What? No one

[jscheetz]

Gonefishin - it's nice to know it's not just radicals like me and PETA - under fire - but fine upstanding citizens like yourself getting hassled by the man as well.

Seems like that guy was out to get you - you didn't run over his dog or anything did you? That is definitely going too far coming on your own property. But you are right - if we could get a few agents who were "special services" kind of guys - you know, like sending in the swat team - they should be on the gigging rivers the first couple weeks of the season at least to keep it in check, be at taney during the Brown spawn - etc etc - But since that won't happen, I think that is why some others have suggested dilligence on the part of us law abiders in trying to turn in the bad guys - not being vigilantes, although I think some things almost call for that - but just trying to keep watch on things.

Anyway - I'm out here on the job, hunkered down in the bushes with my camcorder in hand and Sheriff Buford on speed dial on the cel. - Hey - maybe I could get my own "reality" show on Animal Planet - Camo face paint and all - "Can I see your license sir - and what's that bass with the hole in his head doing in your cooler?"

JS

[Wayne SW/MO]

I was told of a proposal to hire retired HP's and others on a part time basis to "Hit the high spots", but I don't know how far it went, if it went at all. The idea was that they would be part time and wouldn't require a monetary commitment. I thought the idea sounded pretty good.

[Al Agnew]

Gonefishin...point about the giant Arkansas redhorse is that they are there in Arkansas streams, and so are the gamefish. Redhorse or other suckers, the usual targets of giggers, do not compete with smallmouths and other gamefish for habitat, nor do they eat smallmouth eggs. They may eat invertebrates that smallmouth fry also eat, but they don't eat them in the same places. Sorry, I don't buy the rationale of liberalizing gigging in order to enhance gamefish populations, and up until now, the usual rationalization given by MDC for gigging is simply to better utilize an otherwise underutilized resource, which gets back to my point that the sucker population in MO Ozark streams is no longer underutilized.

Also, I have to disagree with your assertion that bass don't stay in the same places and are not as easy to gig as suckers. You said you've never gigged. I have. At night, under lights, bass are easy to find and easy to gig. They will sometimes be found in with schools of suckers, especially on smaller streams, but most of the time they'll be found close to cover, as you said. That doesn't make them more difficult to gig, because they tend to hold still in the light. Once you find one, it's easy to gig.

Bryantsmallie...I never said giggers are the only reason there aren't more big smallmouths. Habitat loss is a whole nother story, but it is often used as a convenient excuse for not doing anything about other problems such as gigging. Nor did I say smallmouths are never gigged by accident. Thing is, it's up to the gigger to positively ID their target before gigging it, and oops is no excuse. I've never gigged ANY gamefish by accident.

I don't mind sharing the river with law-abiding giggers. It's a fun sport and a very interesting one if done right. But the worst thing about gigging is that in no other way can one so specifically target the biggest gamefish in the river. I do NOT like sharing the already scarce resource of big smallmouths with those who are illegally killing them.

Maybe MDC should come up with a few waterproof stuffed 20 inch smallies and anchor them in the river and watch them nights during gigging season like they've done with the mounted buck to catch road hunters!

[jscheetz]

Great idea about the fake smallies Al!!! While we are at it - suppose it would be too extreme to ask them to run about 20,000 volts of juice into the decoys as well? Be easy to spot who did the gigging after that - look for the guy with the curly hair.

As far as all of this - "sometimes make a mistake when the water is murky" nonsense. - - If you can't positively identify the game - YOU DON'T KILL IT!!!!!!! Geeeeesh - this is sportsmanship 101 - maybe some down in the hills haven't taken the classes yet. Growing up in Iowa - when a phesant got up 50 yards away in snow and a stiff wind - if you couldn't identify it as a rooster - it was simple - you just didn't shoot. Wait for the next one. It is not that hard to make sure.

JS

[gonefishin]

js:

You are a riot. I would love to see that reality show....go for it.

The officer I am talking about was not out to get me. He was just way over the top on the gung ho business. As I said I was not the only land owner to have a run in with him. He believed that landowners should have to follow the same rules on their property as non-landowners had to follow. Buying licences to fish in private stocked ponds ect. This put him in direct confrontation with landowners. His problem wasn't that his heart wasnt in the right place, it was in enemy identification. He spent so much time fighting with landowners that he lost track of the serious violaters.

I agree with you about the target identification. That is why I never catch brown trout when fishing for rainbows or Crappie when fishing for Bass.

Just kidding, seriously I do agree but I also know that an occasional accident will happen especially with younger people learning the sport or people who maybe dont see quiet as well as others; I see no reason to hang them for the offense. If they are specifically targeting game fish and are caught with a boat load of game fish then it is a different story.

My point is moderation. I believe there are a few bad eggs out there and a few radicals but that by and large most people are trying to do things right and just enjoy fishing. If a person is seen repeatedly doing something wrong or is doing something dangerous then I agree the law should be immediatly notified but, if a person simply makes a mistake or becasue they like to eat suckers and someone else dont there is no reason to get out the tar and feathers.

[gonefishin]

Food for thought........

I think all of us need to remember one of the main reasons we have such a great fishery in Missouri is because there are so many people involved in fishing. The state spends a lot of money on outdoor sports because they make a lot of money from licence and equipment sales. If we allow the selectively removal of certain fishermen giggers today, grabbers tomorrow, bait fishermen with a Hills Brothers can full of worms next week and catfishing next month, bow fishermen next year and so on. Eventually there will be fewer people participating in the sport and the revenues will start dropping, the state will stop spending as much money and in the end all fishing will suffer and we will discover that all we have done is hurt ourselves.

[bryantsmallie28]

HAHAHAHA the fake smallie idea is hilarious. I would love to see the people swarm that thing in the day. Put that thing in a creek where people can see and people would swarm it in boats like crazy. I would just love to see it. I'm sure they could probably come up with something like that.