I'm Really, Really Sick Of This...

[ness]

This post has gone on for a while, but it's a volatile subject ... As a former Missouri conservation agent, I've caught a few illegal giggers, but it takes a lot of patience and, usually, a very long hike in the dark. I was raised on the Current River, and saw first-hand what devastation could be brought on the smallmouth and walleye populations by illegal gigging. I think the gigging season is too long (a month was added to the end of the season for SW Missouri giggers because streams don't clear as early; then a month was added to the beginning of the season as a mollification to Current & Black River giggers). I also think that SMAs should be expanded to portions of the Current River, the Black River, and Flat Creek, and that a trial period of "no gigging" should be enforced in SMAs. I also think a reduced daily limit of smallmouth in streams is a good idea.

But the reality is that the MDC Rules Committee has a lot of inertia, and needs a great deal of public sentiment (and some scientific evidence) in order to make changes in regulations. Could take a while, but showing up at Commission meetings, lobbying for research on illegal kills in SMAs, and additional research on the impact of gigging, bowfishing, etc., on rough fish populations could eventually pay off.

peegee12,

Nice to have you in the discussion -- both for your unique perspective as a former CA and your reasonable approach to effecting change.

Everyone wants to blame and complain, and we seem to overlook the paths that exist for taking action. Increasing awareness, a little at a time if need be, seems to me to be the best and most realistic course of action to start with. There are open meetings, Game Thief hotline, forums like this, the Conservationist (Ask the Ombudsman), SMAs, our Post Dispatch friend, MSA and a precedent for limiting gigging in certain trout waters. We're not starting from scratch -- it's just a matter of actually doing something. Newton's first law, and all that.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Gigging is a form of clandestine hunting and it gets very little attention, normally, even from those that share the resources, much less the outdoor public in general.

[zipstick]

Went today and found just one gigged bass on the bottom of the Meramec. Looks like it had been dead for at least a couple of days. The bass catch has really dwindled on this stretch the last two years which could be the result of overharvest, flooding, illegal gigging, etc. Did get one really nice 18 in. smallie on the old hair jig. Pretty tough otherwise. That's a buudy of mine, Tom, posing with his bass.

[KCRIVERRAT]

Isn't that gigged fish a spot?

[Al Agnew]

Nope.

[ColdWaterFshr]

But not a smallmouth either.

Look, I am sure there are more than a few bad, or even newbie giggers out there that kill a few good sized smallmouth on our beloved streams. Sucks, yes. Intentionally?? I struggle with that. Except for the guy that was getting them put in his mailbox. Don Corleone? But certainly, jackasses like that could impact a stretch of water in a real hurry. Lets hope that they are the extreme minority.

Thankfully these megawatt lightbulbed jet boats can't run up smalller streams, and they really need good, clear water to do their damage during the season, so lets count your blessings. But as for enforcement? Not impossible, just difficult given the hours they keep. MDC needs to be made aware of the problem and given a chance to respond.

I have no problem with responsible giggers at all. Keep on keepin on, just be sure and shun any jackasses that show up at the boil with bass, thats all.

[Al Agnew]

Intentionally? From what I've seen, absolutely. And it only takes one or two, which is what I've been saying all along. Zipstick's experience on his hole, with multiple gigged bass and a 21 incher, and my experience, most notably several gigged bass including 3 over 18 inches, all out of the same hole and all apparently done at the same time, tells me that in those cases it isn't accidental. And, if you can get any kind of a look at the fish, there is no way you can mistake a bass for a sucker. And, the bass are simply not going to be in the same places as the suckers most of the time. Suckers are open water fish. Bass hang around cover. Nope, you have to be LOOKING for bass to gig them. I can see how trout can be mistaken for suckers occasionally, since the general shape and the location of the dorsal fin are similar. But bass have different fin placement and different body shape. You simply can't mistake them for any kind of fish that's legal to gig, unless you're simply gigging at shadows.

Yep, the smaller streams have some built-in protection except right around the accesses or on big holes that somebody can drive into on private property. I do count my blessings there, and that is probably one reason why there are big bass to be caught on smaller streams. But as for needing very clear water, that doesn't help much when it only takes one or two bad guys and just a few nights of good conditions for the damage to be done.

[cwc87]

Been away for a few days. Since temps. have moderated giggers have been hitting it hard. One report on stretch below Scotts ford {the beginning of SMA) that some guys got 60 fish but had to work for them cause the water was murky. Anyone know if they are still doing the meramec spring work in the spring branch? If so this may be a savior for the smallie. However, most pressure comes on fri. and Sat. nights and doubt if those working on the spring branch are on the weekends. Anyhow, now till the end of the month is when gigging will be at it's peak.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Thankfully these megawatt lightbulbed jet boats can't run up smalller streams,

A jet never seemed to be a requirement for gigging. It would certainly help, but they can always float. The bulk of the giggers, or so it seems, run several boats and then meet a group of people at the take out for a fish fry. I doubt that these people want anything but suckers and wouldn't want 20 people watch them clean an illegal fish. This has been the historical scene I'm familiar with. Then there are the single boats that take fish and leave the stream, and I'm always suspicious of them because they don't fit the norm and they have no peer pressure.

[cwc87]

Well couple new reports and one is that the river is full of suckers (duh) no one has been able to gig the murky and ice frozen waters. One person out of a group that had two boats said they gigged 300 fish in an hour and a half. Yea its probably true and I didn't ask any questions. Another guy told me he went in one hole by hiself and got his limit easily. (he said he poled himself around). Both locations were are on private property and yes it was in the trophy smallmouth section on the Meramec.