california salmon runs,    Environment,    game wardens,    News,    sacramento chinook salmon,    salmon

California Fishermen Waiting for Salmon Runs: Are All Game Wardens "Communists"??

By Tom Chandler 11/1/2008

California's salmon runs were so dismal last season that the commercial fishery was largely canceled, and the result was a serious economic hit to the state. From the Recordnet.com: Salmon run watched with wary eyes:

A normal season would see up to six months of fishing with two fish per day. But wildlife managers decided in May to cut inland fishing dramatically - a potential $20 million hit for the state economy - due to plummeting numbers of adult fish returning to spawn last fall.

Ocean fishing was also canceled, exponentially increasing the economic toll in California to $255 million.

The salmon crash has been blamed on a slew of potential factors, including poor ocean conditions, a loss of river habitat and the export of water from the Delta.


Game Wardens Communists??

Oddly, the first reader comment to this story noted that California hires so few game wardens that effective enforcement of salmon fishing limits was a joke. That observant comment was followed by one that truly highlights the failure of either our public schools or laws against the marriage of family members:

"There's no such thing as a good game warden......something about them just makes them all communists."

Truly, the Underground fears for the Republic.

, , ,

Powered by ScribeFire.


AuthorPicture

Tom Chandler

As the author of the decade leading fly fishing blog Trout Underground, Tom believes that fishing is not about measuring the experience but instead of about having fun. As a staunch environmentalist, he brings to the Yobi Community thought leadership on environmental and access issues facing us today.

I don't have anything really good to say about game wardens. I think it's because you never actually see them unless something is wrong and then they are all over you. They can be real jerks to, a bit power hunger I think. Years ago I landed a pretty good size salmon, bigger than anything I had caught before so we took a few pictures. Even though I put the salmon back in the water between pictures ... more I will admit I probably kept that poor thing out of the water longer than I should have. If I were a warden hiding in the bush I would have come out and explained to the guys fishing that maybe holding your breath while taking pictures would give you a great idea about when to put that fish back in the water. But instead they waited until they thought it was long enough to charge me. They didn't really care whether the fish survived or not. To make things worse the jerks stood there with there hands on their guns all the time they wrote me up. Like I was going to brutally kill them with my fly rod. After I was fined in court I asked the judge if I could say something more with getting thrown in jail. He said yes and I let loose. The first thing I said, pointing to the wardens sitting in a different room, that they should at least have the courtesy to sit in the same room as those they have charged and that they should stop talking while the accused is before the judge. I see it as a way for them to get a day off to just sit around and shot the breeze. The second thing I said was that instead of hiding in the bush until someone screws up that perhaps they should make their presence know and teach people if they are doing things wrong. Of course the judge agreed with all I said but I am sure it went in one ear and our the other.
0
0

Discover Your Own Fishing and Hunting Adventures

With top destinations, guided trips, outfitters and guides, and river reports, you have everything you need.