The most frustrating thing for me in all of this is how this is just another glaring example that DFG does not have the best interests of the anglers OR the fish at heart. Who is their customer? Is it fish? Obviously not! Is it anglers? Obviously not! Is it endangered species? Doesn't seem like it!

The only "customer" they seem to have is whoever is sueing them at the moment, and the more wealthy the customer, the better service they get. There seems to be no over-arching mission to "preserve and protect" in terms of providing actual management and oversight to PUBLIC TRUST resources.

What do they do? Raise finless hatchery fish and dump them all over the state? What else? Some poaching enforcement? It would seem that the Wardens are the only ones doing anything positive... the biologists and "upper management" of DFG have strayed so far from their public trust responsibilities it makes me sick!! I'm sure it's all whiteboards and steering committee meetings out of a weird futuristic science fiction fantasy.

They may be under-funded, they may be neutered and hog-tied based on how the department is politically organized, but the reality is they must be the worst in the US in terms of PERFORMANCE! There are 3rd world nations that seem to have a better handle on fisheries management than California!

Marcus