CLACKAMAS, Ore.—The departments of fish and wildlife from Oregon and Washington declined to set a June sturgeon fishing season for recreational anglers on the lower Columbia River when they met by conference call today.

In a public hearing, fisheries managers from the two states were allegedly presented information on the current status of white sturgeon and a possible one-day sturgeon retention season on the main stem below Wauna Power lines this coming Saturday. The spring sturgeon retention season had been delayed due to COVID-19 virus restrictions. 

Public testimony was taken and support for the one-day fishery was mixed. Fishery managers disagreed about the best use of the fish to provide equity, opportunity, and for the greatest economic impact, with Oregon supporting a compromise solution with a one-day June fishery and some potential opportunity in September while Washington wanted to reserve the full quota for use in a September fishery.

I’ll go ahead and translate that bit of double talk. State fish and game agencies have been stocked at an increasing rate with people who simply punch a clock and those who wish to end fishing and hunting period.

Fisheries managers disagreed about opening a season because the payoff from the commercial fishermen was a little light this year. Since no individual fisherman came forward with a convincing enough bribe, no season was even considered.

We’re always told of public opposition but neither state can seem to produce the alleged opposition they have received. THIS IS NOT CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. This is one of those old days lies that still passes the bullshit smell test in state houses. It only begins stinking when you ask to see the comments. That’s where you begin to see consistent patterns of commenting. Comment blasting, and form fill apps are the day to day tools of the grievance squad.

Go ahead and find any passage of public comment where several hundred comments are copied word for word with suspiciously different names all originating from the same IP address. You see the unethical effort plainly when you actually look. If there were indeed anything approaching concerted effort, these unethical events would be splashed all over state websites complete with state attorney statements.

At this time, managers are not bribed highly enough, or held accountable by their equally clock punching superiors to recommend a season structure for sturgeon retention in the area above Wauna Powerlines, though Oregon may investigate opportunities for the lower Willamette River. There are some deep pockets in those homes.

Recreational steel head and shad fishing remain open on about 30 feet of portions of the Columbia under permanent rules. Some summer salmon fishing (sockeye) opens June 16. Don’t bet the farm on that season either. They’re already trying to talk drought in the middle of a rainstorm to find an excuse to avoid manual labor.

Some catch-and-release sturgeon fishing is also allowed, see the latest on Columbia River fishing regulations at https://myodfw.com/recreation-report/fishing-report/columbia-zone. The circumstances to avoid a ticket simply are too convoluted to follow without a bottle of Adderall and a slide rule.