why do other states have bigger smallmouth bass?

[MoCarp]

regulations man...regulations..wonder if they restrict gigging?

 

 

As of April 1, 2017, new regulations for bass have been put into place for Lake Erie and its tributaries.

While the rest of the state is under a catch-and-release-only restriction using artificial lures as of Dec. 1, bass anglers in this Great Lake can still keep one fish at least 20 inches long and even use live bait to do so. In case this regulation sounds familiar, it was the same wording for the special trophy season that was in place from the first Saturday in May through the Friday before the third Saturday in June.

That trophy season has since been expanded to run from Dec. 1 through the Friday before the third Saturday in June. That means there are now just two seasons for bass in Lake Erie.

 

http://buffalonews.com/2017/12/06/new-lake-erie-bass-rules-in-effect/

[tjm]

Isn't that lake in Canada? Those are invasive Canadian fish. Wet back fish. Kill them all and let the cook sort them out.

Gosh I hope we Ozarkians never get as stupid as the communists in New York. About anything. 

[Trout Addict]

Imo the best fishing management for both meat eaters and trophy hunters is slotted regulations. 

There's a finite amount of resources for any given fishery. The old saying for an aquarium is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water. And it holds true. As the fish grows they start encroaching the other fish's territory and usually size takes rank. Not always though, sometimes i have seen schooling fish take down bigger fish.

If you want to catch bigger fish, you have to remove smaller fish. I have been managed two ponds and an aquarium for better than 25 years. I did pretty good for the 1st 15 yrs on the ponds until the German Baptist moved in and started multiplying like rabbits. The wildlife in general has been disappearing. 1st the rabbits, then turkey, coyotes, the deer numbers are way down and very few if any big fish left in my pounds. The big fish use to control or eat smaller fish and you caught all sizes. Not anymore. I think they will heal themselves, but I don't know how long it will take. In the meantime I catch and eat lots of smaller bluegill and crappie. 

 

[MoCarp]

1 hour ago, tjm said:

Isn't that lake in Canada? Those are invasive Canadian fish. Wet back fish. Kill them all and let the cook sort them out.

Gosh I hope we Ozarkians never get as stupid as the communists in New York. About anything. 

19 minutes ago, Trout Addict said:

Imo the best fishing management for both meat eaters and trophy hunters is slotted regulations. 

There's a finite amount of resources for any given fishery. The old saying for an aquarium is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water. And it holds true. As the fish grows they start encroaching the other fish's territory and usually size takes rank. Not always though, sometimes i have seen schooling fish take down bigger fish.

If you want to catch bigger fish, you have to remove smaller fish. I have been managed two ponds and an aquarium for better than 25 years. I did pretty good for the 1st 15 yrs on the ponds until the German Baptist moved in and started multiplying like rabbits. The wildlife in general has been disappearing. 1st the rabbits, then turkey, coyotes, the deer numbers are way down and very few if any big fish left in my pounds. The big fish use to control or eat smaller fish and you caught all sizes. Not anymore. I think they will heal themselves, but I don't know how long it will take. In the meantime I catch and eat lots of smaller bluegill and crappie. 

 

I agree however I see more wildlife today than in the 70's way more deer...turkeys were non-exsistant in the 70's....

[MOPanfisher]

What's the limit on them german baptist critters.

[tjm]

1 hour ago, MOPanfisher said:

What's the limit on them german baptist critters.

By gig or line? Think that is all C&R no Stabbing.

[MOPanfisher]

2 hours ago, tjm said:

 Think that is all C&R no Stabbing.

Good thing, a feller could clean out an entire county in no time while drinking beer.

[Trout Addict]

10 hours ago, MOPanfisher said:

Good thing, a feller could clean out an entire county in no time while drinking beer.

That one had me in tears.

[oneshot]

On ‎12‎/‎7‎/‎2017 at 2:26 PM, MoCarp said:

I agree however I see more wildlife today than in the 70's way more deer...turkeys were non-exsistant in the 70's....

BS I see far less Deer than in the '70's and seen more Turkeys in late '80's than now.

I remember seeing true Herds of Deer and Flocks of Turkeys. Haven't seen either for years.

oneshot

[tjm]

Road kill numbers are down on deer, turkey and German Baptists I believe. Or maybe I just don't get out on the roads that much. Armadillos are still plentiful in the roads though.

We lost all local turkeys in the 90s due to bad weather during hatch in several consecutive years. They have not moved back in and probably were only here because of former stocking programs. More important to the question though might be the general lack of fertility in these worn out mountains, the entire food chain is dependent on tiny stuff that exists in fertile areas to a greater extent than in oak barrens.