On a cold crisp morning in Montana, I sat on a hillside, overlooking a place called Decker Flats. It is the main crossing on the Yellowstone River, in which Elk leave the safety of the park, and go on to their winter-feeding grounds. When the sun came up, there were about a thousand Elk feeding down on the flats. And I watched five men on horseback ride down behind the herd, causing the to stampede up the hillside looking for shelter in the tree line. What the Elk weren't expecting, were the 300 or so hunters that lay in wait to ambush the Elk. When the animals were within 500 yards or so, the bloodbath began; hunters shot into the herd, over one another's heads, and ran down to claim their trophy bull. There were so many elk, and so many shots that it had to have been nearly impossible to tell who shot what, not to mention the illegality of the whole situation, and the lack of sportsmanship shown by what I thought were my fellow hunters. I walked out of there, with an extremely sick feeling in my stomach, vowing never to go back.

I have also witnessed a drunken fisherman taking a 13 or so pound native steelhead out of the Hoh. When they stopped to pull the boat out, he threw the fish out into the sand while he unloaded the boat, to then commit crime number two, drove home after having way to much to drink. I had that same sick feeling in my stomach. Did I get his license plate, yes, did I start a fight with he and his two partners while standing there by myself? No.

My point here is, that we all witness things that are illegal, and if not illegal, they are unethical. All of these things contribute to the demise of the land, water and resourced we like to spend our non-working hours enjoying.

When things are more than you can stand, write letters to congressmen, senators, WDFW, make your voice heard. Do we need to bash one another even when our opinions vary so much, no, but speak up for what you believe, to the appropriate people, don't bash your fellow sportsmen, unless they are doing something illegal, and then report it.

I don't know if anything can be done about Natives netting the rivers or the commercial fishing destroying another portion of our fisheries, but I suggest writing letters to any political or regulatory agency that will listen. If those don't work, then start petitions with as many signatures of fellow sportsmen you can find.

I can tell you one thing, if we don't get it together, our sons and daughters will only eat farm raised steelhead.

Remember, whether you fish with flies, bait, lures, or a stick and bobber, we are all still fishermen.