Stranded Smolts

While fishing the PSA tourney this past saturday I found a pool cut off from main elk with about 100 to 200 smolts trapped in it south of Folley's. Even a good rain won't free these fish. I spoke with some commision people and they told me to help the fish back into the creek. It should only take a half hour or so to capture them. If anyone wants to help me I'll be at the soy bean field with the gate that has PSA signs across Rt.98 from Folley's around 6:30 tonight. Thanks, Jay

Yeah I know, but I figure I do enough steelhead fishing and those fish take alot of time and money to raise, I'd rather save a future trophey than let them become heron food.

compared to the 1000's that are hooked and killed by fisherman that continue to fish the tribs after they are stocked. 200 is nothing.
but I applaude your efforts to save them. If I could, I would help you. I could help on friday if you don't get to it today.

Nice work !   I would have helped, but I'm 6 hours away.

ORIGINAL: TB

I would just let them there - they will just die next Fall as 15" jacks on someone's stringer anyway...

 
But if you leave them, the Walleye will go hungry...  Think of the poor walleye children...

Mika,
 
The "fingerlings" were the smolt. Those 12-15 inchers, are jacks.

Just wait till the clueless start keeping smolt after opening day of trout season.  Seen several people in the past with stringers full of smolt.  I guess they had a problem telling how big the fish were as well as what species... 

That would help.  What if we had catch and release only after the smolt are put into the streams.

Bug, did you just say catch and release...... OH MY GOD!!!! What are you thinking....
 
Here comes the beating.

Tippy,
 
I know understand what you are saying/thinking. It would help SOME, but not really. Let's say that 2500 smolt are killed accidently by anglers. That's probabley a high number, most are released unharmed. Let's go so far as to double it to 5000. That is still less than one HALF of ONE percent. Certainly not a threat to the fishery. Why deny others, other fishing opportunities over a percieved threat that doesn't exist? 

ORIGINAL: spoonchucker

Tippy,

I know understand what you are saying/thinking. It would help SOME, but not really. Let's say that 2500 smolt are killed accidently by anglers. That's probabley a high number, most are released unharmed. Let's go so far as to double it to 5000. That is still less than one HALF of ONE percent. Certainly not a threat to the fishery. Why deny others, other fishing opportunities over a percieved threat that doesn't exist? 

This post is just as bad as K16 spouting off about loaded stream sections.  Spoon, you should know better.  Now, there's a bunch of people out there reading your post (take into consideration that you really are one of the most looked-upto folks on here), and many of them have morals that are marginal, at best.  You really can now double those numbers. 

"Well, Spoonchucker says it don't do no harm."

I would have to agree with Spoon on several points here.  So many smolts are stocked in the tibs to account for predation, nature, and the influx of humanity making "mistakes."

Each and every year, there are hundreds of thousands of these fish returning for angler pleasure.  Now I am only speaking for myself, but when you look at the pure numbers, 200,000 fish is quite huge!  Sort of makes the "fishing" part disappear when one says I am going to fish for Steelhead.  One could counter, big deal, there are so many of them, what is so special about that?  It is more akin to catching than fishing: IMHO.

I applaud the efforts to save the future resource; but really, the fisheries biologists have it all figured out, and there will be plenty of fish to boast about next year.  I can promise you that!
 
This particular post would be applicable to the "Closed Season" thread as well.  Let the experts in the field take care of it.  Just enjoy!

Doc

Well that's different. That was MY fish.
 
Look, I think it is great that folks care about the fishery, and want to protect it. I like to think I have done my part. I just think some folks need to relax a little, and quit looking for a threat or crises, around every corner.

ShutUp, mmm....love starting a response like that. Anyway I'm not going to get caught up in a C&R/keep em all debate, because it usually ends up with me feeling a little like this
 
I think when the people on this thread mentioned stringers they were talking about smolt on stringers. If you want to keep fish, as long as you buy a license go ahead, if you want to keep jacks instead of having another 6-8 pounder next year go ahead

ShutUp, if you get laid for Steelhead, what would you get for Merganser meat  
 
"Just wait till the clueless start keeping smolt after opening day of trout season.  Seen several people in the past with stringers full of smolt.  I guess they had a problem telling how big the fish were as well as what species... "


This is the quote I'm talking about
 
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