Protecting The Bass Population?

[ozarkgunner]

Oh! I like that one even better!

I like Lilley's thoughts. Growing up legal bass went into the freezer, now they almost always go free. Table Rock is a huge lake with millions of bass and I'm sure the trend towards catch and release is only helping.

[Whack'emGood]

You all amaze me with the 'catch and release'. Table rock is probably the best fishery in the midwest when you consider all the K, LM and SM in the lake. I was fishing last year and was talking to a Missouri Conservation Agent and he stated that he wished people would keep the SM. He said that the LM fish kill that happened 5 years ago hurt the LM population and the SM keep the LM from being better in size and population. I don't believe in keeping fish for nothing but I do not think it hurts to keep some of the shorter keepers. You guys have taken things to far in my opinion.

Just thought I would let you know how a lot of us think.

I have a question for you and then I'll get back out of this thread... You said TR is probably the best fishery in the Midwest... We are extremely catch and release minded around these parts. I want to point out that I respect your opinion, but-- Do you think TR would be "probably the best in the Midwest" if we weren't etremely catch and release minded around these parts? There are several reasons why Table Rock is consistently "one of the best in the Midwest" and catch and release plays a big role. Also, I think keeping "shorter keepers," as you stated, would only result in there being less keeper sized fish to catch.

I am not a fisheries biologist, however, so this is just my opinion of course-- which I know is not any better than anybody else's.

Whack'em

P.S. I, for one, would be a proponent of making Table Rock a catch and release only lake during the spawning season-- no keeping fish and only paper tourneys during this time. Also, I think Bill's idea about making certain parts of the lake off limits during the spawn might work.

[Fly_Guy]

Non-Kosher statements on OzarkAnglers.com:

"Whats wrong with keeping a few at TR?"

"Caught a limit of fat smallmouths out of the James today - they were tasteeeee!!"

"Caught a huge brown trout in taney the other day - it was tasteeee!!!"

"I just live to jet-ski!"

"What do you Yanks see in those slimy bass anyway - fish for carp like us real men!"

Keep a few now and then - a quality trophy fishery doesn't get that way by overpopulation. TR seems to be doing just fine - I need to get down there again...

[Whack'emGood]

Non-Kosher statements on OzarkAnglers.com:

"Whats wrong with keeping a few at TR?"

"Caught a limit of fat smallmouths out of the James today - they were tasteeeee!!"

"Caught a huge brown trout in taney the other day - it was tasteeee!!!"

"I just live to jet-ski!"

"What do you Yanks see in those slimy bass anyway - fish for carp like us real men!"

Top notch, FlyGuy!

[Sam]

I love to fish, and our family loves filets. My wife has developed some secret recipe for the breading, with seasoning and so forth, and she's become an artiste at deep-frying them. Fresh fish filets, along with fried 'taters, onions, and sweet peppers, plus some home grown corn on the cob - and maybe some morels in season, well, I'm making myself hungry here.

I've actually got a permanent campground-style fish cleaning table in my side yard. It stands on two sections of well drill pipe set in concrete in the ground, it's 8' long, and includes plug-ins for 4 electric knives, overhead lights, running water and a sink, and a metal chute to the gut-bucket (those end up in my compost pile and I grow a heckuva garden with 'em). I've got this down to where fileting takes me 1 minute per fish, including cleanup. Fellers, I'm serious about this.

I've cleaned literally thousands of crappie, white bass, walleyes, perch, goggleyes, and suckers on that table - and hardly ever a bass. The last bass I kept was about three years ago - I gill-hooked him and he was bleeding, and he went belly-up when I put him back. He was still floating 10 minutes later when I was leaving that spot, so I figured I might as well eat him.

Y'all enjoy chasing those big green fish - I'll put 'em back for you. You're having fun, I'm having fun, and bass fishing pretty well keeps you away from the tasty fish I'm looking for.

[smallmouthjoe]

You all amaze me with the 'catch and release'. Table rock is probably the best fishery in the midwest when you consider all the K, LM and SM in the lake. I was fishing last year and was talking to a Missouri Conservation Agent and he stated that he wished people would keep the SM. He said that the LM fish kill that happened 5 years ago hurt the LM population and the SM keep the LM from being better in size and population. I don't believe in keeping fish for nothing but I do not think it hurts to keep some of the shorter keepers. You guys have taken things to far in my opinion.

Just thought I would let you know how a lot of us think.

I always heard that Largemouth and Smallmouth occupy different niches within the lake. Smallmouth like deeper water while Largemouth spend most of their time in the shallows. The two competing species are the spots and the smallies because they occupy the same haunts and focus in on the same pool of food. therefore keeping smallmouth would help the spot population more than it would help the largemouth.

[CaptainJoe]

I totally agree with Bill's comments regarding closing various areas during the spawn. I have held the same position. At California's Lake Casitas, they rotate the closure of selected coves during the spawn. They report great success with the program. Lake Casitas holds 4 of the top 10 record bass ever caught and only has 2,700 acres. We have over 69,000 acres and we can easly close the backs of a few coves on a rotating basis.

I am sorry, but a fisherman that "preaches" catch and release and then participates in tournaments during the spawning season is a hyprocrite. Remember the quotes and underline emphasis.

Good discussion!

[Bill Babler]

Stock Jocky, I never say this and people on this board can back me, but that is a "non-truth."

There has been only two agents on the Rock for the past 3 years. Briant Ward out of Shell Knob, and Quintin out of Branson, that gets up there only on a very limited basis.

I know for a fact that neither one of these gentlemen told you we need to Kill SM. Just did not happen. Smallmouth populations have no baring of any kind on either Spotted Bass or LM populations, or densities. They occupy far different ecosystems and forage in a completely different manner.

What you are saying is an MDC officer with a degree, most probably in fisheries or wildlife management, told you to kill SM because of a compitetion for forage factor with LM or K's. Did not happen, they all know there is no competition for forage, between the sub-species of Black Bass.

Table Rock bass limits are not set as a means to control their populations. They are set at levels that promote the usuage of the resource. MDC knows that 95% of sportsman that fish TR, for bass, are catch and release. If people ate the bass, you can bet your last dollar, the limits would reflect that.

Before you come with a statement that an agent told you we need to kill Smallmouth Bass, you had better have names and dates.

You go ahead and eat all you want, along with everyone else that has his or her pemit, you paid for the right, but don't come here looking for information on how to do it, or telling us MDC told you to.

[Don House]

Stock Jocky, I never say this and people on this board can back me, but that is a "non-truth."

There has been only two agents on the Rock for the past 3 years. Briant Ward out of Shell Knob, and Quintin out of Branson, that gets up there only on a very limited basis.

I know for a fact that neither one of these gentlemen told you we need to Kill SM. Just did not happen. Smallmouth populations have no baring of any kind on either Spotted Bass or LM populations, or densities. They occupy far different ecosystems and forage in a completely different manner.

What you are saying is an MDC officer with a degree, most probably in fisheries or wildlife management, told you to kill SM because of a compitetion for forage factor with LM or K's. Did not happen, they all know there is no competition for forage, between the sub-species of Black Bass.

Table Rock bass limits are not set as a means to control their populations. They are set at levels that promote the usuage of the resource. MDC knows that 95% of sportsman that fish TR, for bass, are catch and release. If people ate the bass, you can bet your last dollar, the limits would reflect that.

Before you come with a statement that an agent told you we need to kill Smallmouth Bass, you had better have names and dates.

You go ahead and eat all you want, along with everyone else that has his or her pemit, you paid for the right, but don't come here looking for information on how to do it, or telling us MDC told you to.

What was that song, CLICK, CLICK, BOOM!!!

[ryan]

I can't believe anyone would say we need to manage (harvest) SM in TR. I love TR for the simple reason that you can go and catch big SM, LM, and K's all in the same area. If you wanna keep a bass or two for the table keep a Ky and be smart about it. Don't keep one with eggs or a 4lber, well thats just my 2 cents not that anyone cares.