Dnr

[Kevinator1]

hmmmm.....interesting stuff here in Indiana. And maybe other states have this issue also but here goes........It seems like the lakes the DNR take care of and decide to stock with what they think is appropriate, are not nearly as productive for bass as the lakes they have no control over.....for instance, the DNR has stocked some walleyes in lakes that had great bass fishing....after a while those lakes seemed to not produce as well for largemouth.....but reservoirs such as Geist & Morse, which are run by the water companies, continue to put up both numbers and big fish....Monroe isn't as good as it used to be....Summit Lake used to produce great bass but after stocking it with walleye, down the crapper it went.....the DNR still states that Summit gives you a great chance for a big bass yet tournament after tournament all you see is small numbers and maybe a 3 to 4 pounder as big bass.......you guys in other states have this same problem? Its not a cyclical thing either because you aren't seeing some of these lakes any different from 10 years ago.

[Dogmatic]

Our DNR,and Fish and Boat commission(PAFBC) are absolutely the worst for managing our resources.

[HoosierHawgs]

What about Eagle Creek reservoir? Haven't fished it in a while.

[chadmack282]

hmmmm.....interesting stuff here in Indiana. And maybe other states have this issue also but here goes........It seems like the lakes the DNR take care of and decide to stock with what they think is appropriate, are not nearly as productive for bass as the lakes they have no control over.....for instance, the DNR has stocked some walleyes in lakes that had great bass fishing....after a while those lakes seemed to not produce as well for largemouth.....but reservoirs such as Geist & Morse, which are run by the water companies, continue to put up both numbers and big fish....Monroe isn't as good as it used to be....Summit Lake used to produce great bass but after stocking it with walleye, down the crapper it went.....the DNR still states that Summit gives you a great chance for a big bass yet tournament after tournament all you see is small numbers and maybe a 3 to 4 pounder as big bass.......you guys in other states have this same problem? Its not a cyclical thing either because you aren't seeing some of these lakes any different from 10 years ago.

u mention Geist are u speaking of Geist Creek Lake in KY or Indiana?

[Scott F]

Second guessing the DNR seems to be something of a national pastime. Over the years I have met, done projects with and spoke with many DNR people including a former director of the DNR for my state (Illinois). To a man, all of them were true professionals with a passion for the outdoors. They have a huge responsibility, work for little money, with limited budgets, and limited resources. A lot of people have their own interests at heart and the DNR has to try to make a lot of different people happy. All in all, there is nobody else I'd trust to do the job than the people we are paying now. Politics always seem to get in the way of them doing their job, but my complaining about them doesn't help at all. I stay out of the way and trust them to do the best they can with what they have. 

[Turtle135]

My personal experience is that those lakes specifically "managed" by the state are really poor fisheries. I have not seen it so much in my home state but in a bordering state that I fish frequently. In my home state, Maryland, we do not have many largemouth lakes that are DNR managed. The best largemouth fisheries seem to be lakes managed/controlled/regulated by regional authorities.

 

I am beginning to suspect that the production level of these bodies of water has much more to do with their inherent potential, rather than man's ability to manage that potential.

[Kevinator1]

u mention Geist are u speaking of Geist Creek Lake in KY or Indiana?

Geist Reservoir in Indiana.

[Kevinator1]

Second guessing the DNR seems to be something of a national pastime. Over the years I have met, done projects with and spoke with many DNR people including a former director of the DNR for my state (Illinois). To a man, all of them were true professionals with a passion for the outdoors. They have a huge responsibility, work for little money, with limited budgets, and limited resources. A lot of people have their own interests at heart and the DNR has to try to make a lot of different people happy. All in all, there is nobody else I'd trust to do the job than the people we are paying now. Politics always seem to get in the way of them doing their job, but my complaining about them doesn't help at all. I stay out of the way and trust them to do the best they can with what they have. 

Oh I agree they are good guys trying their best with limited budgets and I know there are some guys who like to walleye fish but at least at the lakes I mentioned in Indiana the bass fishermen bring in the most money to those areas....so I would think the people in charge would want to build the best bass fisheries they can to keep the money coming in.

[Bankbeater]

I'd say in the past 15 years or so our DNR has gotten better at managing the lakes around here. Before that it was all about bringing people in to spend money. Now they are actually working on making some decent fisheries.

[gardnerjigman]

My experience is those fisheries get a lot more bucket fisherman.

[Preytorien]

I agree Kevinator. 

 

I typically do much better on a non-DNR managed lake here than one the DNR handles. Geist and Morse are some of the better two I fish. Geist being my favorite, just out there Monday. I can't think of any recent talk of anyone smoking them on Monroe, Patoka, and definitely not on Eagle Creek. 

 

I think our DNR does a decent job though. In years past they've had to deal with the White River mess, and that seems to be bouncing back nicely. I know several guys who make annual trips here to fish some of the upper portions of the river, saying it's some of the best smallmouth river fishing anywhere. 

 

That said, I'd obviously like them to see what more they can do to create truly hot bass fisheries out of their maintained properties. Then the problem you'd have is every bass angler for 100 miles around would hit those lakes. Geist isn't all that big and had a 40+ boat tournament on Sunday. They just get slammed around here. 

[Nice_Bass]

I personally think DNR's also do a pretty good job as they also have to manage for different results and not just big bass, bass catch rates, etc.

a quick search of geist brought up this however which leads me to believe that the lake has other issues but still produces apparently.   http://wishtv.com/2015/03/20/hundreds-of-dead-fish-becoming-a-daily-event-near-geist-reservoir/

Looking at Summit lake stocking it appears that the walleye stocking was a result of an overpopulation of yellow perch which I assume was a detriment to the overall fishery. 

Its too bad they did not stock tiger musky instead...

They did that here at a local lake about the same size and it has turned into both a great bass and musky factory (along with a great saugeye/walleye population). 

[HoosierHawgs]

I agree Kevinator.

I typically do much better on a non-DNR managed lake here than one the DNR handles. Geist and Morse are some of the better two I fish. Geist being my favorite, just out there Monday. I can't think of any recent talk of anyone smoking them on Monroe, Patoka, and definitely not on Eagle Creek.

I think our DNR does a decent job though. In years past they've had to deal with the White River mess, and that seems to be bouncing back nicely. I know several guys who make annual trips here to fish some of the upper portions of the river, saying it's some of the best smallmouth river fishing anywhere.

That said, I'd obviously like them to see what more they can do to create truly hot bass fisheries out of their maintained properties. Then the problem you'd have is every bass angler for 100 miles around would hit those lakes. Geist isn't all that big and had a 40+ boat tournament on Sunday. They just get slammed around here.

White river is getting better, but it still needs LOTS of work. But yes, I know some guys who have been catching some nice smallmouth out there lately.

[frogflogger]

The fishing in our reservoirs is much better now than it was 30 yrs ago thanks to our DNR - they did wonders introducing forage fish in our fairly sterile lakes that are mainly for flood control. I've heard fishery managers getting bashed for many years - it's an easy thing to do but rarely accurate.

[CoBass]

You're lucky to live in a state where the DNR actually manages lakes for bass. Where I live, trout rule. People come here to catch trout, so that is what is stocked in pretty much every lake and river. Walleye are also popular here so they get pretty heavily stocked too. Bass are pretty far down the list.  Most of the best bass fishing is in small (less than 50 acres) locally managed ponds. 

[Catch and Grease]

Where is all the money we spend on fishing license down here going? It darn sure isn't going towards managing the lakes I live near.

[HoosierHawgs]

You're lucky to live in a state where the DNR actually manages lakes for bass. Where I live, trout rule. People come here to catch trout, so that is what is stocked in pretty much every lake and river. Walleye are also popular here so they get pretty heavily stocked too. Bass are pretty far down the list.  Most of the best bass fishing is in small (less than 50 acres) locally managed ponds. 

Often times those can be nice though. I fish some locally managed places that offer awesome fishing.

[Scott F]

Where is all the money we spend on fishing license down here going? It darn sure isn't going towards managing the lakes I live near.

Go find a local DNR office and have a talk with one of the biologists who work there. Ask them about what they do and what their goals are. Volunteer to help them with some manual labor. If you have a fishing club, ask if they will do a presentation at one of your meetings about their bass management philosophies. Get your club members to volunteer their time to assist the DNR in one of their projects. You'll get a much better understanding of how things work. They'll also tell you about good places to fish you might not be aware of.

[RoLo]

Managing your own private pond is challenging enough (I've tried my hand), but managing public waters

to serve all facets of fishing is a daunting task. When you read the many PDFs published by state DNRs

and wildlife commissions, you begin to understand the enormity of their task.

To begin with, the field technicians must evaluate all limnological data to determine

the most fruitful path of management.  No ecosystem is optimal for all species, so they must decide

on the most viable fishery, be it smallmouth, largemouth, walleyes, pike, muskies, salmonids ~ ~ ~

 

If field research and electro-fishing indicate that a given body of water is best suited to walleyes,

the state's efforts would justifiably be oriented toward an exceptional walleye fishery.

Put differently, bass might be your favorite game fish, but it's not the favorite game fish of every angler.

 

Roger