Fishing Report

[Phil Lilley]

...but don't you think they are fished for mostly around the spawn? I may be way off on this... I'm willing to concede with more discussion.

[Ham]

Crappie tend to be a little more difficult to manage because natural predation and the success or failure of any given years spawn affect them more than fishermen. Illegal netters can wipe them out of course.

Crappie populations are typically cyclic regardless of what fishermen do.

As an outsider looking in, I think reducing minimum length of a keeper Spot to 12 inches would let folks keep a few bass w/o negatively affecting the LM or SMB population. Let the presence of a toothy patch on the tongue be the legal definition of a Spot. That's not perfect test, but I think it would be good enough. For the folks that still couldn't tell the difference between a LMB bass or SMB and a Spot, a ticket could be a good education or maybe they just aren't meant to be bass fishermen.

If fishing for bass during the spawn is a threat to the lake, The MDC should be able to show that with data from a scientific studies and should enact laws to protect the lake for all the user groups.

If any fisherman is following the current law to the letter, who am I to harrass them? I don't plan on being hungry enough to kill a smallie and I love Spots almost as much as Smallies. I will keep LMB when I want some fish, but I prefer crappie. Remember THEY ARE JUST A FISH. They aren't pets. How much guilt to you think a bass has when they eat shad until they vomit them up? We can get so tender hearted about it that we quit using a renewable resource.

I find that the real hardcore crappie fishermen are every bit as serious about crappie fishing as anyone could be about bass fishing. I find crappie fishermen to be much more tight lipped about locations and techniques than bass fishermen are as well. The real hardcore guys will fish year round in any weather. I prefer to crappie fish summer through early spring.

[Bill Babler]

MDC data on two seperate stages has pointed out keeping 12 inch K's would be a disaster for tablerock. See my article last year. These bass in no way compete with largemouth or smallie, for forage. MDC worked their butts off on this and they have the data.

Most times of the year they occupy totally different sections of the water column, and although they eat daddys, when they can get-em, they are roving shad chasers, unlike the largemouth and the smallies most of the time. They are in more competition with the Whites.

Due too their very slow growth rate they have a very long life extectancy and can live and produce fry well into their teens.

You want to hear some crying or make this lake a total disaster,not be able to catch a fish 10 months of the year, you would see it within two years, Table Rock would be in serious trouble.

This whole piece, stems from not keeping or sight fishing and eating bedding fish.

Guys, as phil pointed out, if you want a K or two for supper, by golly have at it, but not while they have a belly full of your next generation of bass.

As far as the smallies, they are kind of like pets.

AS far as turning anyone in on game violations, I haven't seen any. Fileted fish under a dock, is no violation. There are 20 slips in that dock, and I would assume 20 slip owners. If they all are using the cleaning table that is not even a 1 day limit. No one broke any law, they just broke my heart.

[2bfishn]

Phil, I saw the word fools, idiots and "have a word" with these people in some of the posts. What constitutes mud slinging? I agree the lynch mob comment was uncalled forand I appologize. I hope you guys dont take me to seriously. I am not upset with anyone here for there opinions. I just want us all to remember that we all have our own opinion and we should respect each other. There was a post going around about fishing docks and what is legal earlier. I think we all agreed the water doesnt belong to any one person but to all of us and we have a right to fish there without being harrassed. What is the difference in yelling at someone for fishing next to your dock and yelling at someone for keeping a legal fish (and yes I know it has not gone that far yet)? I would have been better off to say nothing and I hope I didnt ruffle feathers too much. You are all a great bunch of guys and I respect all of you. I just dont think it makes someone a terrible person for keeping a legal fish.

[Ham]

If MDC has done studies and determined that the legal minimum for spots needs to be 15 inches, then so be it. Spots are indeed slow growing. I'd bet they would have spawned at least 3 years BEFORE they reached 12 inches.

It is interesting to see the way different areas manage the Spotted Bass. Louisiana has decided that there are too many spots in Toledo Bend. There are a lot of fishermen that think that spots eat more than their fair share of the forage fish on Toledo Bend. There is currently no minimum length limit for spots on TB.

Remember that I LOVE SPOTS and I LOVE SMALLIES. I am total catch and release on both those species in every location. So not legal change would impact the fish I keep.

I have a hard time believeing the bass population in TR would crater if 12 inch spots became legal keepers. There are probably a bajillion spotted bass out there on offshore structure that rarely see a bait. I would imagine those fish would act as a reserve to resupply spots pulled off of shorelines.

[skeeter]

I have a hard time believeing the bass population in TR would crater if 12 inch spots became legal keepers. There are probably a bajillion spotted bass out there on offshore structure that rarely see a bait. I would imagine those fish would act as a reserve to resupply spots pulled off of shorelines.

Ham, Read your post with great interest and respect for your opinion and your interest in how other fish and game departments manage Kentucky Bass.

I and probably several others on this board can tell you what happened at Table Rock at the time of the implementation of the 15 inch limit in the late 70's.

Prior to the 15 inch limit and prior to the ethics of "catch and release" when a bass was caught at Table Rock it was gone from the lake. It was becoming more and more difficult to catch anything for the average angler as proven by a three year intensive " creel census " study by MDC.

You could not believe the moaning and groaning of the local resort owners and others when the 15 inch limit was installed. They all swore they were going to be run out of business. But, you know what happened ? All of a sudden, within about a year or so if memory serves, the average guy was catching fish and catching more fish than pre 15inch limit. He was having to release them, true, but he was getting that satisfying tug on the end of his line more frequently and instead of coming back to the dock or ramp "skunked" he had that wonderful smell of Bass on his hands and some pleasant memories.

Are there Kentuckies on off shore structure that never see a bait ? Heck yes, but it takes a better fisherman than me to catch them with any regularity.

As Bill posted previously, the Kentuckies are NOT in competition with the LM for forage fish as they definitely frequent differing habitats in the water. Anyone who is concerned about lack of forage fish in Table Rock doesn't pay much attention to their electronics or doesn't have the sensitivity set high enough.

[crappiefisherman]

I never did like them dern crappiefishermen, I mean crappie

[DougFunnie13]

Any chance guys of petitioning to close the spawn season for keeping bass. I have over 75 guys who work for me who fish the rock extensively, and I am sure they would be willing to help out. That is an absolute shame and travesty poor conservationists have no respect for our fish.

I would be all for making it illegal to keep bass during the spawning season. I really don't know how anybody could keep a bass that is full of eggs and not feel guilty about it but unfortunately right now that is what happens and they are allowed to do so.

[Ham]

I've been looking at different regs to try to see how most states handle the bass regs. It seems most states do not try to make people responsible for telling one bass from another.

I've had Wildlife and Fisheries guys tell me that ideally you would have different regs for each lake and fish species, but that it would be too confusing for most anglers so they pick a happy medium. It seems like many states that have all three species lump them all together under one regulation reguarding length. Some states have no minimum length on any of the black bass species.

In doing this search,I noted that Lake of the Ozarks has a 12 inch minimum on Spots as does the Missouri portion of Bull Shoals and Norfork. Slow growth of spots lead to a population shift at Lake of The Ozarks. Spots represented 50% of the total bass population, but only 20% of the bass kept were spots. I'm not sure if that study mentioned forage issues or not. I could not find a date on that press release so I'll acknowledge the regs may have changed back.

What are the regs for spots on Beaver Lake in Arkansas? I was thinking they had a 12 inch minimum, but I'm really not certain.

I know every lake is different, but I see Beaver, Bull Shoals, TR, LOZ, and Norfork as being close geographically and similar in that they are Highland Res. If the regs I read about are still in play, I'm confused why the 12 inch spot reg works in 4 of the 5 lakes, but would decimate TR's bass population.

I wonder what percentage of the total black bass population are spots.

I'll guess I'll look for that data later.

[gonefishin]

I am glad I don't fish for bass. I fish for fun and relaxation. In my opinion bass fishing got way to technical a long time ago. I think a bunch more regs is just what is needed to make it even more complicated. Maybe a new slogan 'Bass, the official fish of the uptight workaholic'.

Seriously, someone like a guide or a pro fisherman of some sort can distinguish between the different bass sub-species with just a glance. The average fisherman who only hits the water a few times a year it can become a real task. Fishing is supposed to be about fun, good times and enjoying the out doors. A person should not be afraid of a game warden check just because he/she is not a professional and might have the wrong sub-species of bass in the live well.