Does Increasing Angler Participation = Better Fishing?

[Knothead]

Let's see....it is mentioned that the Tennessee non-resident license is $81. To compare, call up at least six public or semi-private golf courses and ask what the greens fees are, weekends and weekdays, with and without a cart. 81 divided by 12 equals $6.75 per month. Two cocktails can cost more that $6.75! I'm a resident of Tennessee and don't mind paying the licensing fees when I figure what I get out of it. I don't fish other states because they have lower license rates. By the time I figure travel time, gas, etc., it's cheaper to stay close to home. I have trout one hour from the house. And I'm cheap! I'm so cheap, they have my picture next to the word in the dictionary. From my house to Townsend is two hours drive. I would rather fish the park and enjoy the wild trout and the beauty of the park. Thanks for allowing me my 3 cents worth (everything costs more now).

[JoeFred]

Based on the unlikelihood, in my opinion at least, that any resulting increased participation would be a significant detriment to the fisheries, I included color-coding of waters of all game fish species on the new printed Little River system map. (It’s now available at LRO and some other outlets). The bass waters noted are based on my personal research. The trout distribution is based roughly on data provided to me in May by Matt Kulp of the National Park Service from research by Fishery Management biologists. It was only this week, as I was visiting with Matt and Steve Moore, that I learned that funding is no longer available for additional distribution research. That is very unfortunate.

JF