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BackCastingGolfer

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Posts posted by BackCastingGolfer

    Fly Tying Smartphone App

    in Fly Tying Discussions & Entymology

    Posted

    Ever had those moments where you are sitting at your tying bench and just can not decide what to tie? Someone (a lot smarter and techy than me) needs to develop a Fly Tying Smartphone App, with a design like the ones made for mixing drinks. "I don't know what I want to tye..lets see I have (insert marterials here)", enter them into the app select see patterns and *BAM*, a list of flies to tie with those materials and instructions to tie them, or perhaps a link to a youtube video. Thoughts?

    Smallmouth Issues/msa Meeting

    in Conservation Issues

    Posted

    Obviously, there is a ton of interest in improving the managment of our beloved Ozark stream smallmouth fisheries to produce higher quality angling. Biologically speaking in those environments with suitable habitat, restricting angler harverst via catch & release regulations or high minimum length limits is the most effective means to achieve this long term objective. Fish will still grow slowly, but they will be protected from harvest to a much greater degree than they are under current statewide regulations. Slot limits can also be an effective managment tool in those fisheries where fish growth is being curtailed by restricted food supplies and too much competition for the resource to support the population. Not so sure these conditions exist to a large degree in our stream fisheries -- likely not. Most high MLLs and slots both typically include reduced daily creel/possession limits that keep better anglers from overharvesting fish.

    Stream smallmouth bass here in the Ozarks represent the apex predator in the food chain and the most sought after game fish in the majority of our rivers. Expecting our fisheries to remain strong and/or improve under the current 12-inch minimum, 6 fish creel limits (which have been in place since the 1970s/1960s, respectively) is ridiculous. Fishing pressure, easier access, jet boats, etc. all place undue pressure on our adult SMB populations to an unprecedented degree. We need help. The existing special regs areas here as well as elsewhere have shown that quality based regs work to improve smallmouth bass fisheries. The science works, now it's down to educating anglers on the steps necessary to make our bronzeback fisheries better in terms of average sizes and angler catch rates -- basically help them reach their angling potential.

    Given the majority of anglers preferences today as fishing for the enjoyment of it -- no one really fishes for food in this country (don't even go there) -- our fisheries should be increasingly managed in a manner that serves those interests. I agree, that total C&R on our native SMB fisheries is likely impractical to impose. Perhaps we could propose certain stream reaches for this designation, but they would likely be rather rare. Most C&R is purely voluntary. Updated regs are needed for sure and various proposals have been included here as well as proposed officially to the MDC by the Missouri Smallmouth Alliance (back in 2010). Certainly, there are a number of regs regimes that could work more effectively than the current program in place. I have my concerns about slots limits from both a biological perspective and a angler behavior standpoint. It is likely, based on science, that slots would not be terribly effective in improving angling quality on our SMB streams. Would it serve as a appeasement for catch & keep guys if it the top end of protected range was high enough (18") and the slot wide enough 13"-18"to protect a large swath of adult smallies? Perhaps. I fear that if the regs are liberalized on the low end to allow greater harvest of SMB below 14" for example, come Memorial Day weekend, it will be a free for all by local / consumptive anglers on little smallies on our streams. I'd expect lots of limits of smallish fish to be taken with total harvest numbers initially likely exceeding what we experience under the 12-inch MLL today. But enough on regs.

    Folks have commented that we need more angler education on the biology of SMB, growth rates, benefit of C&R, etc. The MO Smallmouth Alliance couldn't agree more. For many years we have posted all public stream accesses in Ozarks with our MDC approved Help Create World Class Smallmouth Bass Fishing in Missouri signs. Likely many of you have seen them in field ove the years. We are in process of updating our signage to be more noticeable and impactful with anglers who gain acces to our rivers at public landings. Our proposed sign update will be posted on the MSA website www.missourismallmouthalliance.org website sometime next week. It features a great SMB illustration by Al Agnew as well as valuable info on the slow growth rates of stream SMB (4-6 years to reach just 12") as well as summarizes the existing statewide black bass regs (12"MLL, 6 fish, closed season). Efforts like these, in addition to growing our membership and circulating conservation messages through our newsletter, MSA is working to imrove angler education any chance we get. Regs certainly work, but providing anglers with knowledge might just get them to modify their behavior in a manner that supports more sustainable fisheries long term. Changing attitudes is the toughest part of the process.

    I certainly appreciate the dialog -- sometimes quite colorful -- on this thread and am pleased to see such strong interest in this topic. MSA will keep working for the benefit of like-minded anglers for the betterment of our fisheries. We will be meeting with the MDC Chief of Fisheries, Chris Vitello, this weekend at the CFM annual meeting at Lodge of Four Seasons. We'll try to express our collective desire to get the show on the road with regards to stepping up the MDC's managment efforts for stream smallies. At an appropriate time (post publication of official angler survey results) MSA is poised to approach Conservation Commissioners on this topic as we have been more than patient here.

    BTW -- no info on goggle eye angler survey results presented at MSA meeting. Info not yet compiled for publication.

    I dissagree that NO ONE fishes for food. I don't keep smallmouth, but there was a stretch recently where I was unemployed and crappie,bluegill, and goggle eye was a SIGNIFICANT source of my food.

    Smallmouth Issues/msa Meeting

    in Conservation Issues

    Posted

    I’ve spent half my life in a big city and half in very rural settings, and I've listened as objectively as possible. Both sides stereotype the other without much real knowledge of the cultures they bemoan, and they always base these stereotype upon the worst case scenarios. It is counter-productive and ill-informed.

    I think the important aspect being overlooked, is not the origin of the angler but his experience. Releasing fish unharmed is something very few people do at first. Most grow into it after advancing through various stages.

    The biggest part of keeping fish, especially big fish, is to show off. This is very important in hill country, where part of a man’s reputation is based upon his fishing and hunting abilities, but this macho manifestation is not limited to rural people. I’ve seen a lot of otherwise sophisticated urbanites who want to fill their walls with fish and game and bring home a cooler full of fillets to feed the whole neighborhood and be the undisputed outdoor expert of the apartment complex.

    Now, that doesn’t include most of the members of this site, and especially the readers of this thread, but believe me, you are a minuscule minority, and I’ve heard the same complaints from rural conservation-minded people about how city people are over-fishing local waters.

    Truth is, far more city people hunt and fish for show than country people who fish to eat, and another sad fact, is some of them really need to do that.

    When I started guiding on Kentucky Lake, I became concerned with the number of good bass I saw being taken out and slaughtered by all the clients of good guides, myself included. None of these people were “rednecks.”

    After my first year, I started offering a special deal: If someone would release any big bass they caught, I would provide them with professional quality prints of the capture and release. Often we kept fish alive in my live wells and at the end of the day, took pics of numerous big bass and then released them. They had their proof. It was much cheaper than a mount and lasted much longer than a bowel movement.

    From that time on, which included another seven or eight years, I had only two clients keep a big bass out of the hundreds caught; both of them were close to 10 pounds and probably wouldn’t have survived another year anyway. I offer the same deal on my smallmouth trips on the Black and Current rivers today, except that the entire trips is chronicled if all bass are released.

    Now, having lived on both sides of this issue, I can tell you with complete honesty what bothers me most. It also is the thing that gives city people the worst reputation of all: People whose primary reasons to go outdoors is to party in a lawless environment. They are loud, rude, inconsiderate, and I assure you that all of the litter smaller than a tire that we put in Stream Team bags comes from these slobs. They float in groups, with separate tubes for booze. They splash and yell and bang canoes and tip each other over, and all their junk and empty cans go floating along like the aftermath of a bomb.

    This kind of thing really makes a local’s face and neck red. In fact, I don’t book float trips on the weekends to avoid showing paying customers such embarrassing scenes, and to keep my blood pressure in check.

    And this is the stereotypical image most rural people place on all city people.

    Is that fair?

    Not at all, I grew up on the Spring River in NE Arkansas, and I hardly ever fished in the summer for this very reason. Drunk morons floating right in the hole/riffle you are working, then have the stones to ask if you're having any luck...

    Thinking About Going To Capps

    in Capps Creek

    Posted

    Made it to capps about 2pm on saturday, very few people there, even in Jolly Mill area. I only caught suckers, but it sure was a relaxing stream, very gentle pasture and hills. Even if fishing was slow, the scenery was very nice.

    ON a side note, I broke another ultra light rod at about 4 inches from the tip. I was not snagged or anything, it just broke on the cast. The manufacturer is Browning, I used to buy the cheapy bass pro ultra lights but after breaking about 10 of them over the last couple years, I "splurged" and bought the Browning and in less then a month it broke. QUESTIONS: Who makes a decent 5'6" ultra light rod that actually holds up??

    I know this is an old thread but thought this would help explain the Browning rod breaking...Browning Fishing is Bass Pro...that would explain the broken rod.

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