Crowed Lake High Sky

[skeeter]

Mr. Babler, with utmost respect, you sir, have hit the nail squarely on the head and this problem needs to be addressed in the worst possible way. This is ruining sport fish populations all over the Country and not just here. How utterly asinine to pull a spawning female off a bed and transport for miles to the "weigh in " to be supposedly released alive. There is big money involved here and anytime you encounter that it seems to always go their way. Only when the fishery is ruined or seriously depleted will the pressure ease up. Stupid, stupid greedy people. Measure the length and girth of the fish, if you must pull them off their beds, at the boat, record it and let them go right there and require a digital picture be taken, those cameras are inexpensive enough now, to control cheaters. And a hearty thank you for speaking out on this issue.

[Cajunangler]

Cajunangler,

I went to Kimberling City 13 ramp. You have to pay $5.00 there now, but I didn't have to deal with the other three or four hundred boats trying to use a ramp. I also didn't have to burn gas driving around looking for a place to ramp or park. I am eagerly anticipating Aunt's Creek to open back up. It is my favorite place to launch.

Thanks Techo. I know exactly the launch you are talking about. It was one of the first I used when I moved to the area and at that point it was "free". Somehow it converted to a pay launch. I guess it was built by private owners and they decided to start cashing in when tournaments started launching there. Oddly enough it has all of the professional features of a COE ramp?

Thanks again for the response and I will keep it in mind. I'd probably spend another $2 in gas getting to the Mill Creek COE launch.

[Jason Essary]

Mr. Babler, with utmost respect, you sir, have hit the nail squarely on the head and this problem needs to be addressed in the worst possible way. This is ruining sport fish populations all over the Country and not just here. How utterly asinine to pull a spawning female off a bed and transport for miles to the "weigh in " to be supposedly released alive. There is big money involved here and anytime you encounter that it seems to always go their way. Only when the fishery is ruined or seriously depleted will the pressure ease up. Stupid, stupid greedy people. Measure the length and girth of the fish, if you must pull them off their beds, at the boat, record it and let them go right there and require a digital picture be taken, those cameras are inexpensive enough now, to control cheaters. And a hearty thank you for speaking out on this issue.

I agree. Ive thought for years that the bass should be c and release during spawning. no taking them miles away then releasing them 5 hours later. It could only help the population and better fishing.

[zander]

Well they have that for Ozark streams but not impoundments. I too think it would be good for the fish. It might not be good for the sponsors since with the better fishing you wouldn't "have to have" the latest line, newest lures, biggest boat, etc. That is my my half-baked conspiracy theory.

[taxidermist]

Well that has been my take on Bass tournament all along. I have seen people work a bass on the bed until they catchit then in the livewell it goes and off to some other place, dislocating the fish and her bed. If there are fry on the bed then bream over in and thats it the end.

Days after the weighins I find lots of dead bass on the lakes.

I will not bass fish until after spawn and maybe its time to stop bass fishing for everyone until after spawn.

Maybe its easier to catch fish prespawn but I sure like the post spawn for all species better.

Plus it gives the fish a chance to reproduce.

Sure I keep some nice fish from time to time and do so post spawn. But with the pressure on BASS IN THE LAKES and the *&^%$# tournaments its all about the $$$$$$.

Yep I make part of my living from people catching big fish!!!! The big fish just don't exist in the numbers they use to in Table Rock or Bull Shoals.

Most states have seasons for bass in lakes, maybe its time for just that on TR and BS?????

[swelbo1]

Cajunangler is right about all the pressure on Toledo and Rayburn. I just got back from Toledo this afternoon and for the 3rd or 4th week in a row, there was another tournament that had 1200 boats in it. There were other tournaments going on also (Anglers Quest-300 boats). But the other weekends had the same huge tournaments that had over 1000 boats in it. Rayburn also had their McDonalds Big Bass Tournament and I am probably sure that it had a few thousand entries in it. This not to mention all the recreational anglers also. It is overcrowded, but there is plenty of water to fish on Toledo and Rayburn.

[Whack'emGood]

Cajunangler... Thanks for clarifying. I went back and read your post again after my reply and realized that I didn't take it right the first time. Probably blinded by the frustration that I found out on the water earlier that day! Sorry, hope I didn't offend... once again... frustration.

Good luck on the water!

[Bill Babler]

"Hold your Crayfish there Cajunangler" I would shut it off in a minute. To compare the traffic or what goes on in Texas and what goes on here are Extremely Poor examples. I'm sure you have heard of Apples, to Apples. You are compairing an Apple to a Watermellon. And yes, I have been there.

Let me say this about that;

Sam Rayburn bass stocking since 2000 7 million Bass

Toledo Bend bass stocking since 2000 6 million Bass

Lake Fork bass stocking since 2000 6 million Bass.

Other Texas impoundments since 2000 62 million Bass

Table Rock Lake bass stocking since 2000 ZERO That's 0, Zip, None Zilch.

Table Rock is a pristine self-renewing High Mountain Impoundment. Every Spawn and every fish is important here.

Texas Department of Wildlife, stocks at a rate for 90% depletion each year. They do not need a spawn. If they get it great.

If not no biggie, cause they are going to renew the resource with fresh fish Every year.

Also Florida Strain LM F-1's and F-2's can have growth of over 3 lbs. in 3 years. Our Northern LM Take between 4 and 5 years to reach 15 inches. Smallmouth take 6 and our fabulas spotted bass take 7 yrs. for the most part to reach their 15 inches.

"Since We Ain't Gitten No Mo," I believe we need to take care of the one's we have.

Guess I'm Crazy.

[Sam]

I used to be on the Chamber of Commerce board here, about 15 years ago. The subject of most meetings was "how can we get more people to move to Ozark?". They were spending thousands of dollars on bulk mailings to Illinois and Texas, trying to get people to move here.

All those business owners thought they were going to get rich by bringing more customers in. I used to tell them that as soon as the population got big enough, big-box chain stores and franchises would come in and run the locals out of business. And that's what happened, mostly.

But you've gotta figure that's what all these towns were doing, and the Ozarks are a nice place to live. We've had enormous population growth in this whole area and it's been going on for years now. That impacts the fishing as well as most other things like traffic, pollution, water tables - everything. There's just a whole lot more people than there used to be sharing the same limited local resources, including fishing.

I liked it better before.

[JoeSki]

"Hold your Crayfish there Cajunangler" I would shut it off in a minute. To compare the traffic or what goes on in Texas and what goes on here are Extremely Poor examples. I'm sure you have heard of Apples, to Apples. You are compairing an Apple to a Watermellon. And yes, I have been there.

Let me say this about that;

Sam Rayburn bass stocking since 2000 7 million Bass

Toledo Bend bass stocking since 2000 6 million Bass

Lake Fork bass stocking since 2000 6 million Bass.

Other Texas impoundments since 2000 62 million Bass

Table Rock Lake bass stocking since 2000 ZERO That's 0, Zip, None Zilch.

Table Rock is a pristine self-renewing High Mountain Impoundment. Every Spawn and every fish is important here.

Texas Department of Wildlife, stocks at a rate for 90% depletion each year. They do not need a spawn. If they get it great.

If not no biggie, cause they are going to renew the resource with fresh fish Every year.

Also Florida Strain LM F-1's and F-2's can have growth of over 3 lbs. in 3 years. Our Northern LM Take between 4 and 5 years to reach 15 inches. Smallmouth take 6 and our fabulas spotted bass take 7 yrs. for the most part to reach their 15 inches.

"Since We Ain't Gitten No Mo," I believe we need to take care of the one's we have.

Guess I'm Crazy.

Has there been thoughts of stocking TR with florida strain bass? Or would this be bad news for the northern strain? Florida bass and their super aggressiveness would account for their faster growth too, huh?

Joe