New proposed limit in Oklahoma

[OldManLure]

5 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

 

I can't speak for other states but I don't think it's possible in Tennessee for a fishery to collapse because of legal overfishing.   Our wildlife management agency monitors our lakes and does a great job adjusting fishing regulations to improve them.  Fishing pressure naturally moves away from fisheries that have problems.  We've seen that happen here with Kentucky lake.  I few years ago it was a world class lake.  Asian carp and the lost of aquatic vegetation have taken their toll.  There hasn't been a major pro tournament on Kentucky lake in several years.  I personally haven't fished there since 2019.  The fishing suffered much more than the actual reduction in the number of fish in the lake according to the data.  From what I've heard,  the lake is recovering.

 

The notion that a lake is going to collapse because a large number of tournament anglers are catching huge limits  every weekend is nonsense.  If tournament anglers are having success then the lake is doing just fine.

 

It could be different in other parts of the country.  Some states may not have the quality wildlife management that we have here.  Some may not have as many lakes for fishermen to choose from.

I agree with your point that tournament fishing alone is not going to cause the collapse of a fishery.  I think that most states have wildlife management services that are skilled at making the adjustments to regulations necessary to maintain a fishery’s health (size restrictions, daily limits, length of season, etc.).  But that is irrelevant to the point I think that  is woven throughout this thread…that there has been a significant growth in the number of organized gatherings that are being called tournaments, and that many of these ‘tournaments’ are irresponsible by not utilizing steps that are known to effectively minimize the unnecessary mortality of caught fish.  I know for a fact that some of these so-called tournaments, which are little more than fishing rodeos, view their dead fish as collateral damage.  This is unacceptable.

If a group, whether it be B.A.S.S. or Uncle Joe’s Rod and Reel Club, wants to conduct a tournament on our public waters and enjoy the benefits and perks afforded these events, they should be required, and more importantly willing, to employ the steps necessary to ensure the protection of a publicly ‘owned’ resource.  If they aren’t willing, then instead of tournaments they should probably look at hosting boat and tackle shows, tackle raffles or boat washes for fund raising.  
 

[rangerjockey]

6 hours ago, CrashVector said:

 

We have tons of waterways, etc here, but people chose to prioritize recreational fishing over tournaments here, and I'm glad.

 

I'm not generally opposed to tournaments, but NOT at the expense of recreational fishing.  Any limits placed designed to increase or attract tournament fishermen can kick rocks imo.  Recreational should always come first.

What percentage of your recreational fisherman practice catch and release vs those with a fillet knife in their hand ?

 

[CrashVector]

3 hours ago, rangerjockey said:

What percentage of your recreational fisherman practice catch and release vs those with a fillet knife in their hand ?

 

Very few, but that's the point.  They should be able to if they wish 

 

Not MY preference, as I prefer other fish, but still 

[Glenn]

Washington state has been doing it this way for nearly 3 decades now.  No issues. Tournies have the normal 5 fish limit, and directors are free to choose any sort of size restriction (if any).  Fishing seems to have improved overall as a result of the slot limits.

[rangerjockey]

4 hours ago, rangerjockey said:

 

 

The survival rate from tournaments where care is taken with them will be much better than from a fillet knife.

 Table Rock has taken a load of pressure this year and having the BPS open was the capper.  

 I'm amazed at the bags Rayburn and Fork continue to put out ,it seems  those lakes have a tremendous amount of pressure on them.

[OldManLure]

Having read and contributed to this thread, I am curious.  How many have attended a natural resource hearing at which proposed changes to fishing regulations were presented, explained and discussed?  How many have offered testimony?  Or in the absence of hearings, took advantage of the public comment period and submitted comments?  

[TnRiver46]

8 hours ago, OldManLure said:

Having read and contributed to this thread, I am curious.  How many have attended a natural resource hearing at which proposed changes to fishing regulations were presented, explained and discussed?  How many have offered testimony?  Or in the absence of hearings, took advantage of the public comment period and submitted comments?  

I feel like I’ve been to at least a couple such meetings, one was for a proposed slot limit for smallmouth on Norris lake and the other was some movement spearheaded by Larry dahlberg trying to ban live bait. They were a waste of time and gas, about like going to and HOA meeting 

 

after studying all kinds of aspects of fisheries management, it’s actually way simpler than any could ever imagine. Therein lies the problem. If you take care of the water the fish will be fine. Only problem is humans can’t handle that simplicity and would rather just argue about it 

[OldManLure]

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

I feel like I’ve been to at least a couple such meetings, one was for a proposed slot limit for smallmouth on Norris lake and the other was some movement spearheaded by Larry dahlberg trying to ban live bait. They were a waste of time and gas, about like going to and HOA meeting 

 

after studying all kinds of aspects of fisheries management, it’s actually way simpler than any could ever imagine. Therein lies the problem. If you take care of the water the fish will be fine. Only problem is humans can’t handle that simplicity and would rather just argue about it 

Ha.  My employment often requires me to represent us at numerous HOA meetings.  The biggest difference between them and the public hearings I’ve attended is that at public hearings it is not me they are pointing fingers and yelling at.

Fortunately, most wildlife services contemplating new regulations now solicit and accept public comment online.  This is nice because you can sit in the comfort

of your home, craft a response, and hit ‘send’.

I do recall you have a degree in wildlife/fisheries management.  I have degrees in related discipline, so I enjoy reading your takes on some of the issues that arise here.

 

 

[TnRiver46]

12 minutes ago, OldManLure said:

Ha.  My employment often requires me to represent us at numerous HOA meetings.  The biggest difference between them and the public hearings I’ve attended is that at public hearings it is not me they are pointing fingers and yelling at.

Fortunately, most wildlife services contemplating new regulations now solicit and accept public comment online.  This is nice because you can sit in the comfort

of your home, craft a response, and hit ‘send’.

I do recall you have a degree in wildlife/fisheries management.  I have degrees in related discipline, so I enjoy reading your takes on some of the issues that arise here.

 

 

Thanks man! A BS in wildlife/fisheries management is still ………. BS hahaha. 
 

yea from what I’ve seen they love taking comments and emails from the public. Then they just do whatever they were going to do regardless of all the public comments. I can’t blame them, the public isn’t going to agree and are mostly full of bologna anyhow 

 

like all of our customers for example. They think bats will eat all the mosquitos in the world and snakes will eat all the mice in the world and that possums will eat all the ticks in the world. Well there’s ten million possums, ten million ticks, ten million bats, and ten million mice. Just like those fishermen that think musky and striper eat up all the bass and crappie. Humans are obsessed with different food items so they think fish and wildlife are the same way, when really they are just surviving and reproducing. They don’t care what they eat as long as they eat 

 

moral of the story: POSSUMS EAT MORE GARBAGE THAN TICKS

[gim]

22 hours ago, rangerjockey said:

The survival rate from tournaments where care is taken with them will be much better than from a fillet knife.

That’s kind of the point. IF care is taken. Many are simply not doing it.

 

I say do it by water temperature since we already know for a fact that mortality is much higher with warm water temps. If it’s above 70, immediate catch and release only. If below 70, a live weigh can be conducted IF proper care is taken. Once a “rodeo” starts killing bass because they didn’t follow procedure, they are not permitted to do a weigh in anymore.

[Tennessee Boy]

11 hours ago, OldManLure said:

Having read and contributed to this thread, I am curious.  How many have attended a natural resource hearing at which proposed changes to fishing regulations were presented, explained and discussed?  How many have offered testimony?  Or in the absence of hearings, took advantage of the public comment period and submitted comments?  

I’ve been to two.  The officials present the science behind what they are proposing and then the public rejects the science and gets emotional.  I heard a guy suggest that they should kill everything in Kentucky lake and start over to get rid of the Asian carp.  That’s a 160,000 acre lake! 
 

It reminds me of football coach call in shows where some guy who played a year of football in 8th grade calls in to tell the coach what he’s doing wrong with his offense. 

[TnRiver46]

10 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I’ve been to two.  The officials present the science behind what they are proposing and then the public rejects the science and gets emotional.  I heard a guy suggest that they should kill everything in Kentucky lake and start over to get rid of the Asian carp.  That’s a 160,000 acre lake! 
 

It reminds me of football coach call in shows where some guy who played a year of football in 8th grade calls in to tell the coach what he’s doing wrong with his offense. 

I’ve been a part of poisoning water to get rid of exotics, it’s pretty tricky on a trout stream 3 meters wide haha