Mega Longear Sunfish

[Quillback]

There's some neat stuff to see on Beaver that have been set up for divers - an airplane and a school bus down in the depths.  I'm pretty sure they have guide trips you can take where they take you to see the underwater attractions.

[snagged in outlet 3]

I drop Doritos off the boat and the sunfish come in from all over.  Then big catfish came in and hammer the sunfish.   

[Huntingducks117]

58 minutes ago, Quillback said:

pick up a couple of pebbles, click them together and a smallmouth or two will show up to take a look

Yes they will,  Also start picking up and looking under rocks and find some small crayfish.  Pick them up and put them in the water column and the smallies will rush in to eat them.  Good time. 

[Flysmallie]

I haven't read all this crap but that was a nice fish that you legally took. Ignore the idiots and hope they go away at some point.

 

This post has helped me decide one thing. I have an olympic style recurve that I would like to sell if anyone here is interested. SF Archery riser and limbs. Probably less than 400 shots. Let me know if you are interested. I'd like to sell it so I can buy a bowfishing setup. Can't wait to start sharing some of those pics. 

[BilletHead]

Don't buy fish arrows for stabbing. I have free ones for you Ronnie,

  BilletHead

[MoCarp]

personally all stabbing methods where legal should have a MAX size no fish over a certain size.... harvest IS in the tool box of fisheries management.

if everyone is so gungho about harvest perhaps you can share your best spots with a spear fisherman? no...?  if it about staying in the legal limits?..... be-darned the method!.... then you shouldn't oppose filling your tag shooting turkeys off the roost or a huge buck at night blinded by a spotlight...or have your own shock boat....every nay sayer think my views are alone on this...you would be wrong my views on this are the growing trend

more anglers today fish for fun with fish dinner is the reason people fish fading,..the quality of fishing have faded in our area on the average, put and take fishing grows more and more expensive and is un-sustainable over time and when budgets get cut in economic down turns fishing suffers, reductions in trout bag limits will continue  5...now 4....then 2....then one.......how long will it take? these changes will accelerate with habitat degradation, something we are already seeing in our area, way too many nutrients making there way into our waters 

some places in the world you can ONLT catch a couple of fish and your done... overseas atlantic salmon fishing comes to mind

we will see many changes in fisheries laws test bed lakes, back in the day people got pretty salty when new rules came into effect, the reduced bag and length limits on crappie come to mind here in Missouri... the meat fisherman still fill there freezers regardless of bag limits but those types of anglers are fewer and fewer...and with smart phones in everyones pocket people get busted more today.

as far as diving, you scubies think I haven't...you would be wrong, free diving and snorkled a lot in my youth living on the gulf, back then it was legal to gill net off the beach...things change and some will go down kicking and screaming. 

I remember when those said it would be a cold day in hades when carp got protected..then it started...

bass tourneys will see some radical changes in the next few years- driven by the need to protect the resource most ethical anglers would be for what would help

welcome to the future

 

[Huntingducks117]

52 minutes ago, MoCarp said:

as far as diving, you scubies think I haven't...you would be wrong, free diving and snorkled a lot in my youth living on the gulf

Once again, no experience diving or spearfishing in our reservoirs.  We are not talking about reefs, or the Gulf, we are talking about Bull Shoals Lake, since you think it is so easy to spearfish these lakes. 

Why should spearfishing have different size limits than rod and reel, their daily limit is already half of the rod and reel limit.  Your theory of spear fishermen shooting all the 5 pounders they want has no merit, since you have no experience with diving our reservoirs. 

 

52 minutes ago, MoCarp said:

if everyone is so gungho about harvest perhaps you can share your best spots with a spear fisherman? no...?  if it about staying in the legal limits?..... be-darned the method!....

Fishermen don't generally share their spots with any  fishermen regardless of method.  Its public water, and half the fun of spearfishing is finding your own spots.  

 

52 minutes ago, MoCarp said:

then you shouldn't oppose filling your tag shooting turkeys off the roost or a huge buck at night blinded by a spotlight...or have your own shock boat

What argument are you trying to pose here?  Poaching is poaching, and I would hope everyone on here would be against it.  You can not legally spotlight deer or shock fish with a boat?  Spearfishing is legal and has regulations.  Why do you think spearfishing is unregulated and easy, where are you getting your ideas on this, and why do you keep acting like its the wild west out there?

I see you found more images on Google.    I don't even see any holes in any of those fish ??

 

 

[Devan S.]

14 minutes ago, MoCarp said:

personally all stabbing methods where legal should have a MAX size no fish over a certain size.... harvest IS in the tool box of fisheries management.

if everyone is so gungho about harvest perhaps you can share your best spots with a spear fisherman? no...?  if it about staying in the legal limits?..... be-darned the method!.... then you shouldn't oppose filling your tag shooting turkeys off the roost or a huge buck at night blinded by a spotlight...or have your own shock boat....every nay sayer think my views are alone on this...you would be wrong my views on this are the growing trend

more anglers today fish for fun with fish dinner is the reason people fish fading,..the quality of fishing have faded in our area on the average, put and take fishing grows more and more expensive and is un-sustainable over time and when budgets get cut in economic down turns fishing suffers, reductions in trout bag limits will continue  5...now 4....then 2....then one.......how long will it take? these changes will accelerate with habitat degradation, something we are already seeing in our area, way too many nutrients making there way into our waters 

some places in the world you can ONLT catch a couple of fish and your done... overseas atlantic salmon fishing comes to mind

we will see many changes in fisheries laws test bed lakes, back in the day people got pretty salty when new rules came into effect, the reduced bag and length limits on crappie come to mind here in Missouri... the meat fisherman still fill there freezers regardless of bag limits but those types of anglers are fewer and fewer...and with smart phones in everyones pocket people get busted more today.

as far as diving, you scubies think I haven't...you would be wrong, free diving and snorkled a lot in my youth living on the gulf, back then it was legal to gill net off the beach...things change and some will go down kicking and screaming. 

I remember when those said it would be a cold day in hades when carp got protected..then it started...

bass tourneys will see some radical changes in the next few years- driven by the need to protect the resource most ethical anglers would be for what would help

welcome to the future

 

Change your first sentence to all  methods and you probably have 99% agreement. But wait do we let those fish at the end of their life just die and rot and provide for no consumption? Ah heck turtles and buzzards gotta eat.

Once again you liken spearfishing to shooting blinded game at night and turkeys sleep on a roost, both of which are huge stretches. I believe somewhere in your history you hunted turkeys and probably deer. Did you call while they were on roost and then close the distance so you could be close when they came down. Is there much difference? So your not shooting them in bed but getting them between there and the kitchen. You mean you hunt deer and you strategically place your stand in a funnel between a bedding area and food source? Which is completely fair chase and suddenly its okay. Awesome totally ethical in your mind but from the mind of someone that doesn't do it that line between fair chase and not fair chase isn't as clear or as big as even you think it is. When the ball is rolled off the proverbial hill where does it stop? We already have people out here calling for the complete end of fishing because they feel pain. 

I've already told you the exact spot to go for the opportunity at large walleye. Its not a huge secret. Head up-river at dusk  and look for the boats. However you know those spots just like I do and every other person worth a dang at using the internet. We're past the age unfortunately of figuring it out on your own or even having secrets passed down. 

Your right a large number of people fish for fun. That's exactly why there are literal hundreds of tournaments on these lakes every year. There's also a lot of people catching fish to keep. If you don't think its happening your wrong. That's why most boat ramps are jam packed full in the spring in search of crappie, whites, and walleye. 

Once again, you draw a comparison to a commercial fishery in Atlantic Salmon. Guess what were already limited to a couple fish. I can only catch 4 walleye or shoot 2. I can only catch 5-6 Bass. I can only catch 4 trout. We already there now outside of a few species. Back in your day you could keep how many?

I remember my great grandpa use to keep everything they caught limits of 6-8 lb bass, boats full of catfish, truckloads of white bass, world record jack salmon. They used whatever means necessary gig, nets, rods/reels, traps, hands,  you name it they used it.  Then they took away nets, restricted gigging, no more traps, couldn't hand fish and fishing is still declining to this day based on your claims. Do I think opening back up those methods are a good idea NO but you continue to restrict access in the name of improving fishing but thus far we haven't seen that significant improvement so lets get rid of spearfishing. If that doesn't work lets move to live bait, then onto 1 per day limit. If that doesn't work then where to?

Do I agree we are likely to see radical changes...absolutely. My concern isn't that your going to get your wish that people cant stab fish be it from a boat or  however you want it. It's that where do you stop? Are you willing to give up all fishing? Are you willing to give up all hunting? Unfortunately you claim YOUR contingency of those that want stabbers limited and changes enacted is growing. The fact of the matter is that the contingency of people in demographics much younger than you is growing far faster and has an incredibly more restrictive overall view on ALL of these activities even the ones you deem "fair" 

Frankly, I could care less if MDC/AGFC or every state agency said I couldn't bow fish, spear fish, and gig. What I do care about is those agencies saying I can't fish or can't hunt. While you are older than me, you may never see that day I unfortunately could and my children likely will.

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

1 hour ago, MoCarp said:

personally all stabbing methods where legal should have a MAX size no fish over a certain size.... harvest IS in the tool box of fisheries management.

 

 

I'm curious about how would you estimate the size before you harvest?  

[Devan S.]

1 minute ago, Daryk Campbell Sr said:

I'm curious about how would you estimate the size before you harvest?  

You wouldn't especially if your talking an 18" walleye to say a 24" walleye it would be a guess and check and pay the price if your wrong. However then he could come on here and cry and moan about those dang stabbers and not following the rules of the law just like those dang bow fisherman shooting and stabbing all those walleye and musky.