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
