This one is news to me. A fisherman in Oregon turned in over 10k northern pikeminnows this summer and earned $100k in bounties. The NPM is better known as the common squawfish and is regarded as a trash fish. The name got changed a few years ago along with all the Squaw Mountains, creeks, rivers, etc. I don't know anyone who calls them NPM's. They are and always will be squawfish. They're native to the Columbia and Snake rivers in the PNW. They're highly predatory on trout, salmon, and every other kind of game fish.
I know nothing about Oregon's bounty system. To catch 10k of them, he had to have been using nets which would be illegal here in Idaho. We need a program like this here. I don't know how many times I've spent a day fishing and caught nothing other than squawfish.
Did you toss them back once you caught them or are they edible?
They don't last long out of water. Most guys just toss them on the bank or in the boat and they die quickly. Then you can throw them back for the scavenger fish to eat. They're very bony. I don't know of anyone who eats them.
βIn a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.β β George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
Nope. They're native to the PNW. They infest the Columbia and it's main tributary, the Snake. That covers a huge area - all of ID, much of OR and WA, bits of WY and NV, and a big chunk in Canada. That what surprised me about the bounty. I'm surprised the OR environmentalists would allow a bounty on a native animal.
βIn a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.β β George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
Nope. They're native to the PNW. They infest the Columbia and it's main tributary, the Snake. That covers a huge area - all of ID, much of OR and WA, bits of WY and NV, and a big chunk in Canada. That what surprised me about the bounty. I'm surprised the OR environmentalists would allow a bounty on a native animal.
Well considering the liberal is an invasive species in Oregon, now passed infestation level, then we should have a bounty on them too!!
I see from BluMtn's link that this is a federal program run by the Bonneville Power Admin which controls all the dams and power generation on the Columbia.
βIn a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.β β George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
Did you toss them back once you caught them or are they edible?
We used to catch quite a few fishing Cascade Lake for Trout and Coho. The squaw fish will hit a Rooster Tail well. About the toughest fight I ever had was a large squaw fish on four pound Stren.
The kitties eat them.
People who choose to brew up their own storms bitch loudest about the rain.
Great Payday, I think that would be a fantastic part-time job.
Great for the retirees too. The only drawback is living in Washington or Oregon. π
It also applies in some of Idaho, from Lewiston to the Hells Canyon Dam. However, you don't just casually decide to run out and fish for a day in most of that. Hells Canyon is called that for a reason.
βIn a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.β β George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
They are Hell on outgoing salmon and steelhead. It is a serious endeavor (hook and line) for those doing it bigtime, as they have made science out of it. Not a spare time gig at all.
Used to catch a few on flies while steelheading, but it's not been a typical happening in the past few seasons.
Is that what we call whitefish here in eastern Idaho? I used to fly fish the southfork not too far from my house and usually caught as many whitefish as trout.
We catch them up on the Clearwater, they wind up on shore.
Same fish that were so named on the St Joe? Saw an eargle grab a big one one day and wound up in the water with it. I don't know if the eagle was able to unclench and get loose or not - they went around the bend, Eagle looked to be losing.
Is that what we call whitefish here in eastern Idaho? I used to fly fish the southfork not too far from my house and usually caught as many whitefish as trout.
Bb
No. Whites and squaws are entirely different species. Whitefish are related to trout and trout rigs are used to catch them. I've read that lots of fisherman mistake them for suckers and throw them away. They have a turned down mouth but they aren't like suckers at all. They're good eating and the limit is 25/day.
whitefish
squawfish
βIn a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.β β George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
Rock Chuck: I love Salmon and Steelhead! I say good for that busy mo'fo of a fisherman! IF.... he fished every day of that season (153 days!) he had to catch 66 (sixty six) of those "Squawfish" per day to achieve those numbers (10,755 fish & $107,800.00 in cash!). I am impressed - and probably not inclined to infer he used illegal nets (unless he was a local Indian person). No matter how he did it I say "keep up the good work" - and get rich doing it. Hold into the wind VarmintGuy
Originally, Idaho planted walleye only in a few reservoirs where they could be prevented from spreading by dams and weirs. That didn't last long. As soon as their numbers got big and fisherman discovered that they were great gamefish, they started illegally planting them in other lakes and rivers. They're in a lot of different places now.
βIn a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.β β George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
Very predatory on salmon and steelhead smolts yet they protect the walleye which is a invasive species.
Walleye is probably the best tasting fresh water fish .
Its all right to be white!! Stupidity left unattended will run rampant Don't argue with stupid people, They will drag you down to their level and then win by experience
Iβve been reading about guys, mostly retired guys that live on or close to the Columbia River, catching enough squawfish in a year to buy a new $50,000 fishing boat for at least 20 years. A couple guys went in as partners and averaged around $40,000 a year for multiple years. Nowadays I have no doubt that $100,000 is doable but youβd be fishing damn near 365 days a year for a fish that aside from the money would be pretty boring to target.
οΏ½Politicians are the lowest form of life on earth. Liberal Democrats are the lowest form of politician.οΏ½ οΏ½General George S. Patton, Jr.
There's a bunch of money in controlling invasive species (I know squawfish isn't).
UofI developed a brook trout that is a YY male. WA is using some of these to introduce into basins with undesired brook trout populations (brook trout threaten Dolly Varden populations through cross breeding). If successful, introducing the YY males will create all male offspring (YY males breeding XX females), extirpating the population over time. In theory. We'll have to see how it works in practice.
I'm working with another company to develop a similar trojan horse genetic strategy for invasive carp (both the German and Chinese varieties). Should have a good idea if it works in a three or four years.
IF.... he fished every day of that season (153 days!) he had to catch 66 (sixty six) of those "Squawfish" per day to achieve those numbers (10,755 fish & $107,800.00 in cash!). I am impressed - and probably not inclined to infer he used illegal nets (unless he was a local Indian person).
In case you havenβt noticedβ¦..we currently have 365 days in a year. π
βFishing seasonβ doesnβt apply to everything equally and MANY fisheries are open year round. Iβll let you reasonably deduce whether eliminating invasive and deleterious species would logically fall under the regulated season for lowland lakes or if squawfish on the Columbia River might fall under a different set of rulesβ¦.
οΏ½Politicians are the lowest form of life on earth. Liberal Democrats are the lowest form of politician.οΏ½ οΏ½General George S. Patton, Jr.
Very predatory on salmon and steelhead smolts yet they protect the walleye which is a invasive species.
This man knows.
As a fish biologist I always found it rather silly they are spending our money to control a native predatory fish after introducing walleye, 2 species of black bass, crappie, catfish, etc and no bounties on those.
I say control because it's not an elimination program to the best of my knowledge. If not mistaken, when I was up there thru summer 2017 the bounty was only paid on fish over 9" in length. Research showed, as I recall, that once over 9" their diets switch from primarily invertebrates and more small fish become part of their diet. Kind of like some of those other fishes I mentioned.
Quote
Northern Pikeminnow are a native species that eats millions of juvenile salmon and steelhead each year in the Columbia and Snake River systems.
Northern pikeminnow are managed in part through the Northern Pikeminnow Sport-Reward Fishery Program, which aims not to eradicate Northern Pikeminnow, but rather to reduce their average size by removing 10 to 20 percent of the larger fish from their population. Reducing the number of larger Northern Pikeminnow and thus shrinking the average-sized fish in the population can greatly help juvenile salmon and steelhead make it to sea, since smaller sized Northern Pikeminnow eat fewer smolts than larger fish. See the Pikeminnow Sport-Reward Fishery Program page for more information.
The folks that fish for them use small hooks, usually a small piece of worm, and are very competitive to the point of knives having been pulled when one fisher thinks another has taken "his" spot.. I'd bet there are some guys that try other baits/lures in the hopes of catching the larger ones, last I heard there were tagged fish worth big money.
Should those Lower Snake River dams ever be taken out, it will be interesting to see what effect that will have on the bounty program. Many of the fishers work just downstream of those dams and do pretty good. I know of a couple that were making $40K-75K a season on that gig, but they fished all night and a good part of the day. Not a job for the lightweights. Small boat, long hours, bad weather, etc, they'd be out there.
Last edited by Valsdad; 02/11/24.
The desert is a true treasure for him who seeks refuge from men and the evil of men. In it is contentment In it is death and all you seek (Quoted from "The Bleeding of the Stone" Ibrahim Al-Koni)
IF.... he fished every day of that season (153 days!) he had to catch 66 (sixty six) of those "Squawfish" per day to achieve those numbers (10,755 fish & $107,800.00 in cash!). I am impressed - and probably not inclined to infer he used illegal nets (unless he was a local Indian person).
In case you havenβt noticedβ¦..we currently have 365 days in a year. π
βFishing seasonβ doesnβt apply to everything equally and MANY fisheries are open year round. Iβll let you reasonably deduce whether eliminating invasive and deleterious species would logically fall under the regulated season for lowland lakes or if squawfish on the Columbia River might fall under a different set of rulesβ¦.
The part of this bounty on the Snake River in Idaho is open year round with no limits on non-game fish.
βIn a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.β β George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
![[Linked Image from idfg.idaho.gov]](https://idfg.idaho.gov/sites/default/files/mountain_whitefish_-_approx_300_m_below_mackay_res-389mm_2-10-2004b.jpg)
![[Linked Image from idfg.idaho.gov]](https://idfg.idaho.gov/sites/default/files/pikeminnow_0.jpg)
