Report 12/17

[Roaring River Veteran]

Well I got out for a little while Saturday morning. I went with a friend of mine from the area and we did very well. I was throwing scud patterns and he was using a white thread jig. We caught small fish from 10" to 16" by the wholesale. there was a period of about 20 minutes we had hits on every cast. Jason, the gentleman that I was fishing with, caught a nice female about 7 to 8 lbs, but we didn't get a picture because she gave a thrash and broke free while we were trying to position for a picture. I caught a nice 5 to 6 lb male and a very large male that was 26" or a little better, but he was very thick. I would have to guess him in the 12lb range. In all honesty when I caught the 12lb'r I was really trying to force feed him. he was not moving and from fishing down there for so many years I knew if I could get a perfect drift on a scud he would take it. After a few minutes I got the drift I was looking for and he opened his mouth and sucked it in. Had a great couple of hours. As we were leaving a gentleman from Grove OK. caught a nice fish, but he didn't have his camera. We took a picture of it and I told him I would post it so he could get a copy. It was probably a 6 to 7 lb'r. It looked like the crowds are down in size too. It usually drops off after the first few weekends. I left RR and went to Beaver. I will give a report on that forum next.

[tippet7]

Man, that sounds like it was a great day!! Nice pictures too. Real nice fish.

[Steve Smith]

Those are nice pictures RRV. I think the holidays and ice cold temperatures kept the usual weekend crowd at bay. We had a pattern that held up all three days of last weekend’s C&R. Dark hackled crackerback patterns [especially 12’s & 10’s] during the first hour or so of the mornings. As soon as the sky brightened up, we went with a bead head nymph patterns under a foam indicator. Color, pattern, or style didn’t seem to matter to the fish. My partner even had good success drifting an EHC with a sinker under foam, catching several fish until the fly fell apart. Dark woolies and marabou leech patterns were good too. A lot of fish were caught along with many good ones during the three days. I think the biggest fish was caught by a young lady that’s a regular in our weekend group. Fairly new to fly fishing, she landed a good 12 pound rainbow if not bigger on a wooly. One of us was bound to catch a really big fish during the three days, and we’re all glad it was her that did it. All pictures we took were on throw-away cameras so they’ll be coming soon.

[Murdoc]

Not bad!!! for a rookie!! I'll be down Friday after 11:00.

[beadhead]

That is a HOG. nice fish.

It is going to surprise some one on opening day for sure.

[FJ80]

I was just curious to see how many people practice the following suggestions (the full list can be found at http://www.mdc.mo.gov/fish/sport/trout/troutethics.html) :

Proper catch and release techniques are essential for released fish to survive. Practicing the following tips will help you release fish in good shape.

Minimize the time that you play a fish. Playing a fish to the point of exhaustion severely stresses it and often leads to the fish's death.

Trout should be handled gently and released immediately. Avoid handling the fish more than needed. Excessive handling may damage the mucous covering on the fish's body and reduce survival.

Keep the fish in the water. You can hold it in the water by the lower jaw. If necessary, grasp the fish firmly across the gill covers and support its stomach. Never put your fingers in the gills or eye sockets. A trout dropped on the ground has a poor chance for recovery.

Anglers should also minimize their impact to the environment. Our individual impact may seem small, but when multiplied by the thousands of other resource users, it is substantial. Good environmental ethics are one way to protect and enhance our limited resources. Try to make these guidelines a regular part of your fishing trips.

Don't crowd. Give other anglers room to move and cast. When standing behind another angler, remember to allow room for a backcast. Does this ever happen at a trout park??

Don't cut people off! Wading in front of other anglers interferes with their fishing. Walk behind anglers when moving to another spot. Sound familiar, maybe like Taney??

It has been my experience that in todays hussle and bussle, many people don't give any thought to others around them. There was a day when people had manners and looked out for others instead of self.

Oh yeah, releasing a fish immediately during catch and release season is not just a suggestion, it is in the wildlife code. Immediately doesn't allow time to position for a picture with a 7lb. fish, or did I just misunderstand the meaning of the word??

[Roaring River Veteran]

FJ80,

I'm sure that this will open a can of worms, because anytime ethics are brought into question you also have to deal with peoples opinion and interpretation. That is when it gets harry. I will give my views they won't be right, but they are mine. I am not going to judge anyone for theirs, and I'm not going to tell anyone they are wrong. NOT MY JOB.

To answer your questions, for my interpretation of the law I believe that I do follow the suggestions for the most part. The problem with the suggestions that are made by the state is that they are all open to interpretation. Who is to decide how long you can play a fish, and if you get to that point and still don't have him in do you just break him off? Does he have a better chance of survival if you break him off in the middle of the stream? or if you get him in and revive him properly?

They say I can grasp the fish by the lip, head, and stomach. So what is excessive handleing. If I am reviving a fish I hold it gently just above the tail and try to flush water thru the gills and help the fish figure out that he is free. I don't hold it tight. when he moves his tail he is free to go. I see people all the time that think that it is okay to net a fish and then release that fish. Their argument is that it stops the fish from flopping and risking injury not only to the fish but also the fisherman. hooks in hand etc. I don't use a net for fear of removing the slime, but I have heard that a wet net will not harm a fish. However, I don't know for sure.

I'm sure you are making reference to the pictures of people holding fish. I for one do not see a problem with picking a fish out of the water a few inches by the lip or lip and belly to take a quick picture. Quick being the opretive word. I wouldn't go back to the car to get the camera or anything. In fact less than a month ago during catch and release. I had a Ranger come up behind me while I was playing a fish. I asked him to take my picture with the 10 lb fish. He had me lift it out of the water for a better picture. The fish was then released no harm done. I Talked to the ranger for a while about how good the fishing had been and what a nice fish I had just released and he wanted to make sure I was legal. Obviously he didn't feel it was excessive.

I worked at Roaring River for 10 + seasons and I have seen the rangers let a lot of things slide, and the reoccuring theme to releasing fish was as long as you were making an attempt to release them unharmed they were happy. They didn't let people drag them up the bank 20 ft wrestle them back down the bank, step on them while they were taking the hook out and then kick them back the remaining 10 ft back into the water. I say that because I have seen it done, but as long as you didn't abuse the fish you were fine.

The same seems to go for Barbless hooks. A few years ago barbless meant barbless from the factory, but now days the people that I have talked to (including agents) seem to think that as long as you are making an attempt to mash the barb to prevent it from holding the fish you are okay.

Does this mean what I am saying is right? NO. It doesn't mean that is wrong either. You may still find an agent that is a little aggressive that may want to give you grief, but I would guess that as long as it isn't blatant abuse you should be okay.

Good luck and Good fishing

[FJ80]

Roaring River Veteran,

Your reply is welcomed and you do make good observations. The fact is, you and others that do practice these suggestions are not the problem. There are many times, as you described, fish are drug out of the water onto the bank, dropped, and kicked back in. And the suggestions are only just suggestions, but it would seem to me that if the wildlife code (which does tell us the right and wrong way to practice our sportsmanship) intended for anything other than immediate release, it would use different terminology. The point is, the less one handles a fish (especially a trout) the better chance of survival the fish will have upon release. And that is the ultimate goal of catch and release fishing, to release the fish unharmed for future survival. We all have and want to take pictures of nice fish, and following a little common sense and care, will most likely release the fish for another day. Undoubtedly this conversation has been had many times over and in many circles, so I will not belabor it any longer. Thanks for your comments and we will see what others have to say.

As far as the "rangers" at roaring river letting a lot of things slide, thats a whole other issue

[Roaring River Veteran]

FJ80,

As far as rangers letting things slide. I'm not saying that they will let situations like I talked about go but they, or at least the ones that were there 10 years ago tried to be understanding. We have had two new ones move into the area and I have only met 1 of them. He seems like a nice guy, but they all do unless you are doing something wrong.

Some of the things I have seen have been right down comical. From people fishing in the hatchery to using all kinds of bait. Some are ignorant of the rules but most know exactly what they are doing and just hoping they don't get caught.

STORY:

I saw a guy fishing in the fly area one day using natural bait. I tried to tell him that he was breaking the law and he told me to mind my own business. I had seen Bill (mdc agent) in the parking lot so I looked and he was still there looking with his binos. I motioned with my head and he came down to talk. He was in plain clothes. While we were talking I mentioned that I had told the guy next to me that he was using the wrong bait and asked bill to confirm my story to the stranger. Bill confirmed the story at which time the stranger proceeded to cus us both and told us to mind our own business again. It was at this point that Bill went back to the Truck and got his ticket book. He came back and told the guy again that he was breaking the law and again Bill took a cussing. This time when told to mind his own business Bill said okay if that's the way you want it, and proceeded to write him a ticket for over limit and using natural bait. When bill pulled out his ticket book the old boys story changed and he began to act like he didn't realize he was breaking the law. Bill told him it was to late. He had been given 3 chances and didn't take the warning.

When I say that they let things slide. that is what I mean. They don't go down there trying to ruin someones vacation but, people should take notice.

good luck and good fishing

RRV

[Phil Lilley]

Priceless... having an agent within eye-sight when someone blows you off for trying to help.

That's the best story I've heard in a long time... thanks!