I would give the state a lot more credit for the work they have done with warmwater fisheries in this state. Considering that the warmwater program has had a relatively low budget compared to other fish and wildlife programs, they have been very productive. At the link below are a smattering of reports and management recommendations produced by the program:
http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/warmwater/reports.htm (there are more, but they aren't all online)
Regarding Lake Washington, WDFW spent at least a couple of seasons (around 2004-2006?) tagging hundreds of smallmouth caught during tournaments. The biologists were a very visible presence and I have caught at a least a dozen state-tagged smallmouth over the past years. During that time, the state also sponsored a HUGE electrofishing survey on the lake to get a better idea of the fish distribution in Lake Washington.
Remember a couple of things with warmwater fisheries management in our state:
1) As a club that fishes a lot of large lakes and reservoirs, we don't notice that the state does a lot of work in smaller lakes. Large lakes and reservoirs are extremely difficult to change with regulations, especially when one of the major user components includes catch and release anglers. Typically, natural cycles are going to control warmwater populations in large lakes more than state management.
2) There are only a couple of "teams" of 3 or 4 people that typically work on warmwater fisheries projects every year. They are extremely busy just collecting data, let alone making sure that data is reported properly and information distributed to the public.
Oh... and...
3) Our tournament weights are better than ever the past 5 to 10 years. I like the state of our bass fisheries right now!
Of course, there is still room to discuss whether more money should go to warmwater fisheries management in our state. My main point is that our warmwater teams in this state do a lot with a little, and I think they should be commended. Read the reports on the link above, you might learn something about a local lake. I worked with those teams for two summers while I was going through school, and they work their tails off. Long, late hours and little pay compared to other professions.
Sorry to take the thread to a different topic. If any one wants to continue this conversation, it would probably be best to start a new topic.
Chris