Three cheers for the Connecticut General Assembly for lowering the fishing-license fee after hearing the complaints of their constituents.

But once again in the rush to pass legislation just in time for opening day of trout season, they forgot the tens of thousands of Connecticut outdoorsmen who had already laid out the higher fee on or about Jan. 1 so we could ice fish and hunt the remainder of hunting season.

There is no provision in the bill to refund those who paid the higher price.

I suspect those who waited until opening day to purchase fishing licenses were a very small percentage. Was the real intent to get all the money possible at the higher rate and then all the money possible at the lower rate? The vast majority of fishermen already had their license before the fee reduction went into effect, ensuring the discounted licenses went only to last-minute procrastinators.

So I contend the General Assembly did not respond to its constituency in a positive fashion, but rather developed a scheme to collect more money.