I'm pretty sure everyone here can agree on things like "fishing is fun," "I like to catch fish," or "my fishing license is a great entertainment value." These are all (good) reasons why we buy licenses every year.
I think it's important that we remember that, regardless of how many of us buy licenses, our opportunity ultimately depends on the outcome of a political process. In case you haven't noticed (and I know you have), that process is slowly, but surely diminishing our opportunity. Unless either revolution or Jesus, Himself comes to change the political climate, that trend will only continue, until we reach the point where we don't even get to fish for the species that define sport fishing in our region. To believe otherwise would be, well, "stoopid."
As we've discussed, ad nauseum and beyond, the only way we're going to get our fair share is by economically asserting ourselves in Olympia, whether that's by spending more (lobbying) or withholding our funding (not buying licenses). If I thought we had a snowball's chance in hell of getting organized enough to create a large enough lobbying fund, I'd opt to go that route, because that keeps us fishing and assuredly solves our problem. Trouble is, we can't get organized, because we're too opinionated to agree to any platform. That leaves us with not buying licenses, and we see how many of us are willing to do that....
For all my talk, I will almost certainly cave and buy a license, for all the same, obvious reasons most of the rest of you will. I don't have the means to "take my fishing elsewhere," so I do what I must to enjoy my favorite hobby locally. I've accepted that by willingly participating in the game, under the current rules, I effectively give WDFW and the Legislature my full approval of the shrinking package they offer us every year. So far, that unfortunate, annoying reality hasn't been enough to make me throw in the towel. Eventually, if I really do care about my grandchildren being able to fish, I (and ALL the rest of you) will have to be willing to make the personal sacrifices required, because the other guys don't seem to give a rat's a$$ about the future, and they have a lot more friends in high places than we do.
See you on the water, I guess, and yes, that prospect makes me happy.
Flea, we feel your frustration and your utter despondence in the current fisheries management. Believe me when I tell you, as someone who's "peeked behind the curtain" the real wizard running our fisheries IS NOT WDFW! They want us to believe that, they spend lots of money convincing us of that. Hell, Unsworth probably chants that in the mirror at night, but the real wizard is the ones with the money, influence and power....
As hard as it is for me to say. The battle is well lost. Of all the letters, phone calls, emails, request for meetings we've done to WDFW leadership and legislators, Senator Pearson is the only one to date who has stood by our side and said it's wrong to manage our fisheries this way! Conservation is a smoke screen used only to advance agendas. The sad truth is, those that can do something, won't and those that should do something, don't. The politics in our fisheries will surly kill the last fish, without a doubt!
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