Keeping fish in trophy water

[Brian K. Shaffer]

It is important to keep fish.. and we with this C and R thing.. we sometimes fail to understand that.

I agree with RRV - pans were made to fried in.. fish were meant to be eaten, put it together....

If someone frowns on you for keeping fish - you tell em' :

" I am just helping all the big fish that also live here get bigger. "

Little fish eat twice / three times / 5 times as much or more than big fish... so I say unto you - KEEP AS MANY AS YOU WANT! Get them outta here as fast as they put them in.. serisously... it makes sense.

Smile back at those naysayers. Please keep in mind - What you are doing is bettering the stream and not in any way hurting it.

screaming reels - Brian

[jdavis]

I'm glad to know I have some support on this issue. I don't usually bother keeping fish. It is just to much of a hassel, and I would rather concentrate on catching more fish. However, if I can help the fishery and eat well at the same time, I may try to do so more often. Lilly, If MDC knows there are not enough trout being taken then why isn't the limit five? It would be hard to encourage more people to keep fish , but that would allow those who do to make up for the rest. I believe it was five before the trophy trout regulations were put in place wasn't it? As for the fish over 20", I'm with you Moose. The first time I land a 10lb fish, it will most likely be on my wall. If the reproductions were more resonably priced I would consider going that route.

[Phil Lilley]

I was invited to a meeting a couple of years ago - MDC revealed they were thinking about dropping the limit to 4. I gave my 2-cents... I didn't think it would go over well and I didn't see the point of doing it. I still don't.

Reason? If I remember right- so that more anglers could "limit out and be happy" was mentioned (very lame) - so that the hatcheries could carry fewer numbers and grow them bigger for release. The target for Shepherd is to release rainbows at an average of 11.5 inches instead of 9.5 (or something like that).

[jscheetz]

It really is a different beast when dealing with taney. Unlike wild streams where I really hate to see anyone taking out fish - whether it's legal or not - taney has 'em dumped in there by the truckloads, so it is a bit like the local buffet, take a few to go. Unfortunately that is also why so many people don't respect the laws and why you have so many poachers there imo. You go there and see hundreds of fish swimming about, and they are dumping in more - people figure there is plenty. Problem is that most non-serious fisherman there that I have talked to don't know about the slot limit, so to them a "stringer of fish" is just that - whatever you catch you put on the stringer. My last trip there, out of about 25 fish only 2 were below "12 - so that is good! Somebody must be eatin' the small ones!

I wouldn't worry about anyone looking at you funny if you are within the law. Some fly-fisherman can be real snobs for some reason - but these are usually the "drug store" fisherman anyway - the guys with the most expensive gear, always smoking cigars on the stream, talking loud, and mishandling any fish they do catch. Real fisherman will usually be supportive in you enjoying what they enjoy - fishing.

For everyone who wants to put a "monster on the wall", my thought is, take a picture of it, blow it up to 16x20 and put it in a nice frame, hang the fly you caught it on from the frame, put the rolled up leader you caught him on in the corner of the picture, maybe even a leaf or two from the trip. That way you will have a great conversation piece, show you are a conservationist, and be able to let the fish go so that you or someone else may be able to experience the real joy that comes from catching a fish like that. Just my 2 cents

JS

[Thom]

I have been fishing in the trophy trout area below the dam almost every week lately. I never keep anything. However, after a request from my parents for some fresh trout, I put a stringer in my vest. Late this morning I got into some stockers and thought it would be a good opportunity to get them some fish. I strung up four under 12" and headed out of the water. On the way to my car, people kept looking at me like I was carrying a minnow bucket or something. The dirty looks were enough to make me go to one of the conservation signs and check the regulations. I'm interested, how does everyone feel about keeping fish in the trophy area? If this is an unwritten rule I can live by it, but I kind of feel like that is why there is a slot limit.

I was at Taney last and wanted to keep a couple each of the three days that I was there for lunch. It was very hard to catch any in the slot. I was catching most at 15 to 18. What a problem!

don't let anyone intimidite you when you are doing the right thing.

The reason that most are looking is that they want to make sure you are not cheating. I saw one guy last week that had a nice Bow on a stringer about 15 inches and I insisted that he put it back. He wasn't very happy and the fish probally didn't survive but it was the right thing to do.

I had a friendly conversation and shared about three og the flies that I had tied that were catching fish that day with him free of charge except for the lecture on why Taney was the great place to fish because of the regs of the slot.

Enjoy the legal fish you take a lunch and the ones that you and your children and freinds will release and catch in the future.

[Brian K. Shaffer]

lilley wrote : "Reason? If I remember right- so that more anglers could "limit out and be happy" was mentioned (very lame) - so that the hatcheries could carry fewer numbers and grow them bigger for release. The target for Shepherd is to release rainbows at an average of 11.5 inches instead of 9.5 (or something like that)."

Phil - that article yesterday in the News Leader touched on the subject in one way, saying that production of trout to be introduced had to be cut by 10 % due to low groundwater flows. Perhaps this could have had an impact on the decision to go from five to four.

I surely don't know.

screaming reels - Brian

[gonefishin]

I know what you are talking about. I have been fishing for a lot of years and have been dealing with this attitude off and on for most of them. In fact I had to deal with it when I went fishing on Monday. I kept 4 legal keepers (10 to 12 inchers) and there was some guy there who kept harping to me about people who kept trout. His gripe was all about how those people who kept trout were ruining it for everyone else and how he never kept a trout no matter what size. This guy caught probably 25 to 30 fish while I was there and I guarantee, the way he handled them, he killed far more than half…some of them good-sized fish.

I suppose there will always be some pompous, self-righteous people around who think their way is the 'only right way' and it is their place to police those of us who don’t do it the 'only right way.' The sad thing is a lot of these people are new comers. They are here because it is ‘Cool’ to trout fish because they seen a movie named A River Runs Through It or sum such. It is irritating to me because I have supported conservation my whole life. These newbie know it alls are there and able to catch a lot of fish because us people who don’t know anything have been supporting conversation a long while and our time and financial donations have made it possible for them to do so. Now they come along and try to make us feel bad if we keep an occasional fish. I wouldn’t worry about it as long as what you are doing is legal.

I’ll get off my stump now.

[jscheetz]

I know this is the "taneycomo" forum, but since there may be a number of people new to the sport in general, I just want to reiterate what I said earlier, that taney is a lot different due to the amount of stocking that goes on here. Wild streams are affected by a greater number of issues (as Phil has posted about the low water in Missouri). Last year fishing a stream I always fish at in Montana, the water was so low due to drought that many fish were dieing. As a matter of fact we stopped fishing because the fish just didn't look like they were hanging in there too well - even trying to be careful and get them in quickly they looked pretty bad. But.... there was some bozo there putting fish on his stringer as fast as he could catch them regardless of their condition. I am sure the population took a nose dive there due to the drought, and of course the MT fish and game couldn't change regulations on all streams, so to my way of thinking keeping those fish just because you could wasn't the right thing to do. So just because it is "legal", doesn't always make it a good idea. You just have to use common sense and try to put the needs and concerns of the fish population and conservation ahead of your own. Once again, usually not a problem at Taney, but just food for thought for anyone just entering into this awesome adventure.

JS

[fish hunter]

Where in the Big Sky state?

[CaptainT16]

There have been ocassions were I will get the glare down from fellow anglers as well. I just don't let it bother me. It does make one think, am I doing something wrong, did I miscount, whatever it may be. Very rarely do I keep any, but do ocassionaly keep a few. You are right, most of them I do catch are in the 15-18 range.