Spearfishing proposal unpopular among some local anglers

Spearfishing could see a jump in popularity in Montana under a legislative proposal that has won the backing of the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Under Senate Bill 214, the state Fish and Wildlife Commission would have the authority to allow spearfishing for game fish on specific waters in Montana. It passed the Senate 44-6 last month.

Sen. Jill Cohenour, D-East Helena, told the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee Tuesday that she decided to sponsor the bill after it was requested by one of her constituents.

“We want to make sure that the opportunity is there, but that there are limitations to that, that will protect the species, that will protect the habitat or the populations that we want to protect,” Cohenour said.

Testifying in favor of the bill was Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ Fisheries Administrator Eileen Ryce, who said that the administration’s support was contingent on a pair of minor amendments that would emphasize the commission’s discretion to designate waters appropriate for spearfishing.

The measure would require that anglers be fully submerged underwater while spearfishing, plant a diver’s flag within 200 feet and abide by catch limits and other fishing regulations. It would also prohibit spearfishing within 100 yards of docks, ramps and swimming areas, and in catch-and-release waters.

Angling groups have expressed concerns, however, that spearers would have an unfair advantage over other anglers, and that the change in law could have negative impacts on protected or struggling fish populations.

“I get concerned about knowledge of fish. What about paddlefish?”

Montana Walleyes Unlimited Executive Director Bob Gilbert told the committee that some paddlefish and sauger populations in the state are already struggling, and questioned whether underwater anglers would be able to distinguish between similar-looking species like sauger and walleye.

He also questioned the wisdom of placing the authority in the hands of the Fish and Wildlife Commission.

“I’m a little concerned about the language that allows the commission to open up new waters,” Gilbert said. “It’s a matter of trust, and right now my trust line is kind of thin.”

While Montana already allows for limited spearfishing in certain bodies of water, Region One fisheries manager Mark Deleray said in a separate interview that the practice is not generally allowed in the northwest portion of the state.

Lake Mary Ronan is the one exception, but only after a northern pike was illegally introduced into the lake several years ago. Fearing that others could be present and establish a breeding population, the department opened the lake to spearfishing for pike as a management tool. But Deleray said that to date, no others have been reported.

While his agency is supportive of the measure, he’s heard opposition to the proposal from local anglers who note that spearguns are incompatible with catch-and-release practices and give anglers an unfair advantage for catching trophy-sized fish.

“In general, it’s not well-received by traditional anglers, and that’s where the rub is,” he said.

Local fishing expert Chancy Jeschke, the fishing department manager at Snappy Sport Senter in Kalispell, said that he, like those he’s talked to in his store, isn’t happy about the prospect of competing with underwater anglers.

“I think you’re just opening a can of worms, honestly,” Jeschke said in an interview Tuesday. “As a whole, I think it would be detrimental to the fishery, for recreational fisheries.”

He said that decades ago, when Echo Lake was open to spearfishing, many anglers noticed that trophy-sized bass and other slower-growing fish were disappearing as spearfishing gained popularity.

“They were targeting and taking a lot of our trophy bass out of there. Warm-water species tend to be targeted more for underwater spearing, because a lot of them are curious and they’ll almost swim right up to you a lot of the time,” he said.

Deleray said fishing regulations for Echo Lake periodically allowed spearfishing from the 1970s through the early ‘90s, but only for non-game fish, like suckers and minnows.

“I think in the ‘80s there was concern that people were potentially harvesting game fish, so in about 20 waters they closed it to all spearing,” he said. “Later in the ‘80s, it opened up to non-game spearing again, because I’m sure there was pressure from spearers, and it opened to pike as pike were becoming established.”

By the 1990s, however, the fishing community had begun to regard non-game, or so-called “trash fish,” as an essential part of the larger aquatic ecosystem, Deleray said, and the spearing bans were largely reinstated.

During her testimony on Tuesday, Ryce stressed that any new spearfishing opportunities for game fish would still be subject to existing fishing regulations. She said the recommended amendments would require the commission to take population structures and densities into account, and that fisheries requiring anglers to differentiate between fish sizes or similar-looking species would likely be off-limits.

The committee did not immediately take action on the bill after the hearing on Tuesday.

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or swilson@dailyinterlake.com.