Foul hooked

Since the Olympic Peninsula C&R thread got such a spirited response, I thought I'd poll the audience on another topic.

Kenai River Sockeye Salmon:  this group of salmon comes in in huge numbers annually and provides local economies tons of revenue, but people complain there aren't enough fish.  "it ain't like it used to be!". With that being said, would changing the foul hooked regulation increase the population noticably?

What is the foul hook reg?  Any fish hooked anywhere other than in the mouth is considered foul hooked.  Now since flipping for red salmon is essentially snagging legally, this rule doesn't make sense to me.  Why does it matter where you snag a fish?  I've caught over 3 limits of fish  in a day and released 2 limits because they weren't legally hooked.  I know these fish will die anyways, but if they never spawn there are that many less fish to repopulate.  If everyone was allowed to keep the first fish they catch and fill their limit sooner, they would in turn affect many fewer fish, right?  I think if they change this, over time, the fish population would greatly increase.  Am I crazy?

I fish the Upper Kenai pretty heavily and consider it my home water for the last 30 years.  Through that time, the Kenai's ability to operate as a sustainable, world-class fishery has been effectively managed through sonar fish counts to achieve at least the escapement floor. But there's also an escapement ceiling, beyond with the biotic potential of the river is too stressed to assure that sustained yield that we all expect.  There are plenty of fish in the river, with limits adjusted upward or downward depending upon how the counts are matching up with the escapement goals. 

What has changed in those 30 years is the amount of fishing pressure on the river, as both state population and tourism and guide operations have increased markedly over that time.  Because of the increased fishing pressure, it isn't like it used to be -- that's true. And it isn't going to return to those storied days of memory by increasing the amount of fish in the river above current escapement goals (in my opinion). 

Here's what I don't get.  Why would it be beneficial to add an incentive to indiscriminate snagging on the river, increasing the velocity of flying weighted hooks on a crowded river? At least with the foul-hook restrictions, a fisher needs to develop a softer touch to discern the difference between a hook in the jaw or one riding the dorsal fin -- lest we end up spending too much time horsing a poorly controlled fish through the river and earning the ire of others on the water whose drift we're disrupting.  I've always felt the foul-hook rules kept it more sporting for me as a fisher, and kept the river a more serene and somewhat hook-safe environment to fish even in the midst of a monster of run of reds.

I'm not saying we need snagging hooks.  I'm not a fan of that.  But expecting all the tourists to develop the "feel" for knowing if they've hooked in the mouth or elsewhere is unrealistic.  Most of them probably show up for a week and leave with a cooler full of fish that they caught flipping and ripping as fast and hard as they could.

Why wouldn't increasing the population of fish in the river make fishing closer to "what it used to be?"

"Fishing" for reds isn't really fishing....it's snagging. IMO. 

Maybe we're not discussing the same thing at all.  I read your opening post as advocating elimination of the foul-hook reg in favor of a snag-'em-anywhere approach.  I can't condone that for two reasons: (1) the amount of fishing pressure on the Kenai is such at turning it into a snaggery is dangerous to anyone on the river in the midst of a run, and (2) it's not clear that permitting indiscriminately snagged fish to be taken would make any difference to the number of fish in the river.  Limits are based on escapement goals and sonar counts. Escapement ranges are set based on the best available fisheries science to maintain sustainable wild stocks through all of the stakeholder groups, from the commercial fleet, through the subsistence users, the personal use fishery, the tourists and the resident sportsfishers.

The only reason I can imagine wanting to permit taking one's limit through foul-or-fair hooked fish is simply to shorten the amount of time it takes to harvest three fish on any given day.  Since that's not my goal, it doesn't appeal to me.  During the peaks of the runs, I usually float the Upper Kenai and catch a single "supper fish" before dismantling my salmon rod and reaching for my trout rod. Rainbows and Dollies, all CNR, are what keep me returning to the river every week. To fill the freezer, I'm dipnetting the Kasilof and Kenai to reach my household take.

Now, I want all of those fishing tourists to come on up and try their luck and spend their dollars. But I don't want to see us throwing caution to the wind just because some visitor isn't here long enough to develop the touch.

Increasing the ratio of fish-in-the-river to fisherfolk (to get it back where it was long ago) isn't a management strategy that's sustainable, because the human side of the equation is always increasing with our population while the river's ecosystem is not increasing in volume or quality.  So while you might have a couple of years of good times, the runs would eventually collapse because we wouldn't be returning the stocks to the wild -- simply not enough fry returning to the salt because we've exceeded the capacity of the river to sustain an unlimited number of little fish.

That sounds reasonable.  As I've stated before, I'm new to AK, so some of the regs don't make sense to me.

I am 100% opposed to the use of snagging hooks for the same reasons you've mentioned.  I've done that before, and it's not only unsafe....it's really boring too.

I guess I'll just have to deal with combat fishing and tons of fish.  Oh wait I can hop in my yak a get away from the crowds.

I'm always of for spirited discussions and educated answers.  Thanks for the feed back

Aren't we lucky to live here?  I don't think I stopped grinning my entire Cheechako year... 

Last year was the first I tried kayak fishing in the saltwater, after spending years floating and fishing all over the state in my inflatable kayak. I pursued it because it returned me to fishing southcentral AK without feeling that I was adding to overcrowded waters. This season to come I intend to spend lots of time out of Seward, Whittier, Deep Creek, Homer and off Kenai's "south beach". I bought a Hobie Revolution 13 to get me out there this year, so I can't wait to get started.

If you're in Kenai, you don't have to settle for combat fishing.  Drift only Mondays on the Kenai (if that's when the regs specifiy this year) should give you ample opportunity to fish at separation from the worst combat conditions. The tons of fish -- well, now I'm back to that idea that we're so incredibly lucky to live here.

akfishergal ... you get it!!!   

-Allen

 
My better half thinks I've got something, all right. Every quarter when we review the impact of my recreational extravagances on the retirement plans, he wonders if there's any cure for it.

Lucky to to live here....heck yes!  I've been lucky ever since I got out of school.  Ive had the pleasure living and traveling in some of the best places in the US for
Outdoor activities  for the last 5 years.  It's rough but someone's gotta do it. 

As for the retirement plans....tell him to look at the expenses as preventative maintenance for phsyco therapy.  It all keeps me from going nuts, not to mention it's freakin sweet