I agree that we could use a few more lakes and rivers managed for 'quality fishing'. I think put and take lakes are also important and some people really get a kick out of catching AND eating trout. Is this an education issue? No. Is is a welfare program gone astray? No. People enjoy hunting and they expect to eat what they kill. Why not let these type of people enjoy themselves on some water set aside for bait fisherman? Grading and other issues may be a problem - but that's an enforcement issue.

Where do you get off saying 'fly fishing is the ONLY way'??? I definately agree that some systems work best as 'fly fishing only', but most lakes/rivers would be fine with selective rules and c&r rules. (quick question - what's the difference between a guy fishign with a bobber and worm and a guy fishing a 'stike indicator' and chiromonid? All I can see is that one guy spent a few grand on a float tube and fly gear and the other spent maybe 100 bucks on a lawn chair and cheap spinning gear... The other difference is that the bait fisherman will need to keep every fish he catches up to his limit - which makes perfect sense on a put-and-take lake. Is one guy smarter than the other? Maybe not the one you think. Oops, sorry for digressing).

Stace, I think the idea of creating more 'selective fishing' and c&r fisheries is an exellent idea. And an educational program that teaches how to fish with single barbless hooks and how to catch and safely release fish would be awesome. Types of fishing that could be taught could vary from:
Fly Fishing in the traditional sense
Fishing a fly and 'fly bubble' from a spinning rod (works great - especially in lakes where you don't have a float tube and back casting is difficult)
Fishing spinners and spoons and other 'hardware'
Fishing jigs and other artificial lures

I don't think we should limit folks to fly fishing or make it sound like fly fishing is some 'holy grail'. Other forms of fishing are just as friendly to c&r and quality fisheries and often times more effective.