Due to a perceived shortage of yelloweye rockfish Oregon fishermen have lost opportunity to harvest bottom fish in deep water. In an effort to harvest the abundant mid water rockfish (Widow and yellowtail rockfish) the ODFW has come up with a new fishery using a >30' leader between the weight and the bottom hook. Leader management will have to be figured out but we now have longer seasons.
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/mrp/regulations/sport_fishing/docs/longleader_FAQ_2017.pdf (http://www.dfw.state.or.us/mrp/regulations/sport_fishing/docs/longleader_FAQ_2017.pdf)
(http://alantani.com/gallery/23/1583_03_02_18_8_14_13.png)
thanks for the explanation. i read the posts on ifish but had no idea what they were talking about.
Wow, that's a little confusing.
Not really Bryan, the fish are suspended above hard bottom yelloweye habitat, ODFW is trying to reduce the incidental catch and giving us an opportunity to harvest plentiful ones. The bottom hooks have to be at least 30' from the weight and held up by a uncompressible float. I am making demo ones for the OCEAN booth at the SSS, it will be close to where you and Allen will be chained.
Oh. I was talibding about the by-catch Q&As
Our regs are so confusing you have to fish with a lawyer.
AND........ WHO thought THIS was a GOOD idea?????? ???
Actually it is, in the past to harvest suspended rockfish we dropped to the bottom then quickly cranked up 30-40 feet. Our "threatened" yelloweye were so thick that you often hooked 2 or 3 before getting off the bottom. This will keep most yelloweye off the hooks. Managing the 30' dropper will be a issue.
Our yelloweye are far from "threatened" but I feel that with a fish that is 50-100 years old it is best to manage conservatively.
At least they're trying to find a way to allow fishing deeper water. In Cali they just close it.
Quote from: Keta on February 03, 2018, 05:33:30 PM
Our regs are so confusing you have to fish with a lawyer.
& to think I get upset over our 3 rod limit... Jeff
Good idea. Dominick
My condolences to anyone hooking a Widow Rockfish and then cooking/eating it-a mouthful of wet tissue paper would taste better.
Looks like we will see more yelloweye restrictions here in BC starting this year. Used to be my wife's favorite fish to eat. We are getting more halibut restrictions also this year. :'(
Cheers:
Todd
Yelloweye are one of my favorite fish to eat too.
They reduced our halibut quota this year but are doing nothing about draggers incidental catch in their main spawning ground in the Bearing.
Deep water in Washington state coastal zones are only open for bottom fishing on halibut days....4 days a year, and if a boat gets caught with illegal rockfish they can confiscate your vessel. Ironically the same fishing grounds grounds are tribally long-lined commercially 7 days a week for 6-7 months a year in an area that is permanently closed because it's prime yelloweye habitat.
Like Lee said, you need a Harvard law professor to translate the fishing regulations
Found out at the Portland Sportsmen show Friday that Yelloweye limit in Canadian waters has been changed this year to to zero take/ zero possession. Halibut slot limit has also been lowered. Greg.
And the draggers are still pounding the main spawning grounds in the Bearing.
Lee, I had a crazy idea to help manage that 30 drop from the bottom of the leader to the weight. How about something like those big round spring-loaded key chain thingies (or tape measure) that some people wear on their belt? You could pull the 30' out when you were setting your gear, and then when you have retrieved it, just release the spring and wind it back up.