Blue Ribbon Trout Poll

[fiveweight]

If greater enforcement is not practical, a similar effect should be obtained by increasing the cost of noncompliance. Obviously not everyone is rational, but some violators are, and to them the cost of a one in twenty chance of getting caught with a fifty dollar fine is much less than a one in twenty chance of getting caught with a thousand dollar fine (just for hypothetical reasoning).

[ozark trout fisher]

That is outstanding advice ness!

OTF - If it is an area you fish often, find the local agent and get to know him. Speak to him about what you observe. Ask him for his number so you can quickly report poachers.

Make contact with people you run into. Just make small talk. If you see that they may be in violation, politely make them aware of the regs. If they still don't want to comply, say nothing. Simply bid them good day and walk away to make a phone call. If everyone on this forum that fishes there would practice that, it wouldn't take long for the word to get around that the area is under surveillance.

Walt at Missouri Trout Hunter had a "form" you could print off for use when you saw someone violating the rules. You just simply filled it out and put it on their window. Just the thought they were being watched and may be watched again will slow them down.

There are only so many agents. They can only be in so many places. I have no problem lending a helping hand. Or pair of eyes!

Thanks for the good advice. I'd seen those "poacher forms" on Missouri trout hunter, I might have to print a few off the next time I head down that way.

[taxidermist]

They are not wild they were stocked and should be treated as such.

[ozark trout fisher]

They are not wild they were stocked and should be treated as such.

They are naturally reproducing in many areas, which is almost the universal definition of wild. They are not native, however.

[Justin Spencer]

We need to remember these are introduced fish, and that other native fish need to be thought of as well. I am a huge fly fisherman that feels fortunate to have blue ribbon water of the NFOW 30 yards from my front door. This section was red ribbon when I moved here, and when it changed to blue it upset all of the local people who grew up fishing and gigging these waters. Our fly fishing clients are some of my favorite people as we share like interests, and I like to give tips whenever I can. Most of the things I have learned have been learned from talking, and fishing with you. Sometimes it seems that the fly fishermen feel like it is their river and that the trout fishing on it is somehow more important than the recreational floating, the smallmouth/google eye fishing, the gigging, the hunting etc. Many times the best section for trout is also the best section for other activities as well. We also must step back and realize that our conservation agents do as much as they can and adding more regs only makes their jobs more difficult. I think CA's realize that by writing too many tickets they will only upset the "balance" they have with the people who have grown up here, they achive better results with education. For those of you who live or have grown up in the rural Ozarks you know it is a different culture here, where people value there way of life much more than money or material things. From my point of view people live out here because they value their freedom, and they want to live their lives as much as possible without the constraints of modern day urban ideology. Right or wrong this is how things are, by limiting fishing methods we are taking away freedoms (right or wrong) from people who now must change what they have done for generations for the betterment of a single special interest group. I personally am thankful we have a blue ribbon area on the NFOW but I try to look at things from every point of view, and I think adding more limitations would do nothing to help the fishery, but would further hurt public relations with the people who if angered further might decide to go catch all the big fish with a smashed sculpin, and take them home for dinner (and believe me they know how). To look at it from the other side, how would you feel if they took all the tail waters or blue ribbon areas and made fly fishing illegal, and bait fishing the only legal method. A preposterous idea, but it would sure suck! Instead of worrying about a barbless hook, take some hemo's and use them correctly, I for one am too poor a fisherman to use barbless hooks, and I rarely have to touch a fish to release it. Just something to think about!

[ozark trout fisher]

We need to remember these are introduced fish, and that other native fish need to be thought of as well. I am a huge fly fisherman that feels fortunate to have blue ribbon water of the NFOW 30 yards from my front door. This section was red ribbon when I moved here, and when it changed to blue it upset all of the local people who grew up fishing and gigging these waters. Our fly fishing clients are some of my favorite people as we share like interests, and I like to give tips whenever I can. Most of the things I have learned have been learned from talking, and fishing with you. Sometimes it seems that the fly fishermen feel like it is their river and that the trout fishing on it is somehow more important than the recreational floating, the smallmouth/google eye fishing, the gigging, the hunting etc. Many times the best section for trout is also the best section for other activities as well. We also must step back and realize that our conservation agents do as much as they can and adding more regs only makes their jobs more difficult. I think CA's realize that by writing too many tickets they will only upset the "balance" they have with the people who have grown up here, they achive better results with education. For those of you who live or have grown up in the rural Ozarks you know it is a different culture here, where people value there way of life much more than money or material things. From my point of view people live out here because they value their freedom, and they want to live their lives as much as possible without the constraints of modern day urban ideology. Right or wrong this is how things are, by limiting fishing methods we are taking away freedoms (right or wrong) from people who now must change what they have done for generations for the betterment of a single special interest group. I personally am thankful we have a blue ribbon area on the NFOW but I try to look at things from every point of view, and I think adding more limitations would do nothing to help the fishery, but would further hurt public relations with the people who if angered further might decide to go catch all the big fish with a smashed sculpin, and take them home for dinner (and believe me they know how). To look at it from the other side, how would you feel if they took all the tail waters or blue ribbon areas and made fly fishing illegal, and bait fishing the only legal method. A preposterous idea, but it would sure suck! Instead of worrying about a barbless hook, take some hemo's and use them correctly, I for one am too poor a fisherman to use barbless hooks, and I rarely have to touch a fish to release it. Just something to think about!

Really when I came up with this poll, I intended it more for the little creeks, not so much the big rivers like the NFOW, Current, Eleven Point etc. Really just the little fragile creeks like Little Piney, Mill, Blue Springs, and Crane.

I find that barbless hooks don't decrease my hook up to catch rate much at all really. Maybe I'm just errant on that, just my opinion.

I totally respect you all who fish for native species, and when push comes to shove, I think native fish should be given the priority. By the way, I'm not some fly fisherman sitting way on his high horse here. I like to spin fish nearly as much as I enjoy fly fishing, but I have been transitioning to using single hooked lures and pinching down the barb. It's not hard.

[Geoff]

too bad they cant make a deputy program where people can go to training classes and issues citations and stuff in these areas. i know i'd love to be "that guy" sneaking thru the trout parks handing out tickets for people not following the rules.

[ozark trout fisher]

i know i'd love to be "that guy" sneaking thru the trout parks handing out tickets for people not following the rules.

Me too!

[kdan]

Well this is certainly an interesting topic. And has generated a lot of good responses. It appears that all posting are good sportsmen.

About all I can add is my own opinion in which I have been told every one has one. I really don't want to see more rules, but I would like to see better enforcement of the ones we have now. The ones that are using illegal bait or taking illegal fish are stealing from us. If it takes us to report them, then I gues that is what we should do. This pretty much goes against what we have taught ourselves about being a "snitch". Maybe it would be a good idea for us to encourage each other to do the right thing and report violations. I know I could use all the encouragement I can get to do so. If enough of us make that call, maybe there will be more of a presence of enforcement.

Thanks for this topic and letting me express my opinion.

[ozark trout fisher]

Well this is certainly an interesting topic. And has generated a lot of good responses. It appears that all posting are good sportsmen.

About all I can add is my own opinion in which I have been told every one has one. I really don't want to see more rules, but I would like to see better enforcement of the ones we have now. The ones that are using illegal bait or taking illegal fish are stealing from us. If it takes us to report them, then I gues that is what we should do. This pretty much goes against what we have taught ourselves about being a "snitch". Maybe it would be a good idea for us to encourage each other to do the right thing and report violations. I know I could use all the encouragement I can get to do so. If enough of us make that call, maybe there will be more of a presence of enforcement.

Thanks for this topic and letting me express my opinion.

I am starting to lean more to the conclusion that enforcement, not current regs, is the problem here. I think there would be some new regs that would be ideal, but if we had good compliance with our current regulations, that would be all we would need.

Thanks for the post.