Table Rock spotted bass

[pstone]

I’m fine with lowering the length limit on Spots

[Bgctrading]

We always keep all the legal spots to eat. We turn back all the smallies. If lowering length limit will help the other fish I'm all for it.

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

3 hours ago, Bgctrading said:

We always keep all the legal spots to eat. We turn back all the smallies. If lowering length limit will help the other fish I'm all for it.

ive kept a few 12 inchers out of Bull and they taste great, i mixed them in with crappie and couldnt tell the difference

[Lvn2Fish]

8 hours ago, Maverickpro201 said:

So when you going to take me fishing.  

Let’s go ! 

[dwiebenga]

What about 12” minimum and only 1-2 over 15?

[Bill Babler]

This saddens and breaks my heart. I have seen a continuous decline in the fishery since the LM Bass virus. 

This is mostly due to fishermen adapting and fishing off shore and being more adept at catching spotted bass. 

Now with the popularity of FFS and the ability to use it in everyday fishing it puts a greater strain on the resources. 

To lower the length will further cause this resource to deplete. You think it’s hard to catch 15” fish now. Wait a year or two if this happens. 

As far as this benefiting the other black bass populations in the lake it won’t do a durn thing  

We have a huge forage base here, that is ample to sustain way more predatory fish than the lake is currently populated with, or producing  

Smallmouth are vastly different forage harvesters than their cousins.  Their diets consist of not only shad and crayfish, but aquatic insects and invertebrates to large degrees.  Lowering the numbers of spotted bass will not increase the numbers or size of our smallmouth.  They are in ZERO competition for forage  

Spotted bass are sexually mature prior to our legal harvest limits. Thru biological study it takes a spotted bass 7 years to reach 15”. They start spawning after their 4 th. Year. 

There are many studies that show the slower growing spotted bass can live to be 15-20 years old. LM and SM have a life expectancy of 12 years or so. 

With more than enough forage, no stunned growth in any species and many people calling for stocking. Why are we trying to reduce bass numbers?

Yes, at times large numbers are available and congregated. Mostly during Winter migration and post spawn. Large numbers will be in a few lake sections but I caution you these numbers mean they aren’t somewhere else. They are in a few locations congregated. 

The use of this resource is at an all time high and climbing. The ability to locate and catch fish is increasing at levels that really were not understandable a few years ago. 

FFS adaptive fishing methods and off shore non structure fishing have revolutionized fishermen’s ability to find locate and catch fish in open water to depths of 100 plus feet.

Fish that in the past really no one knew existed are easily caught using modern technology. I really found this out during the November Toyota tournament here. 

Fishing this lake for more than 50 years I learned more things about TR lake than I had in those 50 years from 22 year old kids in a 3 day period  

You really can’t compare Bull or Beaver with TR. The inaccessibility of Bull and the lack of fishing pressure for black bass on Beaver total separate the fisheries. 

Ask anyone on Lake of the Ozarks what FFS and the technique of dock shooting has done to the large crappie on Lake O. in the last 5-10 years. 

Use the Ben Franklin method here. Put a column of plus and a column of minus and take a close look. 

Remember this, the forage base can only go in the column for why not to increase harvest.   It does nothing as far as the size or number of smallmouth or largemouth as we have a base that far exceeds what is currently consumable by our bass population.  

Anyone in favor of this has only one intention and it’s not to enhance the fishery. 
It’s strictly consumption. 




 

 

 

[Dutch]

Bill I totally agree with you.  However, it looks like we may be in the minority.  I have the name of the biologist who is pushing this if you are interested in contacting him.

[Lvn2Fish]

The real conservation question is how many crappie can Rick Lapoint possibly eat . 

[Mitch f]

Seems the FFS has a greater impact on lakes like Table Rock and Bull Shoals. But I’m just blown away by the decline of bigger smallmouth even before FFS. What the heck happened to Table Rock for big smallmouth? The rivers are now producing bigger smallmouth it seems. That’s weird…

 

[snagged in outlet 3]

11 hours ago, Lvn2Fish said:

The real conservation question is how many crappie can Rick Lapoint possibly eat . 

There’s a story here.  What’s up?