OK, . . . a little devils advocate:
Then why do the Canadians continue to allow a bait fishery on the wild
Thompson stock ?
In spite of the fact that last years run was abysmal, and there was a real
threat of it being closed this year.
Tom
-----Original Message-----
From: jcrosby [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2000 7:17 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: wild fish
Another thought. I just talked to a young angler in
Creekside Anglers in
Issaquah yesterday. After a short exchange you could see
that this guy was
a steelhead fanatic; he'd been everywhere and often!
He was heading up to the Thompson and had fished the Vedder
earlier in the
fall. Now the Thompson is a wild fishery and the Vedder is
a hatchery plant
fishery. He said that the Vedder had an incredible run this
season. He was
hooking 30 fish a day and some bait anglers were hooking a
100 fish a day!!
My point is, they both can exist if we use common sense and
establish plant
fisheries where wild fish have little chance. The Canadians
seem to be
doing a much better job at restoring fish runs than we are.
They have
greatly curtailed their netting and are making good
decisions on wild and
hatchery fisheries. This is attracting large numbers of
lower 48'ers across
their borders. Once we de-emphasize sport fishing, the
resource is in
trouble. Monies dry up for funding projects, enforcement
declines etc. I
personally do not like crowds anymore, and often the
hatchery programs
attract crowds of anglers. But when both exist, you can
chose your fun.
Jere
