Smalliebigs Posted November 9, 2011 Posted November 9, 2011 I think we need to be thankful for the habitat we have to fish in the Ozarks, whether it be rivers, streams or lakes. I have WFN and saw a program on there that shows fishing tournaments in England and it's more than pathetic. They call it FishOmania and they sit around what amounts to a golf course pond with hundreds of spectators??? catching different spiecies of what looks like Carp and suckers. If we deplete our resources this much and our fishing becomes this, I will deffinitely be playing golf. I think it so funny how the left always says how good Europe is at everything from fuel consumption to healthcare........I don't want their fishing.....it really looks weak.http://youtu.be/DHaSyYhDBa4 http://youtu.be/G-RQPeyoEU8
Al Agnew Posted November 9, 2011 Posted November 9, 2011 When you have a small island country with a whole lot of people on it and a history of the best fishing (trout and Atlantic salmon) being reserved for royalty and the super rich, that's what you end up with. The few "wild" streams are still pretty much reserved for the people with a whole lot of money and connections, and the "commoners" are relegated to fishing a relatively small number of ponds and small lakes for species that the rich wouldn't bother fishing for. It's interesting that they have made such a big production out of it. I once spent some time studying English fishing for carp, when I was painting a carp design for a t-shirt that was to be marketed in England. They value carp the way we value trout...no, actually they value the carp MORE than we value trout. The "commoners" who can scrape up enough money sometimes come to America to fish for "wild" carp! They can't believe we have so many great carp fisheries and hardly anybody fishes for them. The carp in England are so heavily pressured (all catch and release fishing) that they are extremely sophisticated and tough to catch. Our carp are considered incredibly stupid in comparison. Interestingly, for many years Shimano sold more carp fishing tackle in Europe than they did bass tackle in America! We are indeed fortunate to have what we have here, and to be able to fish in so many different great places without having to pay a lot of money. Just keep in mind that there are a lot of people who would love our fishing to be more like English fishing...witness the number of people buying up riverfront land and then doing everything they can to keep everybody else off "their" water.
Members bronzeback miner Posted November 10, 2011 Members Posted November 10, 2011 I started stream fishing about 20 years ago or so, and it seems like back then there were numerous access points to our rivers, but many of them required 4x4 vehicles and determination to get to them. Now I notice that many of those places have gone to either one of the polar opposites; they are completely sealed off with signs, paint, gates and fences, or they have been so developed that you can make it there in Granny's Caddy. So much so that I am thinking of getting a two wheel drive for my next vehicle. "Some people fish all their life never knowing it is not the fish they are after"--Henry David Thoreau
Tim Smith Posted November 10, 2011 Posted November 10, 2011 I think we need to be thankful for the habitat we have to fish in the Ozarks, whether it be rivers, streams or lakes. I have WFN and saw a program on there that shows fishing tournaments in England and it's more than pathetic. They call it FishOmania and they sit around what amounts to a golf course pond with hundreds of spectators??? catching different spiecies of what looks like Carp and suckers. If we deplete our resources this much and our fishing becomes this, I will deffinitely be playing golf. I think it so funny how the left always says how good Europe is at everything from fuel consumption to healthcare........I don't want their fishing.....it really looks weak.http://youtu.be/DHaSyYhDBa4 http://youtu.be/G-RQPeyoEU8 How do degraded fisheries in Europe turn into a political slam...especially on the left? Brook trout propogation and fish stocking began in US in the 19th century because we were headed in the same direction as Eurpoe. East coast streams were becoming so toxic and ruined that they trout couldn't spawn in them. In most areas of the country that got worse and worse until the environmental movement kicked in. Thanks to that old communist Richard Nixon and a bunch of pinko environmental groups and jack-booted government agencies who enforce the Clean Water Act we DO have fisheries here and many of those were toxic cess pools when the the interventions began. The people talking about undoing all of that aren't on the left. Of course in a lot of places the stocking that was originally used to prop up US fisheries are the only thing keeping them going. If the government decides it can't afford to do that anymore we're going to be in an interesting place. After all the clamor about the money that recreational fishing generates, it's of no use to the US economy if it doesn't generate export income. And for the most part it doesn't. If the government downsizes substantially (and it will), the private sector or some form of cooperative management is going to have to step in. Those locked down chalk trout streams in England are one possible outcome of that. So are the cess pools of the 60s and hoardes of people fishing for carp. We're going to have to do better than the typical black/white left/right kind of thinking to keep the outdoor experience alive in that environment.
Wayne SW/MO Posted November 10, 2011 Posted November 10, 2011 I started stream fishing about 20 years ago or so, and it seems like back then there were numerous access points to our rivers, but many of them required 4x4 vehicles and determination to get to them. Now I notice that many of those places have gone to either one of the polar opposites; they are completely sealed off with signs, paint, gates and fences, or they have been so developed that you can make it there in Granny's Caddy. So much so that I am thinking of getting a two wheel drive for my next vehicle. Except for the 20 year reference I agree with all of that. Today's release is tomorrows gift to another fisherman.
Al Agnew Posted November 10, 2011 Posted November 10, 2011 Except for the 20 year reference I agree with all of that. I agree, too. I would rather that some accesses be a little less developed, but the closure of former accesses is getting to be a huge problem. If it isn't an MDC access or a state park access, you never know from one year to the next whether it's going to still be open. Used to be that just about every bridge crossing had road shoulder parking and a path to the river. Now they are fenced, posted, rocks piled up where you could once pull off, new high bridges with no provision made for access, etc. The changes just since Chuck Tryon came out with his book a few years ago are immense...a bunch of places that he listed as accesses are now posted and gated off. There used to be a lot of county roads that crossed rivers at unimproved fords. Now those roads are all private. I can't blame landowners for not wanting the headaches of littering and illegal behavior at former accesses and working to close them off, but I do blame county governments for giving in to their pressure instead of enforcing some laws against littering and illegal drinking and drug use at such places. What we need is a system where river access is planned for bridge crossings, and volunteer organizations which partner with the county or state to maintain access paths, pick up litter, etc. at such places.
5bites Posted November 10, 2011 Posted November 10, 2011 I live in Carthage. I honestly believe I live in the best location in the world for fishing. I also believe I live here for a reason.
fishinwrench Posted November 10, 2011 Posted November 10, 2011 I live in Carthage. I honestly believe I live in the best location in the world for fishing. I also believe I live here for a reason. ... and look at what you're doing today
5bites Posted November 10, 2011 Posted November 10, 2011 Lol yea but I've got to make that boat payment somehow. I get paid to play on my phone and run the machine for fun.
exiledguide Posted November 10, 2011 Posted November 10, 2011 Except for the 20 year reference I agree with all of that. Ditto here. For me it was 40 years. The crooked politicians who are protecting the meth cookers claiming that that fishing a stream that I have fished for the last 40 years is trespassing are going to destroy our God given outdoor heritage If they succeed they will turn our public waters into recreation for the swells only, like it is in the British Isles and was in the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.
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