live bait?

[ColdWaterCoord]

I appreciate your response and the reasonableness of your argument. However, it is said that locks are only to keep honest people honest by removing the temptation. People that really want to break into your home or vehicle will do so regardless of the lock. This knowledge does not prevent me from locking my home and vehicle every time I leave them.

Everyone who is committed to the idea of allowing live bait are welcome to present their reasoning to the RACs and Wildlife Board. The DWR only makes recommendations on regulations, we do not actually make any regulation. The DWR will not support this concept if it is presented.

The threats from otherwise honest and ethical people succumbing to the temptation of using live bait in waters where they are not allowed are real and well documented. We only need to look at the Montana experience to see what can happen.

As a professional fisheries biologist with over 30 years of experience I believe this to be a bad idea for the aquatic resources of this state. I may be wrong. However, I would rather err on the side of caution in this case than to try and figure out how to pay for the consequences of people moving fish.

Thank you all for your interest in fishing in Utah.

Paul Birdsey
Coldwater Sportfish Coordinator
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
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