No Fishing in the Hatchery Outlets

[Jcvistait]

Well, maybe they should start having regs. like Arkansas, stop the fishing below your feet. Use barbless hooks. I know fishing in the outlets can be fun at times but when people think they should be rubbing elbows thats crazy and not fun. I have watched people camp in a outlet all day. To me that s not fishing. I think it would be nice if you had to keep a rods distance between the next person.thats my .02 worth. Plus thats one reason I started fishing Arkansas,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,less people.

[Phil Lilley]

Less people - why is that??? The White is world famous and offers so much more than Taney.

As for regs... your suggested rules have been brought up to MDC many times... barbless, kicking... but they have said both are "social" issues and they won't regulate that way. MDC considers barbless more of a "cosmetic" issue than a "health" issue for trout.

They won't regulate ethics either unless it develops into a fist fight- then call the police.

[Jcvistait]

taney has become a zoo. People very rude. Arkansas has more wadable water, plus I think alot less people. I enjoy Taney only at night. But more and more people are heading to taney. Its a great fishery but people have messed it up. Dont get me wrong not everyone is bad.But MDC has to enforce the rules.

[Phil Lilley]

Unfortunately, there's a lot of people who share your sentiment. It does get crowded at times and there are rude people.

But for every crowded day, there are 3-4 days conservatively that are not crowded, based on weekend/weekdays and on the time of year. And for every rude guy, there are 10 that will respect your water.

I think it boils down to preferences and everyone has the right to his or hers. I like both tailwaters but I live on Taney. I would love to get down to the White more often just for a change of scenery.

[McFlyGuy]

Phil,

In answer to your question about less crowding on the White vs. Taney -- Think about 30+ miles of wadeable stream @ low flow vs. less than 5. I think that says a lot. If Powersite dam wasn't there, we might have more "stream" than "lake" at Taney which would improve the crowding but also change other things as well.

McFlyGuy

[Phil Lilley]

You got that right! Taney's more boat-friendly - that's what I've been promoting for years... fly fishing out of a boat on Taney is extremely productive no matter what conditions. That in itself helps with the "crowds". But does Taney get crowded as far as boats - oh yes. But the trophy area is still one of the best places to fish out of a boat around and it doesn't get that bad even on busy weekends.

[Jcvistait]

Phil, Dont take it wrong , but I love going to Taney. I dont get to fish much from a boat but my Buddy does it alot. It is one of the best places in this country for that type of fishing.McFlyGuy is right, there is more room for people to spread out on the White and Northfork,,,,,but when they run water just like any other tailwater,,,fishing is limited.

[jscheetz]

Well, I have ranted to Phil before of my disgust in the outlet #3 issue. Having watched a guy come down there right at dark with nothing but a spinning rod that could have brought in a sea bass and a stringer. I was 30 yards away and it was about dark, but before long he had a big brown flopping on the bank, and then left. It is so frustrating because if you are there fishing yourself you can't be watching others all the time - so it makes it hard to "prove" what you know is happening - meat-hunters.

But...... maybe we need to take our cue from the situation at the U.S./Mexican border. Maybe we need to form groups of "Trout Minutemen". Oh sure the MDC would scoff at such vigilante operations, and of course the problem would be to actually get one of them out there when you did see a violation, but maybe taking pictures or video of guys doing illegal things along with their license plates might at least scare them a bit. Usually people don't like getting "caught" via film when they are doing something they shouldn't be.

I just don't understand why the big browns are valued so little here. Other places I fish at all over in the west seem to have more control and more catch and release only areas where there are high concentrations of big fish. There should at least be a moratorium on the killing of big browns up that far in the fall when they are most vulnerable - let the meat-hunters go to Hy-Vee.

JS

[kelly]

Or something like that...

I'm going to take a pic of the signs MDC has posted at the outlets cause... I'm real confused.

Above the present lake level means what???!! Set your head to the waters surface and look sideways and you'll see the "present level". Then pear to the outlets and you'll see the water in falling down the sloop which means the water level in the outlets is higher than the present lake level. Then there should be fishing in the outlets!!!

But I asked one of our agents and he said he wouldn't write tickets for fishing in the outlets. That's where my confusion starts.

If you're going to have signs and/or rules - enforce them. If you're not going to enforce the rules- TAKE THE SIGNS DOWN!! Simple!

BUT I have a problem allowing people to fish for those trout in outlet #3. They're in a small stream not more than 12 feet across and 24 inches deep and they are simply trapped- they can't get away from the angler with his 9 foot rod. They get hammered all day unless they are caught out or happen to have the sense to move down out of there.

I don't see anything wrong with throwing a couple of times at holding fish in the shoot as you walk through... it is fun to be able to watch how a trout reacts to a fly drifting by. But to stand and cast to the same 3-4-5-7-8 fish for hours on end in a limited stream like #3 is too much. Get a life!

And where's the challenge in hooking these fish? It's not like Crane Creek where you have the same conditions but you have to literally crawl to the holes or the trout will disappear because they are WILD TROUT and they have places they can hide.

Sorry for those who kick- and those who fish outlet #3 - but you really should learn how to fish before you call yourself a fisherman.

This is my first time to reply so if I do it wrong someone please tell me. On the subject of law enforcement by MDC I would suggest the local Sheriff's Department. Being a retired deputy myself I know in Kansas we regularly wrote tickets for illigal fishing. It is after all, a state law, so all but federal law enforcement officers can enforce it. Of course I don't know how they feel about working the lake.

[Steve Smith]

I fished yesterday morning after they shut down two generators. It was a miserable day, but a fellow has to fish when he can. There were a half dozen folks fishing the #3 outlet, standing ankle deep and for the most part fishing at their feet. One fellow caught a nice brown [assuming it was a brown as I was fishing the rebar hole], but far from anything legal. He dragged the fish up on the bank and held it there until a young lady came with what I think was a camera. I went to the truck to warm up, so I don’t know if the fish was kept or released. Either way, the fish was dead for sure. To be honest, I never thought anything over folks fishing the outlet until Phil brought the subject up. I have never fished any of the outlets because I don’t like the crowds. As far as a fishing report, I did well on a furnace hackle Crackleback, but the water was darn near white capping with the wind, and impossible to detect a take.