Is snagging sport fishing?

[Cowlitzfisherman]

Is snagging sport fishing?

While some may say that snagging isn't sport fishing, other think otherwise!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TQAupcJ ... ature=fvwp

Why is snagging consider to be a sport to some but not to others? Have any of you ever done snagging for any type of fish before? If so, what species were they, and did you consider it to be sport fishing?

Salmon are defined by our WDFW and our legislators as "food fish", so what's wrong with snagging your food?

[KCKracker]

Personally I think the difference is population. If there was 289 BILLION in each runs return, do you think anyone would care? Nope...

[stlhdr42]

To some yes they think snagging is a sport and get excited about it. Those guys are not real fisherman. It doesn't really bother me when others snag salmon because if I'am bankin it somewhere I have come to expect it, thats why I have boats.

[codliveroil]

I don't think snagging is a sport ,I would call it harvesting , And if there are enough fish why not snag , I think pink salmon hooked any way should be legal , Meaning if they are foul hooked , not intentionally snagged ,,,...... What the heck kind of fish were on the video? ,
20 years ago When I was In Valdeze Alaska the Fish and Game enforcement officer told me how to snag and it was legal in the artificial boat harbor , But I never really tried . The silvers were jumping on the dock and Into boats etc ,

[KCKracker]

i agree partially. if a foul hooked fish is gonna die due to whatever reason why release it belly up? I have seen many idiots bring them in badly, take them out to unhook them etc.. and then due to the law let them float away belly up.

I get the whole return it to the Eco system thing, but that just leaves that moron to kill another one

My .02
The faster the moron has his limit the less likely he is to belly up multiple more and be limited and gone

[Silverfox]

In Alaska the accepted way to catch a Sockey is to sling your hook and yarn upstream 10 ft and rip. Everyone I saw uses this technique including myself. It's isn't very challenging but I did have a good time playing fish. I was told that the only reason you are required to have something by your hook is so the gamies can see where you hook the fish. It is illegal to keep a foul hooked fish meaning gill plate forward.

[Chum Man]

it's not sport fishing, because there is no sport at all involved in snagging. do you think it's alright to ground sluice a pheasant or shoot sitting ducks with a .22? it's just food after all...

seems like people have enough trouble trying to not degenerate to the level of a snagger whenever large numbers of fish are involved around here. the funny thing is, most good anglers slinging eggs can outfish any snaggers in this state, i see it on a regular basis in places like the skokomish and the barrier dam on the cowlitz.

alaska has sustenance seasons, up there it can be useful. we don't have vast resources and low numbers of people here, and most of the people calling for snagging seasons seem to be the ones decked out in $1000 in gear when they're fishing. and the "food fish" classifications are outdated and come from a time when such fish were managed by the department of game and "game fish" were managed by the department of fisheries...it's legal definitions and nothing else.

[streamer]

it's not sport fishing, because there is no sport at all involved in snagging. do you think it's alright to ground sluice a pheasant or shoot sitting ducks with a .22? it's just food after all...

seems like people have enough trouble trying to not degenerate to the level of a snagger whenever large numbers of fish are involved around here. the funny thing is, most good anglers slinging eggs can outfish any snaggers in this state, i see it on a regular basis in places like the skokomish and the barrier dam on the cowlitz.

alaska has sustenance seasons, up there it can be useful. we don't have vast resources and low numbers of people here, and most of the people calling for snagging seasons seem to be the ones decked out in $1000 in gear when they're fishing. and the "food fish" classifications are outdated and come from a time when such fish were managed by the department of game and "game fish" were managed by the department of fisheries...it's legal definitions and nothing else.

+1

[Cowlitzfisherman]

There are always at least two different ways at looking at everything!

sport•fish•ing (spôrt'fĭsh'ĭng, spōrt'-)
n. The sport of catching fish using a rod and reel.

Origin:
sport + fishing

Now "rules" and "laws" that follow are also two different things, but to many, snagging is a justifiable "sport"

Did any of you know that WDFW back in the seventies had proposed special snagging areas and places here, especially on hatchery salmon (food fish).

Certain fish species do not bite, so why not allow those species to be snagged during a fishery? If you believe what our scientists keep telling us (that salmon don't feed once they enter fresh waters) why not allow a different form of "harvest" on these food fish, especially in terminal areas?

What does one think that the gill netters do? How many times have we heard our agencies tell us that we "can't" harvest enough of these hatchery fish by rod and real?

WE can, but not by the limited methods and areas that they allow us to do so.

[fishizzle]

Snagging is not sporting, hence not sportfishing.

[Cowlitzfisherman]

Fair enough...that is your view!


But if you went out onto the street and asked the same question....?

As you have seen, some like to "hook" fish and enjoy the fight after the hooking. How many fishers are there in this state that support sport fishing in your view and ways... compared to the other side of your view and way? If the goal is to rid our excess hatchery fish from our rivers, why not allow those with the talent and method to do so? Is it better to allow the gill netters to make that choice for you?

I would even take this issue one step further in this issue /debate and dare to say ....

If a "Wild fish" was snagged in the side or back, that it will likely survive far better then if it was released after being deeply hooked inside its mouth where intense bleeding can and does usually occur. Fish can, and do survive outside small wounds.... all the time.

What say you?

[Yonder]

I say snagging is unsporting, unchallenging, and illegal for good reason in this neck of the woods.

the title of this post is appalling.

troll on cf... troll on...

[KCKracker]

A member has a right to ask any question or bring up a topic without being insulted or called a troll. He has as much right as you to post a topic, you just became the troll in this thread with your personal attack, cant you argue the topic and not the poster?

[streamer]

CFM likes to stir the pot sometimes... but in a good way.

He's simply trying to make you think... and have an opinion.

[Yonder]

Hahaha no personal attacks, no insults, i was implying that he's trolling for biters on a black and white subject. bites' pretty good.

snagging fish is not a sport, its a way of life. its a way of lookin at that nasty old boot, treble in hand, and sayin hey bud lets party.

[hiredgun]

Most of you posters are the problem with todays sportsmen.
Real fishermen fish. Then the rest of you start snagging pinks.
Then well the silvers have lock jaw lets snag those.
Damm the kings won't eat lets put on the Buzz bombs.
lets teach our kids there is a easy way to bring fish home you don't need to be a fisherman all you need to do is cast and jerk.
Let be real it is way easier to shoot a shoot a deer in the spot light lets make that legal, It is much easier.

just a thought

[KCKracker]

Most of you posters are the problem

really? do we all say we support snagging? I guess everyone that replied here is a snagger ?

[hiredgun]

I said most!!

[HntnFsh]

Would you rather see some of the Cowlitz silvers snagged.Or caught any way they can be by hook and line.Or go to surplus by the untold thousands.Lets see.A couple 1000 last week.A couple 1000 this week.Several 1000 next week.On and on and on.For the next several weeks.

I have my opinion and flame away.But I say catch them any way you can with hook and line.I see way more sport in that.Than the way they are killed for surplus.

I also think CFM is onto something about survivability of snagged fish.

Now,if its a natural river with a good native population.Then things change a whole lot.

HntnFsh

[RETTRO]

Snagging? No!

Flossing?....Yes!

I'm all for it, too. When it's done right, it's a beautiful thing. The right leader and weight combo or the right flyline and leader/tippet/fly triad is awesome when they're turned off. This has saved many dead days on the ol' river for me and it's always great to fall back on.

[derrickadam]

all i know is i watched that clip and couldn't stop crackin up it looked like the guy i was fishing next to on the puke. next time im gunna say. dang isnt it kinda weird how all your fish bite with there tails?

[Cowlitzfisherman]

it's not sport fishing, because there is no sport at all involved in snagging. do you think it's alright to ground sluice a pheasant or shoot sitting ducks with a .22? it's just food after all...

That's an interesting point of view, but one that's not shared by all fishermen or hunters. Do you really believe that's its unsporting to shoot a pheasant just because it refuses to be flushed? If that was true, then our game laws would make that an illegal act (shooting birds that are not in flight) in the rules ...right? Instead, they wisely leave that choice up to the hunter/shooter to make on there own call. Why not apply that same reasoning to hatchery fish that were made for nothing else then to harvest?

I can see not harvesting or allowing snagging of wild fish, but for the most part, wild fish can easily be released if they are foul hooked.

seems like people have enough trouble trying to not degenerate to the level of a snagger whenever large numbers of fish are involved around here. the funny thing is, most good anglers slinging eggs can outfish any snaggers in this state, i see it on a regular basis in places like the skokomish and the barrier dam on the cowlitz

Really?

IMO, that's an unreasonable comparison and conclusion to draw from. You say that "most good anglers slinging eggs can outfish any snaggers in this state, i see it on a regular basis in places like the skokomish and the barrier dam on the cowlitz"

The only reason that one could make such statements are because it's currently illegal to purposely snag or "attempt to snag", so the "bait slings" that you are referring to certainly would out fish a "snagged" To efficiently snag fish, one must make some pretty obvious jerking actions just like the ones that you have seen in the video. If one was to do that while fishing side by side to a bait fisher, in such areas as the Cowlitz Barrier Dam, the snagger would likely out fish the bait slinger by several times. I don't fish the skokomist, but I would bet that it also would be very similar to that of the Cowlitz Barrier Dam fisheries.

alaska has sustenance seasons, up there it can be useful. we don't have vast resources and low numbers of people here, and most of the people calling for snagging seasons seem to be the ones decked out in $1000 in gear when they're fishing.

Well, what's the difference? When they slaughter 10's of thousands of silver in prim shape each year in places such as the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery, (most every year) because the "anglers" can't catch them before they inter the traps at the hatchery, why not allow them to be snagged in such places? There is no logical defendable reason why snagging could not be made legal in certain rivers at certain times when these fish are going for pennies on the dollars to some friendly fish processor of the WDFW. Those same fish could and should be able to generate large amount of income to the local community, while at the same time generating more fishing licenses sales that benefits the WDFW programs.

That could easily become a win-win situation instead of a loose-loose situation which it currently is. River specific regulations could easily be made and applied to several specific rivers which have large hatchery returns.

NntnFish's post and reasoning, makes a lot of sense too many!

[powder]

Yeah this hasn't been beat to death or anything.

[Cowlitzfisherman]

Dead horse

Oh Really?

Is that why the "number one proposal" in the new rules proposals for 2010-2011 is....


Statewide Rules
#1. Anti-Snagging Gear Rule
Proposal: "Anti-snagging rule" means:
Except when fishing with a buoyant lure (with no weights added to the line or lure), or trolling from a vessel or floating device, terminal fishing gear is restricted to a lure or bait with one single point hook.
Only single point hooks measuring not more than 3/4 inch from point to shank may be used, and all hooks must be attached to or below the lure or bait. Weights may not be attached below or less than 12 inches above the lure or bait.

Explanation: Anglers have expressed concerns that the current anti-snagging rule does not allow the use of floating gear with treble hooks in areas where the rule is applied. They argue that floating gear is not used to snag fish, and it should be exempted from the rule. The proposal allows anglers who are trolling or who are using a floating lure without weight attached to

Seems to me that a lot of people are interested and concerned about "snagging" and its aspects!

Dead horse to who...you?

[Webo]

Snagging is FISHING I suppose... but it certainly ISN'T SPORTFISHING by any definition that I would subscribe to.

To me is isn't so much the act of foul-hooking fish as it is the fact that the WORST of humanity come out to do it. Garbage, drunks and dipsh!ts galore.

If the Cowlitz river gets too many coho back the the hatchery rack every year... perhaps they should plant LESS coho and maybe concentrate on spring chinook or early winter steelhead instead?

Cowlitz is just lookin' to argue again now that Bruce is out of the picture. I give him a month or 2 at this pace until Big Daddy is sick of him too.