lingcod and cabazon and true cod

[saltyseadog]

how would game know how deep your fishing?

[fear_no_fish]

that whole rockfish thing and the 120 foot rule seem pretty dumb to me
i catch probably 10 rockfish to 1 lingcod and all the rockfish i do catch almost always swim away
almost every single lingcod ive caught to has been deeper then 120 to

[Matt]

Rockfish are being considered for addition to the endangered species list. They need the protection. Bringing them up from depth is generally fatal. The proposal would prohibit fishing deeper than 120 feet. You'll still be able to fish, just not in water so deep. Hopefully rockfish weren't your favorite species to go after, and if they are, think about it this way: Stop fishing for them now, and hope they come back, or keep fishing for them, and guarantee they won't come back.

I'm going to have to disagree with this mentality entirely.... Unfortunately, rockfish share habitat with Lingcod, halibut, and other species of cod AND they have a very similar diet. Up in area 7 it is not uncommon to catch 30-50 rockfish in a day when targeting lings, they will bite an 8 ounce jig with an 11" twirl tail grub or a HUGE metal jig just like any ling or cabezon. This law is a terrible solution! Instead of allowing 1 rockfish (which is already a very small limit) per person you are condemning ALL rockfish caught in over 50 or 60 feet of water to certain death after being hoisted from the deep. So, essentially, instead of keeping 1 fish that was already going to die you are WASTING dozens of fish that face certain doom after decompression REGARDLESS. To fully protect rockfish populations bottomfishing would have to be CLOSED entirely to eliminate BICATCH which is probably the single largest factor in rockfish mortality rates that directly correlates to recreational angling for bottomfish. This rule is pointless and it is sad to see this kind of regulation on a fishery that is such a revenue producer every spring.


And as for "how would they know how deep" they could just motor over to you fighting a fish and chart the depth. This is obviously only somewhat accurate though considering bottomfishing is a drift fishery and you often drift WAY off into the deep when fighting a big fish. Its basically an "honesty" rule, you know if you're breaking it and it is against the law.

[jake_k]

i dont know where u guys fish buy i ctach all teh really good lings and rock fish in 20 feeet of water so it really insnt big deal

[Slick_Rick]

Westport can be very productive especially for lingcod,rockfish,surfperch etc.... and you don't even need a boat!!Westhaven state park has a jetty that goes out for almost a mile and i've always caught fish there even at the fishing board walk can work if you don't like rock hoppin' I only keep what i eat and waste nothing,i release smaller fish to get bigger for nextime! Puget sound did get raped by greedy poachers,by the time wdfw found out the numbers it was too late they are almost extinct in some areas, thats why i'll only fish for them in the ocean! tastes alot better too!

[Smalma]

Fishingboy -
Starting May first the sound will be closed to the retention of rockfish. For informationn see -

http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/rule_propo ... 12_ces.pdf

The rockfish rules were proposal # 10.

Regading the change I think it is important that we anglers understand this issue. It is now very clear that by this summer 3 species of Puget Sound rockfish will be ESA listed - they are boccaccio, canary, and yelloweye.

As listed species the take (kill) of those critters has to be reduced. Unfortuantely all three are basically deep water species; typically the adults caught in more than 120 feet of water. There is lots of information about the mortality of released rockfish when caught in deep water. All that information shows very high mortality of those fish; even fish that are able to swim back to the bottom often die within the next few days from that damage resulting from the expansion of their air bladders. The issue is further complicated by the fact that as the fish are brought up from depth gas bubbles are forced into fish's blood. That can damage the eyes of the fish resulting in blindness.

As I said earlier with the listing the mortality of those fish had top be reduced. Since they are caught in both slamon and bottomfishing there were those that were pushing that all fishing be closed. The up coming regulation changes are a compromise that allows salmon, halibut and ling cod fishing to continue.

While we a; probably have issues with some or all of the changes the fact is that for the short term it is a done deal. However as part of the process it is clear that the State and Feds will re-visit it. An important part of that reveiw will be the State's Puget Sound Rockfish Conservation Plan. The revised plan will be released next week (check WDFW's web site). If you enjoy fishing for rockfish and other bottomfish or have concern about the various rockfish species I suggest that you take the time to review and comment on that paln; there will be 45 day comment period. If you don't get involved in my opinion you have no room to complian.

Tight lines

Curt

[jake_k]

Guys listen, there is a simple solution to this new rule, just fish in lest then 100 feet of water so you cant get in truble but i would fish in less then 60 feet as rock fish are more likely to survive taken from that depth.