Rob..I am trying to be open minded here. Suppose a new law was passed that said you must buy a permit for $10,000 to fish selective rivers. Say the ones you hold near and dear. Then we take some of those funds and hire police forces to patrol the rivers handing out tickets costing $10,000 to anyone caught fishing without the special permit. This would really restrict fishing to a select few and create a great experience for those who could afford it. That plan would protect the fish in those rivers big time.

Silly? Unfair? Well it is a plan that is narrow and of benefit to the fish. It is probably unfair and would start a firestorm of criticism that would center around the unfairness and bias towards the rich. So if that is the case we could change the plan to allow fishing on these rivers by permit only ($10,000 fee to be paid by DSHS) making the permit only available to the homeless...No bias towards the rich in that plan....

Bottom line is this: Any plan with a chance has to be inclusive and somewhere in the center. That means the dreaded compromise word. Compromise is tough when emotions run so high. That is where our fisheries are now...we are struggling to come up with plans that are inclusive and strike a balance between user groups. Unfortunately the loudest voices (lobbyists) seem to attract the most attention. So some go to the courts to try to force their views on the rest of the users. The same thing is happening across the country politically. A minority is turning to the courts to ramrod an agenda that is in the minority. The majority is getting pissed off though. An example is the fact that 95% of Americans celebrate Christmas while the extreme minority is going to the courts to stop observance of that holiday...Ultimately the majority will have to be reckoned with.

Come up with a plan that is inclusive and it may have a chance. One inclusive plan that is closer to what you advocate would be to close all river fishing period. That would piss off everybody but it would not favor the C&R or the catch and keep crowd. It would, however, force us into courts as defendants against the tribes ..who in the end rule our fisheries.

OK..now I have to get ready to go fishing today....

PS..thanks Rob for sticking to your guns and articulating your opinions without ranting...We'll keep working on this issue and I think it will ultimately be resolved.