Skok

[John Bushmaster]

like i say Nate. sad. i have no trouble with legit anglers, i would however say you and the white tribe of flossers don't belong fishing on some of the states other waters. I'm glad the skok is there for the mouth breathers, keeps em busy and off other fisheries.

[natetreat]

Well I'm there, and I will be there every year. I just don't care what you think, when all you have to contribute to the conversation is bigotry and hate. When you turn the sport into something that makes you unhappy and hateful towards others, you should find a new past time. Maybe something to doesn't put you around other people.

[John Bushmaster]

i like ethical anglers and would gladly fish among them.

[natetreat]

I understand that. Talking about ethical practices and having a discussion about your opinions on the subject is one thing. Having the all or nothing attitude where you degrade other people, calling them names and disrespecting folks nullifies any of your arguments. Where are your ethics when it comes to interacting with other people that you disagree with? I wouldn't be surprised if you are one of the many sending me PM's and emails threatening to slash my tires and break my windows. Throw down and assault me on the river. I get it a lot, and it doesn't phase me. However, it means that I fish armed. How does that make you a more ethical person? Because you don't catch pressured fish that won't bite? You can't pick and choose your morality and then pretend that it makes you a better person.

[John Bushmaster]

whoah Nate! that's not me messaging you. wouldn't do that or mess with your rig. that's bs. sorry to hear that. what happened to create such an enemy? karma will likely get them! sucks you don't feel safe unless you are packing, that's bs too.

[Chucksrage]

I love fishing the Skok, I go every year for 3 days in August and fish the upper part of the river(simply because I don't know the lower part). I only have 2 complaints about the Skok, 1) The garbage people leave on the shores, If anything is going to get us all kicked off this river its going to be the garbage. Why cant we simply pickup after yourself and put the trash in the bags. 2) Drunken idiots, I don't mean the guys who have a few and fish and have a good time, these are the guys that have a few to many and want to fight with everyone over something stupid like casting out of order 1 time, Who wants that drama.

I just got back from spending my 3 days there with my oldest son and 2 friends who had never been to the Skok. We all had a great times and my 2 friends who had never been to the skok want to go next year as well.

For the purist's out there saying Flossing is this and flossing is that blah, blah, yack, yack. I was introduced to the technique by a Washington State Game Warden in 2007, so how could this be deemed as snagging. FYI its called flipping in AK and started on the Frasier for sockeye, I have yet to see or hear of anyone getting a ticket for it. As Nate and others have said if you want solitude and large stretches of river to yourself then don't fish the Skok.

I had a short discussion with one of the tribal officers while they were checking permits and he told me they confirm permits and picture the amount of garbage on the shorelines(see my # 1 complaint about the Skok).

[racfish]

Hahahahahaha Flossers. You guys get so worked up on this subject it cracks me up. There is nothing illegal about using a 3-5 foot leader.If it bugs you thats just tough luck. My leaders change lengths with the water conditions.

[kingfisher101]

Flossing for days!! It's a fish after all

[natetreat]

I love fishing the Skok, I go every year for 3 days in August and fish the upper part of the river(simply because I don't know the lower part). I only have 2 complaints about the Skok, 1) The garbage people leave on the shores, If anything is going to get us all kicked off this river its going to be the garbage. Why cant we simply pickup after yourself and put the trash in the bags. 2) Drunken idiots, I don't mean the guys who have a few and fish and have a good time, these are the guys that have a few to many and want to fight with everyone over something stupid like casting out of order 1 time, Who wants that drama.

I just got back from spending my 3 days there with my oldest son and 2 friends who had never been to the Skok. We all had a great times and my 2 friends who had never been to the skok want to go next year as well.

For the purist's out there saying Flossing is this and flossing is that blah, blah, yack, yack. I was introduced to the technique by a Washington State Game Warden in 2007, so how could this be deemed as snagging. FYI its called flipping in AK and started on the Frasier for sockeye, I have yet to see or hear of anyone getting a ticket for it. As Nate and others have said if you want solitude and large stretches of river to yourself then don't fish the Skok.

I had a short discussion with one of the tribal officers while they were checking permits and he told me they confirm permits and picture the amount of garbage on the shorelines(see my # 1 complaint about the Skok).

I was down there yesterday, man the tribe sure cleaned house on the upper river. The numbers were way down, we had to search to find a school of fish. In the mean time, we dragged out that abandoned gill net in the stretch above the guard rail, it had thousands of corkies in it, lead, cannon balls, man it was a mess. It had some rotten fish in it too. Talk about trash. And I picked up a bunch of that too.

Ended up finding a school of fish and catching real quick before we left.

[Brat Bonker]

you think there are less, I think there are more people now at my hole then there normally is.

[FishBaitThe2nd]

John, just because people floss on one river doesn't mean they do on others. Youre making assumptions. I floss on that river from the time I go there to the time I go home. Ive caughten fish on eggs there. But I don't like getting up at 4 in the morning to go and do that. Im glad you hate all the flossers, and the skok, etc. That's one less...troll... off one of my favorite rivers. If you don't like the way people fish, ignore them, do what you do, and shut up and fish.

[woady]

I'm going to try again this Friday-Sat. Had 3 solid hookups last sat but lost em, tech-d's.

Sunday evening hit above 106 below the log jam, fish were jumping but none wanted to eat my corky. I also saw my first real snagger!

He used the equivalent of a sawed-off shotgun; just the bottom part of a thick fishing pole, spinning reel, jerk, reel, jerk.

The tides this weekend are going to be great, low lows are in the morning. Got to wake up early!!!

[John Bushmaster]

Look, I apologize for the mouth breather comment but I was annoyed that you called me a troll. I just moved up here from PDX and its a little disheartening to see how accepted flossing is up here. As for ethical, I asked a few of my guide buddies and they all thought I was kidding. One of them asked me if I have ever seen an article in STS or Sportfishing Mag on flossing; we all know the answer here.
Everyone's well aware that flossing turns off an egg bite, so while I enjoyed reading your memoirs on here I think we all know why you get nasty pms. While its obviously very accepted on a few rivers I think its a little naive to wonder why people get mad when you step up to a bobber bite and start flossing, especially with the attitude that baitfishermen are elitist. Maybe if some folks are getting on an egg bite give em some room or move to another spot.
Now, I'm not going to come on here and tell you not to floss fish, we all do what we need to do to put food on the table or perhaps get a client into a fish and pay the bills. I will say though that I'm hard pressed to find a self respecting guide from Portland that condones and or promotes it. And I will say that there is an overwhelming opinion in other regions condemning flossing.
I'm pretty much moving on so no need to respond to me directly, THX

[primetime]

Look, I apologize for the mouth breather comment but I was annoyed that you called me a troll. I just moved up here from PDX and its a little disheartening to see how accepted flossing is up here. As for ethical, I asked a few of my guide buddies and they all thought I was kidding. One of them asked me if I have ever seen an article in STS or Sportfishing Mag on flossing; we all know the answer here.
Everyone's well aware that flossing turns off an egg bite, so while I enjoyed reading your memoirs on here I think we all know why you get nasty pms. While its obviously very accepted on a few rivers I think its a little naive to wonder why people get mad when you step up to a bobber bite and start flossing, especially with the attitude that baitfishermen are elitist. Maybe if some folks are getting on an egg bite give em some room or move to another spot.
Now, I'm not going to come on here and tell you not to floss fish, we all do what we need to do to put food on the table or perhaps get a client into a fish and pay the bills. I will say though that I'm hard pressed to find a self respecting guide from Portland that condones and or promotes it. And I will say that there is an overwhelming opinion in other regions condemning flossing.
I'm pretty much moving on so no need to respond to me directly, THX

Well put!

[jd39]

For what's it worth Bushmaster, I'm with you on this one (if you read this). If I went with a guide that flossed and tried to teach me how to floss that'd be the last time we fished together, I'd rather get skunked.
I'm not pure as the driven snow and will admit that I attempted flossing once at the Skookumchuck last year out of frustration but it's not something I'm proud of or would suggest to others. I make no excuse for it, I came to my senses and stopped, relieved I hadn't snagged a fish yet. It won't happen again, I'll take my skunking and go home if flossing/snagging is the only way to hook/land a fish. Everyone else can excuse/justify their behavior however they wish, their personal ethics are theirs, I concern myself with upholding mine and leave others alone. Flossing at the skook was really just "targeted" snagging, hoping for a gill plate forward snag while ripping hooks by visible steelhead is not fishing in my opinion. Maybe at the skok the "flossing" is different, I don't know, never been to witness. I think there is a fine line with certain techniques and so don't want to jump on people I've never met or seen fish, I just hope their tight lines didn't require ripping a hook at a fish that had no interest in their presentation.
There was an article about using beads for steelhead in a recent fishing mag (can't remember which one), it was interesting how they dealt with flossing as using beads straddles a fine line depending on how you do it. The article did quote guides that used beads to put their clients on fish. The article indicated that placement of the bead above the hook was the difference, a couple inches and you're fishing, 6" or more and you're flossing was the basic premise (not sure it's that simple though).
Take care John, hope to see you on the water. I've fished with 2 guides mainly, PM if you want their info, great guides and trust me, no flossing.

[racfish]

Unethical Fishing?? Hmmmmm. If there is no law against it then it would be ethical. I look at unethical as breaking the law to fish. Who are you (anyone) to condemn something that is legal in the books.If the water is high and fast I use a 18" leader. If they are low and clear I use a 3' leader. Its my choice and perogative to do so as long as I'm not breaking the law.This argument has been going on for years and years. For all of you that don't like flossing fight it in a legal way. Get a petition drafted up and collect signatures then turn it in to the WDFW. Maybe they will revamp the law. If your'e not willing to put effort into it then keep quiet. Belly aching and calling fellow anglers names isn't fixing or helping anyone.

[jd39]

Unethical Fishing?? Hmmmmm. If there is no law against it then it would be ethical. I look at unethical as breaking the law to fish. Who are you (anyone) to condemn something that is legal in the books.If the water is high and fast I use a 18" leader. If they are low and clear I use a 3' leader. Its my choice and perogative to do so as long as I'm not breaking the law.This argument has been going on for years and years. For all of you that don't like flossing fight it in a legal way. Get a petition drafted up and collect signatures then turn it in to the WDFW. Maybe they will revamp the law. If your'e not willing to put effort into it then keep quiet. Belly aching and calling fellow anglers names isn't fixing or helping anyone.

Respectfully disagree with you here racfish. There are plenty of things that are legal that are not ethical in my opinion and I always add "in my opinion" because that's all it is. Everyone has their own way of looking at things and websites such as these are places for people to voice them as long as site rules are observed. No need to be a public policy activist to come to a website and state your opinion. I agree name calling and any other abusive behavior is not ok and counterproductive in the end. We can disagree without being rude to one another.
My bottom line is that if an angler has to rip the hook thru the water to hook up that angler is snagging, people can call it flossing based on leader length, weight placement, hook placement and any other excuse they can think up if they want. I'm not implying that's what you do, just clarifying what I personally object too and won't participate in. If it's a legitimate hook set, flossed or not, I have less of an issue with that. From what i've seen in my limited experience most people are snagging and just calling it flossing. That's the brutal truth but again, it's just my opinion.

[racfish]

I'll agree with you on that. If I use a longer leader I dont try to rip a face off. I vary my leader length so i can send down my bait without the swivel ,weight being right there spooking a fish. I use longer leaders at times but I dont call it flossing. Its called presentation.I get angry watching people snag but unfortunately there is nothing I can do about it. If they are snagging they dont want to hear a lecture. I'll guarantee. Plus these days you need to be fluent in 7 languages to explain it.

[natetreat]

This is dumb.

[natetreat]