MoCarp

I bet the gunshot sound of line popping would make a lasting impression on any young person

It seems the fish everywhere have been running shallower......

I agree, we are at a point where "Trophy Areas" are managing for large fish, while allowing a fish dinner, we still have a lot of old school meat fisherman that load the freezer with well over legal amounts..... Crappie and Walleye are typical, if the COs busted more peoples freezers it might help...but I never heard of anyone getting busted for that. I also know ethical fisherman that whoopsed fish gigging and bow-fishing...it happens, I have heard of big floater browns in Taney or floater Muskies in Pomme....Even a 12 pound LM Bass in Lake fork......The temptation in a few seconds to thwack a 40" brown or 50" Muskie...or 83 pound flathead is a big temptation...I don't want any reasonable hunting /fishing to be banned outright, but limits should come into play...what happens in spring when bright lights go down a spawning bank? does it have an impact? no -one can say.....

The problem as I see it, Big fish genes get removed, the big river run walleyes that get world record sizes can and do get spearfished in Arkansas....anyone who's fished bull shoals for walleyes can tell you sizes age down..why?...back in the day you could go to almost any mom n pop bait shop and a walleye of 15# plus, I caught and released a 17#er at powersight in the early 2000's, I think stabbing methods should be limited on big fish, with the exception of the filter feeding bighead and silvers, In Texas the lake in Austin has a one Carp over 33" per day unlimited under that...to maintain the trophy carp fishery there......the huge buffs that where once common in LOZ are less so, what impact long term will that be? or will they have to spawn them in Hatcheries like Gator gar now? I get an arguments on impacts of "rough fish" on waters, you can take every bottom feeding fish from a lake with silt intrusion issues and it only is a band aid, and the cycle gets repeated, great job security for lake renovation people, Fisheries ecosystems are complex and can be unique to each water,...but this I know..genes matter, I have found tons of videos, where everything from huge smallmouth bass, walleyes and muskies are stabbed and removed from the waters...NO-ONE could rationally say stabbing methods are easier to harvest BIG fish VS Angling....with no-option to re-use that fish for another anglers joy.......

The ability to Poach, be it exceed limits or illegally or un-ethically harvest the biggest of a fish population is very easy by stabbing methods of harvest The Anthony Stacy who shot the 83# flathead and would have gone scott free, but turned it in as a state record! the man had 19 other wildlife violations. catfish are sold everyday in KC and St louis, that are taken illegally...one reason the rules for the big blues where changed below Truman dam

Buffalo are native and a gar/buff limit is 20...violated often...on a post in OAF a guy was saying he was fishing behind some guys and was following floating gar-etc "released" because it wouldn't take long to hit 20...then they are done for the day by law...tossing them back keeps them under the 20 limit in the eyes of a CO.....so much so the MDC notes it several times on the state webbsite San Juan shuffle.... using trebles and power bait in the lures only area, limiting out on 5# bass and eating them,......IMHO Big Trophy fish are something we can use more of not as effective as stabbing them Arkansas and Kansas do......at least for now

Arkansas, Kansas, in our area do ATM.....

Trophy Buffalo, and common carp

Huge catfish

spoonbill

Walleyes

bass

Rainbow Trout

Bow-fishing...Spearfishing, Angling Catch & keep, harvest is harvest? this thread is meant to have an open debate not to flame off the issue...IMHO any fishery needs managing, to produce the kind of fishing we want to see....that being said..wade in here on thoughts, and PLEASE be civil this can get heated and thats not my goal, the WHY you have your Opinion is as important here

I don't know how anyone could keep a straight face....

Yes there is one in Gigantica, a big Mirror they call the Giant only gets caught once or twice a year, some only once every 3-5 years, They have bulletin boards that list the captures of notable fish. Its why they require have "carp care kits" to put antibiotics/healing agent on wounds, They use landing mats, special nets etc, these fish are worth tens of thousands of dollars in many cases,....

I want one of these "deeper" sonar

Just when I think I have seen it all......Carp fishing kit is friction awesome!

People can get obsessed trying to land one fish...... "The Giant Mirror Carp called Two Tone was the holy grail of UK angling: the biggest mirror carp in Britain, worth tens of thousands of pounds and so sought-after by obsessed fishermen that it was nicknamed the “marriage wrecker”. people spent a great deal to try and land the fish, when it died in 2010, people who chased it were distraught..... the fish was 45 years old, and was roughly 67#" Mr bass blaster chunking and winding for if he's lucky a string of fish that over a long FLW tourney week end.... might get close to what one fish weighs at 10 acre lake carp Venue http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11745089/End-of-the-line-for-giant-carp-Two-Tone-after-body-rejected-by-Natural-History-Museum.html

In the UK, and Europe in General... fishing is a paying privilege.... better waters, at least better managed ones,.. cost more regardless of species. They use a voucher system typically for trout from what I can tell, people bid on places to fish anywhere from 30-80 bucks US to get a "day ticket" Trout, Pike, Zander, have similar paying venues.... Match fishermen using long poles catch rudd, tench, bream, barble,... on average small fish in oz not in pounds fishing tourneys not unlike bass tourneys here.........Trout, world wide are typically up scale, Largemouth bass could be considered "working mans fishing" equivalent here in the USA, more people fish per capita in the UK than here in the USA... Ironically trout are commonly caught to eat more than any other species in England Carp http://www.gigantica-carp.com/info/prices <---France but one of the better run waters (fish to close to 90#) http://www.linear-fisheries.co.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=main.prices <---cheapest I found only fish to 30# Trout http://www.fishingthewest.co.uk/?page_id=276 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTGYvE1DxKY

yep less meat for their size though