Salmon Give away?

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Anybody have information on the salmon F&G have been giving away in IF and Salmon on Thursday mornings?
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[Belasko]

hadn't heard a thing but would be interested.
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[PokyFishermen]

Unless it has changed from the previous years F&G told us that they dont give away salmon like they do steelhead, they had told us last year that the tribes get most of the salmon, and alot of the local food banks get the rest.
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[Belasko]

called IDFG and they referred me to EICAP. There is something going on on Thursday morning but since I'm working I've already spaced the info. But I think they said it starts at 10 am.
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[tob04002]

Where at? Salmon? Or Idaho Falls?
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[Belasko]

I.F.
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[prvrt]

Well, I was looking for information on this. I heard quite a bit about it when I was up fishing. There were some very unhappy people talking about this subject up at Ellis.
Seems that F&G are killing most of the excess bigger fish instead of rerunning them back down the river. Then they took them to Salmon and IF I believe on the 16th and just gave them away to anyone. You did not have to have a license or salmon permit. They have been transporting a few jacks back down river to be reruns, but that is because they will not spawn and will return back to the ocean. On the Thursday they gave them away in IF, it happened on Rollendet by Tauphus Park.

This is called "Obama Fishing" and really irks me. Let someone else "we sportsmen" pay fees for licenses, permits, tags and spend money in the communities where we fish, support F&G, and in turn they give the fish away to people who have no licenses or permits, no support for F&G, and all they have to do is show up in town to get fish others have fished countless hours for and paid a ton of fees for. Seems like welfare, healthcare, unemployment, Obama care, anchor babies.

This last weekend was terrible fishing up at Ellis. You could tell there were no reruns. I hooked 2 fish on Thursday and that was it. Every where I went, it was the same story.

I could understand giving away excess fish at the end of the season "which is August 4th by the way", but not in the middle of the season with so many people up there fishing for these fish. I also do not understand why they transported them so far. They could have taken these fish back down river 3 times for the same money which is what they did the year before and the fishing was also a lot better. I would have been quite happy since I was skunked this weekend to stop at the hatchery and pick up a few excess fish, but they won't do that. That is to cost effective.

I am wondering if it is worth even going salmon fishing next year. Why spend hundreds of dollars on all the fees, licenses, groceries, fuel, tackle, time off of work when I could just make a 20 min drive to town and pick up free fish? I then could go camping and fishing some where else and get away from the crowds.

What is next? They take orders and deliver the fish to your door?
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[Belasko]

While I agree that it could be more cost effective to run them downstream a ways and have them run the gauntlet again I'm curious how it would affect the actual fighting ability and survivability of those particular fish on their return to the hatchery. I understand that they will die anyway, but if they just go belly up after the ride what's the point? I would like to mention here that I'm just speculating on this though.

I also agree that there should be at least a requirement that the people showing up to get the fish have a license to show that they put into the system or the state welfare card to show that they are in a situation where they could use the help w/ their groceries. But we didn't come up w/ the system. As for why I would pay all that money to go next year? For the chance to tie into one of those torpedoes, pissed off and determined to make it to it's goal! If I had the time and ability to do that I would still pay the fees and gas. It's the same reason I haven't given up steelheading yet.
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[ChrisTheFish]

I'm thinking that the fish would still have plenty of fight in them, just from watching those that were at the hatchery. They were jumping into the fences with such force, one about smacked me in the face through the fence. Another managed to jump outside of the fenced holding area and had to be tossed back in. Needless to say, I think they'd still put a fight that would be worthwhile.
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[prvrt]

I know they have plenty of fight left. Last year we caught some that were double reruns which means it was their third trip up the river. They fight just as hard the third time as the first.
As far as survive ability, not sure on the percentage, but we seen very few floaters. I think out of the 15 days I spent fishing up there, I seen maybe 4 floaters.

I think F&G could do a better job with managing these fish. I know last year they spent quite a bit trucking them back down river. They had 3 Idaho Power trucks running non stop most the time. This year they had 1 F&G truck that ran 1 or 2 trips here and there. I understand they need to do things the most cost effective way, but just killing the fish and giving them away to any one really gets to me. We get one chance a year to fish for these fish and are very lucky to have that chance after all the political BS and the money that is put into raising these fish. It just seems a waste to kill them and give them away just because it is the easiest thing to do. You could tell F&G cut way back on funding things up there this year. I was checked one time by a fish cop. The biologists checked me around 5 times in the 15 days I was there and only checked 1 fish of mine. Last year I was checked daily by the biologists, many times twice a day and at least every other day by a fish cop. I seen quite a few people using barbed hooks and pulled many more hooks out of the river that were barbed.

It also makes more sense if the hatchery is becoming over run by fish, that they could kill some of the extra fish and give them away right there to people with licenses. All they would have to do is tag them with a special tag to separate the free fish from the ones you tagged and caught. I would not mind if we had to notch our tags for the free fish we picked up. My friend who went with me landed 2 fish in 11 days. One wild, one keeper. I am sure he would have liked the chance to go pick up a few excess fish to take home.

I just do not agree with killing the excess fish and giving them away in the middle of the season to just any body off the street.
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[beautyfish3]

guys:
we all need to voice our anger over this to the fish and game...as was said we foot the bill.. why can we get first
crack at the leftover fish .. and why should non-licensed
people reap the rewards.. we pay.. they dont..[frown][frown][frown]
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[idahoron]

I wondered how many were used and how many ended up in a freezer to go to waste. Ron
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[tinytorpedo]

i agree they do truck the fish to the boise river ect......i wouldn't mind seeing them taking the fish to a pond and letting kids snag them and take them home. ok let ME snag them and take them home . yes there has to be a better way to distribute the fish to the people who are supporting the fish and game .......US !............ the f&g dept. is probably going to say they are so underfunded they can't do anything blah blah..and demand licence and tag increase
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[Belasko]

I think there are some very valid points made here about how the resource is managed and utilized and by who. I also agree, as was stated, that people who have paid into the system via tags and licenses should have first shot at this salvaging, which by the way has not been an option at all in the past. My recommendation is if you are in a position to make use of this opportunity to head down there and get a couple of those "extra fish" to take home. If enough fishermen that have paid into the system do this then that virtually negates that it's going to those that don't participate. Then go home and let the F&G know your opinion on how it was done this year so they can look into adjusting it next year.
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[packfish]

Ever been to the dams on the Columbia and watch them milk Salmon and then kill them, gut them and then on a freezer truck to give away - by the 1000's. I just wanted 2 was all- pretty sure they were going to those down and out- I really don't have a problem with it as long as that's where they were going- I don't know about the Idaho deal.
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[prontotp]

this year at the end of the steelhead season i ended up coming home from work at the jail with 3 steelhead. Apparently the jail had more fish than they knew waht to do with.
also I don't have a problem with the fish being given away but would like for a more effective and fair way. i like the idea of at least showing a license or using tags that weren't filled. I do know that I will be referring a number of my clients who are really struggling to try and get some fish because i know it would really help them.

[prvrt]

I have no problem with what F&G does with the fish they spawn at the hatchery. Those fish go to food banks and the like. That to me is a worthy use of fish. It helps people in need and F&G does not have to waste anything.

F&G will get my input on this subject. They have done a lot of things in the past that I have not liked, but for some reason, this one really got under my skin. If every one sends in their input and suggestions, maybe things will be better next year. The idea of putting them in a kids pond for kids to fish for sounds great. Not many kids get a chance to hook a fish half their size. You also never know, but that kid hooking a Salmon with his father may be a memory neither will forget and could turn the kid into a life long fisherman.

All I know is there has to be a better way of doing things than what F&G did this year.
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[aintnonookie]

I agree. Fish and Games whole purpose is to create fishing opportunities for license purchasing fisherman. I was hoping they would do a lot more re-stocking of fish. I also wonder why they don't give salmon away at the hatchery like they do steelhead (I think the salmon are a lot tastier!)

I did not have any good reports this weekend- it has really slowed down.

They have stocked the kids pond here in town with a bunch of salmon- one kid told me a salmon tried to eat his bobber. It's really fun to hear about the kids catching them.
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[DowntownBrowns]

If the fact that F&G are giving away salmon pisses you off you probably don't want to hear this:

The excess salmon from the South Fork Salmon River weir are being dumped in a big pile in a nearby meadow to feed the bears.
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[prvrt]

[mad]
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