Post by Sinker on Apr 13, 2008 6:35:02 GMT -6
If this is progress, I'll pass. MDC is doin a trial to see if length limits an such will improve th fishin fer catfishermen. We already have as good a fishery as bout anybody. We have had room fer all types of legal fishin fer years. Our catfishery has even stood up to a lot of illegal stuff fer years. But it ain't good enuff fer th new breed of "sportsmen"!
Lemme say up front that I'm sure this is gonna upset some of ya, but, well, that's tough! Missouri has enjoyed a long history of fine Rod & Reel (R&R), Trotline (TL), and Jugline (JL) fishin as long as we've had a department (MDC). Now th new breed has arrived an decided it ain't good enuff fer them, so it needs new regulations. They wanta be able ta catch an release a lotta big cats, so it's ok to regulate other kinds of fishin out of existence. They are so afraid guys like me is gonna eat one of 'em that they wanta limit me outa th picture. I like all three kinds of traditional fishin, but I ain't inta catch an release. I don't believe yer savin anything. Too many of 'em die from stress of bein caught and drug around to be weighed. Ya didn useta see big cats floatin dead. They mighta been caught an used, but they didn go ta waste! I've seen as many dead ones floatin in my little fishin world, after one tournament, as I kept inna year, an they were bigger fish, mostly!
If th MDC wants to see th whole picture, they oughta require all released fish ta be tagged with a device that would biodegrade in 2 months or so. They should also do their trials where th regs are gonna make th most differnce. Not in th Missouri River, but in th lakes and rivers where th tournaments are held. The individual lakes and water systems are where th damage is done. Dams separate th fish into individual fisheries. Th results found on th Missouri River are irrelavant!
Seems ta me a lotta th Bass Tournament mentality is workin here. They fished out one species to where it couldn't take it anymore, so why not git everbody catchin th true freshwater giants. They won't last either.
Length limits and slot limits will make TL an JL fishin obsolete simply cause it won't be worth th trouble. Releasin a bunch of fish ta die goes against th grain, even if catchin em was fun. I won't be able to change anything by myself with this little article, but as you can see by what is happening, th ones doing th squawkin are gittin th results! So if you like to trotline, or jugline, ya better be speaking up NOW!
Before this thread gits goin th wrong way, I will make one request ta all who respond. Please keep th thread clean and on th subject so it won't be moved to an obscure place on this board. It is a legitimate fishin concern an deserves th attention of everbody that fishes; not just a few members who like to fuss among themselves!
Below is an excerpt from th MDC article I've been talkin bout. The Conservation Department recently asked anglers about their desires for catfishing on the Missouri River through a series of public meetings. The agency also conducted statewide surveys in 2002 to learn who catfish anglers are and what they want.
The agency learned that some anglers want to catch lots of catfish. Since channel catfish are the most abundant catfish species, and they thrive in the state's many farm ponds, public lakes and large reservoirs as well as in most streams, that is where most people pursue them.
Special regulations on some areas restrict the harvest of channel catfish. In most waters, anglers may keep up to 10 channel catfish daily, with no length limit. Channel catfish do not grow as large as the other two species, so the Conservation Department does not plan to change regulations on that species.
However, many anglers said they want to catch a larger number of big catfish. On average, their idea of a big catfish wasone over 20 pounds. Flathead and blue catfish grow bigger than channel cats, so the Conservation Department is concentrating on them to meet the desires of these anglers.
The Conservation Department recently unveiled plans to test experimental blue and flathead catfish regulations on an 82-mile stretch of the Missouri River from Glasgow to Jefferson City and on parts of two tributary streams in this stretch, the Lamine and Blackwater rivers. The agency is considering the following sets of experimental regulations.
--Option A: Limit of to two flathead and blue catfish in the aggregate daily with a minimum length limit of 30 inches (approximately 11 pounds). Studies indicate that these restrictions would increase the number of blue catfish longer than 30 inches by 89 percent and the number of flatheads over 30 inches by 105 percent. The agency estimates that this option would take about three years to begin paying dividends in pounds of catfish harvested byanglers.
--Option B: Limit of one flathead and one blue catfish daily with a minimum length limit of 30 inches. Anglers would see results faster under this option in return for accepting greater harvest restrictions.
--Option C: Limit of one flathead and one blue catfish over 30 inches and one of each species under 30 inches daily. Anglers would be able to harvest more fish under this option, but it would take longer to increase the number of big fish.
--Option D: Limit of two flathead and blue catfish in the aggregate daily, with only fish under 20 inches and over 30 inches legal to keep. This "slot" length limit would effectively prohibit the harvest of catfish weighing 3 to 10 pounds. Because it would allow the harvest of more small catfish, it might take longer than the first three options to produce results.
--Option E: Other options for a change in regulations can be provided by anglers.
--Option F: No change in the currentregulations
"This is an exciting time to be a catfish angler in Missouri," said Kevin Sullivan, who oversees efforts to evaluate new catfish management strategies. "We are on the cusp of changes that will do for catfish what we already have done for bass, crappie, deer and turkeys. In the future, we will be able to deliver what anglers tell us they want in terms of size and number of catfish. It all starts with laying a solid foundation of knowledge."
Sullivan said the Conservation Department will not propose catfish regulation changes until it completes public meetings on the subject. The agency will consider anglers' preferences and research findings during the process of formulating new regulations, if any. No changes will go into effect before March 1, 2009.
Additional details about the four options are available at www.mdc.mo.gov/15280. For more information or to express your desires about catfish management in Missouri, visit mdc.mo.gov/24, orcall (573) 751-4115.
Lemme say up front that I'm sure this is gonna upset some of ya, but, well, that's tough! Missouri has enjoyed a long history of fine Rod & Reel (R&R), Trotline (TL), and Jugline (JL) fishin as long as we've had a department (MDC). Now th new breed has arrived an decided it ain't good enuff fer them, so it needs new regulations. They wanta be able ta catch an release a lotta big cats, so it's ok to regulate other kinds of fishin out of existence. They are so afraid guys like me is gonna eat one of 'em that they wanta limit me outa th picture. I like all three kinds of traditional fishin, but I ain't inta catch an release. I don't believe yer savin anything. Too many of 'em die from stress of bein caught and drug around to be weighed. Ya didn useta see big cats floatin dead. They mighta been caught an used, but they didn go ta waste! I've seen as many dead ones floatin in my little fishin world, after one tournament, as I kept inna year, an they were bigger fish, mostly!
If th MDC wants to see th whole picture, they oughta require all released fish ta be tagged with a device that would biodegrade in 2 months or so. They should also do their trials where th regs are gonna make th most differnce. Not in th Missouri River, but in th lakes and rivers where th tournaments are held. The individual lakes and water systems are where th damage is done. Dams separate th fish into individual fisheries. Th results found on th Missouri River are irrelavant!
Seems ta me a lotta th Bass Tournament mentality is workin here. They fished out one species to where it couldn't take it anymore, so why not git everbody catchin th true freshwater giants. They won't last either.
Length limits and slot limits will make TL an JL fishin obsolete simply cause it won't be worth th trouble. Releasin a bunch of fish ta die goes against th grain, even if catchin em was fun. I won't be able to change anything by myself with this little article, but as you can see by what is happening, th ones doing th squawkin are gittin th results! So if you like to trotline, or jugline, ya better be speaking up NOW!
Before this thread gits goin th wrong way, I will make one request ta all who respond. Please keep th thread clean and on th subject so it won't be moved to an obscure place on this board. It is a legitimate fishin concern an deserves th attention of everbody that fishes; not just a few members who like to fuss among themselves!
Below is an excerpt from th MDC article I've been talkin bout. The Conservation Department recently asked anglers about their desires for catfishing on the Missouri River through a series of public meetings. The agency also conducted statewide surveys in 2002 to learn who catfish anglers are and what they want.
The agency learned that some anglers want to catch lots of catfish. Since channel catfish are the most abundant catfish species, and they thrive in the state's many farm ponds, public lakes and large reservoirs as well as in most streams, that is where most people pursue them.
Special regulations on some areas restrict the harvest of channel catfish. In most waters, anglers may keep up to 10 channel catfish daily, with no length limit. Channel catfish do not grow as large as the other two species, so the Conservation Department does not plan to change regulations on that species.
However, many anglers said they want to catch a larger number of big catfish. On average, their idea of a big catfish wasone over 20 pounds. Flathead and blue catfish grow bigger than channel cats, so the Conservation Department is concentrating on them to meet the desires of these anglers.
The Conservation Department recently unveiled plans to test experimental blue and flathead catfish regulations on an 82-mile stretch of the Missouri River from Glasgow to Jefferson City and on parts of two tributary streams in this stretch, the Lamine and Blackwater rivers. The agency is considering the following sets of experimental regulations.
--Option A: Limit of to two flathead and blue catfish in the aggregate daily with a minimum length limit of 30 inches (approximately 11 pounds). Studies indicate that these restrictions would increase the number of blue catfish longer than 30 inches by 89 percent and the number of flatheads over 30 inches by 105 percent. The agency estimates that this option would take about three years to begin paying dividends in pounds of catfish harvested byanglers.
--Option B: Limit of one flathead and one blue catfish daily with a minimum length limit of 30 inches. Anglers would see results faster under this option in return for accepting greater harvest restrictions.
--Option C: Limit of one flathead and one blue catfish over 30 inches and one of each species under 30 inches daily. Anglers would be able to harvest more fish under this option, but it would take longer to increase the number of big fish.
--Option D: Limit of two flathead and blue catfish in the aggregate daily, with only fish under 20 inches and over 30 inches legal to keep. This "slot" length limit would effectively prohibit the harvest of catfish weighing 3 to 10 pounds. Because it would allow the harvest of more small catfish, it might take longer than the first three options to produce results.
--Option E: Other options for a change in regulations can be provided by anglers.
--Option F: No change in the currentregulations
"This is an exciting time to be a catfish angler in Missouri," said Kevin Sullivan, who oversees efforts to evaluate new catfish management strategies. "We are on the cusp of changes that will do for catfish what we already have done for bass, crappie, deer and turkeys. In the future, we will be able to deliver what anglers tell us they want in terms of size and number of catfish. It all starts with laying a solid foundation of knowledge."
Sullivan said the Conservation Department will not propose catfish regulation changes until it completes public meetings on the subject. The agency will consider anglers' preferences and research findings during the process of formulating new regulations, if any. No changes will go into effect before March 1, 2009.
Additional details about the four options are available at www.mdc.mo.gov/15280. For more information or to express your desires about catfish management in Missouri, visit mdc.mo.gov/24, orcall (573) 751-4115.
