Mega Longear Sunfish

[snagged in outlet 3]

Do walleye ever get shallow enough to be shot by a bow fisher??

[MoCarp]

42 minutes ago, Devan S. said:

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.  

why do you think we don't have those kind of catches now? is it because of those hyper effective methods?... over time genetics suffer, we are paying the price today......over harvest has destroyed more quality fisheries, perhaps you can take a step back and see...once you see LMB avg sizes crash on TR or more muskie die at Pomme due to bad water conditions....big huge fish of any species are special, eat smaller fish, photo release the big uns, to grace another angler and spread its exceptional genes..if you need a wall mount replicas abound now...unfortunately stabbing methods will not allow that...

I expect salty retort...if you didn't I am not doing well explaining

[MoCarp]

6 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

Do walleye ever get shallow enough to be shot by a bow fisher??

 

[shrapnel]

Wow.

[Huntingducks117]

26 minutes ago, MoCarp said:

once you see LMB avg sizes crash on TR or more muskie die at Pomme due to bad water conditions....big huge fish of any species are special, eat smaller fish, photo release the big uns, to grace another angler and spread its exceptional genes..if you need a wall mount replicas abound now...unfortunately stabbing methods will not allow that...

 

26 minutes ago, MoCarp said:

unfortunately stabbing methods will not allow that

Its already Illegal to "Stab" black bass on Table Rock and It is Illegal to "Stab" Musky on Pomme, so why do you bring it up after talking about water conditions?   

Are you trying to give people the impression that spearfishing and bow fishing are unregulated and take place in unstable fisheries?

 

33 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

Do walleye ever get shallow enough to be shot by a bow fisher??

Bow fishing for walleye would be poaching in Arkansas and Missouri.   

[Devan S.]

59 minutes ago, MoCarp said:

why do you think we don't have those kind of catches now? is it because of those hyper effective methods?... over time genetics suffer, we are paying the price today......over harvest has destroyed more quality fisheries, perhaps you can take a step back and see...once you see LMB avg sizes crash on TR or more muskie die at Pomme due to bad water conditions....big huge fish of any species are special, eat smaller fish, photo release the big uns, to grace another angler and spread its exceptional genes..if you need a wall mount replicas abound now...unfortunately stabbing methods will not allow that...

I expect salty retort...if you didn't I am not doing well explaining

Let's run this back a bit.

YOU said you probably wouldn't have commented if it weren't for the fact it was shot vs. caught by rod/reel. Therefore your really not that upset that he removed the largest of the species or you would be beating that drum on every catch and keep post too.

Yet you say you want protection on larger fish so they can reproduce(genetics are in place from basically conception so provided a fish is allowed to reach mature age they technically are passing on those genes but when is enough? After that fish has passed its peak reproductive stage and then the turtles get it?). You also appear by your own assessments want the lake to be full of big fish right?  Your not here though commenting on every post of every decent fish that gets caught and kept though which tells me you like the idea but it really doesn't pump you up. 

You clearly dislike bow fishing we know that. We know the reason why and I kind of feel bad that those people take those fish and shoot tons of them and dump them on the bank. That is also happening on a scale incredibly larger than the spear fishing in my opinion. One is regulated tighter than rod and reel and the other is a proverbial free for all. 

Answer this in the simplest form you possibly can(its very specific forget your gator gar, oceanic spearfishing reports, anecdotal evidence from bygone years, all the claims about illegal activities, just the simplest meat/potatoes answer you can supply):

In your opinion, does spear fishing legally under the current AGFC guidelines have any significant impact on the fishing compared to rod and reel fisherman?

[MoCarp]

4 hours ago, Huntingducks117 said:

its already Illegal to "Stab" black bass on Table Rock and It is Illegal to "Stab" Musky on Pomme, so why do you bring it up after talking about water conditions?   

Are you trying to give people the impression that spearfishing and bow fishing are unregulated and take place in unstable fisheries?

 

Bow fishing for walleye would be poaching in Arkansas and Missouri.   

to your question one there was a recent fish kill on pomme where big walleyes and muskies were dieing

#2  bow fishing has had negative effects in several waters across the USA, several species have almost been shot to extinction, Alligator Gar is now being raised in hatcheries at one time bounties were paid, but it wasn't till modern compound bows and quality lights did it have an impact of fish populations.....as far as spearfishing, whats stable all waters?  all are flux from good year class spawns to poor ones,  as far as spear fishermen tend to harvest disproportionately more of the largest of that species, how would you feel if they arrowed a 15# brown? harvest is harvest right? its not legal to shoot browns or bass...why not if nothing is wrong with it????

walleyes get poached I have some pics somewhere with holes in them, a double digit LMB was shot in Oklahoma this spring, and an 80#+ flathead was poached in Missouri, they guy would have got away with it but submitted the fish for a record saying he caught it on a limb line

Quote

Missouri Dept Of Conservation: “This man’s actions took away the potential for a fishermen to legally catch a once in a life-time fish,” Harding said. “However, most hunters and anglers are law-abiding citizens who want their catches to be ethical. That’s what makes a good outdoorsman and that’s the kind of legacy we need in order to keep Missouri as a great place to hunt and fish.”

 

3 hours ago, Devan S. said:

Let's run this back a bit.

YOU said you probably wouldn't have commented if it weren't for the fact it was shot vs. caught by rod/reel. Therefore your really not that upset that he removed the largest of the species or you would be beating that drum on every catch and keep post too.

I am not a big fan of putting a knife to nice sized smallmouths ether, have not seen many posts here on filleting big brow trout ether, when they do I am sure ill make a comment

Quote

 Devan S.

"Yet you say you want protection on larger fish so they can reproduce(genetics are in place from basically conception so provided a fish is allowed to reach mature age they technically are passing on those genes but when is enough? After that fish has passed its peak reproductive stage and then the turtles get it?). You also appear by your own assessments want the lake to be full of big fish right?  "

in a perfect world, lets say for this case LMB  could have the top end fish running 9-13 pounds we have had a few lakes produce those size fish in the past, those 6#  fish must get released to have a chance to even sniff its size potential , and over time big fish genetics get fished down, will some die from old age, I would hope so...it would mean that floater 12# bass had passed its genes on to numerous generations, more big fish would be great but you would have fish of all sizes working their way up, now a bass would be VERY lucky to survive getting kept or die from being mishandled in the many years it takes to hit 8# much less 12#, its why you do not see numbers of fish that size in TR anymore

Quote

 Devan S.

You clearly dislike bow fishing we know that. We know the reason why and I kind of feel bad that those people take those fish and shoot tons of them and dump them on the bank. That is also happening on a scale incredibly larger than the spear fishing in my opinion. One is regulated tighter than rod and reel and the other is a proverbial free for all. 

we are closer to agreement on many issues than you think, most states do not allow spearfishing or bow fishing for bass walleyes and Muskies....some do, understanding how this was achieved would surprise you, apathy about methods of harvest typically gets new regs passed, until a firestorm of public opinion happens

Quote

 Devan S.

Answer this in the simplest form you possibly can(its very specific forget your gator gar, oceanic spearfishing reports, anecdotal evidence from bygone years, all the claims about illegal activities, just the simplest meat/potatoes answer you can supply):

In your opinion, does spear fishing legally under the current AGFC guidelines have any significant impact on the fishing compared to rod and reel fisherman?

I feel spear fishermen tend to harvest disproportionately more of the largest of species, the MDC said in regards to the poached flathead - that man’s actions took away the potential for a fishermen to catch a once in a life-time fish, its how I feel about shooting that huge long ear...its more a metaphor to the issues of selecting and removing the very biggest be it a sunfish, walleye, striper, and even a common carp

[MOPanfisher]

How did the fish kill on Pomme become associated with spearfishing/bowfishing/gigging/stabbing anything.  I must have dozed off somewhere along the line, which is quite likely.

[Gavin]

That's a really nice longear. Have caught a few around 8" but they are usually 6" or smaller. I don't care if you speared a bluegill type fish. Have spear fished and hand lined fish in the ocean before. Mostly free diving in 15'-40', Tank diving occasionally for spiny lobsters. Its not easy and physically demanding. Glad you are having fun.

 

[Johnsfolly]

I also have dome quite a bit of spearfishing. Done nearly all while freediving. Like most spearfishermen that I knew kept what we could eat over the next day or two. Enjoyed the challenge. Also followed any regulations that may have been put in place at the time.

I don't equate the spearing of legal fish to what is done by poachers. They are not fishermen or hunters. They are thieves to all of us. Any argument that puts guys that follow the regulations in with poachers to support ones agenda is offensive.