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The Time is Now
I think something needs to be done or we are all going to see the bass fishing community as we know it crumble. Participation is already down in competition on all levels. People are already scrambling to make it in their personal lives, at work, in their clubs... A $70 fee on top of the $24 cost of a tournament permit is going to change club level fishing drastically and I imagine it will impact the level of ABA and NW Bass. The state has already made clear that they pretty much demonize the Bass' existence in some of our waters, and now they seem to be classifying the right to tournament fishing as a luxury that is suitable for such outrageous fees. Not to mention that some of our exceptional bass fishing waters are being "protected" by the likes of Zebra Mussel paranoia activists and anti 2 stroke groups, which pretty much means at some point they are going to find some way to drive as many people as possible off Lake Whatcom.
I'm not bringing THE answer to the table, but I believe clubs fishing together and splitting the costs for 6 permits is the most viable answer on that level. On a higher level and in the bigger picture the only thing I have thought of is have tournament bass fishing go underground. Nobody pull a permit next year and just fish tournaments as usual. No contest banner flying but still competing! Let them arrest us all! Jon I think brought this up when it came time to buy fishing licenses and the cost went up again... I am not one to bring up politics, but I think no matter if you have a midget woman in office or the most blue collar red neck lumber jack we are still going to face these stupid rate hikes until we do something about it! The truth is our State is in the hole so bad they are evaluating the consumer groups and determining which ones seem suitable for increases in cost or addition of fees. This is all about perception! Tournament fisherman because of the expensive boats, amount of fuel used, quality and amount of gear, and large financial payouts for tournaments, are perceived far different than the father son out in their Alumaweld salmon fishing or trout fishing. As wrong as it is, my schooling and instincts tell me this is what the state is thinking, and I have no reason to believe that their thought process will change until we change it one way or the other.
Views: 493
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by David Parnicky on
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The first rule of Bass Club is, you do not talk about Bass Club!
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On a serious note, I agree 100%! Splitting the cost amongst each other or refusing to pay the state their extra fees and continuing to fish is the way to go. I won't feel like I am breaking any laws. If we just pay the fees, I don't see it benefitting us as a community in any way.
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Permalink Reply by Jay Johnson on
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Nicely said PJ and David!
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Permalink Reply by Chad Simon on
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A fishing contest is defined by one in which 6 or more anglers over 15 years old compete. I don't see anything wrong with having 2 or 3 competitions amongst clubs on the same body of water on a given day. You could colaborate the results amoungst the 2 or 3 competitions at a later time. There is a hundred ways around this. It's not fair, and we as a community know this. We do have to take a stand. I have some ideas up my sleave that I will present to my club.
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Permalink Reply by troy kelly on
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I sent this message to my local representitives and IF I get an answer I will let you know what they have to say. If our elected reps dont take a stand for us I think we should take every measure to screw the system by taking advantage of the loopholes. How many clubs have been asked to see a permit while conducting a contest anyway? In eight years I personally have been asked for the permit once.
Hello Gentlemen,
I'm emailing you in regards to a new RCW that places a new $70 application fee on fishing contest permits. The RCW number is RCW 77.65.480. What I want to tell you is that this surchange is going to do nothing but prohibit most fishing clubs from holding thier tournaments. Most if not all Washington Bass Clubs are non-profit organizations with very limited resources; they survive only on the membership dues of their members. These tournaments are just a way for the clubs members to have some friendly competition amongst themselves. No one is making money off these events, not the club or the fishermen. Myself and the rest of the bass fishing community in Washington feel as if we are constantly under attack from law makers even though we bring millions in revenue to local bussinesses, state parks, and retail stores. I just ask that you can do something to put an end to the $70 surcharge per event, and if you are personaly for this RCW please let the bass fishermen of Washington know why?
Thanks,
Troy Kelly
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Permalink Reply by Brian Calvert on
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I started with the Legislative District Finder. I found my area and sent all 3 of my public leader people my opinion as Troy mentioned. I don't think it will do much good but what the hell.
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Permalink Reply by Jake Anderson on
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If they dont know the concerns of constituants, then nothing positive can change. Good job brian.
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Permalink Reply by Jon Sessler on
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Jake,
You have the optimism of youth - good for you. The problem is previous generations have ALLOWED the government to get bigger than their constituents, and now, the government itself is the constituent that our politicians are beholden to.
I will contact my legislators, but I am a skeptic when it comes to this after many unsuccessful attempts.
Respectfully,
Jon
Jake "The Snake" Anderson said:If they dont know the concerns of constituants, then nothing positive can change. Good job brian. -
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Permalink Reply by P.J. Koshi on
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I sent an email to my Rep, but sadly I feel exactly the same as Jon and Dana in regard to the impact or lack there of! The combination of things working against the bass fishing community may be a load of B$ but I believe if one good thing comes from it, it will be a greater level of community and unity in general!
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Dana, this has been a topic of discussion in our club for sure. I would much rather just pay dues for the club itself since I do not fish qualifiers and don't really want to at this point. I love my club and I still feel it's worth it to be a member even if I don't utilize any TBF resources, thus getting no return on my investment in the organization. The sad truth is I don't know of any action taking place on the TBF side to support the bass fishing community here in WA when it comes to combating the State's actions. I know the TBF has raised the entry fees for qualifiers almost every year recently because that organization is running dangerously short on funds. If the resources aren't there to maintain affordable and stable entry fees for anglers I imagine the resources are not there to combat negative actions taken by the state. I hope Russ can chime in otherwise, but this is what I am guessing.
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