Utah’s desirability as a fly fishing destinations is seemingly in jeopardy; fishing groups are urging the governor to veto House Bill 141 – an anti-stream access bill that was written without public – or industry – input.

Utah business officials and the head of the Outdoor Industry Association met for over an hour with Gov. Gary Herbert on Friday in an attempt to get him to veto House Bill 141, which they say will severely limit fishing access and hurt the state’s economy.

“From the best interest of the state from an economic standpoint and the sustainability of the revenue recreation creates, he needs to veto the bill,” said Steve Schmidt, of Salt Lake City-based Western River Fly Fishers, a business that sold $3 million in nonresident Utah licenses last year.

Schmidt was joined by Fish Tech owner Byron Gunderson, Sportsmen’s Warehouse’s Bobby Lang, Outdoor Industry Association president and CEO Frank Huggelmeyer, of Boulder, Colo., and Sen. Wayne Neiderhauser, R-Sandy, the Utah Senate majority whip.

Schmidt said the fishing-business interests tried to clarify misunderstandings about the bill and urged the governor to veto it.

“People realize that the vast majority of Utah’s waters could potentially be closed to fishing and recreating, even public waters,” he said. “HB141 removes three generations of laws that allows the public the right to access waters, waters for example where I have had the opportunity to fish in the past, like the lower Provo, where I will no longer be able to fish.”

A far more fishermen-friendly bill (HB81) waits in the wings, and we’ll keep an eye on this one.

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