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Great Rogue bait debate taped Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Grants Pass tackle-shop owner Jim Broman, right, listens to testimony Wednesday at a Jackson County commissioners� hearing on proposed bait bans on the Rogue River. Broman launched an effort to repeal the bans that prompted the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission to reconsider the rule changes for 2001. Oregon fish and wildlife officials will see local testimony By Mark Freeman Gary Enoch didn�t want to drive 275 miles to Portland next month just to tell the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission that its ideas for banning bait-fishing on portions of the Rogue River are bunk. Enoch only had to drive the 30 miles from Grants Pass to Medford to rail against Oregon fish managers � thanks to Jackson County commissioners, who held their own public hearing Wednesday on the controversial Rogue bait-ban proposals. "It�s self-serving, narrow-minded, short-sighted and caters to a (fly-fishing) minority," Enoch said. Enoch�s diatribe will reach fish and wildlife commissioners via videotape, along with other comments from among the more than 80 people who packed the Jackson County Courthouse Auditorium in the latest installment of the great Rogue bait debate. The state fish and wildlife commission is taking public comment through Feb. 9 on proposals to ban all bait fishing August through December on the upper Rogue, and from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31 on the Rogue�s Wild and Scenic stretch as ways to help more wild summer steelhead survive catch-and-release fishing. The proposals call for flies and lures to remain legal. Some studies and anecdotal evidence suggest that they are less lethal than roe or worms to wild summer steelhead that are caught by anglers and released. The three county commissioners have been outspoken opponents of the proposals and have been critical of the state commission�s decision not to venture into the Rogue Valley personally to gauge public sentiment. So the county commissioners held their own 2�-hour hearing and plan to submit a videotaped copy to the commission. The hearing was dominated by bait-ban critics who believe the rule change would provide only token benefits to wild steelhead while crippling the upper Rogue�s tourism trade that caters to fall bait anglers. "This is sacrifice without justification," Eagle Point dentist Keith Ogawa said. "This is the most historic steelhead river in the country. Do we want to put a stamp on it as a river for the elite, or a river for the people." Only two people spoke in favor of the bait bans, including fly-caster John MacDiarmid. MacDiarmid, from the Medford-based Rogue Flyfishers, believes the proposals are less about banning bait and more about conserving wild fish. He also said improving upper Rogue fly-fishing opportunities will keep tourists coming. "I think what we�re talking about is change here," MacDiarmid said. "I think it�s worth a chance to see if we get more fish with this regulation." Others, like Roger King of Eagle Point, see the current debate as chipping away at the Rogue�s storied angling. "This is nonsense, and it needs to stop," Eagle Point angler Roger King said, "or they will push in future years to have just fly-fishing all year long." Enoch, a Grants Pass river guide, said he resents having to drive the 30 miles to Medford for a chance to right what he sees as a proposed sport-fishing wrong. "I�d like to send a bill to people who introduce crap like this and have us take time away from our families and businesses to fix the garbage they come up with," Enoch said. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.