Right on Mike... Tight lines my friends, Charlie
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2001 18:05:29 EST > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Discussing public waters > Resent-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Resent-Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2001 15:05:41 -0800 > > I have taken some heat for my discussion of Crab Creek today and want to > point out a couple of things. > > First of all, we have discussed Crab Creek on the list several times in the > last two years without an uproar. I am not sure what the problem is today. > > Second, when it comes to discussing fishing destinations on a public forum, I > always use the public information factor. That is, I use the guideline that > if I can call a local fly shop and get detailed information about a body of > water, pick up an issue of Fishing and Hunting News and read tips on how to > fish it or read about it in the fishing reports in the newspaper then it > certainly is not a secret and deserves public discussion. Crab Creek > appears in Fishing and Hunting News on a regular basis, as do reports about > the public access section in question. Our local fishing reporter usually > mentions it several times a year and any fly shop in Spokane can give you > detailed information, maps, hot patterns etc to get you going. I know of at > least two that have the creek listed on their fishing boards in the front of > the store. There are plenty of places I don't share with people on this list > because they don't meet the above criteria. > > My final point is that most of you know I grew up in Okanogan County. From > about the mid 80's on, outside outfitters and hunting and fishing clubs took > advantage of the poor economy of the area and bought off the private land > owners along the prime creek fishing and hunting regions. As a result, you > can't access these places without paying membership in these clubs even if > you have known the rancher your whole life. It is an exclusive contract. > This is what is essentially starting to happen to Crab Creek. The only way > to minimize this is for MORE fly fisherman to go knocking on doors and show > the land owners the value of allowing public access. Some land owners will > still sell out but many more will not grant exclusive club rights once they > understand the value of the fishing in the creek and the public interest in > it. If they don't know we as fisherman are interested in the creek then > they may not understand what granting exclusive access will do to the common > guy trying to enjoy a day fly fishing. > > Being aware of the attributes and the negatives of our public waters can only > help better the fishing in the long run. You may have never heard of Crab > Creek in your life but today you learned that it has some big fish, public > access is getting harder to come by and that the regulations currently in > place don't encourage a long term, quality fishery. Next time the DFW asks > for public input for rule changes, you now know a bit about the creek to > maybe suggest a C&R section or a 1 fish limit be put in place. In my > opinion, that is a positive contribution and is what this list is designed > for. > > Mike Wilson > Spangle, WA > >
