Folks,

This morning I learned that Gary Galovich will be calling a Warm Water Working Group meeting on Friday, June 19th, at the Salem HQ. By all appearances, Curt Melcher, Ed Bowles, Mike Gauvin, Bruce McIntosh, and a rep. from Washington DF&W will be in attendance.

It will come as no surprise to most of you that one of the main points of discussion will be removing all bag limits of Smallmouth Bass on the Columbia and Umpqua Rivers. The beginning point will be the "liberalizing" of fishing regulations. Under liberalizing, please read simplifying.

We all know there is NO scientific evidence that this reg change is necessary. It is just a political move. Even if/when the regulation changes, it will have little, or no, effect. The department knows it will have little effect, so why change the regulation, except to disrespect warm water anglers and appease others?

In my opinion, we need to strategize a combined response to this proposal. I'm not talking everybody be in lockstep, but rather that we don't step on one another in the rush to string someone up by the neck. I don't think we need to have a spokesperson for the group, we can all address issues coherently and succinctly. What I do suggest is we spend some time before the meeting, and come up with coherent and well thought out counter-arguments.

If the very worst scenario plays out, and we are not listened to, or just ignored, we might think about the possibility of getting something in return for accepting the proposal. It would need to be something important, something we have wanted for a while.

Anyway, a heads up and call to arms. I hope to hear from all of you in the near future.

Thank you,

      Lonnie Johnson

                Conservation Director

             Oregon BASS Nation

    (541)479-4834 H ~ (541)659-1832 C