I have been thinking about the local cutthroat opportunities we have as fly fishermen here in Puget Sound and started to get a little sad. I am pretty convinced that it will never be better than it is today or was last year. I have had some pretty epic days and times when the sea-run was my best friend. There is something about being able to have a great hour of fishing, and knowing you can go back and they will always be there for you. I am afraid that is isnt going to last.
I know i play a roll in this but i think that the internet is going to be the biggest factor on this fishery over the next 10 years. With the lack of other fishing options people are going to start to look at the alternatives. In years past i feel like people knew cutthroat were in the waters but didnt have a good idea about how to find them or a group of people to target them with. not necessarily fishing together but comparing notes and locations.
Could we be at the beginning of a big wave of people starting to see this catch and release fishery and begin to exploit it?
Cutthroats have made a great rebound since the moratorium on harvest was put in place but i just wonder if they have enough resiliance to with stand the tidal wave of people i fear is starting to build and descend upon my favorite fish.