Washington State vs. Other States

[cavdad45]

I love fishing in Washington! It's basically a year round fishery. I really like the fact that I don't have to worry about copperheads, cottonmouths, gators, and gar.

I do fish about five states every year and make an occassional excursion to Mexico or South America. I enjoy fishing for species that are new to me, but I love the Northwest the best. Our panfish and bass run smaller, but that's OK. We do have a world-class walleye fishery and smallmouth fishery. Our wilderness trout fishery is one of the best and most relaxing experiences one could hope for. We have an above average saltwater fishery and are doing what we can for salmon and steelhead.

We pay alot for our priviledge to fish with a smaller return than most states however. Our fisheries managers spend a bunch of money on their cookie-cutter trout factories leaving a small residual budget for anything else. The remainder of the "management" of fisheries is handled through regulation which at times seems like an iron boot on our throats, but it's the best they can do because they organizational hamstrung with their trout priorities.

This next statement will ruffle a bunch of feathers and I am not looking to upset anyone, but in my opinion Washington and Oregon need to reconsider their management strategies. Instead of bending everyone over for their trout farms, they need to have a lower cost basic fishing license, say around $10 which generates income for running the business and enhancing fishing opportunities for species other than trout,and install a trout stamp to generate income for their trout factories. They do it for salmon and steelhead.

Why not a bass stamp? They don't spend money on bass up here. They over regulate that one!

Back to the original thread. We have a good diverse fishing with mild weather and don't have to worry too much about snakes, except the occassional rattler.

[krafty1]

I think a lot of good points have been made in this thread. I'm lucky to be able to fish in different states. The variety is a great thing about our state. Of course if you haven't been to Alaska your missing out. Besides what we all agree on that the state could run things a whole lot better. I think the massive growth our area has hurt a bit. The more people using the fisheries puts a natural strain on things. We all need to do our part to improve things.

[A9]

I must say that Washinton is best known for producing Salmon and Trout .. However when it comes to BASS ..Forget about it !! the current state record proves my point and how long ago was that ? ..BBD

A state record sized bass was recently caught within the last 2 year I believe. Maybe within the last 6 months. It was a big fish, not sure if the guy entered it in the books but I've seen the picture of the pig too...