Guiding in Washington Waters

During the 2017 Legislative session, state lawmakers introduced a bill that would have limited the number of fishing guides and their activities on Olympic Peninsula rivers and the Klickitat River in southwest Washington. The legislation - originally proposed by the Olympic Peninsula Guides Association and Trout Unlimited - was intended to address concerns voiced by some fishing guides and anglers that fisheries are becoming too concentrated in portions of the state, threatening the viability of healthy salmon and steelhead stocks. In addition, they expressed concerns that an increase in the number of fishing guides, especially out-of-state guides, is putting even more additional pressure on those remaining healthy populations.

However, the proposed legislation (SB 5302), which would have drastically changed how game fish and food fish guides are regulated, was met with significant resistance from the guide community. In response, the bill sponsors ultimately pulled back the proposal, and instead directed WDFW to provide the legislature with feedback from both the fishing guides and recreational anglers. This direction was in the form of a budget proviso that states:

(11) Within the appropriations of this section, the department shall initiate outreach with recreational fishing stakeholders so that recreational fishing guide and non-guided angler data can be collected and analyzed to evaluate changes in the structure of guide licensing, with the objectives of:

(a) Improving the fishing experience and ensuring equitable opportunity for both guided and non-guided river anglers,

(b) managing fishing pressure to protect wild steelhead and other species; and

(c) ensuring that recreational fish guiding remains a sustainable economic contributor to rural economies. The department shall convene public meetings in the North Olympic Peninsula and Klickitat River areas, and may include other areas of the state, and shall provide the appropriate standing committees of the legislature a summary of its findings, by December 31, 2017.

In response to the budget proviso directive, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) conducted public hearings and workshops across the state; completed a survey of all licensed game fish and food fish guides; and completed a random/stratified survey of salmon and steelhead anglers licensed in Washington.