catch and release-

     I see the DSR will be going to 100% c/r this upcoming year on ALL trout species- Kings and Coho only will be allowed to be kept but nothing else in an effort to increase natural repro.
   Now personally I really don't care cause I don't keepem anyhow no matter where they are caught. WEllll kept one HO bout 3 yrs ago.
  The thing that is starting to really bother me though is this mentality that the system is one of 'natural repro' rather than the put and take fishery it really is.
   My fear is that this increasing mentality will lead to silly stuff that has come up before like closing my favored feeder for more natural repro in a put and take system. 
    I LIKE the c/r  cause I know there is some natural going on but  dont trust the mentality that may ultimately make major changes to the fishery by folks whos ideas are perhaps a little Purist ( for lack of a better term).
   We have kinda discussed this before but this is a major change for some folks and seems to represent a philosophy that is growing and could  get out of hand. Imagine limited fishing on  the river  or no fishing near any  gravel bed areas so as not to intrude on natural repro?--Thats what they tried to do in the feeder- completley close it was the deal and it almost happened a year or two ago.
    The thought process- though well intended- may be starting to get out of hand and one can easily see some 'sporting groups' pushing it hard- no need to say who cause we can all figure that one out.
     Most all of us who fish it year round and very often know it for what it is in a realistic manner but there are clearly those who are trying to make it out to be some kinda pure little stream someplace which it clearly AIN"T.
  HEY-an you boat guys out on the lake- dont sit back here cause YOU would be next if this stuff gets going.

That was in place last yr, b4 that the limit on trout was 1(back as far as I care to remember).

retired sorry to say but your all wet on this one..
as metal said they went c&r last year on all trout and atlantics and have had a 1 trout limit previously.. Personally I think they should have left as is (except atlantics) but that’s just IMO..
as far as your "feeder" Folks cried about closing them completely not just c&r.. that has been going on for about 10 years that I can remember.. (where you been ? ) but as I said the dec seen no need.. unless that ,and excuse me for saying, out-of state group of anglers put more pressure on the dec I don’t for see any changes to the "feeders" .

Besides we already have 2 (well 3 counting dsr) C&R areas.. The first LFZ was created then the UFZ..

The SR will never be a total C&R fishery.. there is just too much revenue coming in to limit anglers to that extent..

Believe me Your safe and I do kill a fish or 2 once in awhile there...

If folks really want to conservation minded they would NOT fish the river for large trout or atlantics during warm temps unless they intend to kill their catch.. They will not survive being stressed in 70 deg water.. so those who c&r now are all wet too.. LOL..

Have a great Independence Day !!!

"I’m free"

ORIGINAL: 3fan

i often have wondered what kind of summer fishery the salmon would be if the dam was a bottom release like the deleware. Now when they release water its off the top and already 70 degrees, if it was a bottom release it would be about 55 degrees or so and would be a great summertime fishery also. The water just gets to warm.

still not much different.. the reservoirs there are to shallow and no cold water springs for any cool water..

Coupla points-

Was very aware of the one fish limit in DSR- even back when they started it- No problems here with that or the C/R. Thought when reading the DSR post that the c/r was new this year- maybe read an old post. C/R wasnt the issue for me -just the 'going too far' that could easily occur.
State biologist told me that THE  reason they were going to completly stop fishing in the feeder was for natural repro- not even allow c/r there was the initial intent. I think THATS going too far.
  Don't know who stopped it (perhaps common sense arrived on the scene) but cant buy in to 'out of staters' having that much influence in a State decision.
  CAN buy into the  fiscal impact though as that's why the put and take fishery was started in the first place. With great results too.
  Normally like the idea of a bottom discharge but this Reservoir does NOT have the normal layering of water temps ,why ?  I was advised but frankly dont positively recall so wont post it.
   Posted this for two reasons -
  one- it is getting very slow here and this oughta fire the place up a bit.
   two- this is a condition that's gettin a lot of attention and could easily be implemented with narrow views of a loud minority -to the determent of life going on as we know it. Sometimes reasonable decisions get pushed aside when some groups get off and running with narrow viewpoints.
Have seen that 'overkill' mentality on good initial ideas far too often in my Political experiences  and know it can be a real pain in the a**.  ( my stars)
Point being- not crying wolf- but being pragmatic and watching carefully.

   BTW- Tuna- have been all wet several slippery  times along the river, isn't the first time or probably the last.
    Funniest thing ever was a friend walking along knee deep in slow water and then -one more step-  all I could see was his bewildered head.  Yes- I know- should have been helpful and understanding but was too busy being hysterical for any of that nonsense.
  

I really don't care what they do as long as it includes keeping the POS snaggers & litterbugs out.

Now, explain this purist thing to me.

Agree with the litterbugs, and snaggers or "lifters" dont have a clue what pos is. Snagging will always exist on the salmon in my opinion and here is why, guys that fished when they really did use snagging hooks took their kids fishing, laws changed and snagging became lifting, kids grew up and had kids, polarized glasses came about and made lifting even more easy. Fathers are still teaching the art of "spot em and got em" to their young fisherman. Last season I watched a father show his son the proper way to fish from a tree that had fallen in the river, stand on log, watch water for fish, cast above fish coming up, when "bait" floats under fish "YANK".

ORIGINAL: metalslayer

That was in place last yr, b4 that the limit on trout was 1(back as far as I care to remember).

The trout limit was 2 back in the earlier mike miller days. It changed to 1 while hewas still there though...

Hey retired I hear where you're coming from. There is always that question of where will it stop.

For the summer SALMONOID fishery; there's no doubt that it is there already. Atlantics, steelhead and browns havebeen making it to the hatchery for a while now. I can also remember times going back all the way to mid/late 90s and seeing the church hole with many fish rolling In all summer months.There are plenty of spring holes far enough up that fish hold in through summer months; while many others come back and forth with the water. IMO; the potential is there for a better summer salmonoid presence....

Dime-
   Thanks, and I agree with the Summer stuff- would love to see c/r only for the Summer and maybe even late Winter.
Got no problem whatsoever giving them a chance.
   Agree with ya Tuna- but still dont think they give a darn bout the non residents feelings - just their money. Thats OK too cause thats why the fishery is there. In that regard-yea- there can be influence. That was the point was trying to make earlier.
  I would hope that the Summer fishery is somewhere near that 'tipping point' where it suddenly has enough fish in it to take off in a noticeable way.
  They are certainly there in some numbers if even I can find them and watch them from time to time. That sudden  ' what happened' increase is hopefully forthcoming though.

     Late winter cause after all the stuff they have put up with all season long they really ARE about to spawn- and it might just be nice to letem have a chance to do so.
    Am unsure bout the Summer thing. I never take a fish out of the water and use long needle nose pliers to reach in and pull my hooks. If a fish needs to be held a bit to come round I do so, but never lift them out.
Get really pi---- off when seeing guys takem out of the water and letem flop around -pull the hook and pushem back in, without even a second look- ANY time of year- any kinda fish.
    Dont know how much that really helps but it works for me and they seem to do very well with that system. That being said I have never caught a Summer run as yet but look forward to the experience.
Not for lack of trying either. Guess it that 90/10 thing ---again.
In the smaller steams ( NOT in the SR area) I fish to eatem and never do much releasing unless I am close to having enough and the fish is in very good shape.
Keeping all under those conditions could make a very lousy trip when the bite is good at the beginning of the day and ya can only eat a couple. Could make some long days on what was supposed to be a fishing trip. Kudos to those with that much dedication.

   Might find that there is lots of PVT land along the river without the state lease in place. There are lots of folks who may or may not own such land who charge a fee to park here and there. Not making any opinionated speech here - just the way it is. Never hear bout special rules elsewhere though.
  North side of the staircase is posted and I wont fish there cause of it even though most still do. South side is that darned cliff.
There is a guy on a feeder with all kinda NO FISHING posters on his property but I see guys there with guides once in a while. No dif. than DSR IMHO just somebody gettin by. Most families probably owned the places long before this fishery came about too.
Guess I'm used to it here at home cause stocked streams have lots of pvt posted property along them. Gotta learn how to get around them.

ORIGINAL: dimebrite

I can also remember times going back all the way to mid/late 90s and seeing the church hole with many fish rolling In all summer months.There are plenty of spring holes far enough up that fish hold in through summer months;

I guarantee 2 things:

1) The Church Hole is still packed tight with fish enjoying the cool comfort of the spring seeps and the solitude to enjoy it - since the LFZ Kiddie Pool is closed until Sept 15.

2) Come Sept 15, there will be plenty of floaters going by the Rte 52 bridge when the LFZ Kiddie Pool re-opens to the nitwits (yes - NITWITS) that will pound the living crap out of them fish and haul them back and forth through the warm low water conditions at that time of year. The C&R'ers probably kill more fish than the meat hunters.

ORIGINAL: retired guy

     Late winter cause after all the stuff they have put up with all season long they really ARE about to spawn- and it might just be nice to letem have a chance to do so.
  

F the fish..

How about giving some of us a chance to "actually fish" for them in reasonable solitude - after all the stuff we have to put with all season long on that river.

ORIGINAL: draketrutta

ORIGINAL: dimebrite

I can also remember times going back all the way to mid/late 90s and seeing the church hole with many fish rolling In all summer months.There are plenty of spring holes far enough up that fish hold in through summer months;

I guarantee 2 things:

1) The Church Hole is still packed tight with fish enjoying the cool comfort of the spring seeps and the solitude to enjoy it - since the LFZ Kiddie Pool is closed until Sept 15.

2) Come Sept 15, there will be plenty of floaters going by the Rte 52 bridge when the LFZ Kiddie Pool re-opens to the nitwits (yes - NITWITS) that will pound the living crap out of them fish and haul them back and forth through the warm low water conditions at that time of year. The C&R'ers probably kill more fish than the meat hunters.

(Quote)

Never seen too many (trout) floaters myself after it opens up in september....

Thanks Drake-
   Always thought this was a good way to treat the fish I happen to respect so much even though many are 'lost' without dragging them up onto shore and using the oft observed  the 'kick' and/or 'tail drag & toss' release method.
   "Elitist' is something I have never been called before but I'm gonna keep doing it that way whenever possible- specially in the freezing Winter months.
   I'm gonna keep trying in the Summer too-Don't know if my half dozen or so Summer tries will ever result in an elusive big one but will continue to try it. Considering the advise I may well keep one if caught in the Summer though. Probably mount it too.
    Everybody gotta be sompthin and I'v been called a lotta stuff- specially when was L/E and now in Politics it gets,   well it just gets---- Suppose 'elitist' aint so bad---
   Now  I gotta go out and buy expensive 'big name' gear too stead of the cheap stuff, and then I gotta start to learn the names of my flies an get those pricey kinda boots and waders an start standing back and talking a bit too loud bout the other guys fishing methods an throw out my spinning gear and join a buncha those 'clubs' and go fishing in some famous streams and ( maybee I'll just cut my leaders and kick the fish twoard the water - might be easier)-----lol.