What Do You Think

[Mitch f]

We are talking about a put and take non-native fish. They put them in so people can take them out. Are we now trying to create a world class non-native brown trout fishery???? You want bigger browns, fish smarter. They are there.

I agree, if I wanted to catch a trophy brown I sure wouldn't go to a park. But your reference to the MSA about the few trying to control the many is falling on deaf ears. When a statewide 15" limit is considered a step in the wrong direction then I think you are wrong.

BTW, the few trying to control the many reminds me of the present political situation.

[Chief Grey Bear]

But your reference to the MSA about the few trying to control the many is falling on deaf ears. When a statewide 15" limit is considered a step in the wrong direction then I think you are wrong.

Apperantly not. It seems as if the MDC was listening.

BTW, the few trying to control the many reminds me of the present political situation.

Having lived with it for the last 11 years, I have become somewhat used to it.

[Mitch f]

Having lived with it for the last 11 years, I have become somewhat used to it.

Agreed both sides lack common sense

on another note, what exactly do you have against the MSA? I'm a member and I'm having trouble understanding exactly what your beef is.

[eric1978]

Well I'm bored enought to throw in my pair o' pennies...

Who cares about park regs? 4 fish per day is hard enough for morons to remember, so just leave it at that.

Outside of the parks should be C&R only for browns, 2 rainbows per day, statewide, just to eliminate confusion.

Smallmouth should be slot limit statewide...release all fish 12-18 inches, 4 per day, 1 over 18.

Lots of other fish to eat. Lots.

There's my dream. Now step all over it.

[Fly_Guy]

They have a system in N.C. where certain waters are termed "delayed harvest". Basically, trout are stocked in the fall for C&R, and when spring rolls around, you can keep them all through the summer. Limit is 7 per day, and considering the size of the streams, most trout are all fished out by the time fall rolls around. Some waters are 'wild trout' waters, which is all C&R. Considering all the streams and how they connect, the regs on which areas are which are mind boggling. However, they do have legitimate 'wild trout' here (brookies).

Y'all need a stream that is all C&R, no exceptions. But just one. the rest (besides Tailwaters and trout parks) need to go back to doing what they did before we brought trout in - supporting smallmouth. Any trout that do get into other streams will be eligible for harvest, and will be a pleasant surprise on your trip.

My 2 cents, but I don't live there anymore.

(oh yeah - the subject of the post - my opinion is still snagged)

[Al Agnew]

Hmm...I've kinda stayed out of this one, but I guess I'll weigh in.

I suspect that not too many big browns move up into the park. In the winter, you have to go a long way down Current River before the water really gets cold...you won't see very many places where there is even shelf ice except maybe during a very long period of very cold weather. I doubt that browns look for thermal refuge the way bass do. In the summer, I suspect that browns in fairly marginal temperature waters like down around Parker and Cedargrove MIGHT move upstream a ways, but not all the way up to the park. Big browns, I think, tend to be homebodies, and not move much, and the Current stays below 70 degrees for a pretty long way down from the park. They might kinda move a little ways, but the ones between Baptist and the park probably stay put for the most part.

So what I think is that the fish this guy is catching are fish that have been there for a while. Bigger browns, as we all know, aren't all that easy for the nimrods who frequent the park in the summer to catch. But maybe somebody who really knows what they are doing--or somebody who knows where the fish are and knows how to snag them--can catch them.

So my thoughts are pretty much the same as Eric's...keep the regs simple and uniform up in the park, and just accept the fact that the browns that are up there are less protected. There are still plenty of big ones down the river.

[ness]

I've got no problem with folks trying to fine-tune the trout regs. The trout are an important, though non-native, species in the Ozarks. Economically, they're likely more important than the smallmouth. So, piss and moan about all this if you like, but in the end all us trout fishermen are good for Missouri. It ain't about the 'few' dictating things to the 'many'. That's just projecting your social philosophy onto a non-social topic. If the 'many' are out there, speak up! I'd love to hear how this proposed change is ruining your fishing.

[drew03cmc]

Having lived with it for the last 11 years, I have become somewhat used to it.

Agreed both sides lack common sense

on another note, what exactly do you have against the MSA? I'm a member and I'm having trouble understanding exactly what your beef is.

Mitch, the MSA is singularly focused on a small portion of the Ozarks and on ridding the Ozarks of spotted bass, which, per the USGS, belong in the entire Ozarks region.

[Chief Grey Bear]

on another note, what exactly do you have against the MSA? I'm a member and I'm having trouble understanding exactly what your beef is.

We went over this when the "new regs" were being forced so I will give the short version. The MSA touts themselves as the savior of the smallmouth bass in Missouri. Yet all you see for accomplishments is posting signs, setting up a booth at boat shows to garner new members, a once a month fishing trip/meeting, and the occasional stream clean up. In essence it is nothing more than a bass club disguised as a conservation effort.

Now I really don't want to get any further away from the subject of this thread than we already have. And I will take the blame for that. But if you would like to discuss this further, please start another thread and I will happily join in. But lets make it a real discussion and not a pissing match. I layed it before and would be happy to do it again, I just don't think the MSA is going in the right direction. Just my opinion.

Well I'm bored enought to throw in my pair o' pennies...

Who cares about park regs? 4 fish per day is hard enough for morons to remember, so just leave it at that.

Outside of the parks should be C&R only for browns, 2 rainbows per day, statewide, just to eliminate confusion.

Smallmouth should be slot limit statewide...release all fish 12-18 inches*, 4 per day, 1 over 18.

Lots of other fish to eat. Lots.

There's my dream. Now step all over it.

*except west of the James River and south of I-44, slot is 12"-15", with one over 15", with 6 per day in McDonald County. If I can ever get you down there some day, you will understand.

It ain't about the 'few' dictating things to the 'many'. That's just projecting your social philosophy onto a non-social topic.

Thank you Dr. Ness. I always thought fishing as a social event.

If the 'many' are out there, speak up! I'd love to hear how this proposed change is ruining your fishing.

I am sure that the thousands that fish our parks per year would. But they don't know about this forum and they sure as hell have never heard of you.

[eric1978]

We went over this when the "new regs" were being forced so I will give the short version. The MSA touts themselves as the savior of the smallmouth bass in Missouri. Yet all you see for accomplishments is posting signs, setting up a booth at boat shows to garner new members, a once a month fishing trip/meeting, and the occasional stream clean up. In essence it is nothing more than a bass club disguised as a conservation effort.

MSA is an activist group...so is Greenpeace, but whaling still goes on. Their purpose is to draw attention to a cause and slowly chip away towards progress. Nothing happens overnight, and no one activist group is going to have absolute power. I appreciate what they do. I see their signs at almost every MDC access, and they surely don't hurt.

*except west of the James River and south of I-44, slot is 12"-15", with one over 15", with 6 per day in McDonald County. If I can ever get you down there some day, you will understand.

I guess we'll talk about it in September after we all catch limits of 18" fish down there. Then you'll have me convinced the regs are fine.