Fishing Season Opinion Question

[PBH]

I don't think year round fishing has hurt anything. I'm sure you can remember when there was an opening day. Otter Creek used to be a zoo on opening day. The pressure for that opening weekend was absolutely overwhelming. That was 20 years ago. There are far more anglers now than there were in that short 20 years. Year round fishing is not causing any problems with fish. Even with spawning. Remeber that those eggs are in the gravel for a number of months...If you really wanted to protect those spawning fish, you would have to have an opening day of somewhere near july, then close things down in september to protect the browns....2 months of fishing just isn't going to cut it for any of us. There are many lakes that do need protection certain times of the year, and they are already closed during those times (Boulder Mtn lakes in the winter, spring time closures on streams with spawning trout, year round closure on Twin Creeks, etc.). The state, as a whole, does not need this special protection. Some places are already in trouble, due to overpopulation (Provo River), just imagine if the Provo were protected during the winter, or during spawning seasons...that would just make a bad situation worse.



Personally, I think that fishing right now is as good in this state as it has ever been, even with the drought we have been experiencing. Sure, there are places that are suffering (Minersville for example) but there are also places that are thriving. Things do change, and sometimes we need to change also. Many times this means we have to abandon our favorite water for a time, and discover a new place. Eventually, conditions will change again, and you will have to, once again, discover the next place. The cycle will always continue, and we need to adapt to changing conditions.
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