What's with the clipped coho?

In my experience, there is a higher percentage of clipped coho in the early returns than in the later returns. June and July often have 1/3 to 1/2 of the coho clipped (at least those caught at Swiftsure). Later in the season it drops to 1/6 and then 1/12. At least that's been my experience for the past 20 or so years.
 
Keeping your first 2 fish and moving on opens the door to High-Grading. A lot of meat fishing mentality out there.
Best thing you can do is get good at catch and release fishing. Use single barbless hooks and only net or touch fish you are keeping. This means losing a few beside the boat but no big deal. Treble hooks, tandem singles, trailer hooks... should be avoided. If you don't like the idea of weeding through some wild fish and enjoying fishing while you are harvesting some hatchery take homes, then you have the choice not to take part.
I can't agree more. Go enjoy the water, the day, your friends and try and break and destroy all your gear. That's what fishing is all about. Trebble hooks and small fish don't work out to well
 
Keeping your first 2 fish and moving on opens the door to High-Grading. A lot of meat fishing mentality out there.
Best thing you can do is get good at catch and release fishing. Use single barbless hooks and only net or touch fish you are keeping. This means losing a few beside the boat but no big deal. Treble hooks, tandem singles, trailer hooks... should be avoided. If you don't like the idea of weeding through some wild fish and enjoying fishing while you are harvesting some hatchery take homes, then you have the choice not to take part.
I also agree with you Tips Up. Hopefully there will be more hatchery retention times like we just had in may in the future. But if you are going to fish in the non retention time or hatchery only you must learn how to release fish with the least amount of damage . Single hooks no netting releasing in water pictures of fish in the water if you have to have one. I think this is the future of our sports fishery, If this goes against your principals you have a choice not to fish.
 
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