These are not gigged bass

[Mitch f]

48 minutes ago, Brian Jones said:

And this will probably be the last time that Brian Jones drags this or any other controversial topic up.  After 26 pages this has been almost as productive as the GOP debates.  My personal apologies to Phil and all the OA members and family for posting a pic of some poached game fish.  

It's all good Brian

[MOPanfisher]

 Brian this thread has certainly not been the worst, longest, most hateful, or contentious  thread.  If I wasn't quite so lazy I would go back through all 27 pages and make a list of all the topics it touched.  

[fishinwrench]

1 hour ago, Brian Jones said:

And this will probably be the last time that Brian Jones drags this or any other controversial topic up.  After 26 pages this has been almost as productive as the GOP debates.  My personal apologies to Phil and all the OA members and family for posting a pic of some poached game fish.  

Look man, a bunch (almost all) of us here LOVE Smallmouth.   So knowing that they are being needlessly killed and the people who get paid WELL to protect them don't seem to think it is a problem worth any type of action.  THAT is frustrating to a bunch of us.   

The cold hard fact is that only a select few that gig do so ethically, and even the few that ethically gig openly admit to the occasional mistake.   So crowning me jackass of the month for having an attitude about ALL giggers is weird.  

I work on their darn boats, so me slamming giggers on an open forum where everyone knows who I am is kinda like cutting my own throat....but I don't care. I enjoy smallmouth more than I enjoy money I guess.

[Seth]

1 hour ago, Brian Jones said:

And this will probably be the last time that Brian Jones drags this or any other controversial topic up.  After 26 pages this has been almost as productive as the GOP debates.  My personal apologies to Phil and all the OA members and family for posting a pic of some poached game fish.  

You are a detriment to this forum and society in general. I will have to shun you at the boat ramp from now on.

[Brian Jones]

20 minutes ago, Seth said:

You are a detriment to this forum and society in general. I will have to shun you at the boat ramp from now on.

No you won't.  You talk to everyone..

[Smallieguy87]

You did no damage and owe no apologies Brian. Most everyone involved in this conversation is concerned with the preservation of smallmouth but have differing views and opinions on it (imagine that) I have nothing against the people who go out and ethically gig. I get that accidents do happen. Id say it's a bit tough to explain mistaking a sport fish for a sucker, etc but water conditions can make it tough.

sometimes fish die after C/R. Sometimes you gut hook a smallie, sometimes the stress kills them(especially a big female shortly after spawn). This doesn't make C/R cruel or inhumane but show unintended consequence. As a C/R fisherman you do what you can to limit those stressors or lethal factors. 

until MDC see's these gigging incidents as a problem (if they really are amounting to a problem) then keep doing the right thing and reporting the incidents that you see and giving them all the info you can and that's about all you can do. I personally always keep the operation game thief number stored in my phone and have actually used it a few times...not sure if it made a difference or if the complaint was even checked out but I did my part.

[MOPanfisher]

I have had the Game Thief number as long as I have had a phone as well.  I know quite a few giggers and will agree to disagree with you Wrench that you have the percentages reversed, it is a small percentage of them that will intentionally violate the rules, not the majority.  To me it is a little analogous to poaching big deer from the road, is it going to cause major damage to the population of white-tailed deer in MO, no, but it does remove a fair number of mature bucks that hunters would like to harvest.  Does the accidental gigging of bass or the intentional gigging by a few cause major damage to the smallmouth (or catfish or whatever other game fish they happen to stick), probably not, does it remove a sizeable number of those larger bass that everyone including you, Chief, and Myself want to catch, yes.  The enforcement is difficult simply because of how its done, doesn't mean it should be simply ignored totally, but there are usually at most 2 agents per county, and a lot of creeks/rivers to cover.  Gigging mostly happens during the winter, (but I believe it opens on sept 15), mostly when all the other hunting seasons are happening, that are going to get the most attention.   I would also bet that most of the Agents if questioned would be able to tell you who the different groups that gig in their county are, and which ones would be more likely to stick a gamefish on purpose.

[Seth]

I know A LOT of people that gig and I don't know a single one that blatantly targets bass. They don't want to eat a nasty ol bass, they want suckers! Most of them are bass anglers themselves. There have been a lot more bass killed due to them being hooked deeply than gigging in my boat. I'd bet that holds true for every gigger that enjoys chasing bass as well.

[Chief Grey Bear]

15 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

Look man, a bunch (almost all) of us here LOVE Smallmouth.   So knowing that they are being needlessly killed and the people who get paid WELL to protect them don't seem to think it is a problem worth any type of action.  THAT is frustrating to a bunch of us.   

The cold hard fact is that only a select few that gig do so ethically, and even the few that ethically gig openly admit to the occasional mistake.   So crowning me jackass of the month for having an attitude about ALL giggers is weird.  

I work on their darn boats, so me slamming giggers on an open forum where everyone knows who I am is kinda like cutting my own throat....but I don't care. I enjoy smallmouth more than I enjoy money I guess.

So you are aiding and abetting criminal giggers? Instead of slamming them on an open forum why not do it to their face?Why do you fix their boat if you know they're going to go and gig bass? Obviously you do not enjoy the smallmouth more than you do the money. 

[Chief Grey Bear]

4 hours ago, MOPanfisher said:

I have had the Game Thief number as long as I have had a phone as well.  

That is a great option to have for when you're fishing waters that are outside of your normal fishing territory.

For the waters that I fish regularly, I have my agents cell number programmed in my phone. And I have used it. 

When you establish a relationship with your local agent, you gain credibility and respect. So that when you do have to make that call they will respond. 

I have found that it works much better than the tactics that have been displayed here and other threads by certain individuals.