The I PASS Pledge

Dark Spawning Fish (click image for detail)

 
Photo Left: Dark Spawning Fish (click to enlarge)

The IPASS Pledge-- by John Judy http://www.johnjudyflyfishing.com/

When I see fish spawning naturally in the wild it gives me great pleasure. It indicates to me that the river I’m fishing is healthy, the habitat is good and the fish are strong and wild. What I am seeing, in most cases, is the pay off for the catch and release, the limiting of harvest that so many of us have practiced over the years.

That's why I am growing increasingly concerned by a trend I am seeing within the fishing community, especially among fly fishermen. As more and more fisheries are managed through natural spawning more and more fishermen are beginning to target the fish when they are most vulnerable, on the nest sites. It’s not always through lack of understanding either; this has become a broad based trend, often led by the most knowledgeable fisherman in the industry – the guides and fly shop owners.

I don’t mean to be preaching from a pulpit here; I certainly understand the reasons for wanting to target spawning fish. I’ll freely admit I know most of what I know on this subject because of my own bad fishing practices in the past. I fully understand that with some species like salmon and east coast steelhead it may be the only chance you get to catch a fish on a fly. I know with other species like trout it’s a one of a kind opportunity. The spawners are usually in shallow water where they are easy to see and easy to locate. The biggest fish are always amongst them because the bigger fish are always the most successful spawners.

It’s easy fishing too – even for beginners. Unlike normal fish in the wild, spawners are actually hard to disturb. They are drawn to their nesting sites by powerful urges; they are very reluctant to give them up. Natural caution has been thrown to the wind so no matter how many mistakes you make you won’t driver them away. At worst they will be spooked momentarily; all you have to do is stop fishing and they’ll come right back.

They take flies and lures aggressively too. This is not always because they are feeding but more often because they are defending the nest sights. A nymph or lure passing through will be taken as a threat to the eggs. The fish will charge it aggressively. So there’s little doubt that if you can find a good spawning sight you’re going to become a very successful angler. It’s a huge temptation for any fisherman. It’s not easy to step away. You’re giving up some of the best fishing you will ever experience. No wonder the guides, with a commercial interest at stake, are drawn to bend the rules and the ethics.

But there is another side to this debate that needs to be considered. Unfortunate, as with most things that come too easy, there is a cost for disturbing the fish on the nest. For every spawning fish you catch today, there will be fewer fish in the future. Spawning fish are usually in a weakened condition. They are often quite dark in color and very soft to the touch. Much of the energy that would normally go to feeding and building strength has gone into the reproductive process. These fish may have fungal infections and other spawning injuries as well. Stressing these weakened fish by making them fight on the end of a line, can only worsen their condition thus reducing the chances for survival and a successful spawn. More over wading fisherman, walking through the nest sites, will cause mortality on the eggs and the young fry that are buried in the gravel.

While none of these disturbances in and of themselves are going to destroy the fishery; collectively they have a larger impact. In the end it’s not the one angler who does the harm. It’s the one fisherman and the next, and next; that is a problem. It’s the cumulative impact that will damage the fishery.

There’s no good practical way that I see to regulate against this damage either. Rules against fishing in spawning areas are, for the most part, impractical. Spawning sites move and change every year so signs to mark these places would be difficult to maintain to say nothing about the visual pollution they would case. Closing entire streams is not always good option either. You have to be very careful with this kind of regulation because you could be throwing out the baby with the bath – you cold be limiting your own over all ability to fish as much as you are protecting the fish during the spawn. On my home river, the Deschutes, in Oregon, if we closed the river during spawning we would loose the Salmonfly Hatch, some of the best fishing of the year.

So it seems to me that fishermen must be willing to protect the streams themselves; it’s up to us as individuals. For anyone who practices catch and release it only makes sense that you would be willing back away from spawn grounds too. We all want the fish to be fruitful and multiply. We want them to succeed. That’s why we released them in the first place. It makes no sense for any catch and angler to target the fish in the act of reproduction.

In an effort to promote greater understand of this problem I have created the IPASS pledge. IPASS is a simple acronym that means I pledge to avoid spawning sites. It’s the next step you should take after saying I’m going to practice catch and release. When you agree to pass up the spawning grounds you are making a simple statement that says, “The health and well being of the fish means more to me than my own personal gratification.”

To take the pledge you must follow three simple steps. First you must educate yourself as to what spawning sites look like. You must learn the signs that indicate you might be on a spawning ground or catching spawning fish. Be aware even if you do know about spawning sites you will still make some mistakes, that’s not a crime, it’s really the effort that counts; it’s your conscientiousness and concern that matter. For those who are willing, here are a few of things you should look for:

          1.  Light colored circular patches in the gravel indicating recent disturbance.
          2.  Small depressions and mounds in the gravel indicating nest sites and eggs.
          3.  Large numbers of fish concentrated in shallow water over fine gravel bottom.
          4.  Fish that hug to a site and refuse to move even after disturbance.
          5.  Fish that are dark and soft and somewhat poorly conditioned.

Once you understand what spawning grounds and spawning fish look like you have to then be willing to set your own desires aside. You have to be willing to say, “I’m going to move on down river and look for another opportunity where my action won’t cause quite so much harm.” You have to say “I PASS; I’m going elsewhere.” Even if you are with a guide and you start to suspect he is putting you on a spawning fish you have to ask to move on.

Finally there is one more way say IPASS; that is to say I will pass the pledge on. This whole project, the I PASS program, is one angler’s effort to do something good for the fishery. It’s a pebble in a pond but it won’t work, it won’t ripple outward if we don’t tell others. It’s like a chain letter with no pay back, except in fish. Anything you can do to promote the pledge will be greatly appreciated.

If you would like an I PASS bumper sticker for free contact me John@JohnJudyFlyfishing.com. Also if you would like a “ready for publication” copy of the I Pass logo, or the I Pass pledge or this article so you can run your own I Pass program that is also available free at the same web address.