Northwest Fishing Reports

Not a problem or anything like that, but why do some report comments read oldest to newest while others go the other way 'round? Just curious of course.

I'm only 1/2 done converting the various pages.

Thanks Aaron, didn't know it was part of the conversion you're doing, which is awesome btw! I like the increased speed with the new server/s too!

I recently made a comment to politely inform someone that they were afoul of the fishing regulations and how they could remedy that. 3 or 4 days later my comment was removed although others were not. Is their a policy relating to this?

You're not suppose to say anything that would insult or harrass anyone. Pointing out the regulations would seem to be doing a person a favor so they don't get arrested or get a ticket.

TB Wannabe wrote:I recently made a comment to politely inform someone that they were afoul of the fishing regulations and how they could remedy that. 3 or 4 days later my comment was removed although others were not. Is their a policy relating to this?

The report maker has the option of deleting any comments he/she feels are negative or degrading, so it may not have anything to do with policy. Mike and Aaron try very hard to prevent reports with obvious rules violations from being posted, but that's a big task and sometimes things slip through. I've also seen many comments indicating an infraction when none was committed (not implying that was the case here), so don't take offense if your comments were removed. Provide Mike or Aaron with the specific report in question and I'm sure they'll review it for you.

Making a comment pointing out a mistake or violation is fine... and the person might read it, understand it, learn from it, and want to move on. They can then delete it thereby avoiding a lengthy discussion about it in public...which probably won't do anyone any good.

Awhile ago I was thinking of making all report comments "pending" until the reporter had reviewed them but I've since changed my mind. A lot of people never respond to their comments because they are not "registered" and we don't have their email address. I've recently thought of a better solution than that. I think what we'll do is have a flag that the user can set when they post their report that will allow/disallow comments altogether. People can still send them a private message.

Thanks for the explanation. I actually see more than a few F&G violations inadvertantly exposed in reports. I am an unabashed supporter of catch and realease but to do so while bait fishing is actually doing more harm than good as far as I can tell.

this issue of rule violations was addressed on another thread, but basically, I try to catch these before they get posted. With dozens of reports on any given day I miss them sometimes. Plus, I don't know all the specific regs for all the waters in WA.

I will edit a report to remove the violation when it comes up, and notify the person that posted the report of the infraction. That way the angler is reminder to check the regs closer, and the WL.com community is still able to see the report and read how the fishing is doing for that body of water. If I just delete the post outright we all loss. This way it becomes a teachable moment, without the online drama of guys posting back and forth, feelings get hurt, and us losing anglers that want to post fishing reports. Of all the people that log on to this web site, I would say less than 5% actually post fishing reports.

TB Wannabe wrote:Thanks for the explanation. I actually see more than a few F&G violations inadvertantly exposed in reports. I am an unabashed supporter of catch and realease but to do so while bait fishing is actually doing more harm than good as far as I can tell.

My understanding for trout fishing is if you use bait and catch a limit, you have to quit fishing for the day, even if any or all the fish are too small to keep. What I remember anyway.

Amx wrote:

TB Wannabe wrote:Thanks for the explanation. I actually see more than a few F&G violations inadvertantly exposed in reports. I am an unabashed supporter of catch and realease but to do so while bait fishing is actually doing more harm than good as far as I can tell.

My understanding for trout fishing is if you use bait and catch a limit, you have to quit fishing for the day, even if any or all the fish are too small to keep. What I remember anyway.

You remember correctly AMX. In WA, when trout fishing with bait, all fish caught, retained or not, count towards a daily limit. Once a bait fishing angler catches 5 trout (unless special rules/limits apply to a particular body of water that state otherwise), they are through for the day. Clearly defined in the regs, not that everyone dangling a line bothers to read them though. [lol]

TB Wannabe wrote:Thanks for the explanation. I actually see more than a few F&G violations inadvertantly exposed in reports. I am an unabashed supporter of catch and realease but to do so while bait fishing is actually doing more harm than good as far as I can tell.

Just remember, in WA it's legal to catch and release when fishing with bait (in waters that allow bait) until a legal limit has been caught, so no violation occurs until fish #6 is caught. I don't dispute the potential for increased harm when fishing with bait, but as long as the rules are followed there's no reason to address it IMO. There are so many special rules that apply, you also have to check the special regs section to verify limits and methods in addition to statewide rules.

See above.

I don't want to belabor this subject but I just read a report that included: "Was out for a couple of hours and was able to catch and release about 10 good sized (over 12") rainbows. " and this was while fishing with powerbait and a small treble hook.

I did not enter a comment to the report. I can barely stand to read these kinds of things. Is it just me?

Off my chest now
Steve

TB Wannabe wrote:I don't want to belabor this subject but I just read a report that included: "Was out for a couple of hours and was able to catch and release about 10 good sized (over 12") rainbows. " and this was while fishing with powerbait and a small treble hook.

I did not enter a comment to the report. I can barely stand to read these kinds of things. Is it just me?

Off my chest now
Steve

again, if you see a report like this let me know by the feedback form or PM and we'll correct it. I scan reports to check for vulgarities primarily. Consider we will post around 5,000 reports this year and you can see that some of these reports will slip through. Aaron and I depend on the members to let us know when it happens so we can correct it. Thanks!

Thank Mike, I will, in the future let you know. I'm hearted that you take the time to educate the poster that certain conduct is not only against fish and game laws but also shows little respect for the fish as well.

Is there a difference between bait and lure? Just curious if there is a regulation difference.

As for the trout... we are swamped in hatchery trout. I kid you not. They are dumped on us by the millions. I have absolutely no control over the # of hatchery trout I'll catch while bass fishing. Am I in violation of any rules if I catch trout #6? Or is this where the difference between bait and lure comes in?

Fishing for bass = artificial lure = no limit on trout caught, BUT if you keep any trout you are limited for the body of water you are fishing/statewide regs which is 5. I know of no lake/river that you can keep more than 5 trout.

bait = worms, dough balls, fish eggs, stuff like that, that aren't artificial lures. = catch [5] five trout and you're done for the day, whether you keep any or not.

Us bass fishermen call artificial lures 'bait' sometimes, which is where some confusion can occur. As in, "What baits you catching them on today?" "Crankbaits and spinnerbaits, and worms [plastic worms]."

see page 18 and 19 for 'definitions'.

'bait' is there

and

'lure' is there

FishTank wrote:Is there a difference between bait and lure? Just curious if there is a regulation difference.

Sure is, here's the state's definition direct from the 2010 - 2011 Sportfishing Rules Pamphlet...

Bait Anything that attracts fish or shellfish by scent and/or flavor. This includes any device made of feathers, hair, fiber, wood, metal, glass, cork, leather, rubber, or plastic, which uses scent and/or flavoring to attract fish or wildlife.

I doubt you'd be held responsible if you are catching incidental trout while bass fishing with scent impregnated plastic worms designed for bass fishing. Now, if you were tossing a Berkley Powerbait trout worm and claimed to be bass fishing, that might be a different story. [lol]

Heh. I'd like to think no one would care since they are thrown back and are in abundance.