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This is the biggest joke...This is about environmentalists trying to destroy an "invasive" species (bass, walleye, catfish) so that an "endangered species" (salmon, steelhead) can thrive. What a freakin' joke. We have had the largest recorded salmon runs ever the last few years. Liberalism and environmentalism at it's best.....How about getting the Native American Indian nets out of the river!! I almost ran over about 15 of them in a two mile trip on Saturday....Contact Bruce Bolding (360)902-8417, WDFW Warmwater Fisheries Manager. Make sure you leave a message....Get his e-mail....Let's let the protests begin!!!

http://wdfw.wa.gov/news/mar0216a/

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On the article it discusses Non native fish that predate on native federally protected fish.  Also discussed is generating an "emergency" change in order to reciprocate Oregon's laws. 

It's hilarious that the term "non-native" is used when describing bass that predate on smolt, yet pikeminnow which are native, have a bounty on their head....which btw...doesn't seem to be having any impact on Salmon/Steelhead runs.

I find it amusing that WDFW is being influenced by Oregon's laws.  If Oregon generates a law that makes it hard for Washington to enforce, then WDFW goes to the path of least resistance by simply following suit.  How about, if its so hard to police, then just don't enforce the limits, but don't advertise any rule change?

Just guessing here...but that kind of common sense would defeat the free pass they have been given by Oregon to continue to make it look like they are doing something constructive for Anadramous fish. 

In the end, what is so hard about a stance that says:  "If we can't tackle real issues like Oceanic Conditions, Sea-lions, Dams, Birds, etc.., then we are not going to ruin world class fisheries in order to appear to be doing something, when we have no data to support any overall impact at all."

C'mon WDFW....  pull your head out of your ass.  Its been in there for so long.   It must stink badly, and I want to see your outlook improve. 

Jake, those are good words....Where is Marcantonio when you need him?  We kind of need to get a committee going; lots of guys writing letters, etc...We need to do something.

Hi Ben,

 

Thanks for the email.  You should contact Larry Phillips (360.902.2721 or Larry.Phillips@dfw.wa.gov) to protest the lifting of limits on Bass, Walleye, and Channel Catfish in the Columbia River.  Larry is out of the office this week.

 

I did not have anything to do with this decision, but I can answer your question “Why are we being required to pay contest fees on the Columbia River when there are no limits on Bass anymore?”  That is a fair question to ask and I can provide you with an answer.  Fishing contests that target game fish are regulated by the agency.  It’s a law (WAC 232-12-168) and required by RCW 77.65.480.  Bass, Walleye, and Channel Catfish are classified as game fish.

 

WAC 232-12-168(2)(b) Applications must include the permit fee required by RCW 77.65.480. The fee will be returned if the permit is denied. No more than seven permits will be issued to any one permittee during a calendar year.

 

RCW 77.65.480 - Taxidermist, fur dealer, game fish guide, game farmer, anadromous game fish buyer—Licenses—Fees—Fish stocking and game contest permits.

RCW 77.65.600(6) A fishing or field trial permit allows the holder to promote, conduct, hold, or sponsor a fishing or field trial contest in accordance with rules of the commission. The fee for a fishing contest permit is twenty-four dollars. The fee for a field trial contest permit is twenty-four dollars. The application fee is seventy dollars.

 

Rules can be based on biological, social, economic, and political reasons.  The fishing contest rules are probably due more for the social issues than the biological. For example, one of the reasons was for conflict management/people managment.  We have limits on the number of boats per day, contests per day, and number of weekends per month so that users that want to take part in fishing contests have the opportunity and users that want to go fish a body of water that is contest free, have the opportunity.  

 

If you feel that the law needs to be modified, there are two approaches you can take.  The first would be to contact your state legislators and have them amend the RCW.  The other way would be to participate in the rule making process.  In the rule making process you can submit a proposed rule change for consideration by the Fish and Wildlife Commission (http://wdfw.wa.gov/about/regulations/how_to_participate.html ).  If you have any questions about the process, contact Charmane Ashbrook (Charmane.Ashbrook@dfw.wa.gov or 360.791.0707).  I just found out that Charmane is leaving the agency on March 18th.  So if you have questions, you’ll need to contact her before then.  Otherwise, I will have to direct you to someone else.

 

If you have any other questions, let me know.

 

Bruce

Ben,

Too many individuals keep saying that the "pen is mightier than the sword". Well, we see how this is working. It might be time to start swinging the sword.

Talk about an invasive species. I would say that the WDFW falls under this classification.

Its good to know that the largemouth bass wasn't lumped into this. If it had been, one would have to really question wdfw's knowledge base of the wildlife they manage, as the interaction between smolt and largemouth is almost non existant.

Jake....oh man....I hate to say it bro...But largemouth ARE lumped into this...It says BASS...With no distinction between smallmouth and largemouth.  Unbelievable.

So I do believe, like you say, we have to question WDFW's knowledge base of the wildlife they manage.  They have an extreme agenda.

I think we need to take a look at the people who comprise the current commission who are the decision makers:  The chairman is the Dean of Environmental Studies at Western Washington University, another member is the executive director of the Purse Seine Vessel Owners Association, another is an "outreach associate" of Conservation Northwest, three retirees--a fisheries biologist, an attorney, and a physician.  The remainder include a rancher from Asotin County, the originator of the Fishin' Magician website, and the owner of Master Marine Services in Mount Vernon.  Now add the influence of organizations like Trout, Steelhead, and Salmon Unlimited, and the Audobon Society, you can see that we're up against some formidable and organized foes.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying don't protest this decision; what I am saying is "bring some facts to the table."  My feeling is the majority of the commission members have already made up their minds about this, so we really need to bury them in letters and emails.

Until there is a change in elected officials (the ones who appoint the commission) this path will be followed.

Follow the money, the strings are being pulled in Washington D.C. through the ESA, and  the various environmental groups. The funding of "protecting" endangered species is what this is all about. As long ass WDFW is trying to protect - they get funded.

Bounties are next!

Mr. Sessler,

You are correct. The WDFW only cares about funding, to finance their greedy little pockets. They could give a rats ass about our passion for the warm water finned creatures that we all have such a passion for.

I agree, more bounties are in the future. Maybe the bounties need to be directed towards our elected officials. I'm still saying that the e-mails and letter writing campaigns are not working. A kick in the nuts sure gets a mans attention! 

Jon Sessler said:

Until there is a change in elected officials (the ones who appoint the commission) this path will be followed.

Follow the money, the strings are being pulled in Washington D.C. through the ESA, and  the various environmental groups. The funding of "protecting" endangered species is what this is all about. As long ass WDFW is trying to protect - they get funded.

Bounties are next!

Dana- I hear your frustration but I wouldn't give up on the e-mail writing campaign. You state that the letter writing campaign isn't working or won't work at all. This might be in part due to the fact that many are bitching but might be bitching to the wrong people. An example of that would be the guy who complains on here to a group of his peers but doesn't send an e-mail to the commission.

In the same amount of time it takes to type a complaint on this board, you could type an e-mail to the commission. Many say they have done that but I would bet most haven't.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease in almost all of these deals. I am speaking from experience on this.

In 2010 I was part of a small group that was able to get a game law changed. We felt like everybody we spoke with was in support of our proposal. However, when the WDFW survey open comment period was finished, we were in the minority. It wasn't a landslide type of scenario but our proposal had more against it than for it.

We made certain someone from our group was present at every event possible where we thought we could take another jab. I damn near didn't make it to the NWBASS Potholes event that year because of a Friday night meeting in Colville that didn't end until midnight. These were HEATED meetings. I got to the point where I just started calling our local WDFW guys on a regular basis. We had scientific data to support our argument but WDFW didn't give it any credence because it wasn't "their" data. Long story longer....in the end we actually lost some support and STILL WON!

We got a 4 year trial period for the rule change we wanted. The moral of the story is a group of us raised so much hell that they caved. It did take 2 years but it happened!

Josh,

I started the squeaky wheel-ness I just haven't made much headway yet with, I guess, the right people.  I have contacted WDFW regarding the issue, though, so at least I'm trying to do something....At our next club meeting, I intend to form a committee; hopefully we can get a few guys on board so that one guy isn't bearing all of the burden.  I will also be speaking at the Richland Rod and Gun Club on April 5, and will bring up the topic at that meeting, where I will also push to form another committee with that club.

I think part of the problem is a lot of bass guys are just focused on the fishing and the tournaments.  Beyond that, most just want to be left alone.  That was/is me too. I hate the government....I'm trying to do better, though, now, but honestly I would rather just focus on the fishing........

Unfortunately we have environmentalists against us, who are extremely politically active.

Josh,

I've wrote so many letters and sent so many e-mails to politicians and different groups over the years, I should sue them all for carpal tunnel. Now I would just rather kick them in the nuts. We need to attack them back with more then just a pen or a keyboard. And if you think some of them don't monitor this site, you are wrong. So in a way, our bitching on this forum is a form of communicating our disgust with their poor decision making. 

Josh Potter said:

Dana- I hear your frustration but I wouldn't give up on the e-mail writing campaign. You state that the letter writing campaign isn't working or won't work at all. This might be in part due to the fact that many are bitching but might be bitching to the wrong people. An example of that would be the guy who complains on here to a group of his peers but doesn't send an e-mail to the commission.

In the same amount of time it takes to type a complaint on this board, you could type an e-mail to the commission. Many say they have done that but I would bet most haven't.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease in almost all of these deals. I am speaking from experience on this.

In 2010 I was part of a small group that was able to get a game law changed. We felt like everybody we spoke with was in support of our proposal. However, when the WDFW survey open comment period was finished, we were in the minority. It wasn't a landslide type of scenario but our proposal had more against it than for it.

We made certain someone from our group was present at every event possible where we thought we could take another jab. I damn near didn't make it to the NWBASS Potholes event that year because of a Friday night meeting in Colville that didn't end until midnight. These were HEATED meetings. I got to the point where I just started calling our local WDFW guys on a regular basis. We had scientific data to support our argument but WDFW didn't give it any credence because it wasn't "their" data. Long story longer....in the end we actually lost some support and STILL WON!

We got a 4 year trial period for the rule change we wanted. The moral of the story is a group of us raised so much hell that they caved. It did take 2 years but it happened!

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