Pretty unbelievable

[tjm]

15 hours ago, Daryk Campbell Sr said:

Other than culling,

We can all cull, if we do it immediately, they get  to haul the fish around for hours before making that decision. That should stop unless they pay substantially more or the use of the fish, say $100/day per man. That use fee might also have a limiting factor  on numbers of contests or numbers of entries.  Of course any culling or transport rules would be unenforceable. What tourney folks are allowed to do that the public is not is make money from the taking of wildlife. 

I don''t think any contest involving taking of wildlife is ethical, unless the participants eat what they take; once we decide to make taking a contest all claim to moral high ground is moot. Would there be acceptance if someone organized a team deer killing contest on public land? Squirrels are pests and nuisances but if some sponsor set up a squirrel killing contest  on pubic lands similar to a gigging tournament and dumped the  carcasses how would that be accepted?

Improving habitat for wildlife is generally considered to be ethical and brush pile are generally though to improve the habitat, so building piles would be a good thing. Fishing a pile for consumption would be just as ethical as shooting a deer in a cornfield that you planted.

[MOPanfisher]

There are contests every fall, doesn't matter if it is taken from public land over a food plot or from the apple orchard behind their house.  I have no issue with tourney guys fishing man made piles and making more, benefits more than just them.  I don't like the idea of dumping a bucket of craw dad's or sack of dog food there right before a tournament, but have no clue if the rules allow for that or not.  If we (non tourney fishermen) are catch and releasing why would we be concerned about culling, wouldn't even have a bass in the live well unless we are hauling it around for hero pics.  Always wondered how many under sized bass and crappie get dropped into live boxes at docks for a fish fry, lots I suspect.

[fshndoug]

It seems to me that a lot of us have too much time on our hands to think about such things as building brush piles and making money on public waterways by doing so.

[Mitch f]

11 minutes ago, fshndoug said:

It seems to me that a lot of us have too much time on our hands to think about such things as building brush piles and making money on public waterways by doing so.

I’m not understanding?

[fishinwrench]

Well first off, I don't care how many brush piles you build, and how many tournaments you take a check in.....You aren't going to make a profit. 

Profit means that your income exceeds your investment.  I studied HARD on ways to profit from the fishing industry, and chose to invest in the avenue that required the least investment and made the most sense.   

[Johnsfolly]

Brushpiles and artificial reefs in a marine environment do concentrate fish, which means that they would be a spot where overharvest could take place. However, it does seem that with sufficient efforts to add to the number of piles and reefs, that there is a net positive on the number of juvenile fish that utilize those areas as well and increase adult recruitment.

There is a guy in Ocean City that over the years has dumped tens of thousands of cinder and large concrete blocks to create new reef structure. Now he claims to not fish those spots. He also has diver footage of establishment of soft corals and grasses on those piles.

I would think that the brushpiles in LOZ does the same thing and ultimately is a net positive to recruitment for species like crappie, bluegill, and bass.