I spend a great deal of forum time reading threads in the General Discussion area. However every now and then I reply to something only to realize afterward that the post could perhaps be useful in the Alaskan General threads. With that thought I am placing copy of a post here.
This was the result of a members post wherein he laments the general decline of fishing quality in his area and suggested he may 'quit' trout & salmon fishing. The member was referencing conditions in the Eastern Lower 48 but I went ahead and began writing a dissertation about my area. I didn't intend it but it happened.
BTW. I had the acute foresight to not book any king salmon fishing clients this season and took only a sparse few for other species. Nothing is worse than having someone get skunked............. below is what I posted in reply to a thread on the General forum.
[I feel ya, and am sorry to hear about your local stream. I wrote a story years ago which is tucked away in my forum blog maybe ten pages back called 'Kiss & Tell Fishing and Why I Don't'. You may find that interesting seeing that it describes events that occurred over 40 years ago. I had not planned on airing my thoughts or woes here on the forum at this time but since you have came forth with your lament I will tell you a little about my 2017 season, as well as a bit of history...........
This year has been tough here in my part of Alaska like many other places. The king salmon return for 2017 is the reflection of the 2012 season. This is because the fish need at least 5 years to transition from an egg in gravel (2012) to an adult salmon returning from salt water in 2017. The year 2012 was dismal in that both south central AK. and western AK. experienced an unprecedented low in king salmon numbers. Fishing was closed from the Yukon River all the way down to here, basically there were 20% of what could be considered normal return numbers. To the best of my knowledge there has never been a determination of what exactly has caused this sharp decline. That June run of very few fish was subjected to 7 day a week harvest until the F&G people realized that we had a severe problem at which point the fishing was restricted.
As if things weren't bad enough the sparse return was followed by the most severe flooding the area has ever recorded. The flood crested in early October of 2012. That would be just about precisely the time when those few precious eggs would have transformed into tiny salmon fry and been seeking shelter at the very edges of our rivers and creeks. Those little edge waters and sloughs disappeared as the rivers and creeks exceeded their banks by hundreds of yards in some cases.
Me, I know these things and so you may imagine how shocked I was when the regulations for this 2017 season were unveiled. Harvest of returning king salmon was allowed seven day a week with a limit restriction placed on only one river in my region. What few fish that did return as adults, some of which could have been 3,4, or 6 year fish who simply returned either early or late depending on actual age were greedily harvested by both Guide boats and resident anglers alike. Me, I just observed, I tried to fish in May and the first two weeks of June but based on experience knew that there were very few fish in the various rivers I visited. Fish were however being caught but this was happening in places where angling pressure is crazy heavy. If you place 40 rods on a stretch for 5 hours you essentially have 200 hours of rod time concentrated on that particular stretch of water. If 100 fish attempt to pass through or decide to hold in such an area then the anglers may catch 20 or more and the general perception is that there are a ton of fish here. That is not and has not been the case for years.
Finally in late June when the only two rivers in this part of the state that have weirs where actual hand counts of returning salmon are recorded were obviously way below what we call the 'minimum escapement number' the fishing was closed area wide. My feelings are that this action came much too late as many hundreds of these precious few returning kings were caught and killed.
Our Pacific Silver Salmon numbers are likewise in serious distress but each year the regulations allow for liberal harvest until such time that it is realized there are very few fish coming up the rivers. It is not a pretty picture for someone who has built their life around fishing in south central Alaska for the past 14 seasons.
Trout fishing? Trout and grayling numbers are tied inseparably to salmon numbers. This is due to our latitude, many streams here lack a heavy population of aquatic insect life. This is due in great part to the short summer seasons and the extreme winters. The trout - Grayling and chars migrate down stream with the coming of winter but not before gorging themselves on salmon eggs and the flesh of the thousands of dead & decaying salmon to build up body fat and strength so they can survive in the deeper waters of much larger rivers under the ice. Some fish go all the way to the Cook Inlet and winter in the salt water only to return the next year to follow those tens of thousands of salmon back to the natal waters. With the drastic reduction of salmon comes the drastic reduction of available food resource for the indigenous rainbows and other species. The lack of food resources results in far fewer and smaller trout. Like I said it is not a pretty picture.
The only bright spot is that with fewer fish and no fishing in some cases I can find areas which were previously crowded virtually deserted. Peace and quiet and the hope that there may still be a few fish if I use every skill and bit of patience I've been able to develop over a lifetime of fly fishing. I won't quit, there are still a few monster rainbows in my rivers but they are even harder to figure out now. There's always Pike which I have available in abundant numbers at the cabin on the lake so it ain't over till it's over.
I sincerely believe that until 'we' by supporting our state agencies in a positive manner insist that fishery resources be managed for the good of the species and not the people, we are on a track of steady decline. When a species is regulated and enhanced for the survival and good of that species then the angling public will inherently benefit from the management practices. This means short term sacrifices in terms of fishing pressure and harvest but if there is no change at all I can't see this resource lasting much past another decade.
What do you think of that? Alaska, the last frontier, The Great Land.
I concede that if you can regularly throw down a few grand you can still be shuttled by float plane to the Alaska or Seward peninsulas or over to Katmai and experience fishing like was available right near my home just 14 short seasons ago.
I like to fish a lot. I like to set spike camps and fish that way but I just can't see being able to fish the most remote areas (fly ins) without the availability of a boat so you can move around from base camp. Places where you can base camp and fish on foot are becoming quickly crowded due to this very feature. Rafting floats on some remote rivers are becoming so regular that the once wild fish which had never seen a fly or lure are now under daily pressure. This condition is due in part to the general collapse of many fisheries here on mainland Alaska.
And that's all I have to say about that, you aren't alone in any feelings of hopelessness.
I went and looked up the blog entry for those who may wish to read a little history, personal that is
http://www.theflyfishingforum.com/forums/blogs/ard/193-kiss-tell-fishing-why-i-dont.html ]
This was published by a genuine 'scruffy' Alaskan Fish Guide.
This was the result of a members post wherein he laments the general decline of fishing quality in his area and suggested he may 'quit' trout & salmon fishing. The member was referencing conditions in the Eastern Lower 48 but I went ahead and began writing a dissertation about my area. I didn't intend it but it happened.
BTW. I had the acute foresight to not book any king salmon fishing clients this season and took only a sparse few for other species. Nothing is worse than having someone get skunked............. below is what I posted in reply to a thread on the General forum.
[I feel ya, and am sorry to hear about your local stream. I wrote a story years ago which is tucked away in my forum blog maybe ten pages back called 'Kiss & Tell Fishing and Why I Don't'. You may find that interesting seeing that it describes events that occurred over 40 years ago. I had not planned on airing my thoughts or woes here on the forum at this time but since you have came forth with your lament I will tell you a little about my 2017 season, as well as a bit of history...........
This year has been tough here in my part of Alaska like many other places. The king salmon return for 2017 is the reflection of the 2012 season. This is because the fish need at least 5 years to transition from an egg in gravel (2012) to an adult salmon returning from salt water in 2017. The year 2012 was dismal in that both south central AK. and western AK. experienced an unprecedented low in king salmon numbers. Fishing was closed from the Yukon River all the way down to here, basically there were 20% of what could be considered normal return numbers. To the best of my knowledge there has never been a determination of what exactly has caused this sharp decline. That June run of very few fish was subjected to 7 day a week harvest until the F&G people realized that we had a severe problem at which point the fishing was restricted.
As if things weren't bad enough the sparse return was followed by the most severe flooding the area has ever recorded. The flood crested in early October of 2012. That would be just about precisely the time when those few precious eggs would have transformed into tiny salmon fry and been seeking shelter at the very edges of our rivers and creeks. Those little edge waters and sloughs disappeared as the rivers and creeks exceeded their banks by hundreds of yards in some cases.
Me, I know these things and so you may imagine how shocked I was when the regulations for this 2017 season were unveiled. Harvest of returning king salmon was allowed seven day a week with a limit restriction placed on only one river in my region. What few fish that did return as adults, some of which could have been 3,4, or 6 year fish who simply returned either early or late depending on actual age were greedily harvested by both Guide boats and resident anglers alike. Me, I just observed, I tried to fish in May and the first two weeks of June but based on experience knew that there were very few fish in the various rivers I visited. Fish were however being caught but this was happening in places where angling pressure is crazy heavy. If you place 40 rods on a stretch for 5 hours you essentially have 200 hours of rod time concentrated on that particular stretch of water. If 100 fish attempt to pass through or decide to hold in such an area then the anglers may catch 20 or more and the general perception is that there are a ton of fish here. That is not and has not been the case for years.
Finally in late June when the only two rivers in this part of the state that have weirs where actual hand counts of returning salmon are recorded were obviously way below what we call the 'minimum escapement number' the fishing was closed area wide. My feelings are that this action came much too late as many hundreds of these precious few returning kings were caught and killed.
Our Pacific Silver Salmon numbers are likewise in serious distress but each year the regulations allow for liberal harvest until such time that it is realized there are very few fish coming up the rivers. It is not a pretty picture for someone who has built their life around fishing in south central Alaska for the past 14 seasons.
Trout fishing? Trout and grayling numbers are tied inseparably to salmon numbers. This is due to our latitude, many streams here lack a heavy population of aquatic insect life. This is due in great part to the short summer seasons and the extreme winters. The trout - Grayling and chars migrate down stream with the coming of winter but not before gorging themselves on salmon eggs and the flesh of the thousands of dead & decaying salmon to build up body fat and strength so they can survive in the deeper waters of much larger rivers under the ice. Some fish go all the way to the Cook Inlet and winter in the salt water only to return the next year to follow those tens of thousands of salmon back to the natal waters. With the drastic reduction of salmon comes the drastic reduction of available food resource for the indigenous rainbows and other species. The lack of food resources results in far fewer and smaller trout. Like I said it is not a pretty picture.
The only bright spot is that with fewer fish and no fishing in some cases I can find areas which were previously crowded virtually deserted. Peace and quiet and the hope that there may still be a few fish if I use every skill and bit of patience I've been able to develop over a lifetime of fly fishing. I won't quit, there are still a few monster rainbows in my rivers but they are even harder to figure out now. There's always Pike which I have available in abundant numbers at the cabin on the lake so it ain't over till it's over.
I sincerely believe that until 'we' by supporting our state agencies in a positive manner insist that fishery resources be managed for the good of the species and not the people, we are on a track of steady decline. When a species is regulated and enhanced for the survival and good of that species then the angling public will inherently benefit from the management practices. This means short term sacrifices in terms of fishing pressure and harvest but if there is no change at all I can't see this resource lasting much past another decade.
What do you think of that? Alaska, the last frontier, The Great Land.
I concede that if you can regularly throw down a few grand you can still be shuttled by float plane to the Alaska or Seward peninsulas or over to Katmai and experience fishing like was available right near my home just 14 short seasons ago.
I like to fish a lot. I like to set spike camps and fish that way but I just can't see being able to fish the most remote areas (fly ins) without the availability of a boat so you can move around from base camp. Places where you can base camp and fish on foot are becoming quickly crowded due to this very feature. Rafting floats on some remote rivers are becoming so regular that the once wild fish which had never seen a fly or lure are now under daily pressure. This condition is due in part to the general collapse of many fisheries here on mainland Alaska.
And that's all I have to say about that, you aren't alone in any feelings of hopelessness.
I went and looked up the blog entry for those who may wish to read a little history, personal that is
http://www.theflyfishingforum.com/forums/blogs/ard/193-kiss-tell-fishing-why-i-dont.html ]This was published by a genuine 'scruffy' Alaskan Fish Guide.
