Walcrabass

Fishin Wrench, I have the same outlook for the other critters you mentioned as I do the Otters where fish are concerned. Walcrabass

Walter, If you look in the Dictionary under "Otters" you will see a picture of an Otter with a Bass or Walleye in it's mouth. The description will say " Fish Eating Machine" Enough said.................... Kind of like turning Wolves loose on the Cattle Ranchers, Same effect. Walcrabass

Everyone, I too have had many brush piles moved by others. Pretty discouraging to think that someone is so lazy that they can't even pull a piece of brush into the lake and sink it. Instead they have to steal the work of someone else. Before anyone says it I am talking about brush that was NOT in the path of current and may have been moved by water. Point number two is to sink small logs. They are very hard to hook onto and move. ALso show up not so good on graphs. Point number three, the MDC piles today would be very hard to move. Usually have a massive amount of weight on them. Point number 4, if I ever catch someone moving one of mine they will need to hook their boat with a hay hook ( and a barge)to get it back to the dock. Walcrabass

Bassfisher, Drum are just fine to eat. All of the old timers I fished with ate them and got me started too. You can bake them with Cavendar's Greek Seasoning mix, cut in strips to batter and fry, or make poor man's lobster out of them to dip in your homemade Shrimp sauce. Try them out. I think you will like them. I keep every single one I catch. Walcrabass

Terrierman, You are correct. We are in Missouri. But I always think of things I have been told by MDC in the past. Things like: 1. Armidillos will not come this far North as it is too cold for them. 2. Pheasants just don't do well here. The fact is that they are much more tolerant of the rain and cold we get than Quail. They just need some habitat, people not shooting them when they are first stocked, and 800 million Red Tailed Hawks eradicated so they will not eat them. 3. The Four Point rule on Deer just won't work here. However, now some 30 years too late we finally have it. MoCarp, You and I think a lot alike. Sorry, that might make you sleep a little uneasy tonight. Walcrabass

Waterpossum, Interesting about the 4 pounders from the tournaments. I can tell you that 30 to 40 years ago it was not uncommon to catch 5 or 6 fish that were over 4 pounds in the same day/evening. Mhyde, Concerning the genetics thing.............. Missouri is not interested in improving the "Genetics" of their Bass Population. Other states around us are doing just that and with great results. Here in Missouri we seem to be just concerned with the fact that people can catch a fish. Hence the lack of attention to the swelling Kentucky Bass population in our lakes. Just read this forum and see how many more of these Bass are being caught in Stockton now that just three years ago. Their growing population will not stop............... as they rarely reach the 15" length limit so they can be legally removed from the lake. Wait until you see what the next ten years brings................ Walcrabass

Big Keene, All I can say is this...................... my buddies and I must really be doing something wrong. We DEFINITELY are not catching the 6 to 9 pounders like yesteryear. Maybe all of us older guys need to get retrained in our fishing tactics. Wally

MoCarp, You are correct about the Trotlining. The knowledge just isn't there as it used to be. Part of the reason is the expense for gas. It takes a lot of trips to the lake to maintain your lines. Another reason is if it is done correctly trotlining involves a lot of work. I was taught by what I consider to be some of the best. I have passed it on to my children. We do not trotline much any more but it still happens occasionally. One thing about the trotlining where the Flatheads are concerned. You better have a large freezer. A husband and wife team can put a lot of legal pounds of fish in it in a hurry !!!!!!! I encourage the young fishing people to try this method of fishing. Very rewarding when you pull up one of those 40 pounders. Always remember to use a gaff to lift the line and another one for the fish. It will keep a hook out of your hand and also maybe prevent being pulled over the side of the boat to a watery grave by one of those hard fighting fish. Walcrabass

I didn't know that the "Hogs" started at 20". Must be something new. 30 years ago it would have started at about 24........................................ Wally

I c an see you are a man of high caliber.................. I agree completely....................... Walcrabass

MoCarp, You are correct. Drum are good to eat. Cubed and deep fried or baked. I like my own tarter sauce when they are deep fried. Mayonnaise, Horse Radish, and Garlic Salt. Very tasty fish. Cavendars Greek seasoning mix with a little butter when they are baked. I catch a lot of Drum when Bass Fishing with Jig and Craw. Especially when using Craw flavored scent. You can almost always tell when it is a Drum bite as they seem to push it around on the bottom. Walcrabass

Hammertime, So sorry for your loss. Prayer has been given. My Dad is gone too. In him I lost a Fishing Buddy and a friend too. Walcrabass

Really too bad that whoever was running the tournament ( I hope it was too ) let them go in the fog. Wally

Some people put their Catfish in a cage to "Clean them Out" before they process them. Just a thought. Wally

Bassfisher, Really sorry that a guy can't make a funny about how our phones pick things up different than what we say. For sure did not mean anything other than a laugh for all of us that have the same kind of things happen. Wally.

Readers, "Fish Bee"?? I don't know if I ever saw one !!!! DO they swim or just Buzz around ?? Wally

Dutch and others, Here's THE DEAL..................... for the NED RIG.................................. don't use it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Many, many,many, fish die from it !!!!!!!! It is a proven small fish catcher ( even though it catches big ones too. ) I personally don't want to catch ANY small fish although sometimes it just happens. I know I will hear about this post. Those forthcoming comments won't make me waiver. It is just not the right method for catch and release of fish with large mouths. ( Pun intended ) Walcrabass

J.M., Thank you for those remarks. Good thinking on your part. But here again we are dealing with MONEY in Bass Tournaments !!!! When the tournament boys speak, unfortunately they are listened to................. like not lowering the length limit on the Kentuckies................. they are severely against it................. after all they might catch some to finish out their "culled limit" and win some Money !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Walcrabass Sad isn't it........................

Just wanted to drop a line ( pun intended again) concerning something that happens a lot this time of year. People cull fish to "improve" their stringer. I believe if you check you will find that in Missouri unless you are a bona fide fishing tournament this is illegal. In other words when a fish is put " on your stringer" then it is part of your daily limit and cannot be culled. This practice can get a person in a heap of trouble. I don't know if you have ever known anyone that has had a friendly visit from the Game Warden to their house but I assure you it isn't a laughing matter. I wouldn't want to see anyone's fantastic day on the water ended with a fine and a thorough inspection of their boat, vehicle, and residence. This will probably make me unpopular....................... again........................ oh well.......................................... Walcrabass

To All, I don't see any connection between Walleye and Geese either. I do see a connection between populations getting out of hand. I know someone will write in and say "Nature will balance it out". They are correct. But when Nature does it things can be severe. I think for sportsmen it all boils down to making the "sporting species" as successful as possible. Nobody wants to eat Cormorants or Mud hens either. They taste pretty terrible from what I heard from a dear friend that is now gone. He ate Mud Hens because he had to. It doesn't matter if Cormorants eat Walleye, Crappie, Bluegill, Shad, or any other fish. That is a fish that will not help the "Fish" population as it was consumed by a non game and non fish species. I don't want the Cormorants to be extinct. Just severely less in numbers. Talk to some of the people that have them roosting in their boat docks. They rip the seats, carpet, and boat covers to shreds. Try to get permission to kill them to get this stopped. Forget it. In short they are nice to see occasionally but a terrible nuisance and costly in more ways that just monetarily. This is just another one of those species in nature that definitely has a place, it just needs to be a small one. Unless disease invades these birds you will see their numbers soar ( pun intended). Kind of funny that we view the wild hogs as a problem and want to eradicate them but not another species that causes damage. After all the hogs root and tear up crops and forests. Forests that grow trees. Trees that produce logs and lumber. Oops, I almost forgot. Lumber is harvested by governmental agencies and produces MONEY !!! Guess now we are getting to the "root" of it all. ( Pun intended ) In short, these birds eat A LOT OF FISH, AND DO A LOT OF DAMAGE !!!!! Ok.............. go ahead................. blast me............ Walcrabass

Moflash, Maybe the survival rate would be better if they weren't stocked so small and then eaten by ................... oh I don't know............... maybe a Cormorant? Just a thought. I am not a biologist so I am probably wrong..................................... Canada Geese..... overpopulated and trapped to remove. Snow Geese................ huge season length and almost the same as no limit???? Cormorants......................... looks like to me they need some of the same. Walcrabass

Everybody. We have had these type of discussions before. The fact of the matter is this.................... if you feed something........................ and protect it.................... and give it a place to breed............................. then that thing is going to do pretty well. I believe that we need to take a serious look at length limits for several of our finned friends. Also take care of some of these other critters that eat fish like crazy. It all boils down to this................ do you want the birds to eat the Walleye.................. or do you want to eat them?????????????? No Brainer huh??? Wally

Moflash, How about we increase the DE-STOCKING of the Cormorants?? Other than something nice to see occasionally ( occasionally is the key word here ) I see them as a huge problem to small fish. Wally

Powerdive, Gotta say something on the size of the Walleye, or other fish for that matter. When you lower the length limit for a certain fish you also lower the PERCENTAGE of the fish over that previous length in the lake. Obviously with Walleye tasting so good when most people catch them that are legal length they are pulled from the lake and put into the frying pan. Hence that particular fish stops growing. ( Actually they shrink in the pan a little) This is all fine and dandy as it is legal. I am remembering back some 35 years when I fished for Walleye a lot more than I do today. The length limit was 18". I caught many, many, many fish over 20" and a bunch over 24". I also caught one that was 31.5". Along with that I have to say that I caught very few fish back then that would not measure the 18". Nowadays when I fish Stockton and catch a Walleye ( by accident as I don't fish for them anymore ) it is likely that it will fall between 14 and 17". Please include in this logic Crappie and Bass. I believe we missed a perfect opportunity to raise the length on the Crappie to 11" and then on to 12" starting back about 5 years ago. There were plenty of 10+ inchers in the lake. Plenty of food too. I understand they lowered the length on the Walleye as they thought too many were dying. Probably so as hot grease is pretty hard on them. Just my personal observations. Wallenheimer

To All, Ok, we all have our opinions and our past experiences. What we need now is to hear from the Biologist that takes care of Stockton Lake. If he/she could answer these questions it would put a lot of things to rest. 1. Do Walleye successfully spawn in Stockton Lake? a. What percentage of the population spawns? b. What percentage of the fry make it? 2. Does shocking Walleye in the Creeks and Rivers during Spawning times deter spawning for that year or future years? 3. What is the possibility of putting regulations on Walleye fishing for Stockton or other Missouri Lakes during " Spawning Time" to help out the "Natural Spawn"? 4. What is the possibility of putting Walleye that have already successfully spawned in other lakes in Stockton or other Missouri Lakes? 5. Mr. or Ms. Biologist, can you or will you help with these questions? Walcrabass