Hey everyone!

[SPARKY101]

Thanks for what you can offer, its good to have you around on this site...So when you need volunteers go ahead and hit me up and im thinking" FISHINISLIFE" possibly to...but i cant speak for him:-#

[BassFanatic]

Hello Stacie its nice to meet you, the way everyone has talked about you on this thread it seems to me that you are the truth.

[Anonymous]

I joined the old forum quite some time ago.. wow Mike, how long has it been? My boss and I had a sit down and we decided the forum was a great way to interact with the anglers. To get iformation out to them and to help answer questions. Sort of the new technology. He has always been supportive of using this media to talk with anglers.

I have always said that a lot of my job is working for YOU, the anglers. It's about taking care of the natural resources, but a big part is you guys. So, that means being available to help out with questions, suggestions, concerns. There's a lot I don't know, but I always know where to get the answer.

Sometimes, there's not really an answer that satisfies people, especially when it comes to regulations or commercial fishery issues. But, I try my best to explain the angle we came from to make the decisions we did.

I especially like it when I get volunteers to go out and help do warmwater surveys on lakes they know. I don't get out on the lakes but a couple times a year but you guys that fish it regularly know the trends, you see when fish seem to be changing in size/weight/numbers and that's great information for us. So without the assistance with you guys, we wouldn't get the type of information we need.

So if you have questions, but don't want to post to the forum, you can also either email me at kelsyslk@dfw.wa.gov or you can call me at 360-906-6706 (if I'm in the field, my work cell phone is listed on my voicemail).

Looking forward to working with you all more!

stace

[Fish Antics]

Stacie,

If you want I can send you a customized moose graphic

Let me know!

[fishnislife]

Stacie, I have another question for ya if you know the answer. Why do so many lakes around Kitsap county have their gates closed already. I was under the impression that the lakes don't close until Oct. 31. Some of these gates have been closed for a couple of weeks now.
I went to Long Lake today and their gate was closed too. And this lake is year round. What's going on? Or is this a county thing that you might not know about?




fishnislife

[YellowBear]

Good morning Stacie.
The lakes that I am most interested in are in region 2.
I have seen a dramatic decline in panfish populations over the years and it is only getting worse.
Lakes that used to hold large numbers of big Perch and Crappie now have small fish and fewer of them.
Perch and crappie of 12 inches or bigger were common at one time in many Eastern Washington lakes.
Now if you can find them they are much smaller and the numbers seem to be down.
I would also like to know if you can find out, what has been restocked back into Sprague lake?
The size and numbers of Largemouth and Crappie.

Thanks again for your time and for being here.

[Stacie Kelsey]

Yes, I would love the moose graphic!!! I have a moose 'shrine' here at my cubicle. I love those little cuties. I have pictures all around the walls here. My master evil plan is to get them introduced into Region 5 - but don't tell Wildlife Management! ha ha ha!!

I'm working on your questions today and will get back to you by this afternoon!

stace

[Stacie Kelsey]

T Dot: here is the information on the annual launch pass and the launch areas. From what I could tell on the map, both lakes that you are interested in are included, but it's best to talk to them direclty about those lakes when/if you purchase the launch pass.

Annual Launch Passes

Launch Areas


Fishinlife - the park access did indeed close on October 1. Here is the information I found:

Long Lakes Access News

Still working on Yellowbear's info request.

stace

[ChrisB]

Good to have you here again Stacie !!!

[Derrick-k]

I have a few questions for you, is the georgia adams hatchery on purdy creek and indian hatchery? Why doesn't the hoodsport hatchery do silvers instead of chums? Is there going to be a hatchery salmon/steelhead program on the north fork of the skokomish river? Why is the wdfw spending money on a hatchery program on the Hamma Hamma if there is almost no access and there is no open season for steelhead? And lastly Is flossing salmon legal?

sorry for all the questions, but I hear a lot of rumors that I can't tell if they are true or not.

[BassinBomber]

Just wanted 2 say "Welcome-Back" Stacie,..haven't met you yet but if you need any help on Lake Wa I'll be more than happy to volunteer,..I frequent the Lake quite a bit so if I can help just say the word!

BB

[Stacie Kelsey]

I only survey lakes in my Region which is Lewis, Cowlitz, Clark, Skamania and Klickitat counties. I'll have lots of opportunities if anyone's interested in those areas!

Derrick - I will check on your questions Tuesday and get back to you.

Yellowbear - still working on yours!

stace

[bob johansen]

Hi Stacie, I have e-mailed the Washington Dept. Fish & Wildlife a few weeks ago about the legality of bass anglers tagging bass and have not recieved a reply. Can you help on this one? And, if legal, where could we obtain tagging equiptment? Thanks

[Bisk1tSnGraV]

It is great that Stacie is here as it will be an awesome resource for us. Is there a way to also get representatives from other regions as well? I think it would be a good partnership for both sides.

[Stacie Kelsey]

Bob - from my standpoint - it would be a very bad idea to have people out there tagging bass. I'll explain why based on my area. When I go out to a lake, I tag bass that are 10" or over. This is part of a mark - recapture study. Tag the fish then go out several months/years later and see what you recapture.

You compare the lengths, weights and other data to see how the fish has changed. Overall it can give you some good information on the population.

Tagging fish isn't as easy as it sounds. You need to know where to do it an use the right equipment and methods. You risk mortality on the fish by not tagging it correctly and of course no one wants that! Plus putting tags out would very much interfere with current studies that might be going on. If I came across a tag that wasn't a Department tag, I'd remove it and if possible, replace it with a Department tag. Tags are numbered and certain colors represent certain tag years.

So in one of our lakes you might see a bright green tag with the following info: WDFW 360-906-6706 and on the back it will say the number "274". The phone number is my number for people to call when they catch the fish. I'll ask for length and weight data if they took it and where they caught the fish.

I would highly recommend people do not do this. I know it would be a fun way to see if you are catching fish over and over, but it is just not a good idea. While there's no set policy (that I could see) about not doing it, if it became a problem, I could see one likely being developed.

Bisk - I know people have asked in the past about other Department people from other areas participating and I don't really have a good answer for that. Like I mentioned before, my Supervisor knows this is a great method of getting info out and helping anglers with questions. In the meantime, I'm more than happy to chase down answers outside my Region to help you guys out!

[Stacie Kelsey]

Derrick - George Adams is a WDFW hatchery in the Minter/Hood Canal Complex:

George Adams Hatchery

As far as your other questions, I'm going to forward them to the hatchery folks and see if I can get some answers for you.

stace

[Kokonuts]

Welcome Back......

Stacie I fish at Lake Merwin for Kokanee a LOT but I am wondering why there isnt a trout plant in this lake? Lake M seems like it could be a great Trout Lake. Is it because of the Tigre Muskies?

Do the muskies have much effect on the Kokanee, I had a tough time fishing for Koks this year!
Thanks for the info.......Kokonuts

[Stacie Kelsey]

Merwin has such a nice kokanee population as well as some salmon moving through they don't want to plant trout on top of that when there are a lot of great trout opportunites nearby (Swift Res). There might be some more specific reasons other than that and I'll see what my Supervisor says.

As far as the muskies they're going to eat anything that passes in front of them. I hadn't heard about the kokanee's being more difficult to catch this year but I'll also check into that. Did you notice this throughout the year or just at certain times?

Where were you mostly fishing? Just outside of Speelyai is super good. And I do know a lot of the anglers were saying they were fishing a lot deeper than normal to get to them.

stace

[Kokonuts]

Thanks for the quick reply!

Youre right on about the fishing outside of Speelya Bay, I fished to the west on both sides of the lake.
This was my first year fishing at Merwin & I started in April thur early Oct. using wedding rings, hoochies with dodgers ,flashers and white corn with a couple of different scents. My buddy says I have more gear the GI JOES!!. I had a lot of fun but didnt catch as many as several others that I talked with.

I also fished at Yale & went up to Swift once to check it out but didnt fish there. I will try them both again next season!.....Kokonuts

[bob johansen]

Thank you very much Stacie for that excellent explanation of tagging bass. I'm sure that other WL bass anglers that were interested in tagging their bass will also appreciate your very complete response to the tagging question.