[Dave B.]

'Squatch and Tuna, glad to hear you'll be attending! I'll look forward to getting to meet you both. Hopefully a few more folks from here will make it as well!

As for the comments Lard was able to acquire, I can tell you that I was one of those opposed to the 'barbless' issue. As for the clubs being able to fish their own waters as C&R during the pre-season closure frankly I don't care either way. We are all able to do likewise on all of the TCA's, WTS's and Artificials Only waters. Some may argue that state fish will move into the private waters...ehh, so what? The nice big club fish will likewise move into public waters and be available for all anglers during the regular open season. They're fish, they swim. I've caught PLENTY of privately stocked fish in public stream sections on a lot of NJ waters over the years. Just off the top the Paulinskill, Musky, SBR, Flatbrook and Pohat come to mind.

Anyway I hope to see a bigger turnout at the forum this year. As Andy alluded to, last year was absolutely pitiful. The vast majority of attendees were affiliated with TU or private clubs. Then too there was the usual handful of outdoor writers.

Come out, listen to what our Freshwater Fisheries staff have to say and don't be hesitant to question them. They want to hear our input, ideas and concerns.