Not to sound down about it, but giving people incentives probably wouldn't work at Pablo. A lot of these big bass that are brought to the marina and the main gate are still half alive when they get there but they are as good as dead. Encouraging people to bring them in, would just mean they would die since basically no one on shore or who is not specifically targeting bass will have any kind of livewell. A large number of the shore fisherman at Pablo really don't care what they catch I don't think. They just want something to put on the table. I saw 4 carp caught and kept the other day. I caught a fish in front of some of the guys who had just caught a carp and they asked me if they could have it. That's pretty much the attitude most of the time. Just get fish and put them on the stringer. Doesn't matter what kind of fish they are. Regulations that specifically make it illegal to keep trophy bass are just about the only thing I can see that would "fix" this.

So here is my first roadblock after sending my email earlier:

I will be out of the office from October 9th through 21st. If you need to contact someone regarding Fisheries Programs Branch issues, please contact Jim Hopelain at either jhopelai@dfg.ca.gov or (916) 445-3597.

Thanks for your patience,

Ed

So... I sent an email to Jim Hopelain and we'll go from there.