Spots to 12" possibly

[GKL]

https://moconservation.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_81aZArSFkOyiAS2

[dan hufferd]

I love catching suspended spots off shore, and there is another fish that I like to go after that relates to the spotted bass off shore feeding frenzy.

I think they will be giving out tickets for 12 LM, I believe some people don't know the difference.

[willyfish]

5 hours ago, dan hufferd said:

I love catching suspended spots off shore, and there is another fish that I like to go after that relates to the spotted bass off shore feeding frenzy.

I think they will be giving out tickets for 12 LM, I believe some people don't know the difference.

I can see the pros and cons to both sides, but I agree with Dan. I don’t think some people know the difference and could start keeping 12 inch largemouth . That obviously does the lake no good. 

[Dutch]

4 hours ago, willyfish said:

I can see the pros and cons to both sides, but I agree with Dan. I don’t think some people know the difference and could start keeping 12 inch largemouth . That obviously does the lake no good. 

That’s easy to solve.  A citation and fine would cure that and word would get around.

[Al Agnew]

A whole lot of anglers don't know the difference.  But I think that the agents would be using something simple to identify them, even if it's not exactly correct...the tooth patch on the tongue.  10-15% of largemouth have a tooth patch, but it's an easy ID feature and some largemouth mortality from using it is probably considered acceptable.

And there's one simple way to avoid getting ticketed if you can't tell the difference...don't keep them.

[basska]

11 hours ago, Al Agnew said:

A whole lot of anglers don't know the difference.  But I think that the agents would be using something simple to identify them, even if it's not exactly correct...the tooth patch on the tongue.  10-15% of largemouth have a tooth patch, but it's an easy ID feature and some largemouth mortality from using it is probably considered acceptable.

And there's one simple way to avoid getting ticketed if you can't tell the difference...don't keep them.

My simplest way to *roughly* explain the difference to friends who don't know is to think of a Spot as a Largemouth body with a Smallie jaw.

[Bill Babler]

Most everyday fishermen know, but at times it can be a bit hard to tell. Maybe 10 out of 100 clients would know unless they had been with a guide on spotted bass waters prior. 

I’ve had numerous people think they were crappie and some think they were perch. Most just say bass. To them there is. O difference. 

The real kicker is I’ve had countless clients think smallmouth were carp. 

Folks,  this is not 30 years ago. A fish is a fish is a fish to a huge percentage of our population. 


 

[tjm]

I thought the easy  key to identifying spotted vs largemouth was in the dorsal fin?

[Quillback]

Beaver went to a 10 spotted bass limit with no minimum length maybe 3-4 years ago.  I haven't heard of any enforcement issues.  Not saying there haven't been any, but none I have heard of.  

Stockton has a 12" limit on spots, 15" on the other bass.

I don't see enforcement issues being a reason to not consider changing the limit.  

You also have different size limits on cutts, browns, and rainbows on the tailwater rivers.  If you've got people that can't tell a smallmouth from a carp, just imagine how many can't tell a cutt from a rainbow, or a rainbow from a brown.

[tjm]

I talked to a guy a few years ago on Capp's Creek who claimed he couldn't tell a RBT from a BT, also saw a group of three on another stream all excited about the "trout" one had caught, that looked like a sucker from where I was standing. Let the enforcement folks worry about the enforcement problems.