Thread: Reply to Cane Pole and others on TWRA Issue

VERY helpful. Thank you for taking the time to gather this information.

Thanks for the update. The state would screw it up just like they do most things.

What about the federal funding issue? If TWRA folds, the state looses matching funds for wildlife, etc. This is my understanding.

This is getting to be a serious issue and we all should be involved. "Quiet mouse" doesn't work in politics.

The only person at state level I know is Mark Maddox. He hates to see me coming. I wore him out on school issues (imagine that).

I just moved to Tennessee from Kentucky. Let me first start by saying that Kentuckys WRA is nothing short of spectacular. They host lost of programs around the major cities, tons of stuff for kids, and their Deer hunting blows most states out of the water. (1 buck per year, reguardless of how taken)........I could go on and on about the perks.


HOWEVER, you WILL be ticketed each and every time you encounter one of their agents in the field. (if you are not 100% compliant BTW) I won't bore you with details, but I took my pregnant wife, and 2 year old fishing on taylorsville lake in Louisville, ky. on a friday afternoon 2 hrs before dark. We fished 100 yards from the ramp. I put my pontoon in the water right beside the agent. He pulled us over as soon as both of us got in the water. Short of a blood test an anal probe I was searched for everything, and took the better part of 1 hr. I was finally ticketed for not having the "throwing" life preserver for vessels 18' and over (i was in an 18' toon.) After all that the B**tard puts his boat back on the trailer and leaves for the day. I guess I was his quota for that friday afternoon.

Total cost of ticket and cort cost 275.00


Maybe tennessee could enforce their agents like Kentucky. I have heard there is only one game warden for Reelfoot lake.

I remember this coming up a couple of months ago. I strongly agree with Cane Pole about not being quiet. Crappie Killer put in a lot of effort and time on this and at the least we should email Mr Williams and lend our support.

I'm talking now about something with which I have very limited experience, but it seems that if we could contact the lobby groups that the resorts and docks, and any other groups that depend on fishermen and especially out of state fishermen they would also take up the cause. Probably more allies that I can't think of, but there sould be a good deal of support out there. I think that outdoorsmen contribute a fairly large sum to the economy in TN given the amount of water and hunting area we have. One of the few things that count in politics is money into state funds (tax) and voter support. This is only going to get worse because, as Cane Pole said, the number of hunters and fishermen are diminishing every year and the tree huggers are growing. My mother in law really believes that the Lion and Wart Hog in the Disney movie were really buddies. It will really surprise you how many people believe in these 'feel good' environmentalist garbage views. Given the fact that TWRA is going to be in financial trouble they really will have leverage to do 'something'. And you can bet your fat bass that the something will be bad for us.

I was living out of state when it happened, but maybe we should look at what the groups did to block the state income tax. Just a thought.

If each one of us would contact his representative and express his/her opinions on this subject, there would be a movement put in motion. By banning together, we can get things done. We are the folks that will be affected. We need more TWRA personnel not less. According to our Governor, there is plenty of money.
So, contact your representative and explain that you are concerned about the future of the TWRA.

I contacted my representative, and asked her to support Kent Williams House bill. I don't like to ask them to raise my fees in supporting TWRA, but under the present scenario, I don't like the alternative, either.

Would like to see details on 2007 expenditures, in detail, to identify what, if any, activities could be eliminated, like stocking rockfish at Norris, but not really sure that they still do this and why!
And based on what I see while crappie fishing at Tellico, a TWRA agent could make his salary just by issuing fines on undersized crappie being kept by some fishermen. Penalties for such game violations should extreme and mandatory. If the TWRA duties were contracted out to a private firm, or if something similar to the traffic red light camera were instituted (haven't a clue about how) more than sufficient funds would be available, even if we didn't like some of the results.
But with regards to state operated fish and game, I have been impressed by the current governor, and believe that the state would be better suited to do this job, since the TWRA seems to be doing such a lousy job. I am a native and have fished Tennessee for well over 50 years, and it continues to get worse every year now. If you don't agree, that is fine. This is my view only.