Thank you, boater, for asking a legit question and asking for an exchange which is what we SHOULDbe doing here rather than splintering into a dozen factions, each only 1/12th as strong as we could be politically.

Man, this is such a complex issue that I'm not sure I have the time to write out my thoughts completely, but I guess I could let you know where I'm coming from.

I bonk a dozen or so fish a year. I bonk some unclipped kings (if they were marked, so I could be relatively sure where they came from, I wouldn't), a few hatchery silvers, and a few hatchery steelhead. I don't want to bonk native steelhead for one reason. I'm VERY critical of commercial harvesters of native steelhead because I think they are scarce enough to be looked at as something other than a food item. Since I AM critcal of commercial harvesters of wild fish, I believe it would be hypocritical of me to kill them myself. That's just my opinion, and while I'd LIKE others to see it my way, I realize that's going to take ME just explaining myself and my position, rather than screaming and calling people idiots and all those things that folks do when they can't just make a reasonable argument.

As far as WT goes, I think they are making a grave mistake, if only because they just managed to splinter sports anglers once again. I also think that closing hatcheries in an effort to restore runs is a Band-Aid on arterial bleeding. They don't need to close hatcheries......they need to operate them in a manner that isn't detrimental to the wild component of the run. Can this be done? I think it can, but then again, I'm not a fish biologist. I only know what I've read and observed myself.........and as much as that is, it still is a pretty small pool of knowledge.

I'm just getting tired of the "C&K morons this......" and "C&R idiots that......" crap. It's getting us NOWHERE fast. In case nobody's noticed, this state is in a financial bind like we haven't seen in quite a while. Fish won't be high on ANYBODY'S list to keep funding for, because WE CAN'T ORGANIZE to save a sport we ALL love. We're so friggin' sad at organizing that we just may have to rely on the COMMERCIAL NETTERS to save hatchery fish. The bad thing is, if the commercials bankroll the fight, it will be done on their terms, and we'll get the same crappy hatcheries doing the same crappy job of producing fish........and all the while the native fish will be in worse shape than when we started.

This stuff just burns me out sometimes. I remember the days when I just went and fished and didn't have to worry about this stuff.........or so I thought. With a little foresight, we might have avoided this in the first place, but only hindsight is 20/20. I'll just end my piece with a little list of things I think could improve the fisheries in this state.


I'd like to see EVERY hatchery fish marked, bother salmon and steelhead. I'd like to see the commercial fleet OFF Hood Canal when the last remnants of wild silvers are trying to run the gauntlet of nets. I'd like to see the tribal nets out BEFORE they close down the Skok to chum retention because the numbers are low. I'd like to see a law forbidding the stripping of hens for roe that DOESN'T have loophole you could drive a truck through in it. I'd like to see Gamies out IN FORCE during the snagfests that take place on the Carbon, Satsop, Kalama, Cowlitz......they could pay their own salary with ticket revenue, so don't say you can't afford more officers WDFW. I'd like to see Tribal police do SOME enforcement of their own. I'd like to see people be less uptight when they're fishing than when they're at work. I'd like people to look at a wild fish as MORE than just a meal, but as something they can pass on to their kids. I'd like to see people who release wild fish to act like it IS more than just a fish. I'd like the C&R folks to understand the value of a hatchery fish, both as a food item and as a quarry we can persue and take home.

And most of all, I'd like to see my float sink any time I want it to. Well, since that's probably not going to happen, maybe I'll just go about working on the other stuff I listed.........that stuff COULD happen.