It's walleye time again; snagging illegal

MOSES LAKE — If the walleye aren’t beginning their annual spawning run, they will soon. At night the fish are so close to the bank an angler could reach out and touch them.
When the irrigation water is turned on and begins to flow down Crab Creek, into Moses Lake and then out of the lake into Potholes Reservoir, it is a signal for the fish to try to swim upstream and spawn.
Anglers gather at two specific spots during the run to try their luck at catching one or an eight-fish limit. The Fill, also called Neppel Crossing and The Alder Street Fill, is the part of Alder Street crossing the lake and becoming Stratford Road at some point along the way.
You will notice anglers fishing along the edge of the water, sometimes shoulder to shoulder, especially at night. Walleye are caught during the day also, but at night the fish are a spectacular sight with their eyes glowing in the beam of a flashlight or headlamp.
The spillways at the south end of Moses Lake are another spot where anglers gather. The fish, again, try to swim upstream, but the dams at the spillways stop them from continuing.
Walleye, along with other spawning fish, such as salmon and steelhead, are more interested in making little walleye than in eating. The trick is to entice them to strike a lure or bait.
My experience has been, as with other spawning fish, getting a walleye angry is the first step in persuading it to take the bait. Keeping the lure in front of the fish, moving it in an up-and-down motion if it is right below you, is a good strategy.
I have seen fish simply pull in a fly by simply pulling water in their mouth in what can be described as a sucking motion. I’ve also seen fish spit out a fly faster than the angler could set the hook. But the trick with the spawning walleye is to make them so mad they attack the hook.
The fishing regulations have been changed because so many walleye gather in such small areas of Crab Creek and the edge of Moses Lake.
The Sport Fishing Rules Pamphlet states, “Crab Creek from the fountain buoy and shoreline markers or 150 feet downstream of the Alder Street Fill to Grant County Road 7; all species, March 1 through May 31, only one single-point hook of 3/4 inches or less measured point to shank may be used.”
Also under Crab Creek is stated, “From the confluence of the outlet streams to the Moses Lake outlets,” the same hook restrictions apply. This means the hook restrictions apply from each dam at the south end of Moses Lake, downstream to the point where these two streams meet and become one. The reason for the hook restriction is to limit the number of people snagging fish.
Fish and Wildlife defines snagging as, “Attempting to take fish with a hook and line in such a way that the fish does not voluntarily take the hook in its mouth. In freshwater, it is illegal to possess any fish hooked anywhere other than inside the mouth or on the head.”
This is a very tolerant rule. Many states require the hook to be inside the mouth of the fish, period. Experienced anglers, however, know some species of fish are aggressive and will attack a lure, only to miss and be hooked near the mouth or on the head, such as salmon and steelhead.
So anglers are left with the problem of figuring out where the head begins and ends. Not to worry, Fish and Wildlife have provided such a definition: “Head of a fish; forward of the rear margin of the gill plate.”
This again is a liberal rule. The tip of the mouth to the rear margin of the gill plate is a large area. If a walleye gets so mad it opens its mouth and turns its head in a swift manner and the hook become imbedded in the outside of the gill plate, it is legally caught.
The daily limit for walleye is eight per day with a minimum size of 12 inches. Only one walleye over 22 inches may be retained. The same rules apply to Crab Creek from The Fill upstream to Road 7 and to Potholes Reservoir as well.
Anglers are still discussing the merits of a 12-inch walleye. Several times in the past few years, I’ve been told there isn’t enough meat on a 12-inch walleye to mess with filleting it.
However, perch anglers are thrilled to catch a mess of 12-inch perch. By the way, walleye is a member of the perch family. A 12-inch perch is, indeed, considered a fairly good-sized fish. My smallest walleye has been a 14-incher and I was not disappointed with the size of the fillets.
I consider walleye to be the second best eating fish in the world, second only to halibut. Take a nice clean fillet and chunk it into one-inch pieces, dust it with Zatarain’s cornmeal fish fry and drop them into hot oil until cooked. Then serve with tartar sauce on the side. My, my, that’s some mighty fine eating.
One other point on walleye meat: My friends and I cut out the ribs after getting the fillets off the fish. The ribs are generally thrown away. However, I take the ribs and cut off as much meat as possible that is bone free. This is made into pickled fish. Delicious, simply delicious.
Remember, Fish and Wildlife enforcement officers frequent the most likely places for the public to catch walleye, just as the anglers do. The angler next to you may be an undercover officer.
The best way to approach any outdoor activity is to conduct yourself in a legal manner. If you catch a foul-hooked fish, say in the tail, release it. If you don’t it may mean a ticket.