Aunts Creek

[Phil Lilley]

From MDC Fisheries:

MDC’s regulations allow fish to be harvested by anglers while sustaining the fish populations and improving the quality of the fishery as much as possible. The 6 fish, 15” length limit on Table Rock accomplishes that. We completed a creel survey on Table Rock from 2012-2013 and interviewed just under 5,000 anglers. Anglers released 85-95 percent of the legal bass they caught during the survey. Furthermore, 79 percent of the bass anglers that harvested bass said they were fishing in a catch and release tournament. Therefore, the number of bass actually harvested and taken home is really much lower if you figure those anglers are releasing them later in the day. True some fish may not make it but the majority probably do. The average size of bass harvested was about 16 inches.

Conversely, anglers released less than 4 percent of all the legal size crappie they caught in the lake (only 1% up the James River Arm). The average size of crappie harvested was about 11 inches. Crappie recruitment in Table Rock is much lower and more inconsistent than bass recruitment, so harvest definitely plays a much higher role in reducing the overall densities of crappie in the lake than it does for bass. Table Rock boasts some of the highest densities of bass of any lake in Missouri (over 200 bass per hour electrofishing). With densities that high and harvest rates as low as they are, there is little reason to be concerned about legal harvest harming the overall fishery.

[Phil Lilley]

Going to start a new topic to discuss crappie on Table Rock...

[dtrs5kprs]

Going to start a new topic to discuss crappie on Table Rock...

Crappie are definitely overharvested on TR. Have to wonder if different regs (lower limit, higher min length) would help protect them. Those poor things might as well have bullseyes on them.

[Flysmallie]

Mr. Flysmallie, you are a distinguished professor of that subject.

I learned it by watching you. Just kidding, just kidding, relax, I'm sorry.

You are passionate about things and I am passionate about things and sometimes those things collide. I was an butt. I'm sure it will happen again.

Your statement isn't wrong. Very hypocritical of me. I apologize.

[Champ188]

Been known to be a butt myself. That's well documented. Return apology extended. As for being passionate, hey, that's a plus on both sides.

[fishinwrench]

See? We can all just rip on each other and it always ends well.

Anybody that bails on this place because someone posts something that rubs them the wrong way is making a mistake.

[dtrs5kprs]

See? We can all just rip on each other and it always ends well.

Anybody that bails on this place because someone posts something that rubs them the wrong way is making a mistake.

Got that right. What's that line from Bilbo's speech? "I don't know half of you as well as I would like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

[Paul Nienhaus]

kwall i understand i usually stay neutral on these types of threads everyone has the right to do what they want with fish as long as it falls under MDC regulations I don't have a problem with that at all. I personally would rather have a big mess of gigantic bluegill myself, two things bothered me tho. number one why even mention you kept them for a fish fry and they was full of eggs when we know it was gonna cause a sht storm but what i'm more concerned about is setting an example for the younger generations that will see that pic of the 9 bass on a single stringer and think its ok to do it themselves next time they go fishing. i know when i was a kid i immortalized Harold Ensley and Virgil Ward and if I seen them doing that I'd think it was ok to do it too. I'm using that as an examp;e referring to complying to MDC regulations.

One of the guys that caught those 9 bass also caught fish so that Virgil Ward could put them on his hook and pretend catching them on his t.v. show.

[johnm]

Have kept a lot of 15 to 16 in. kentuckies and largemouth over the last decade. Not something I do consistently but if it's legal and for the price of fishing to utilize the wonderful taste of clean table rock bass fresh from the fryer... eat same day do not freeze for future.

But Mikey McClelland won the that big tourney last year in Wolfpen hollow where I fish a lot. Can't be hurting them too bad but I'd there were some crappie around to catch I'd prefer that.