12 inch limit on spotted bass to go into effect April 30

[Devan S.]

 

On Table Rock Lake the only lower limit of fish is Walleye and per MDC/AGFC its nearly a put and take fishery. Nobody with any significance catches and releases walleye. I've been criticized over the years for throwing back big fish. Panfish, I can nearly keep coolers full. Nobody bats an eye for bait or eating. Crappie identical to walleye in that nobody in any significance catches and releases but people keep coolers and freezers fill with em. Catfish, I can use about any lazy method to catch and can keep 10. 

Yet all this pressure always talked about being insane is catch and release tournament fishermen not the slicer and dicers. Those guys are out chasing other species and they might catch and keep a few bass but its acceptable for every species except bass. Literally blows my mind.

 

 

[tjm]

No lazy person keeps fish that have to toted around, then cleaned, and the resulting mess cleaned up and disposed of, then the fish has to made table ready; trust me a lazy person simply turns the fish loose. 

As to the tourneys, they do not practice C&R, for the most part,  they take, possess, haul, weigh and dump. If the fish survives, it will be lost and disoriented  in a strange place. Catch and release means released immediately, no possession and therefore no limits. I believe that tourneys probably do more damage to the bass population than the meat eaters do, but since the the tourneys are usually size oriented and the spots apparently  don't get so big there, the tourneys probably don't hurt the spotted bass population as much as they do the other bass. Take away the money competitions and all fisheries would do better. That won't happen, even if the bass fishery becomes so bad that the contests have to be supported by stocking. 

I have released a lot of sunfish, rock bass and crappie over the years, even  a catfish or two, and a few suckers, as well as trout and bass.  It's how I know what a lazy fisherman does. 

[skeeter]

On 2/19/2026 at 11:52 AM, tjm said:

It seems that is what the fisheries people believe, it seems to be their reasoning for lowering the length limits. 

Except every time I encounter an MDC fisheries sampling boat, they are cruising close to the shoreline while shocking and netting fish to be counted and sampled.  I question just how accurate their study is because of that procedure.  

[skeeter]

On 2/19/2026 at 7:03 PM, fishinwrench said:

Right.  Like everybody that fishes TR is suddenly going to start harvesting 12" Kentucky's 🙄

If you lived here and were here early enough to remember the 15" limit being installed in '76, the reason for that is that Bass were being kept, long before catch-and-release got popular, as soon as or before they reached 12 ".  MDC surveys and on-the-water creel census of anglers proved it.  The concern is not that 12" spots will suddenly begin being kept, it is that mis-identification of the species, both accidental and deliberate will ensue.  

[tjm]

1 hour ago, skeeter said:

MDC surveys and on-the-water creel census of anglers proved it.

It seems 50 years of leaning on MDC's part and more recent surveys have disproved it at this point. 

1 hour ago, skeeter said:

The concern is not that 12" spots will suddenly begin being kept, it is that mis-identification of the species, both accidental and deliberate will ensue.  

Misidentifaction is always a valid concern. Some people can't tell carp from suckers, nor brown trout from rainbows. Some giggers can't tell bass from suckers.  But those who practice deliberate ignorance for the sake of eating a small bass probably already practice some means poaching. Unenforced laws and regulations are in the end just suggestions. If the regulations are enforced, the wardens won't have a problem with identification and if the regulations are not enforced, they don't matter, do they? 

[bobby b.]

On 2/20/2026 at 12:13 PM, miket said:

Best thing to do is trust the MDC

Number One Lie - I'm from the government and I'm here to help you.

In these winter months Spots I catch are generally 15.1 inch footballs..  I don't keep any fish ever except a keeper walleye if caught on accident.  I do know that the best tasting Spot is a winter fish.  But there are much fewer winter bass fishmen on TR than in the summer when it's hard to catch a 15 inch Spot.  The point is that I do think that bass fisherman generally "catch and release" so it is not an issue with taking some `12 inch Spots off the lake but rather putting more pressure on the lake so a "limit" can be bragged about.

I do not give two hoots about length limits but rather the amount of tournaments and pressure on TR and I think this new rule will just add more pressure.

Think of it though - I limited out with  a 3 lb bag.

[snagged in outlet 3]

2 hours ago, bobby b. said:

I do not give two hoots about length limits but rather the amount of tournaments and pressure on TR and I think this new rule will just add more pressure.

AMEN!   The amount of tourney boats on some of the weekends is simply ridiculous!   

[fishinwrench]

So what shall be the length rules on Meanmouth? 

[Gavin]

I’d lump the  smallie/spot hybrids in with the spots. Kill the bastards.

[Quillback]

Arkansas removed length limits on spots in Beaver lake several years ago.  You can keep 6 of them, any size.  I don't know if it has made any difference at all in the bass fishing.  When there is a good year class of bass, it is usually attributed to good spawn survival due to high water in the spring (more cover).

Have not heard anything from AGFC as to whether the spotted bass rule change on Beaver made any difference.

New set of regulation proposals just came out for Arkansas.  They are proposing a move to 12" on smallmouth in "reservoirs" down from the current 15" in Beaver.  Reason is to make the rules uniform across the state.  Doesn't appear to have anything to do with fish management.