MDC Smallmouth Regs Recommendations

[msamatt]

I'm still trying to find more info but here's some news about potential new smallmouth regs.

http://www.newspressnow.com/sports/outdoors/article_ab516774-c3ab-5fe5-80c3-7638c44330b0.html#.Va2ErhY17hU.blogger

[Smalliebigs]

Nice so they want to reduce the length of a Smallie you can keep in a "Trophy" area to 15 inches across the board......I assume it was just too confusing for the trophy meat hunters???? That makes sense.

Then they want to expand a few other trophy areas and add another????...... that's some forward thinking stuff there, kudos to the MDC.

I would now like to quote a friend who fishes the Meramec 3 to 4 times a week........."You better GET em while you can"

[jackdizo]

I like that it would be across the board for 15 and one a day, although still very hard to police. Should make for better fishing in the future. It would even be great to see certain rivers and stretches have a catch and release only section, but I understand why this will never happen, and can make for confusion to your weekend angler whom does not get out much and is mis-informed or educated on regs. Either way, kudos to the MDC to start a process of protecting such a coveted species in our ozark streams.

[rFisherk]

The notice I saw was announcing public meetings to gather public opinion about the proposed regulations. This notice didn't include much specific information. I suppose more details will be released soon.

I realize all these proposed changes are based upon the recent and extensive study, or in other words, based upon sound science, but I also realize that the MDC's impression of public sentiment influences these proposed changes as well.

Posting here, I believe, does little to influence the final decisions, but voices at the upcoming meetings will not only be heard, but recorded, so I think it is important for as many forum members as possible to attend these public hearings. I would suggest SBA promote car pool caravans to these meetings with as much gusto as they do their annual outings.

[LarrySTL]

"He said results from a smallmouth bass study at five streams with heavy fishing pressure demonstrated that a longer length limit predicted a noticeable

increase in the number of fish greater than 15 inches"

Wow, who'da thunk it ?

I like the idea of the one SM limit in the 15" areas and the possibility of expanding the size of some of those areas. But..... sheeesh

Part of that but is that I have been looking online at maybe fishing someplace in or near Virginia in about September since I will be close to DC for a few days then. There seem to be some great streams/rivers in Virginia. When I looked for more information one of the first things I noticed is that very large parts of their famous SM streams and rivers have regs of a 20 " minimum and a one fish limit.

I generally have believed that MDC is well intentioned on all this, and I know they to some extent have to appease a lot of constituents, but the more this issue drags around in MO, the more I remember that sometimes the obvious answer is correct.

[Gavin]

This goes over like a lead balloon in my book. Not what was asked for by many. Still room for negotiations but not enough offered to appease most of the avid anglers that I know. Hope they come up with something better and I have questions about there data set. Wish they would publish it. Looking forward to there open house. Seems they don't give a stink about anything other than deer, turkey, and trout. Will vote to cut their funding if the screw the pooch on this. early and often.

[Gavin]

Add a population dynamics into the equation. Lower harvest percentage but more users, Bet that use has more than doubled in the last 20 years. Static metrics from back then should be questioned.

[jdmidwest]

I read that the anglers are pounding the goggle eyes to compensate for the lack of take home smallmouth bass. Am I reading that story right?

[Al Agnew]

The biggest beef I seem to always have with MDC is that they always just go partway to what would really work. When the spotted bass regulations on the Meramec river system were first being discussed, I said that if you really want to decrease spotted bass while helping the smallmouth, go with no length limit, no creel limit, season open all year on spotted bass, and couple that with a one fish 15 inch limit on smallmouth on every stream section where the spotted bass were a problem or likely to become a problem. Instead, they put on a 12 fish, no length limit on spotted bass and only put the protective smallmouth regs on Big River, even though the spots were just as much if not more of a problem on the Bourbeuse and lower Meramec.

Now it's the one fish, 15 inch limit on all the special management areas. If you're going to try to produce more big smallmouth, 15 inches doesn't cut it. A 15.1 inch smallie is not a big fish. Why not 18 inches across the board? I guarantee you that, until poaching became more and more of a problem on the upper Jacks Fork, the 18 inch limit on it was working to produce a LOT of 18-20 inch smallmouth...I caught a bunch of them every time I went (which was usually once a year). They said the 18 inch limit was almost the same as catch and release, since few people caught fish over 18 inches. Well, so what? What's the point of a one fish 15 inch limit on stream like the upper Jacks Fork, where smallmouth make up probably over 95% of the bass population. Who among the meat fishermen wants to be limited to one fish over 15 inches? Even if law-abiding, they would probably put the first 15 incher they caught on a stringer, keep fishing, carry the fish around all day...until they caught a bigger one, then they'd keep it and "turn loose", which would probably mean throw away, the poor 15 incher.

You don't get more big fish unless you protect the big fish, or the fish right on the cusp of being big fish.

The other thing I really wanted is a lowering of the creel limit and raising of the minimum length limit statewide. Why not 4 fish, 14 inches? And I still think slot limits are the way to go if you really want to give the meat fishermen some fish but protect the big fish. A 14-18 inch slot should work.

But they never considered the change to the creel and minimum length limit at all, and used their supposed experience with small lakes to convince themselves that a slot limit would not be followed.

I am a supporter of MDC, but I really can't understand this half-baked way of doing things. They seem to simply be afraid to do anything meaningful or try anything experimental.

[fishinwrench]

Hey, MDC has awesome biologists and this is what they say is best.

They know better than anyone... so just roll with it y'all.