in these areas? I think maybe the WDFW needs to do a little more research and get the facts straight. There are going to be a lot of unhappy people here (voting people), so maybe they need to stop and think of the ramifications of their decision. We are not against smart conservation, we are against eradication of large fish! Let it be known, that I (and I'm sure many others) will not sit by and let this happen. These fish are important to our fishery and our lively hood.

Melodie

This issue isn't on the official agenda for tomorrow's IFPAG meeting, but if I pick up any new information at the meeting, I'll post it this weekend.

Well PIKE Enthusiasts,

I am not sure if there are anyways to petition the WDFW from being able to perform the act of Gill Netting on the Pend Oreille River or anywhere in Washington for that matter but I would certainly be more than willing to sign on the dotted line to stop ALL OF THIS CRAZINESS!!! They are here to protect and conserve, not destroy and eradicate. Since when did WDFW get the option of playing GOD!!! Last I checked they weren't able to change water into wine so what makes them think they have the right to do what they want to Washington's fisheries as THEY see fit. Why is the WDFW not asking the people of Washington for a vote on this first before moving forward, I would venture to say they might get a major rude awaking and be very shocked by the results of fisherman and woman in Washington who love PIKE Fishing and don't want it to go away!!! There has to be some kind of law out there that protects fisheries from agency's like WDFW from just being able to make a move and do as they please. I would say start with the Senators and Congressmen in the State of Washington and get the word out to them as quickly as possible as to what WDFW is trying to do. I am sure there is a way to halt such an aggressive move from happening and would hope that if someone knows a way of getting in touch with these Government officials that they take this idea serious enough to contact them. I know in the Mid-West this is what would take place if something of this magnitude ever happened and a fishery was being considered for eradication which still blows my mind.
WDFW please think about what kind of an effect you will have on a phenominal fishery and think about the Economic impact you will be affecting on the entire State of Washington by trying to take such drastic measures. As I said before DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST and come together as a TEAM with other conservation departments throughout the nation and ASK WHAT THEY ARE DOING to control the Pike population!!! It's not hard to make a phone call, have a meeting and come up with better solutions, how do you think we are where we are at today in the fishing community!!! We work together and come up with better ways to make fishing better for everyone!!! Think about it and be more willing to consider facts and ideas to come up with better solutions!!! It really is not that difficult, I don't care if you are the WDFW, even your department has guidelines to follow just like we do as fishermen and women and I am sure that officials within this State would agree with that!!! Why is it that the WDFW can create rules and then change them as they see fit without the vote of the people, isn't that how this country works??? Maybe I just live in fantasy land, but I would sure hope that since we PAY for a Fishing License each year that we too would have a say in how the fishery's are handled and taken care of. Well for now, I will tell you this, I will be doing my RESEARCH and Fact finding hoping that there is a way to figure out how all fishermen and women get a vote in this State on such sensitive subjects like this. I will keep everyone posted as I come across anything.

Nate

It's pretty easy to come away from reading that news article with the impression that WDFW and the Kalispell tribe are planning to eradicate pike from the POR. However, when I asked Bruce Bolding about the gillnetting at today's IFPAG meeting, he told me eradication is impossible and this netting is only for population survey purposes. He said WDFW would eliminate the POR pike if it could, but it can't be done. I asked about using largemouth bass to control the pike population, and Bolding and a couple of other people at the meeting told me that tactic doesn't work. Bolding said the Kalispells have been rearing largemouth bass for some time, and their studies show the bass reproduction rate in the river is zero. Also, they don't eat the pike, it's the other way around. WDFW seems to think there's going to be plenty of pike in the river for you to catch, to your heart's content, no matter how hard WDFW tries get rid of them.

Don Wittenberger wrote:It's pretty easy to come away from reading that news article with the impression that WDFW and the Kalispell tribe are planning to eradicate pike from the POR. However, when I asked Bruce Bolding about the gillnetting at today's IFPAG meeting, he told me eradication is impossible and this netting is only for population survey purposes. He said WDFW would eliminate the POR pike if it could, but it can't be done. I asked about using largemouth bass to control the pike population, and Bolding and a couple of other people at the meeting told me that tactic doesn't work. Bolding said the Kalispells have been rearing largemouth bass for some time, and their studies show the bass reproduction rate in the river is zero. Also, they don't eat the pike, it's the other way around. WDFW seems to think there's going to be plenty of pike in the river for you to catch, to your heart's content, no matter how hard WDFW tries get rid of them.

I totally disagree with most of that your saying here.

First, I caught a 5 lb L.M. Bass last year with a 12" Pike sticking out of it's mouth, so I know for a fact that Bass DO eat Pike. Now do Pike eat bass well of course they do but they mainly eat Perch, Sunfish and Squawfish. All the ones that I have seen kept and cleaned have never had a trout or bass in their belly. Lots of Perch though.

Second, Putting gill nets in all of the bays and slew like they are talking about will as far as a sport fishery goes will eradicate the pike. I do agree they will never get them all, but they can easily ruin the best Pike fishery in all of the Northwest. Plus those gill net will be catching and killing many other species of fish other then pike I guarantee it.
The Smallmouth Bass is a much more dangerous predator to trout populations then the pike are simply because Smallmouth and Trout inhabit the same waters. Where Pike and Largemouth tend to be found in the same, but separate waters.

Third, Bass production in the river is not anything close to zero. Granted it could be better, but in the spring you can see bass fry by the thousands back in the slews and in early summer you see the smaller fish. There is no stocking program that I know of for the Smallmouth and they are in the P.O. in force!!!!!!!

I know there are a lot more people out there what would like to see it just get managed to control the pike, and get the smaller fish in check, but gill netting is not the way to go. We need to band together and stop this insanity, and keep our trophy Pike Fishery

I believe its time to take a deep breath and take a step back. The Tribe and WDFW have been studying and monitoring the Pike population for number of years now. They have used electro shocking and gillnetting to gather biomass data. Members of various fishing clubs have aided in the process to lend a hand and observe the process. I would hope we get that oppurtunity again! Most of us agree that population control of the Norhtern Pike is prudent, done responsibly. Where the fisherman and WDFW disagree is the choice of which method will be used to achieve a balance of species in the river. The Kalispel Tribe and WDFW have entertained several different solutions along the way, an indication of the complexity of the situation. I often question their intentions and motivations, but this stems from the fact that I'm darn glad the Pike are there and they aren't. Bruce Bolding has been a good friend to those of us whom fish for Tiger Muskie and he may not always tell me what I want to hear about Pike but I believe him to be truthful.
I have spent many summers in Alaska commercial fishing, five years as a Skipper and Deckhand on gillnet boats. Fished for sockeye in Bristol Bay and Herring from Togiak to Nome. Worked with Alaska Fish and Game each year in test fisheries. I can tell you that trying to eradicate the Pike population would be costly in dollars and enviornmental damage. Its a crude and indiscriminent way to tackle this scale of operation. So after pondering the impossibility of eradication I must believe this cannot be their intention. I would even have to be convinced this could work to reduce the population by 10%. I liken it to using a fish tank net to catch goldfish in a swimming pool. They may have discussed and researched many avenues before arriving at this choice. The newspaper article doesn't tell the whole story and the above mention study points to a decline in species prior to the Pike. This tells me there is a lot of information out there, some accurate and some not, some yet to be told.
Its no secret among my friends that I'm passionate about the Pike, love to fish for them, learn about them and have a good fish fry. When I first heard of the article I was pissed to say the least, I even contacted my Senator whom could not fathom WDFW gillnetting on a massive scale. Now having time to let my emotions settle and gather my whits I believe there is no way to completly get ride of the Pike. Nor would it be a popular move, a battle would be waged in the court of public opinon. There must be more to this story. I believe while WDFW would love to rid the state of Pike, they will find gillneting to be a tool for study not population control.

First of all I'm from the good old midwest and I love to catch pike. Every lake in Mn and WI has a bass and a pike population in it and lifes just great over there.
hmmmm.....Rod and reel survey compared to a gillnet survey????? I like to think I'm a pretty decent Pike fishermen and I wouldn't be intimitated in a friendly fish catching challange by anyone but......to get to my point...its pretty fricken hard to out fish a gill net.....
Second of all gill nets kill everything thing that are caught in them..its like using a snare or a foot trap you really dont know what your going to get in the morning. I just wish they would promote the fishery and if they want to kill a few pike to control the population thats fine....but by all means don't use the gilll nets just shock the fish and kill all of the little hammer handles and let the trophies go. That way the POR could expand into an even better Trophy pike fishery. They are in there, and there is noway thy are going to get all of them out. Its been really nice not having to fly to Cananda and spend the big money to go out on a float plane to catch trophy pike. Hello open up a lodge and offer a guide service....
I could go on and on and quote research articles but as the newspaper put it the publics (which last time i checked are the paying customers (ie. tax dollars and fishermen) oppion doesn't matter.......The fact that the article actually says that is a shame and is just going to make things worse.

...........

All I can say is WOW. I don't even know why the article mentions the concern for trout after the article mark posted about how the trout fishery has been on the decline since the installation of the dam and the study clearly points out that the vast majority of the pikes diet is perch, peamouth, squawfish and the occasion bass. It does seem like they are trying to recreate the wheel on how to reduce and or control the pike population. I have to agree with nate that a phone call to the midwest on how they manage pike would be very prudent on their part. I think we can all agree that control of the smaller pike is not our issue, but the desire to gillnet which does kill which includes those very few trophy pike. I wonder if they have a concern that they might worsen the fishery rather than make it better. The article talks about the gillnets being used allows other fish to pass through which I find it hard to believe the smaller pike are not passing through. My concern is that they might eradicate a good portion of the larger fish rather than the problem fish. In turn the smaller fish end up sexually maturing at an earlier age only further creating to the problem of smaller pike. Before you know you have a reservoir full of hammer handle pike with a 30" being considered a large fish. And I think we all know what that means for the other fisheries in the reservoir.

I know the WDFW does monitor the forum quite frequently and I know they have seen this forum..no doubt. I agree with Craig. Go to the meeting on the 22nd and voice your opinion and concern...granted I would like to see some one of authority at the meeting rather than a talking head figure. God knows I would be there if I could.

I've lived most of my life in Spokane. As long as I can remember, the PO river has never been a fantastic trout waters to fish. A lot to do over nothing.

Ok, my emails tell me some are surprised I didn't come out "guns a blazing". My sources tell me that reality dictates some of these desisions are made for fisheries enhancement and some are made for financial and funding reasons. I wish it were as simple as " listen to the fisherman", or "follow the research data". Perhaps in a perfect world this would happen. This problem exists on three levels, local, state and federal. Each follow their own agendas which are rarely the same. There are several management tools which could be effective, none invloving gillnetting or erradication. Here are a few methods, "slot limits", "size restrictions", "competitor species planting", "pay for catch programs" to name a few. Other states (Minn. Wis. N.D.) and countries, (Denmark, Great Britian, Poland) are very successful at Pike management, WDFW is realitively new to it. Hopefully they are open minded enough to listen and learn.
We are fortunate to have many informed and invloved sportsman actively contacting their representitives, its working! So keep your eyes and minds open and don't be affraid to reach out to the desision makers.

I know it's already been said, but these Gill Nets don't care what they catch. Bass, Pike, Trout, whatever... The bigger issue has already been stated. These nets will more than likely wipe out a HUGE portion of these bigger fish leaving all these hammer handles. The first problem with this is people are already fishing the river for the chance to catch these monster Pike. When they are wiped out it could set the river back in regards to big fish 5-8 years at least! Who wants to go catch hammer handles all day? I think this would just make this a bigger problem for WDFW as I believe they would see a lot less angler interest and pressure.

The other problem is when it was being talked about by WDFW to possibly put a slot limit on these fish one of the reasons they gave was to KEEP the bigger fish in the river to help control the population of smaller hammer handles. I have personally seen a 34 inch Pike with a 12 inch Pike in its belly.

Not only will they get less angler pressure, but there will be less big fish to help control their own population.

Aren't they using "pay for catch" for Macks in Lake Pend Oreille now? How is that working out?

Marc Martyn wrote:Aren't they using "pay for catch" for Macks in Lake Pend Oreille now? How is that working out?

Yes they are but they are gill netting also, as a result lake PO, Is now called the Dead sea by all the guys that used to troll out there.