just a quick note on the bass event on PIR: it was NOT a TU event; the
main sponsor and organizer was www.flyfishinginmaine.com, essentially
a board very similar to this, with just as diverse a group of members.
FFIM pulled together TU, FFIM, SAM (sportsman's alliance of
maine....essentially the hook & cook, bullet & spin crowd), Maine
IF&W, the Rangeley Region Guides and Sportsman's Association and
Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust. 35+ fisherman harvested 85 bass under
very windy conditions. All bass were taken by IF&W biologists to do
scale sampling, aging, egg sampling, etc to further understand the
Rapid bass issue. Other issues with the Rapid aside, this was a
monumental occasion. While 85 bass may be a drop in the bucket, for
once diverse sporting groups in Maine came together with a common
goal, working for the common good, rather than fighting for their own
interests. A problem exists, and many folks are finally stepping up to
do something about it, rather than watching it slide by the wayside.
Many other problems exist within the state of maine; your TU
complaints are valid; i would personally like to see them establish a
sub-group to handle the education of young people and return the main
focus of the group to protection and restoration of Maine's coldwater
fisheries (not that education isn't important, but it seems to have
become the main focus). TU Maine needs to take a more active,
agressive approach IMHO. I also am not sure restoration of Atlantic
Salmon is possible in Maine with so many other limiting factors; we
can't even get paper companies on the Kennebec & Andro to moderately
raise dissolved 02 content (that was shot down recently) to simply
imrove the viability of holdover stocked trout, how can we expect to
restore AS. I digress, however. The Bass Event was a success on the
Rapid; we generated positive publicity to the issue, a diverse groups
of folks came together to help protect a valued resource, and at the
end of Saturday night's conclave festivities, Don Palmer, head of the
Save the Rapid coalition, was presented with a check for over $7000.
to help out Maine's most historic fishery. Not bad out of a bunch of
knuckleheads who post on a Maine fly fishing website, myself included.

Not disagreeing or agreeing with your views on Maine TU, FPL,
development (don't get me started on Plum Creek, they are in the
process of destroying the Roach fishery as we speak), but don't
discount this past weekend's actions. Don't view it as a solution, but
a beggining to helping out one of maine's most treasured resources,
and perhaps a start at helping them all.