What Do You Think

[Chief Grey Bear]

MSA is an activist group...

Well, they ain't very active then are they.....

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.

That all depends on how good a fisherman you are, not how good the regs are cowboy....

[drew03cmc]

Eric, that is no BS about some streams in Mac county being overpopulated. We floated two weeks ago and caught hundreds of smallmouth to 12 inches and a couple larger than that. We caught none over 15", but we saw several that would broach 17 or 18. They are in there, but you are not going to catch them. Trust us. We fished to them and dropped plastic on their heads. Nothing would stir these behemoths to bite. Now, in my opinion a lower slot, from 12-15 would help out these fish, which as we have discussed on here do not grow as large as the smallmouth in other parts of the state due to different genetics. Why should we (in SWMO's Ozarks) be forced to abide by laws that do not enhance the fisheries we frequent, but rather were implemented with the singular objective to improve smallmouth fishing in the Meremac River system and its tributaries by a bunch of guys that have rarely, if ever, fished in the waters we speak of?

You mentioned the James River. Well, I hate to tell you this, but those aren't Neoshos. Those are northern strain smallmouth, and with the James being bigger water, you should see larger fish. We should put you on some Neoshos one of these days that you can escape from St. Louis and let you see what we have harped on for over two years. When people comment that smallmouth cannot be overpopulated, I can only laugh.

[eric1978]

Eric, that is no BS about some streams in Mac county being overpopulated. We floated two weeks ago and caught hundreds of smallmouth to 12 inches and a couple larger than that. We caught none over 15", but we saw several that would broach 17 or 18. They are in there, but you are not going to catch them. Trust us. We fished to them and dropped plastic on their heads. Nothing would stir these behemoths to bite. Now, in my opinion a lower slot, from 12-15 would help out these fish, which as we have discussed on here do not grow as large as the smallmouth in other parts of the state due to different genetics. Why should we (in SWMO's Ozarks) be forced to abide by laws that do not enhance the fisheries we frequent, but rather were implemented with the singular objective to improve smallmouth fishing in the Meremac River system and its tributaries by a bunch of guys that have rarely, if ever, fished in the waters we speak of?

You mentioned the James River. Well, I hate to tell you this, but those aren't Neoshos. Those are northern strain smallmouth, and with the James being bigger water, you should see larger fish. We should put you on some Neoshos one of these days that you can escape from St. Louis and let you see what we have harped on for over two years. When people comment that smallmouth cannot be overpopulated, I can only laugh.

See new thread:

http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=29552&view=getnewpost&hl=&fromsearch=1

I'm not gonna hijack this one.

[stlfisher]

What is quite clear and simple is a small few that want regulations to fit their needs and not the MDC management plan or those of the vast fishing majority. That is the same tired debate you have been conducting here for four pages. You might want to check with the MSA on how well they did in trying to force their self satisfying stricter regulations upon the fishing public of this great state.

Interesting. I made two posts and not 4 pages of them. This wasn't a debate it was a civil discussion and a clarification of the regulations and a possible illegal harvest. You many not agree with the proposed regulations, but that does not make your opinion any less self serving than any other.

This instance is unsettling because it is close to the Blue Ribbon stretch. I do think that some brown's move up into the park...especially in this heat and certainly during spawning time. Maybe not all the way from Baptist, but it does happen. It seems counterproductive to have it managed this way when brown's move back and forth between the two areas. Safe in one area and white jig in the stomach in another. It seems inconsistent to me.

We are all aware what trout parks are for...and rainbows in those parks are stocked to catch and eat. I think that is fine for those that want to do that. Brown's are not managed or stocked that way in any area.

I would disagree that all regulations would need to be changed as it seems to me that Montauk and the Current are unique enough in both the setup and potential to be managed differently than a blanket regulation. Taney is if my understanding is correct. I think it could simply be better...for everyone. This would included better management of those smallie streams that may be overpopulated in your area.

[laker67]

. It seems counterproductive to have it managed this way when brown's move back and forth between the two areas. Safe in one area and white jig in the stomach in another. It seems inconsistent to me.

We are all aware what trout parks are for...and rainbows in those parks are stocked to catch and eat. I think that is fine for those that want to do that. Brown's are not managed or stocked that way in any area.

I would disagree that all regulations would need to be changed as it seems to me that Montauk and the Current are unique enough in both the setup and potential to be managed differently than a blanket regulation. Taney is if my understanding is correct. I think it could simply be better...for everyone. This would included better management of those smallie streams that may be overpopulated in your area.

I am not so sure that the current is any different from bssp or taney. At bssp they move out of the river in the same manner to either spawn or find cooler water. At taney they move out of the trophy area to deeper and cooler water. Their seasonal moves put them at risk in all three areas. It's all part of a controlled harvest as is deer hunting during the mating season. For the record, I now know the name of the angler in the photo. And from reliable sources, he is a very skilled angler. I have no doubt that those fish were harvested legally.

[Kayser]

It's different than BSSP because the Niangua is White Ribbon, same put-and-take management strategy as the bait water in the park. Different from Taney, because browns are protected in the entire lake (1 fish, 20"+), not just the trophy area. So when fish move between areas on these bodies of water, they are not really exposed to any greater risk for harvest. In the current, if they move up in the summer and fall (as we can all probably agree they do), then they lose the protection of the Blue Ribbon Water- aka- big risk for harvest of both more and smaller fish.

Sorry for doubting the ethics of the angler in question, I've just seen too many people using 1/8th oz white jigs snagging big fish, both in the park and just downstream. The one that sticks with me the most was a 22" fish that a son (about 16-17) of a father/son team had hooked just under the dorsal fin, at the hard left at the end of the sewage lagoons, and the father was telling him "good job, nice and easy, wear him down." I was 50 yards away and could clearly see the jig placement, as well as the exhausted fish being drug sideways across the top of the water, so ignorance of hook placement isn't really a defense here. My friend and I followed them for a while after that, and watched them snag a few more fish, but land none. We also saw some bigger browns with broken off white jigs in their sides and such, same as those guys were throwing. On a side note, I haven't caught as many browns in the upper current the last couple years as I did in high school/freshman year of college. Not saying it's causation (could be high water), but it is kinda curious.

Rob

[stlfisher]

I am not so sure that the current is any different from bssp or taney. At bssp they move out of the river in the same manner to either spawn or find cooler water. At taney they move out of the trophy area to deeper and cooler water. Their seasonal moves put them at risk in all three areas. It's all part of a controlled harvest as is deer hunting during the mating season. For the record, I now know the name of the angler in the photo. And from reliable sources, he is a very skilled angler. I have no doubt that those fish were harvested legally.

That is great news regarding the angler in question. Congrats to him for his catches. Better than I would have done.

You are right fish will move and will put themselves at risk, but I think the habitat is different between the Niangua/Bennett and Montauk/Current. I believe the Niangua below BSSP park is managed as a white ribbon section...possibly because the habitat may not be as good as the Blue Ribbon stretch. It makes sense to me to have the Niangua managed as a White Ribbon stretch. I am sure there are big brown's in the Niangua, but I don't think the potential is anything like the Current. It seems counter intuitive to what the MDC is trying to manage to have a 4 brown limit of legal fish in the park while a few yards downtream they are trying to produce and maintain a trophy type fishery with one fish over 18. This seem counter productive since migration between the fish in these areas is well noted.

I don't have enough personal experience regarding taney besides what i have read so I can't offer an opinion on that water...besides that i need to fish it soon.

Another thing I always found odd at Montauk/Curent is that sections of the bait water (the area these fish were taken) above the blue ribbon stretch on the Current are closed during the winter. I don't know why that is, but it seems strange.

I found it very surprising you could keep 4 browns of legal size a day in a trout park when they are stocked and managed quite differently than rainbows. I found it odd the MDC wasn't even sure of the regulations.

It almost seems like an oversight or a loophole to me.

[FishinCricket]

For the record, I now know the name of the angler in the photo. And from reliable sources, he is a very skilled angler. I have no doubt that those fish were harvested legally.

As I had suspected all along (being a highly skilled white jig park fisherman myself, I was completely taken aback by all the accusations on here... If I was stringing fish I would have had one or two days like that myself!)... But it does make me wonder... I've never met a highly skilled trophy trout fisherman that actually kept the lunkers... Wonder why he's keeping them?

[Flysmallie]

Wonder why he's keeping them?

Probably to eat.

[Chief Grey Bear]

That would be my guess.