What Fish Would You Like To Se Stocked And Where.

[Feathers and Fins]

Time to go buy a 16'' Cast Iron i see nothing but benifits to that fish

[ozark trout fisher]

Trout and Musky are exotics, and we love to play with them. Tilapia are coming up thru Ark due to their stocking program, they may become an invasive species.

I know, but I think we have enough (too many) exotics as it is...I don't see the reason to add more. It's a lot of fun to talk about new species that we'd like to have here, but talk is probably where it should end.

[Al Agnew]

Kinda has a little to do with one of my other posts about quality angling, but I really don't care to see genetically manipulated fish like what was just suggested. What the heck is wrong with a native wild fish? And of course, the potential effects of bluegill that grow to the size of a big tilapia on the ecosystem are probably pretty scary. The genetically modified trout are simply frankentrout, totally unnatural and in my opinion not worth the time and money to produce and stock.

[Tim Smith]

Time to go buy a 16'' Cast Iron i see nothing but benifits to that fish

And that's exactly the problem. You don't have anywhere near the information or insight you need to know the downsides.

And almost no one does until you're looking at the thing in hindsight.

And oneshot, you might like your carp, but how many quality buffalo, bass and catfish did you lose to scrape in those sewer bass (which, if they are like most carp in the Midwest aren't safe to eat in quantity).

[Feathers and Fins]

Tim I started this as a lite hearted thread for fun. I think you are taking things way to serious man,

[Tim Smith]

Tim I started this as a lite hearted thread for fun. I think you are taking things way to serious man,

Guilty. I do take exotics seriously.

Fishing is supposed to be fun. And responsible. Beyond the joking, it's pretty clear a huge number of anglers don't think more about stocking exotics beyond what makes them happy in the short term. Watching this process from the side of a DNR, a lot of the public feedback they get is pressure to stock more and more and more (not to cut the DNR any slack either because they love their bread and circus stocking programs for all the love...and government jobs...it buys them).

But the bottom line is that shuffling exotics around is like playing Russian roulette. You never know when one of them is going to go off.

I take the northern snakeheads some knucklehead stocked in Arkansas seriously. I take Burmese pythons eating their way through South Florida seriously. Eurasian milfoil. Zebra mussels. Asian carp. Atlantic lamprey. All serious multi-million/billion dollar long term ecological disasters. I take the notion serious that we can slice and dice genes to get whatever frankenfish we want that suits our latest idea of "fun". I take the extinction of native species in the name of " fun", very very seriously...

...because right now the focus on short term gratification is the major barrier between sport fishers their rightful role as effective populist guardians of the rivers and lakes we love.

We've done good work with the pollution issues, but we're a part of the problem where exotics are concerned.

Sorry.

[fishinwrench]

There's a little something going on at Lincoln univ. in JC with genetically altered bluegill intended as a commercial food source, If I understood right I believe one of their strains is hermaphroditic.

Now how long do you suppose it'll be before some of those "projects" find their way into waters that they weren't intended for? If they haven't already, that is.

[Sharps4590]

Leave the macks, (lake trout), out of any equation. They're trying to eradicate them in Yellowstone Lake and other western fisheries because of competition with native species. We don't need another MDC boondoggle.

I can't say I'd like to see any foreign species introduced. I'd rather see more and better enforcement protecting what is here already, especially smallmouth and the Blue Ribbon fisheries. Too many 10 inch smallies end up on stringers and poachers get too many trout from Blue Ribbon areas.

[laker67]

We've done good work with the pollution issues, but we're a part of the problem where exotics are concerned.

Sorry.

You keep referring to "we". Does that mean "you" are a part of mdc or dnr? Because "we" as the average sportsman would not be funding multi thousands of dollars projects just to import exotics to our home waters. I don't see that "we" have alot of control or say so about what mdc or dnr would or would not do. So don't go blaming the average "we" for what "you" might be part of.

[Feathers and Fins]

Tim, if by your reasoning then there should be NO Trout,Hybrids,Stripers,Musky, Walleye and the list goes on. Heck we could say all the big Resevoirs shouldnt be here even. They are all invasives if you want to get down to the bottom line. Roads, Houses and shopping malls are all invasive as well. The car you drive the boat you ride in the plants in your garden. Anything NOT native shouldnt be here is I am reading you right.

The greatest invasive species is MAN. There are species found way outside of their native range and have nothing to do with stocking programs or pets getting loose they hitched a ride on a Plane, Train or automobile. It is going to happen! Yes I know the arguements that DNR's should be more careful and I fully know they have made some mistakes but at the time they were using the best Science possible at that time to make the choice they did.

I wont fault them for mistakes they made using the best knowledge they had at the time. They pulled the trigger and did it. I have seen people at work who were so afraid of risk they lost jobs, thre is a time when you have to use the best information possible and take a gamble or there will never be progression.

So we have these man made resevoirs now, Why not stock them with fish that will help the economies around them and give pleasure to anglers? The worlds population is increasing daily why shouldnt science be creating fish that could help feed the people and possibly in doing so reduce the need for wild harvest. Science isnt always a evil demon.