We Have Huge Issues - Smallmouth Poaching

[Old plug]

There are things people do. It gets to be like a right of passage i think. Thank god the creek and river there no longer have to worry about my wife's grandfather and some of his friends. If fishing was slow they had been know to use dynamite. That was way back in the 1920's and 30's

[405z06]

405z06 - Good on your buddy for stepping up and saying something. I'm really hoping the guy wasn't shooting bass but that's just me trying to be positive. Unfortunately this really is going on more than we think, but hopefully we're starting to raise awareness and will continue to report these instances moving forward.

He told my friend that he was targeting "black bass". My friend, who is as big a smallie addict as I am, darn near lost it, but decided to just bring it to the attention of the staff instead of confronting him.

[Mitch f]

He told my friend that he was targeting "black bass". My friend, who is as big a smallie addict as I am, darn near lost it, but decided to just bring it to the attention of the staff instead of confronting him.

Thank you guys for stepping up and turning this doofus in!

[Gavin]

Good job gentlemen! Glad they got caught.

[waterback]

Thanks for bringing this subject to light as I was unaware of such a problem.

I've been fishing streams enough over the years to be embarrased about it and only once have I seen someone with a spear or gig so maybe I need to pay closer attention. I'm not talking about one stream of water, I'm talking about any stream within 2hrs of Fayetteville.

I don't say that to argue how much gigging is happening but it does make me hesitant to believe that its rampant among the populus. The crews that keep them ALL are what I see and personally despise. I've seen some latin folk on the elk and sugar creeks keep everything they catch..even if its only 5in long

[Smalliebigs]

Waterback.....it's happening and more than you think.....the biggest problem with this is the slow growth rate of Smallmouth Bass on rivers in the Ozarks. Even if only very few as you allege are gigging or spearing smallmouth specifically it is compounded by the slow growth rates. A friggin criminal with a gig or a spear can erase decades of growth and decimate a section of river or stream very easily. I have seen it on a specific section of the Meramec River....the giggers cleaned out a hole that was chalk full of trophy fish......thank god for high water events that move fish around.

It's happening....I've witnessed it and I am ferociously aggressive in dealing with it......I will do everything in my power to report and deal with it.

I have the digits for the Conservation agents in the County's I fish on my iphone, I will ruin a float in order to get license plates or pics and vids for eveidence for the authorities......screw them I'm on a mission after Mitch started taking me river fishing in the winter and showing me the carnage and now we have spearing.....it just pisses me off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Al Agnew]

Smalliebigs has it perfectly right, and that's what some people don't seem to understand...it doesn't take a bunch of people doing it, it really only takes one or two that know what they are doing. With gigging and spearfishing you can specifically target the biggest fish, and since as Smalliebigs says it takes so long for a smallmouth to grow to 18 inches and bigger and so few make it that big to begin with, if some doofus illegally sticks every big one he can in a couple miles of river, it means it will be years before those size fish are replaced. How many 18 inch plus smallies do you think there are in a couple miles of a stream the size of the Huzzah? I'd bet the number is in the single digits. So just one guy, in one day, can probably remove the vast majority of them, while even catch and keep anglers might only catch one at best because it simply isn't easy to catch big fish legally, as we all know.

[Mitch f]

Usually the smaller stream streams won't be jet boat friendly enough to support illegal gigging, but this is a new way of poaching that I really never thought was happening. I guess it's like resistant bacteria, shut them down and they keep finding new ways to harm you! Much less initial investment, a snorkel and a spear gun....very mobile and easy to hide.

[Coosa]

I have a picture of a monster smallie that got gigged off of the gasconade near pointers creek. I always been scared to post it in fear that people would think it is me. Plus I don't know how to post pics from my phone.

[Mitch f]

I have a picture of a monster smallie that got gigged off of the gasconade near pointers creek. I always been scared to post it in fear that people would think it is me. Plus I don't know how to post pics from my phone.

just send it to me in a personal message, love to have that photo