Aunty...Controversy seems to have left this board to some extent....What is Ramon up to? Maybe he'll come back and tells us what he thinks. WT has been supiciously quiet while they scrutinize the hatcheries they are trying to close. I wonder what WT thinks about guides??? and not fly fishing guides on the private ranches. Real guides.

Eddie: Selling a charter license is no crime. Allowing them to be sold as a commodity is probably ill advised but the idea of keeping a lid on the numbers is a good idea in my book. The idea that Washington has one law and Oregon contradicts it on the same piece of water is goofy. The Oregon side of the Columbia stretches a long ways across at the famous fishing grounds below the Astoria bridge and having that side heavily populated with "guides" while the smaller Washington side prevents the same is nuts. Especially since those Oregon "guides" get to fish on the Washington side under all the other reciprocal rules.

CFM: The coast guard certification process is a rigorous one. I have a friend who has a charter license that he rarely uses and he spent months of heavy studying and testing to get the CG certificate. I say this is the only way to fly for those boats venturing out in dangerous waters with paying customers aboard. Like I said before, there are many families mourning their lost relatives due to accidental drownings at sea in our area. Anything to help the safety of those paying customers is right by me and is not just bureaucratic BS.