Amalga Chums - Forums Archive

khaos

2012-11-08 20:40:30

Not intending to start another war..... but why don't we get a shot at the Amalga Terminal chums? Salty brought it up in a recent post, and he is right about us getting another chance at them. Those Amalga chums move around a lot in huge masses and there is a lot of open water and plenty of room for everyone there. I understand the sport fish opposition, but there would be little conflict actually, and any that appeared could easily be remedied. The numbers are there, plenty of room, tenders, - why not spread us out a bit instead of crowding up at Neets? Note: those chums aren't anywhere near as big as the ones you guys have been posting!

birdfeeder11

2012-11-09 21:44:43

Long story short the juneau sport fishing association believes that our king salmon bycatch rates will affect their king salmon fishing.therefore trollers are left out of possibly another good dog fishery. Hopefully this winter I can get a power troller i now who was a charter captain in the juneau area for 20 plus years, (he is a power troller presently) to attend the juneau advisory comittee meeting with me. With his attendance i beleive that the comittee may be more willing to except the facts on chum trolling bycatch rates and allow for an experimental chum trolling area.

khaos

2012-11-10 02:28:14

Thanks for the reply. I knew that was what was going on, but I don't get it. I've sportfished the Breadline myself, and also Aaron Island, and I know a chum fishery in the area would have NO effect on king salmon sporties in the area. They all troll tight to the shoreline at the Breadline, and we could leave Aaron Island out of it - too full of ups and downs anyway out there for good chumming. Plenty of water inbetween that is untouched......

King salmon bycatch? Do they even understand how we catch chums?

Leave out the Breadline and west Aaron, from Cohen to Eagle Beach and we'd never have a conflict with sportfishermen, well maybe a few halibut boats, but they are easy to go around.

birdfeeder11

2012-11-12 21:19:12

I attended the juneau advisory committee last year representing the chum trollers. I presented all info availabel on bycatch and spoke speceficly about how the troll fleet would harvest these dog salmon. In conclusion a vote of 5 to 4 against commercial trolling was the outcome. mabey this year a more favorabel outcome can be met.

itchyscratchy

2012-11-15 15:37:37

BIrdfeeder....I have to agree that the Juneau sport fish group has plenty of power with what happens around Juneau and Icy Strait, but my question is, why did the seiners get a shot at the chums inside the terminal harvest area and no one else?

In fact, I spoke with a Dipac board member about that issue. Seems years ago,as it turns out, the Amalga harbor home owners association sued to keep commercial fishing out of the terminal harvest. All that noise and smelly smoke. They won the suit, which brings up the question, how did the board of fish get around the court system? My thinking is, the Seiners have more money and a better lobby then the other gear groups and screw everyone else.

Speaking of taking a hit, trollers took another hit when ADF&G closed Icy Strait in hopes of increasing Coco escapement in upper Lynn Canal. HOWEVER, ADF&G failed to cut gillnetters. We get shut down so the gillnetters can catch the fish. Nice.

I'm digging out my tape measure and trying to figure out how to shoe horn a drum on the back deck.

Salty

2012-11-15 23:13:41

Mike Petersen, Chair of the Juneau AC, actually turned out to be good to work with at the BOF and I ended up visiting with him quite a bit last March. Chum trollers proposed an area Northeast of Shelter Island and Northwest of the Amalga Harbor terminal harvest area for chum trolling last year. Basically the Gillnetters and Territorial Sportsmen opposed it and we settled for a chum troll fishery in Icy Straits and Northern Chatham Straits which the gillnetters and Territorial Sportsmen supported.

The DIPAC Board meets on December 8th in Juneau. I am thinking of coming over and asking them why trollers should be excluded from Amalga Harbor if seiners are allowed. The seiners said it was because they were only there for 6 hours at a time.

squareface

2012-11-16 03:59:52

I sure hope the word gets out about that meeting, I hope all the Juneau trollers and ATA attend. I was told that we catch too many Dipac kings while fishing for chums, that was why we were shut out.

Salty

2012-11-16 06:29:38

The reason we can not troll chums near Amalga Harbor is because gillnetters and Territorial sportsmen oppose it. There is no conservation reason that i know of for prohibitting chum trolling near Juneau. Chum trolling has very little king salmon encounters as we usually are fishing very slow in deep water with 30 or so flashers a line.

squareface

2012-11-16 14:21:16

Well put Salty! I've been trying to explain this to a few Territory Sports members who are really hung up on us being in sportie area and catching " their" kings.

birdfeeder11

2012-11-16 16:47:06

The territorial sportsman opposed the amalga harbor fishery for trollers because of King Salmon bycatch. Regardless of what info on bycatch was presented. All represenatives of the territorial sportsman association were convinced that if trollers were allowed in the area their king salmon catch rates would decline therefore 3 votes of the 9 at the juneau advisory committee were against the proposition rite there.

squareface

2012-11-23 04:49:15

Did anyone attend the Juneau advisory board yesterday? I'm wondering if commercial trolling came up for us chum trolling.

John Murray

2012-11-23 19:28:49

What's ironic about Amalga chums proposal is AGFG had less concerns about opening this area to trollers then the area that what was passed by BOF 2012-Icy Staits/Chatham proposal.It seemed to me the gillnetter's hid behind the smoke screen put in place by Territorial Sportman reps.Now they are laughing all the way to the bank as their 2012 GN season over there was EXCELLANT.The TS rep was worried about an armada of trollers that was suppose to stream up toward Juneau in pursuit of anything that would bite a hook,if any areas were open to trollers.The BOF was hoodwinked by TS on all the Juneau proposals and somehow they hold sway on history, past and future.

The SE seiners got into chum grounds last summer over there.They didn't even have a proposal to open up the area to them in 2012.They had history in the area,as well as a management plan in place.Which the troll fleet didn't have,which is total BS.

Fish politics be what it may,I still hate when people straight face lie in public and to your face.Then they get away with it and profit.