Beginning May 1st, 2010, Washington fisheries officials are proposing a single barbless hook restriction for the Columbia River.
Washington fisheries officials are about to deliver a bombshell on Columbia River anglers, proposing single barbless hooks be required for salmon and steelhead angling as far upstream as McNary Dam.
The proposed rules can be downloaded from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife website. The changes are scheduled for public comment October 8th, with a potential ratification in December.
#11. Hook Rules for Salmon in Marine Areas
Proposal: Require single-point barbless hooks when fishing for salmon from the Columbia River jetty and in Willapa Bay (MA 2-1) and the Westport Boat Basin from August 1 – January 31.Explanation: This proposal would require single-point barbless hooks for all saltwater salmon fisheries, making saltwater salmon hook rules consistent and easy to follow, while allowing easier release of any salmon not retained
These types of changes are to be expected, in light of the dramatic decline in west coast salmon populations. This comes on the heels of a $7.50 increase in a Washington license (for salmon) – we can all expect to see stiff sanctions in play as the fish dwindle to extinction.
These are the Good Old days ..
Tags: Columbia River salmon, single barbless restriction, salmon, Washington fish and wildlife
That’s great, though Oregon will need to take that step as well to for those regulations to do any good I’d imagine. And that would require ODFW pulling their heads out of their collective asses.
I guess the singlebarbed will not be fishing on the Columbia!