Alaska Board of Fisheries banned snagging: Steelheader.net- Steelhead, Salmon and trout fishing

looks like its one small step in the right direction

Fishing hot spot hits snag under new state law
Snagging of fish banned at Wayside Park

By Eric Morrison | JUNEAU EMPIRE

The atmosphere of one of Juneau's most popular urban fishing locations will change this season after th

Fishermen heading to the dock at Wayside Park on Channel Drive can no longer throw a hook into the water without a piece of bait attached, according to the regulation passed late last month. The primary reason cited for the rule change was the safety of anglers.

Dozens of anglers flock to the park to vie for a prime spot on the dock to pluck salmon from the water. The fish come back every year to return to the Douglas Island Pink And Chum Hatchery.

"That's nothing new in a sense," said Brian Glynn, Juneau area management biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Sport Fish. "When the old dock was there ... years ago there was a regulation on the books that prohibited snagging in that area too. When the dock went away the regulation went away with it, more or less."

The Department of Transportation spent $1.75 million to rebuild the Wayside Park about a decade ago, which included the present dock, picnic tables, barbecue grills, a shelter, rest rooms and parking. It then transferred management to Juneau's Docks and Harbors Department.

"Now the city basically was asking that that be reestablished to that area for safety concerns," Glynn said.

The board of fisheries voted unanimously in favor of the snagging regulation. The new rule prohibits snagging within 150 feet of the dock.

Snagging is a fishing technique where anglers drag and jerk a hook, generally weighted, to acquire fish by piercing and snagging it by the body; not catching it by the mouth or gums. The technique is legal in most salt-water bodies in Alaska but is prohibited in fresh water.

Don Etheridge, president of the Docks and Harbors Board, said the area had become hazardous with all the anglers throwing the weighted treble hooks around.

"We've been getting complaints of people getting close to (being hit) or getting hit but not hooked," he said. "Our concern was liability for the port along with the injury to patrons down there."

Rick Focht, director of operations at DIPAC, said the fish are there to be caught.

"We factor into our planning the idea that there's a local shore-side sport fishery there," he said. "We definitely want to see the fishery continue."

He said he doesn't think the new regulation will limit people's ability to catch a meal, saying he just thinks it will shift anglers' efforts.

"We do know from our past experience from when the old dock was there, the snaggers just moved further down the beach and from what we could tell it didn't effect the level of effort or the level of harvest."

Focht said he figures the anglers caught about 700 king salmon, roughly 3,800 Coho and a handful of chum salmon last year from the dock and the beach at the park.

This year, the hatchery is expecting a return of about 4,300 king salmon, 2.1 million chums and about 44,000 Coho. Many will return to Gastineau Channel, but some fish will be harvested by commercial and sport fisheries before making it back to the hatchery, Focht said.

"The chum return is definitely down from last year and the kings are down a little bit and the Coho (return) is about the same," he said.

Etheridge thinks the snagging regulation is a good rule to have in place.

"It will make it much safer down there for people," he said. "You get a lot of kids down there and those great big hooks being thrown around down there with big chunks of lead on them are pretty dangerous."

Juneau resident Stuart Cohen said he's seen fishing off the dock "get a little crazy" at times, but said his 11-year-old son, Gabe, looks forward to snagging fish each summer.

"Gabe and his friend are avid fishermen and they start out fishing in Twin Lakes, but their big thing is snagging in the summer, and we then take the fish home to eat," he said.

Even though he's bummed about the Board of Fisheries' new regulation, Gabe Cohen says he will find another fishing spot.

"I'm pretty upset, but I can always find somewhere else to fish," he said.

Also at the board of fisheries meeting held Feb. 17-26, a regulation was adopted prohibiting all sport harvesting in streams on the Juneau road system, only allowing catch and release in those areas.

• Contact Eric Morrison at 523-2269 or eric.morrison@juneauempire.com.

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