There have been so many complaints from everyone about the way our fisheries are managed/mismanaged and so much blame slung all over about how we got into a salmon crisis! At least Washington Trout is trying to do something and not just living with the status quo. Those who mudsling at Washington Trout should ask themselves what they're doing to help solve our fish problems and not just sit at their PC and whine. They should also ask themselves if they are willing to give up some of their personal fishing to ensure the fish we claim to love so much can thrive for future generations. Do you really think we can continue to expand as a society, fish for food in all the locations we want to, and still save the fish? Get Real!

To those of you who don't believe we can recover wild fish, look at what's happened on Oregon's Metolius River. 5 years after discontinuing hatchery rainbow stocking, wild rainbow redd counts have increased by a factor of five!!!! That's 5 times as many wild fish in 5 years (and they're resident trout, so you can't credit ocean conditions for the recovery). This, after ODFW documented decreased genetic resistance to disease in the wild trout that live in the stretch formerly stocked vs. those fish separated by waterfalls. If the fish have good habitat, adequate water flows and minimal interference from inbred hatchery fish, they will recover.

Washington Trout, The Native Fish Society, Trout Unlimited, etc. are all looking forward toward future with healthy rivers and lots of fish. The status quo, including most hatchery production is damning our rivers' future.