Bob Todd

Some misconceptions about smallmouth: First, the rural/urban thing seems to be misunderstood by the catch and release crowd. In my experience, the fishermen who are most likely to catch and keep a limit of smallmouth are urban fishermen who reason that because they only get out once or twice a year, they need to keep a limit - if they can catch it. Yes, there are rural types who still feel like it is wasteful and unthrifty to put legal fish back. They too have a legal right to keep a legal limit. I don’t know very many of them who do nowadays, but they’re still out there. So what is Bob Todd all about? On a blog I finally became aware of, I’m referred to a fish eater as opposed to a fishermen. Another said if the special management regulations ran off fish eaters, it was good ridence. Contrary to what you may think, I don’t keep smallmouth very often. I grew up in an era when people kept all they could. For the 35 years with the River Hills Traveler, I’ve been encouraging people to keep what they want and actually will use, not limits. I joined with the Blue Ribbon Panel of the Missouri Smallmouth Alliance because I too think we can do better with respect to smallmouth regulations in the Ozarks. I did not join - as some now charge - to represent consumptive anglers. What I found, however, was the die was already cast. There was no disucssion of regulations in other parts of the country - places some Alliance members frequent and want to compare to the Ozarks. One member of the committee seemed to think the only thing the MIssouri Department of Conservation would buy into would be an expansion of the experimental special management areas. He was pursuasive to enough members of the panel that they went along with it. I did not, and I won’t be quiet about it. It wasn’t the unnanmious thing it appears. The most troubling thing in the experiment to me was the fact that anglers were driven away by the 15-1 regulation. Some doubt the figure could be as high as the study showed, but it was probably even higher. I think it can be assumed the catch and release people migrated to these areas, so the number of fishermen displaced was surely even higher than 54 per cent. After 35 years writing about travels, hunting and fishing in the Ozarks, I’m not about to say “good ridence” about those driven away! Those are public streams, public meaning we all own them and the fish in them. Moreover, I don’t think there’s any doubt our conservaton agency should represent all of us, not just exclusive catch and release people. There’s the argument that they’re not asking for the whole state to go to 15-1. But there’s no doubt they are asking for the best of our smallmouth streams to be placed under these restrictions. These streams need it the least! On a less emotional level, I also have problems with the biology. The study on which they base their argument winds up with an increase in bass over 15 inches in length. Fine. This comes about not only because the regulation limits fishermen to one fish over 15 inches, but because this type of regulation attracts people who dont’ want to keep fish of any size. There is a considerable mortality in smallmouth getting to that 15 inch mark. The mortality between 12 and 18 inches is almost total. Even in the special management areas after years of trial, the 12 inch fish are a whole lot more abundant than the 14.9 fish. If we are going to keep fish at all, we should be mindful of those figiures. My granddaughter fished for two years before she managed to catch a legal smallmouth. It was a mark. A goal. And I enjoyed paddling her while she tried. I fear she may have given up if she had to successfully tangle with a 15 incher before she could put a fish on the stringer. I and my grandson floated a much-touted stretch of Big Piney in the 15-1 section, counting on a fish supper in camp. We caught only one legal fish, a 16 incher, and frankly, one is not enough to feed an old man and a teenage boy. I’m not advocating that everyone fish for a meal, certainly not everytime they go astream. But one 15 inch smallmouth isn’t enough when you want to cook fish. For practical purposes, 15-1 is a catch and release regualtion. The proposed 15-3 rule for most of the state is more of the same, but with greater disappointment. If odds are against catching many 15 inch bass in these special areas, imagine the odds of catching three in the lesser waters. The 18-1 regulation is truly catch and release. It is the figure used for trophy trout, which are by comparison long and skinny. On a few truly trophy areas, I support it. But such places must be carefully chosen and the rule must enjoy wide support in the local area. • Not too many commenters suggested I keep other species. They know I’m going to suggest they fish for carp instead of smallmouth. Carp are big, brown, fight hard and can be found close to urban areas. Why burn all that gas to get to the Ozarks just to battle a big brown fish? • A point of order. Catch and release folks seem hung up on how long it takes a smallmouth to reach a certain size. But they don’t seem concerned that a 12 inch crappie is probably seven years old. Age of the fish doesn’t cut much ice with me unless we start talking about fish that may have to live through catastophies. • There is a lot of new research that suggests tossing back small fish mainly makes more small fish. That’s really not news. Our ponds are that way, nearly all stuffed with stunted bass because they get tossed back. There are parts of Missouri where I think the same is true for smallmouth. Raising the length limit will make it worse in those areas. I fished the 18-1 strecth of Gasconade River with then director of MDC Jerry Conley. At mid-afternoon, we were stopped by a census boat and asked how we were doing. Jerry responded we’d caught about 100 apiece by that point and the census guy asked if he were joking. No, Jerry is a trained biologists and accustomed to keeping an informal count. But they were the dinks the MSA complains about. Not one 12 incher, much less a 15 or 18 incher. It was obvious to me and Jerry voiced it - this area could stand a slot limit to weed out some of those little bass. It was a product of the 18 inch restriction, and by the way, the number of 18 inch fish increased very little. On a blog, one commenter posed the question . . if a slot limit were imposed and its success depended on keeping some small bass, would the catch and release people cooperate and bring a stringer? It is easy to get caught up in a single solution. Things are more complicated than they seem. The proposals put forth by the SMA make a good place to start a discussion. But there are many other options that need to be explored. And that’s about the most positive thing I have to say about that situation. Bob Todd