Anonymous
3/21/2013 10:23:00 AMSo you bonked a Native that was lucky enough to get past the Monday thru Friday net gauntlet? And i get abuse for sugesting that i might like to eat a Bass from lake Wa.
RiverChromeGS
3/21/2013 10:53:00 AMAwesome fish, and awesome you got it out of a kayak on the duc. Thats cool. But in our day and age, after an amazing battle like that, you really should release wild sreelhead, especially of that size to go spawn. If everyone who went to forks bonked their one native steelhead, the runs would soon be non existant. Just think about it, you could have easily taken a picture and release that beautiful fish
chrome_chasin
3/21/2013 11:24:00 AMAwesome fish! As for retention it is your call but with a fight like that the fish was iffy to survive. Plenty of reports out there from guys doing this for longer then have been alive that would agree with that. In fact the last journal I read had reports that 1 in 10 CnR'ed fish will die before spawning. If we are concerned about the truly native fish in these systems then we should not be fishing them. Just my 2 cents.
Anonymous
3/21/2013 11:35:00 AMIf you use the right gear and make sure the fish is fully revived the mortality is very low. I have been floating Penensula rivers since the early eighties. We have been releasing our natives since the beginning. if only one in Ten was surviving you would know it not only in ecscapement but you would see the morts in the River more often..
HammerinHonkers
3/21/2013 1:21:00 PMFish looks delicious! I bet he'll eat well, too bad you can only keep 1.
arniejl
3/21/2013 4:43:00 PMNice fish!
Cannot believe this has not been shut down yet. You guys all know the rules, no bitching about something legal.
That will be wonderful table fare, nice bright buck.MMMM!
And to those, there will be more fish like this. They are not endangered. There are fish in those rivers. I know people that bonk every fish that they catch. Trust me, they kill a lot of natives every season. Perhaps you all should target those guys instead of a guy doing it, not only the hard way, but legally.
I do not bonk, but that does not mean he does not have the right. Too bad a guy can catch what is probably his biggest steehead and get reamed for it.
Nice thick belly meat on those big bucks, throw 1/2 that sucker in the smoker and don't ever look back!
Cannot believe this has not been shut down yet. You guys all know the rules, no bitching about something legal.
That will be wonderful table fare, nice bright buck.MMMM!
And to those, there will be more fish like this. They are not endangered. There are fish in those rivers. I know people that bonk every fish that they catch. Trust me, they kill a lot of natives every season. Perhaps you all should target those guys instead of a guy doing it, not only the hard way, but legally.
I do not bonk, but that does not mean he does not have the right. Too bad a guy can catch what is probably his biggest steehead and get reamed for it.
Nice thick belly meat on those big bucks, throw 1/2 that sucker in the smoker and don't ever look back!
arniejl
3/21/2013 4:46:00 PMAnd just to reiterate, I do not bonk, my only point is that it is legal.
natetreat
3/21/2013 5:10:00 PMThat's a beautiful fish! Gorgeous. And if it were a problem, they wouldn't let you keep one. If you want it, it's yours. There's nothing wrong with bonking your 1 native a year. If they truly were endangered, we wouldn't have nets across the river 6 days a week.
Mike Carey
3/21/2013 5:38:00 PMAnd with that, comment thread is locked. Tesla, feel free to delete any comments you don't appreciate, it's your report. The policy of this site, whatever species, is that while we encourage catch and release of trophy fish, it is the anglers right to keep a fish if legal to do so. Those of you unhappy I will simply ask - other than show your displeasure toward someone that is doing what is legally allowed - what are you doing to actively advocate with WDFW to change the policy? Cause otherwise, seems to me your integrity is questionable. Go and make a stand for your principles where it counts - with the people that make up the regs that the rest of us are given to follow.