This thread has gone in many directions and has had many good ideas thrown out, both from "liberal" & "conservative" veiwpoints. I agree with 454 and others that the sportfisherman does not in general get the 50% split that is intiteled to them by "law". I would guess from personal observations and reading, that at best, we (sport fishermen) are getting around 25% on steelhead and much lower on salmon returns, which I assume most of you love to fish for just as much as steelhead. As for Indians being victimized by "us" speak for yourself. Last time I looked at a calander we are heading into 2001, And I refuse to feel guilt for events that I had zero control of, and occured hunderds of years before my birth. So save it, it's falling on deaf ears. We live in a country of many vast ethnical backgrounds; and people with far worse hands dealt to them survive and even prosper side by side with fellow Americans without treaties. Yes, treaty fishing and the treaties themselves are law, But just because something is law does not make it right! Oh yea this is a fishing forum, We are "all" responsible for the state in which we now find our fishery; Comercial, Indian, dept. of mis management, sport fishermen, loggers, developers, industrial, everyone. I am convinced that there are no easy, if any answers that will bring back the returns to "our" rivers in numbers that "our" fore fathers saw, but that doesn't mean people should stop trying and tuck there hands under their rear end and lay around complacently until the day that no more fish return, and don't fool yourself, that day will come if things continue as they are now.
In my opinion ALL nets, indian and non need to go away, Just as when we run out of trees logging stops, Coal pollutes mining stops, Fish boarder extinction.....Commercial/Indian net fishing stops.
The waters of this state belong to us all, Red/Yellow/Black/White. We are all responsible for them, therefor, We should all be governed by the same "laws" in respect to there use, and health.

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