Smalma

What you have said is true. BUT this thread is all about options, and we need everybody to bring out their "silver bullets" before this war can be won. I have attended more technical fishery meetings then I ever want to remember (just enough to become dangerous).The average guy never gets the time or opportunity to see what these "silver bullets" are, and this thread was intended to bring everyone's minds together in an attempt to turn this mess around.

To me, it's quickly coming down to only a "Micro Management" policy for each river system. The problem is to large now to manage as a whole, and I believe that "generally managing" our river systems all in the same fashion will not solve the nightmare that now exists. That is why I am asking this board to make some suggestions on how their most favorite river system could or should be managed. I think that this board could benefit immensely from the vast experience that exists outside of our fish management agencies. They are locked into their own way of thinking because of their own politics and policies. We are not!

Here, we are free to say and discuss every conceivable option that we want to. We are not concerned about "hurting" each others feeling, or burning a bridge or two behind us. I have worked with both our state and federal agencies for more then 16 years now, and I have seen their "mental block" at work. I know that we can find many of the answers IF we can ever get over OUR native and hatchery "mental blockade"!

I for one am tired of being forced to take a side. The answers lie somewhere between managing native fish SEPARATELY from hatchery fish. The simple truth is that every river system will eventually need to be "Micro Managed" as an individual river system.

So folks, pick a river, pick any river and tell us how you would "manage" it. Tell us why you think that your management strategies may work. Who knows, maybe, just maybe, the agencies will read this thread and start hearing what WE really want! Just think YOU can do all that without even leaving YOUR desk!!

We did it on the Cowlitz, and you can do it on your river too!

Cowlitzfisherman

Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????