I've been a member for a short while, and have never posted a message or a reply to anything....So far, I've enjoyed just checking out the site. However, I must interject here....Opening day of trout fishing has been a tradition that my friends & I have been celebrating for decades now....It used to be that it was a great occasion to go away for the entire weekend & share some good times w/ good people....Nowadays, it's a reason for us to all get together & take the kids fishing.....Whether it's going back to New Jersey or them coming out here to fish some of the CT waters w/ me & my girls, it gives us a reason to get together & something to look forward during the winter....I myself have no concept of fishing seasons, because I fish all year round......As a matter of fact, you're more likely to see me on the Farmington between December & March, than you are during the spring & summer.....I do somewhat agree that opening day does have some temporary negative impact on the fisheries, and you're more likely to find a moron or two cruising the water during those first few days of the "season", but what about the kids....My daughters look forward to opening day....We go to the trout park in my back yard in Stratton Brook Forest....Last year there was a crew of idiots camped out on the pond from the night before & the were drinking & just acting like complete idiots....That's the only thing I don't like about opening day....If you're going to drink & swear & act like a fool, why do it at a trout park where the facility is primarily there for children & handicapped? Anyway, enough of my rambling....I don't think we need to abolish opening day entirely, as much as we need to educate the young fishermen & women to be considerate & conscious of your surroundings & the other people that must share them w/ you....Last year, we were fortunate enough to be the lucky ones on the water catching the majority of the fish. We decided to release all of our fish (I never keep 'em, but my daughter likes to keep 1 or 2 on opening day), and before you knew it, all the children around us were releasing their fish (even the ones they had already put into their buckets)....It was great to actually see an immediate impact from our actions....You don't always witness the impact you may have made on an impressionable young mind, but on this day it was evident....I don't think I've ever seen anyone releasing fish at a trout park....Opening day is a long time friendly & family tradition for a lot of people & to take it away because a select few eletist selfish fisherman are unhappy w/ it is a bit harsh don't you think?