Fisherman paid $51,000 for pikeminnows

[beaverfan]

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Officials say Oregon anglers are making "serious money" this summer in a program that pays people to catch pikeminnows.

The program, funded by the Bonneville Power Administration, helps salmon and steelhead survive in the Columbia and Snake rivers by reducing the number of pikeminnows, which chow down on millions of salmon each year, BPA representatives said.

One fisherman has earned $6,000 by hooking 12 tagged fish.

Another angler has earned more than $51,000 and is approaching the record of nearly $58,000 for individual earnings.

"People are making serious money with this program," said Russell Porter, a manager for the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. "And they're having fun fishing while helping save young salmon."

There are still two months left in the pikeminnows fishing season and officials said thousands of tagged fish are still available.

Anglers get paid $4 to $8 for northern pikeminnows that are nine inches and larger. The first 100 are worth $4 each and the next 300 are worth $5 each. After 400 fish are caught and turned in, they're worth $8 each.

BPA representatives said there are also specially tagged fish worth $500.

The final day for the pikeminnows reward program is Sept. 30. The pikeminnows can be caught from the mouth of the Columbia River to Priest Rapids Dam and from the mouth of the Snake River to Hells Canyon Dam.

There's more information about the pikeminnows reward program at pikeminnow.org.

 

[joesnuffy]

that is insane.

are they throwing the fish away after they collect them or what?????

 

[beaverfan]

Good question, got me thinking so I called them. It went to a recording rambling off program info and then asked for me to leave a message. So I did, if I hear back I'll post it here.

 

[pdxjon]

My dad used to bank fish for the bounty. He used to tell me that the people turning in a lot of fish would buy them off of other fishermen that didn't want to haul the fish all the way to the weigh stations and wait for a check. They would pay about half price. I know the few times I would go with him I would give him mine because it wasn't worth waiting for a ten dollar check. I know it's basically free money but I went to fish more than for the bounty. Probably why I only did it a few times.

 

[bigfootfish]

I heard of one guy who hired 10 people, day laborers, to go out and catch Pikeminnows for him.:think: Pikeminnows are also called Squawfish, aren't they?

BFF

 

[The Nothing]

"And they're having fun fishing while helping save young salmon."

There is nothing fun about the way the top money-makers fish for pikeminnow

 

[Finneus Polebender]

I heard of one guy who hired 10 people, day laborers, to go out and catch Pikeminnows for him.:think: Pikeminnows are also called Squawfish, aren't they?

BFF

Thats what weve always called them down here never knew them by any other name till I started reading the synopsis as a young adult I always thought pikeminnow sounded kinda dumb for the species ,not that sqwawfish is better .

 

[troutdude]

We've also always called 'em squawfish. I never knew that they are pikeminnow's, until seeing a thread on here a while ago.

 

[bigfootfish]

Me too. Never heard 'em called pikeminnows until I came to OFF. How easy is it to catch them?

BFF

 

[Troutier Bassier]

How dose $81,000 for 6 months sound for you? Nikolay made that much this season.
This year my dad made $11,000 his friend made over $20,000. But they only fished on the weekends. I made $900 last year. Enough to buy myself a new pair of Nike Skeets.

After you turn them in, they are sent to a western washington company where they're turned into dog/cat food and fish food.

How easy is it to catch them? uhh. how easy is it to catch a salmon at cedar creek when there are 1000 other anglers fishing? some days its good. some days its bad. You don't need any special rigs or baits or anything. You just have to fish in the right places.

 

[troutdude]

A worm, split shot, and a hook. And like TB said, be in the right places. Piece of cake.

 

[GraphiteZen]

Cha-CHING! Easy money. If you don't smelling like rancid cinnamon for months. No kidding, I tried to keep one, just one, last year to smoke. Just an experiment and I had to toss it after 20 minutes cause I thought I was gonna hurl.

 

[Troutier Bassier]

Easy money? LOL.
Is there such a thing?

 

[troutdude]

If you don't smelling like rancid cinnamon for months.

Or like Rancid Crabtree! (a little Pat McManus humor, added for affect)

 

[halibuthitman]

Easy money? LOL.
Is there such a thing?

yes... let me tell you about amway.. LOL

 

[troutdude]

Good one HHM!

 

[Troutier Bassier]

.... whats that?

 

[fish4life]

You have to pay taxes on that money and I dont think you can deduct gas or bait. I can see it being profitable if you lived close to the river but I dont.

 

[halibuthitman]

of course you can write off gas and bait, heck you can even buy a 40' duckworth and start de-valueing it that year, you can write off milage on your truck, a camper/trailer, your new lap top for research, you can pay your wife to do your books for you, get all new fishing gear every year, wear the finest raingear, write off simms waders and guided fishing trips as research... and on and on and on...

 

[GungasUncle]

of course you can write off gas and bait, heck you can even buy a 40' duckworth and start de-valueing it that year, you can write off milage on your truck, a camper/trailer, your new lap top for research, you can pay your wife to do your books for you, get all new fishing gear every year, wear the finest raingear, write off simms waders and guided fishing trips as research... and on and on and on...

Uh, where do I sign up?

If there weren't more fun fish to fish for - this could be a fun way to "work" this summer.

But then that pesky small-government-loving side of me comes out and says - WTF are they tagging fish just to pay some schmuck $500 to turn it back in. They had to catch the thing the first time in order to tag it - WHY didn't they run it through the wood chipper right then and there - and save the state $500 that could've been spent on something more productive - like a toilet seat, a day's wages for two fish & wild life troopers (including benes and retirement contributions) - or building a Tsunami proof wall on all of our beaches, to begin making oregon the first Castle State (by building a concrete wall bigger & better than the great wall of China, around all of our borders, of course! And we'll need towers and turrets and guys in tights carrying old wooden long bows, with the occasional hovel near by with a pig roasting over a fire...)

How much money does this program pay annually - and why are they pissing that money away on paying a few anglers here and there -when they could probably pay a few minimum wage interns to go electro fishing every day for the spring & summer season and kill loads more pikeminnow? Or how about not paying anyone to try to "control" the numbers of pikeminnow - because angler pressure is a joke when you look at the entire pikeminnow population. Spend the money on habitat restoration, enforcement of environmental quality regs on logging operations and mining operations, or just reduce our taxes or license fees instead of pissing money away on this program.

But that's the grumpy side of me talking...