As a child in my early teens I would wake up in the morning with one thing on my my mind and that was fishing! I couldn't wait to get on my bike and ride to the fishin hole. Sometimes the fishin hole could be miles away, but that didn't deter me, I wanted to fish!

I can absolutly tell you with certainty that my life today is better because of those days spent fishing as a child. It made me a better person. I did not spend my free time getting into trouble, drinking taking drugs, vandalizing, stealing etc etc, I was fishing!

Yes, we live in different times now and many young childern simply don't have the luxury of being able to safely travel alone for miles for a day of fishing. If fact many times we rightfully discourgage our kids from straying to far from home and the opportunities for kids to fish today just aren't the same as they used to be. However, opportunities for kids to fish do still exist, it is just more difficult and many time requires to accompaniment of and adult. I still believe that time spent fishing as a kid can make a huge and positive impact on their lives. It is these reasons why I feel that $430,000 is a small price to pay! Keep our kids fishing!

Currently, the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife's Youth Fishing Program provides many kids the opportunity to learn the joy of fishing and quite possibly can change the course of many lives for the better!

I recently read a news article that talked about Washington's drug problem. Everyday more of our childern are turning to drugs and violence and WA state is spending literally MILLIONS of dollars to combat the problem, let's be a little proactive and try to keep our kids out of trouble and on the water fishing! It really could save us millions!

$430,000 is a small price to pay!

Please take a minute to call/write and voice your concern about this needless cutback. Our childern really are our future, let's make it a bright one with a FISH ON!

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The following is from Fishing and Hunting News
http://www.fhnews.com/edition.asp?pub_id=1

CUT THE PURSESTRINGS, CUT THE FISHING LINE
by Joel Shangle, Washington editor

HOW MANY OF you grew up in a rural community where you could learn to fish at your leisure? How many of you grew up in a suburban setting where a quick afternoon bicycle trip to the lake was a sure bet on a summer vacation day? How many of you grew up in households with parents who knew how to fish, and were willing, able and eager to pass the sport on to you?

Most of you.

If I were to wager, I'd say that half of our readers were introduced to fishing at tender young ages and have sustained that interest long enough to pass it on to their kids.

But guess what? There's another half to that equation.

It might seem like a mystery to you, being avid anglers and all, how anybody could possibly not know how to fish.

It's probably hard for you to understand how difficult it is for some families to join the ranks of rod-toting anglers, but it's all too true.

And that's where the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife's Youth Fishing Program comes in.

Created last year by the department as a pilot program aimed at introducing more of the youth of the Evergreen State to the wonders of fishing, the Youth Fishing Program flew through an incredibly successful maiden voyage. Through a handful of events in places like Vancouver, Lacey, Tri-Cities and Spokane, thousands of Washington youths were introduced to the sport via simple programs that provided basic gear, basic advice and basic opportunity for kids and their parents to say "hello" to the sport.

It was a resounding success - at the Vancouver event alone, over 900 kids showed up to learn to catch fish. Happy faces all around, hundreds of possible license buyers.

However, the chances of repeating that success in future years are minimal at best, thanks to a hard cut in the proposed Youth Fishing Program budget approved by Gov. Gary Locke. Entering the current legislative session, the WDFW asked for just over $430,000 to sustain the program over the next two years. Locke poleaxed that request with an allocation of only $156,000 for the program.

Thanks, Gary, for encouraging our youth to fish.

Locke's trimming of $276,000 from that particular program is ridiculous for a number of reasons. First, by removing that much of the requested budget from the program, Locke is virtually signing its death warrant. Oh, the program may survive this year on a bare-bones budget, but it won't survive after 2001. That's a tragedy, because introducing Washington's youth to fishing is the most important budget expenditure the Department could ever think of. The bottom line is that the state of Washington can pass all the Save The Salmon, Save The Wild Steelhead legislation it wants, and they won't do a damn bit of good ... because nobody will fish for them.

I can teach my kids to fish. You can teach your kids to fish. But can your neighbors? Probably not.

Time to exert some pressure. Call the Legislative Hotline number (800) 562-6000 and voice your opinion to your legislators and our governor. We need this program.

Reading your post brought back fond memories of the past growing up in Renton and fishin the cedar river every week end as a young man.It helped me stay out of trouble for quite some time.But high school changed that up a little bit but still helped out.$430,000.00 isn't to much to spend on our kids.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

When I was growing up (age 12-16)in Lynnwood I would ride my bike from HWY 99 all the way to the Edmonds Pier or Meadowdale Marina (it was called something else then{Laboutins Wharf?}) on weekends and during the summer to fish or "hang out".
My stepfather tried to help, but he wasn't an outdoorsman.

I remember reading alot of books and I remember most of the "old timers" (men and women) on the pier would take time out to teach me.

I remember cutting lawns for $5 a pop to buy Buzz Bombs, the latest and greatest lure.

I remember spending hours waiting for the tide to go out so I could collect pile or sand worms, and spending many more hours watching the pile perch ignore my offerings.

I remember the excitement of riding all the way home with that first silver (5 lbs) hanging off my handle bars.

Most of these memories are less than 20 years old, but seem to be many lifetimes ago.
In today's fast past life we "just don't have time".

Programs like this are designed to make sure someone "has the time".
It is not so much about fishing to me, as it is about "spending time".

I must say I have been sickened by the Gov's action, but this is just another incident of the Gov's in-attention to sportsmen.

What has he really done to help wild salmon?
What has he really done to help "our children"?

What will we remember?
What will the children remember?



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"Just Say No To Sovereign Nations!"

Reminds me of running down to Lake Oswego on my bike and cayching a bucketful of yellow perch and crappie ... if you got REALLY lucky, you'd catch a big koke once in a while. Always caught a lot of them and used to trade part of my catch with the old timers for an ice cream cone from the Dairy Maid ... swirl with hard chocolate dip

This state seems to be in a "NOW" and don't think about the future mode on a permanent basis. Saddening!

I'll make a call and encourage others to do the same ...