Some one on the Ifish board asked what I meant about "$25 experts"... thought I'd share my response here.....

$25 Expert = one who has an "expert" opinion and has kicked in their $25 dues to CCA-National... then stamps the CCA "Good-Housekeeping seal of approval" on their pet personal position and spreads it all over cyberspace without ever consulting the organization for its official stance.

If a CCA member decides to post an opinion on behalf of CCA about significant fisheries issues, make darned sure CCA has taken an official position on said issue before disseminating it all over the web.

If someone asks a CCA member about the organization's position about a particular issue... don't shoot from the hip with conjecture or outright mis-statements. If you know the official position, say so. If you don't know the official position, then say "I don't know, but I'll do my best to find out"

If there is no official position on said issue.... that's OK, too. There's nothing wrong with saying the organization hasn't decided yet.

The strength of the organization rests in numbers, true.... but it's politically meaningless unless we are all singing from the same sheet of music. Unless we are all echoing the same sound bytes, politicians and fish managers won't recognize us as a cohesive voting block.
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"Let every angler who loves to fish think what it would mean to him to find the fish were gone." (Zane Grey)

"If you don't kill them, they will spawn." (Carcassman)


The Keen Eye MD
Long Live the Kings!