Respectfully....

[wjorg]

At risk of being offensive, which is not my intent, I want to point out that the effect, or lack thereof of the "older generation" on Salmon/Steelhead fisheries has been detrimental to their survival.

Maybe its time to listen to us "younger generation" instead of telling us to shut up?

Anything left of the fisheries will be solely ours in a short time anyway...its time for us to step up.

[Fats]

I think that may actually have some wisdom. I think the most telling part of "Rivers of a Lost Coast" was when they folks started talking about how they "missed the boat" when it came to conservation.

I would say that I think it will take input and effort from all interested anglers to help turn the problem around. The older generations have knowledge of what it "was" before it went away. That is useful perspective to have... and should be welcomed at the table. Older people can also bring "perspective" to an issue that you can only get from being on the rock for a while.

[Don Powell]

I'm not so sure it is as simple as "older generation" vs "younger generation".
Earth is a finite environment and we are experiencing boundless population growth- as a result the environment suffers.
What is the correct approach to preserve and nurture our remaining wild, natural places and resources?
Countless "Save our Steelhead and/or Salmon" committees, federations and foundations exist but we are really not seeing gainful progress.
Will it require "big money", lobbying, political input? More than likely.
When I read of John Muir's efforts, including much public awareness and the involvement of political forces including presidents of our country, I am saddened to think that very little was able to be accomplished.
We all need to do whatever we can do as individuals and as members of groups to at least delay what it appears fate has in store for our ever more populous world.
Thanks, Walt, for the thought-provoking thread!

Don

[Darian]

Not sure any of us ol' guys are telling young un's to "shut up".... All of us (young and old) have experience, knowledge, faults, etc. Seems to me it's what we choose to contribute that makes a difference. I completely agree that it's time for everyone to "step up."

I know the intent of this post was to emphasize fishing issues but it's also very important to realize that the principle goes far beyond fisheries. IMHO, the reason we find the country in the current state of affairs is the lack of participation on the part of everyone. When less than 50% of eligible voters take time to vote, we get the level of government, environment, etc., that we deserve.

Enough Hoorah stuff. Time to tie flies.....

[Rockman]

I agree with Darion on this one. I believe you don't have right to whine, if you don't vote, or participate in what you believe in. To many complacent, lazy people who don't take the time to even read the ballots and issues of our time, let alone speak out, particpate, or volunteer to make things better for our enviroment or other life that we share this planet with. IMHO
Rockman

[590Mike]

Amen Darian
And I was in a pretty good mood (heeeheee)
I am not sure what generation is being pointed out,but I'm just old enough to say I remember when the river caught fire and burned for three days in Cleveland. I'm not sure which generation has been handed the environmental mess and which generation made the most impact,but I'll say this, in California gross polluters (autos) have been taken off the road, people no longer dump antifreeze down the drain or in the gutter,and we no longer burn leaded gas in automobiles just for starters.

As for the conservation aspect it has been brought up the difference between wild fish and hatchery fish and the findings that habitat restoration clearly produces more and less costly fish. My grandfather was a Game Warden in northern California for years and often talked to all of us about how we need to carry out more than we brought in (other peoples trash). He also explained the devastation open pit mining caused to rivers and water quality, everyone complains about logging,farming and development,but I rarely hear much more than a whisper about mining. Google the Washington mine or Walker mine in Redding yo will soon get the jist of what I'm saying.

I could go on but I am going to tie some flies or mow the lawn. Or both.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Think about this fact:

The act of fly fishing for Steelhead has almost no measurable effect on Steelhead populations.

By picking on the fly fishers here on this BB we are just wasting a lot of time.

We need to be looking at the removing some more dams, cleaning up agriculture, stopping de-watering, reducing incidental catch while commercial salmon fishing, looking harder at the negative effect of hatcheries, fixing non-functioning fish ladders, cleaning up the water pollution, working on fixing the ill managed water level controls, modifying the Sacramento Delta pumping, police the logging that is left, watching developments in wild drainages..........get the picture.

I would venture to say that over 99% of all fly caught Steelhead are released.

It is nice that we are passionate about wild Steelhead but I think there are plenty of better things that we could put our energies into beside being so critical of each other.

[oldtrout]

Talk is cheap, step up my friend and bring all your buddies with you!

PS If you're looking to blame an old guy, I'm available.

[BillB]

Ouch wjorg! Amen Bill!

[wjorg]

Guides have a huge influence on the people that fish with them. They can choose to be the true stewards of our resources. Many of you have pointed out their short term livelihood depends on the fishery. I'll leave that at that.

If there is no measurable effect than you cannot estimate it either way? If it were measurable, it could turn out to be a huge effect?

I personally am not here to pick on anybody. I've personally tried to better my posts and not come off so critical of an individual. Maybe an individual act or behavior, but not the character of the individual. Hopefully you have seen that over the years. Maye not if its only your second post on the board. : )

I'm not here to blame old people. My point is the younger generation should be encouraged to take responsibility for fishery stewardship, and not be told the fish are invincible. That has been proven otherwise.

I wish more of my "buddies" were as passionate as I am.