Several new fishing regulation proposals are being considered by the California Fish and Game Commission. Most noteworthy this cycle are changes that would have profound impacts on fishing for King Salmon in the Klamath River. Here are a couple biggies, including some counter regs proposed by the Yurok Tribe:

This first one is designed to address the massive amount of wasteful catch & release fishing that takes place at the Klamath Spit..

Option 1: No Catch & Release fishing in Spit Area (CA DFW Proposal)

After internal discussion and Yurok Tribal coordination, the Department is proposing the
following change to the 2015 fall Chinook spit area regulations:

• All legally caught Chinook salmon must be retained. Once the adult Chinook component
of the daily bag has been retained, the angler must cease fishing in the spit area.

This regulatory proposal does not preclude anglers from leaving the spit area and fishing other
areas once their adult daily bag has been taken. Anglers may fish other areas outside of the spit
to fill the grilse (Chinook salmon also does do not preclude anglers from filling a daily bag composed entirely of grilse salmon
while fishing the spit area.

In other words, you can’t keep your adults and then catch and release a bunch of other adults while looking for your jacks at the Spit.

Here’s what the tribe is suggesting, which would basically legalize snagging at the Spit and close all fishing near the mouth of Blue Creek:

Option 2: All Chinook salmon must be kept in Spit Area & Blue Creek Fishing Closure (Yurok Proposal)

The Yurok tribe is proposing the following modifications to the Klamath River regulations in the spit area and on the main Klamath River below the confluence with Blue Creek:
• No catch and release fishing allowed in the spit area to reduce pinniped predation on released fish.
This proposal would allow no release of Chinook salmon, regardless of whether they are legally caught or foul hooked. This option provides an exception from the general snagging prohibitions in Section 2.00.

• Conservation closure below the mouth of Blue Creek to reduce catch and release in a
thermal refuge area and protect late-fall Chinook holding prior to entering Blue Creek.

The first modification is to the spit area at the mouth of the Klamath River. The second modification would add Blue Creek to the September 15 to December 31 stream mouth closures and add a new Klamath River main stem closure from June 15 to September 14 from 500 feet
above to 1/2 mile downstream around the mouth of Blue Creek.

The Commission may combine Option 1’s prohibition on catch and release fishing in the spit
area with Option 2’s Blue Creek conservation closure.

• All legally caught Chinook salmon must be retained. Once the adult Chinook component of
the daily bag has been retained, the angler must cease fishing in the spit area.

• Conservation closure below the mouth of Blue Creek to reduce catch and release in a
thermal refuge area and protect late-fall Chinook holding prior to entering Blue Creek.

The California Fish & Game Commission will hear public comments on this at it next meeting scheduled for Thursday, February 12 at 8 AM in the Resources Building Auditorium, 1416 9th Street, Sacramento, CA. If you’d like to speak on this issue, be sure to be there!