Too Far, Too Fast, Too Long

[Daddy Carp]

Are we going too far, too fast and falling off the edge before we can stop? Remember the days of the of the “muscle” cars when it was nothing to crank a 327 cu. To put out 600 hp. Just to brag bigger, better, faster getting to the next stoplight – The day when a triumph cycle was 650 cc & guaranteed to do 160 mph but we had to have a café racer @ 1600cc or a V-6, 2200 cc and no place or guts to open it up all the way – a bass boat that won tournaments with a 60 hp to 80hp engine, and could troll all day without hurting it, was replaced by the “gotta have to win” motors of 275 hp to 300 hp motors that will burn out & carbon up in 1 days trolling. – the 40 hp pontoons with plenty of speed for the family which now need 150 hp to “be in the in-group” or the 75 hp bow riders on Lake of the Ozarks now replaced by million hp “cigar” boats as a status symbol that have ruined the lake use for the average boater. This is a result, I think, of drilled in competitiveness, over the years, creating a feeling that “mine has to be bigger, faster and newer that the rest. In other words, a spoiled society of humans who already have the natural traits of greed, selfishness, power control and vanity. The strength of these traits will vary with each individual but are still there. In our ploys to want more fish and bigger fish in the pool than we had before, is I think a lazyness or greed factor we are applying with the rules, limits and regs. What is wrong with having to work , as before, to catch a 10 – 15 lb fish and doing so maybe every so often. Now, a lot of anglers feel cheated out of their entitlement or “fair share” if they do not get a trophy on every other cast. Fun to fight, yep, but not unique, special or “badge of success” at that rate. I am 100% for protecting a species or fishery, within reason, and realize also that species will change and some disappear due to evolutionary process. Before we create problems the controlling of slots, lengths, possession, etc. primarily for the sake of “bigger & more”. We need to stop & think hard about: Fuel/atmosphere problems, reduced use from over-sizing of equipments, decline of other sharing species, creating a monster that will never be satisfied until it consumes its caretaker. I keep hearing “ more trophy size, bring this species to me so I don’t have to travel to them, don’t let that group catch them- save them for me”. Any time we vote or recommend a rule or regulation, we need to consider our true reasoning and the possible consequences as far into the future as we can imagine (what ifs). Just a little food for thought, no implied right or wrong, just some facts that have put us in some situations we now have to deal with or clean up today from yesterdays party!

God Bless………D.C

[Ham]

Well, Happy Holidays to you too.

[Danoinark]

Well, I will have to agree with DC. And in the infamous words of Pogo "YEP, SON, WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND HE IS US." ...

Dano

[flyfshn]

Amen!

[Al Agnew]

Yep, there is much there that I agree with, too.

As for "trophy" regulations...it's an interesting question. How much of the whole catch and release, very restrictive regs mindset is wanting better fishing and bigger fish, and how much is simply trying to maintain the fishing we have now? While the total numbers of anglers as measured by license sales seem to be stable or dropping, the numbers of SERIOUS anglers, in my opinion, have never been higher. And the knowledge and technology is light years ahead of what it was 30-40 years ago. The fishing I'm most familiar with, stream bass fishing, has changed greatly during that time period, and not for the better overall. The more pressure you have on the resource, the more restrictions you have to put on it.

But the restrictive regs, such as those in the smallmouth special management areas, do tend to foster the expectation of much better fishing and bigger fish. And as you said, when you spend the money for all those boats and gear and tackle, you want a good return on investment. Fishing becomes a single-minded quest for the biggest and the most, instead of being a joyful and beautiful experience in the great outdoors. I've had to tell myself that sometimes when the fishing on an Ozark stream has been poor--hey, I'm on a gorgeous river, so I should take the time to enjoy the experience instead of staying so zoned in on catching fish. Because in the end, being on the river is more important than catching X number of fish.

[Crippled Caddis]

Truly outstanding rant DC! And pretty much spot-on from where I sit.

Another manifestation of the Dr. Spock syndrome IMO. I highly suspect that those who won't agree are a part of the problem rather than the solution. CC

[Trav]

Im on that bandwagon.

The worst part of it is, that our youth dont know any better.

How Long, before the sport generations out to something unrecognizable?

How Far will the trends take it until only the priviledged can afford it?

How Fast will this degeneration happen?

Never thought when I was a kid that I was living the good old days.

I for one hold on to the pleasure of just fishing. Fishing like I did 30 years ago. Guess thats why I still hang onto my 1961 evinrude. Haha

[creek wader]

I agree with Al. I too am a stream/bass fisherman. Sometimes, I would get caught up in numbers and size. Then I would see a mink or eagle. Or round a bend in the fall and the sun is hitting the leaves just right or gleaming off the water at a riffle. Then realize that's what it's about. I'm not sitting in front of the TV, but out here wading a beautiful stream. To me the next 6 in. smallie that I catch is a trophy fish on that little stream. He's the big fish in the little pocket by the log. I can recieve more enjoyment fishing a stream that you can step across, and catching a hard fighting green sunfish, out from under a rootwad in 6 in. of water. Then flying 70 mph. across a lake so I can fling a huge crank bait at the same stump, that somebody else just casted to 20 min. ago. ... Then again, that's just me. To each thier own.

[Guest]

Al Agnew said:

hey, I'm on a gorgeous river, so I should take the time to enjoy the experience instead of staying so zoned in on catching fish. Because in the end, being on the river is more important than catching X number of fish.

S

[Thom]

Hey have any of you looked through old photo albums and noticed pics of stringers of fish kept in the past? I have some pictures of lunkers that I kept. I am almost embarrased to even show them today. Taney was so full of the freshwater shrimp that jig and float worked almost anywhere on the stream. My two teenager sons came in about 12:30 in the morning just off Lazy Valley's dock in our small boat holding one 5 pound rainbow and then about an hour later another the same size.

I have since discovered that 4 nice 12 inch rainbows smoked on a grill with the approiate stuffing or fileted are all I need.

Of course my three hungry teenagers now have teenagers of their own.

Yes those were the good ole days.