FWC is aware what they doing. Short conversation FWC officer\ pro tx angler

[Manatee Mauler]

Thought I would share this conversation with yall that took place two years ago at camp mack on a Fri evening with a FWC officer who fished the stren or costa series ( cant remember which) as a pro angler as a business... so he fished all the events in the south east. He informed me how he kept tax records and the whole works. I point this out just to show he wasn't a guy that thought well hell, I'll try it for one tx. When I talked with him he had wrapped up his 2nd year as a pro. Super nice guy. Here it is, its very discouraging how the FWC hushed him. Left names out as not to put a target on his back.

Started a post about this on its own because this was buried in another thread and didnt want it to be missed.... so here ya go.

Gotta keep those high rollers who contribute to political campaigns happy, such as the vp's of large chemical companies who produce these toxins that are sprayed in our waters. Also, don't think applied aquatics isnt also in someone's ear. Every time you see one of their trucks with an airboat hooked up you know there up to no good.

The IRONIC thing is the local FWC officer you see patrolling is on our side a lot of the time. One evening while at Camp Mack, I met an FWC officer who also happened to fish "the stren series" as a pro angler. He was there to fish some big open tx so we chatted for a good part of that friday evening. He told me he witnessed sprayers just nuking an area to death and spraying everything THEY WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO when in fact they were supposed be there just to "spot" spray. He said he reported it and did what he could to draw attention to it making a fuss about it and guess what happened. He told me his superiors from Tallahassee told him to hush up, not to snitch or tell on the sister organization of the state and that he was to cease all inquiries regarding spraying. It didn't concern him and if he liked his current job then it would be in his best interest to forget this whole matter! If not he just might find he and his family relocated to lets say a less desirable set of orders in the state.

After hearing his story it just confirmed back door deals are more than likely going on with money switching hands. He was "silenced" for a reason. His documentation of the state telling him to shut up just points out that he was stepping on someone's toes and they didn't like it. Nor did they appreciate him drawing attention to use of thousands of dollars of UNNECESSARY chemical being used. At some level the FWC is corrupt nor are they in it for you and me.

Something is going on when your job is threatened and your told to shut up by people wearing suits and ties. This was about two years ago.

[joby1]

All ways follow the money! But hey they are planting eel grass in George, to pacify us right...

[BassCatBrad]

It's all about the $. It reminds me of when Dupont was sued and lost big-time in the early 2000's for a toxic ingredient in Teflon. Their internal study showed they knew the toxicity way back in the 60's and did nothing about it. Everybody (Government) knows the FWC is poisoning our waters with their toxic spray but nobody does anything about it..

[Ben Danbleume]

If honestly doubt he was able to obtain documentation of being told to ignore his 'Official" responsibilities.To many watch dogs that would have a filed a suit before sundown.

[Casslaw]

This is me not being surprised...

[cwilt]

All this poisoning on our lakes...its eventually going to catch up. Naturally and economically.

[RTex]

fishy

[Mickstix]

Definitely politics and oily hands involved. How could it not be? It's too easy to see the damage and just stop spraying. They won't do it. 10-15 years they'll get their ass sued off, but until then..

[B-47]

Most of you are to young to remember Orlando Sentinel outdoor writer Charlie Harris back in the 60's and early 70's. He was investigating cronyism in the State Florida Wildlife appointment of commissioners and certain individuals at the time. After a year of collecting information and interviews with employees, environmental groups and others, he was ready to write a series of articles of back door politics (cronyism) within the FWC management. The FWC was told about the reports and called the Sentinel Editorial Dept. and complained. Charlie was told to put his investigative reporting on hold. Shortly after, Charles report was put on hold, he developed serious health issues and the reports disappeared. I was told by Charlie that another reporter over heard him discussing the report with an editor and the other reporter decided to get a jump on Charlie and went directly to the FWC to ask questions and the FWC got suspicious and started asking questions and was told by the reporter what Charlie was preparing to publish. Charlie was not happy the report was put on hold and unfortunately the whole mess with the FWC never got published.

The problems with the FWC in the State of Florida has been an ongoing issue for decades. It has been suspected the entire department is run on politics and back office decisions. It is one thing to be suspicious of these back door politics but another to prove them. As for those who are in the know of these types of cronyism, a little threat about job loss or transfers to undesirable locations can quite an individual very quickly. I have known FWC officers in the 70's who were critical of supervisors but would refuse to speak with the press because of loss of job threats.

[Steve Albertson]

I wish Florida appreciated its freshwater resources like Texas does. From my observations Texas does it right.

[Hez]

I wish Florida appreciated its freshwater resources like Texas does. From my observations Texas does it right.

I've actually contacted FWC and asked them why they didn't do a better job of managing the fisheries, such as Texas does...using examples such as the ShareLunker program...

This was the response I received in June of 2019:

I would not dispute that Texas's ShareLunker Program has been successful in improving the Largemouth Bass fishery in that state but there are a few key differences between Florida and Texas that I would like to highlight to make the case that increased stocking of Largemouth Bass in Florida waterbodies would not drastically improve the fishery. The first is the nature of waterbodies these two states possess. Most of the famous Texas fisheries are reservoirs that typically have less spawning habitat that Florida's broad, shallow lakes. The second key component is the fish themselves. Florida Strain Largemouth Bass do not occur naturally in Texas and to achieve the F1 hybrid fish (first cross between native bass and Florida Strain) that reach great size, Texas Parks and Wildlife has to periodically stock to maintain those genetics. Within peninsular Florida, Florida Strain Largemouth Bass naturally occur so altering the genetics of the population would not alter the growth potential of the fish within the system. Through our research group we have monitored many stocking events on quality fisheries and often see that hatchery raised fish only account for 1% of the individuals sampled. This low percent contribution to the total population is where I base my opinion on Largemouth Bass stocking in existing fisheries. There are some instances where we have been successful with our stocking, most notable Lake Newnans in Alachua County and Lake Talquin in the Gadsen County. These are instances where we have identified a gap in either recruitment success or a low concentration of Florida Strain genetics, which is not the case for the fisheries mentioned in an earlier email.

[ScottOz]

I've actually contacted FWC and asked them why they didn't do a better job of managing the fisheries, such as Texas does...using examples such as the ShareLunker program...

This was the response I received in June of 2019:

I would not dispute that Texas's ShareLunker Program has been successful in improving the Largemouth Bass fishery in that state but there are a few key differences between Florida and Texas that I would like to highlight to make the case that increased stocking of Largemouth Bass in Florida waterbodies would not drastically improve the fishery. The first is the nature of waterbodies these two states possess. Most of the famous Texas fisheries are reservoirs that typically have less spawning habitat that Florida's broad, shallow lakes. The second key component is the fish themselves. Florida Strain Largemouth Bass do not occur naturally in Texas and to achieve the F1 hybrid fish (first cross between native bass and Florida Strain) that reach great size, Texas Parks and Wildlife has to periodically stock to maintain those genetics. Within peninsular Florida, Florida Strain Largemouth Bass naturally occur so altering the genetics of the population would not alter the growth potential of the fish within the system. Through our research group we have monitored many stocking events on quality fisheries and often see that hatchery raised fish only account for 1% of the individuals sampled. This low percent contribution to the total population is where I base my opinion on Largemouth Bass stocking in existing fisheries. There are some instances where we have been successful with our stocking, most notable Lake Newnans in Alachua County and Lake Talquin in the Gadsen County. These are instances where we have identified a gap in either recruitment success or a low concentration of Florida Strain genetics, which is not the case for the fisheries mentioned in an earlier email.

#STOPSPRAYING You freaking idiots

[BassCatBrad]

#STOPSPRAYING You freaking idiots

Enough said

[LewStulePH.D.]

Enough said

You're dealing with the Gov't.™ so that isn't enough wording. Not enough for the person that has to read it and then pass it along to the next node that just sits.

[BassCatBrad]

You're dealing with the Gov't.™ so that isn't enough wording. Not enough for the person that has to read it and then pass it along to the next node that just sits.

You're right... I forgot they are a government entity with too many layers, I will get the finger paints and crayons out.

[john721]

One of you with a lot of money sue them they will have to prove what there spraying where how much and so on

[marlake]

Class Action????
Maybe one of us doesn't have the resources to mount a meaningful lawsuit but I bet a bunch of us could muster it up.

[Manatee Mauler]

Class Action????
Maybe one of us doesn't have the resources to mount a meaningful lawsuit but I bet a bunch of us could muster it up.

Problem is getting an attorney to take it. I talked with a big environment firm here in Jax and they wouldnt take it for two main reasons. (1) he stated they would be "black balled" by the state and all kind of headaches created by the back lash from the state. And (2) , the state has so many layers to go through that you constantly would run into road blocks. He stated the state has effective measures in place that protects them from being sued. Now this was just one firm and maybe there are other angles but from what i see is that it would be damn hard to get a firm to start the diggin due to the threat of retaliation.

[Manatee Mauler]

We need a firm with big you know whats! Or a single bad ass that just doesnt give a damn and is willing to give the state ( and lobbiest)the middle finger

[Gamblerman65]

Friend of mine drove by Applied Aquatics the other day. Fleet of new trucks and help wanted sign posted. Spray business is booming..$$$$$$$$$$$