Mooch,
Smalma,

Sometimes I have a tendency to get a bit carried away when I'm typing. Looking back on my posts regarding honest reporting to fish checkers, I see that may be the case.

My original intent was not to defend anglers who may neglect to report released fish, but rather to provide maybe a partial explanation for why the "released numbers" reported by the checkers were so low and to give possible reasons for innacurate reports to checkers. That's pretty much what my first post indicated; I was more or less "fishing" for a response with the second. Believe me , this does go on. I don't recall personally having misinformed a checker; I do have first-hand accounts of this occurring on a regular basis.

Accurate reporting would indeed be important to whatever plan the WDFW was devising. There remains a high amount of distrust for the management policies that direct our fisheries (particularly toward the Commission). Many fishermen are unaware of the Dept.'s plans or truly do not see them doing anything positive for our wild fish situation. I was merely pointing out the realities of the situation!

If indeed trust is to be built, the WDFW needs to adopt policies and systems that not only inform the angling public, but also listen to their ideas and are more responsive to their review. I know PR is a big issue for WDFW right now, and while they seem to be working on improving trust "we're not there yet," so to speak.

GS