scaly, appreciate your comments about TU and NSIA but i'm still very disappointed.

the problem isn't that TU and the other groups didn't endorse BAN, but they came out strongly against it. i understand that BAN is controversial, but TU and other sportfishing groups could have just stood on the sidelines with a comment like "we will let individual members decide it on their own" or something like that.

to me, TU in washington state has some problems. this isn't the first time i've been disapponted in a decision by them over a controversial issue. i seem to remember the WA council of TU coming out against the decrease in annual and daily wild steelhead retention on north coast rivers a few years ago. i remember being so disappointed that i decided not to become a member, and i was just forgetting that and thinking of joining until this... and i'm sorry, in my mind this is unforgivable. just my opinion of course.

i would have thought sportfishing groups could have stood firm against commercial netting, but i guess not.

the points raised in the original post that quoted a TU letter weren't that persuasive, and i thought they were short-sighted... especially the bait issue.

chris