Thread: My take on the TWRA - Ky Lake meeting

Thanks for the update.

Thank you Vonna for the report could not be there but appreciate your interpretations on the meeting. Agree on the number of poles and double catches but don't think that happened much this year.
wife and I talked with Cane Pole last weekend, wonderful man...now if I can only find some connectors for my powerdrive to get a box made for the foot control conversion.
Again thanks for the information. will have to wait to see what the commission does in OCT to see how its affects us all once again.

i always kidded my buddies and said 25 per cent of the fishermen catch 75 percent of the fish

I would be curious to see the data if they raised the harvest data in 2011 from 10 fish per trip to 15 or even 20. I wonder what the percentages would be then

Appreciate the good report Vonna!! Question for you. When it was reported that if the length limit would reduce catches by 43% and 72%, was that for the 1st year after the increase in size limit or was that for every year after. If it is for 1 or 2 years, I would be all for that, as there would be more fish over 10" to lay eggs. Surely after a year or 2 the fish you can harvest would be larger and the numbers would go back to the previous numbers, as the fish should be there and you would think even more so, if the number of fish laying eggs increases.

Originally Posted by sls

Appreciate the good report Vonna!! Question for you. When it was reported that if the length limit would reduce catches by 43% and 72%, was that for the 1st year after the increase in size limit or was that for every year after. If it is for 1 or 2 years, I would be all for that, as there would be more fish over 10" to lay eggs. Surely after a year or 2 the fish you can harvest would be larger and the numbers would go back to the previous numbers, as the fish should be there and you would think even more so, if the number of fish laying eggs increases.

This is nothing but an opinion but when they went up to the 12 in limit on the big 4 down here the sky was falling everywhere. We were never going to be able to catch a limit of keeper's and every other thing that could go wrong. I have no data to back this up but I venture to guess more people catch good bunches of big fish today that they never caught when we had the 10 in limit. But we have lakes that are nutrient rich and forage is thick which helps to grow the fish faster and larger. I always give the experts the benefit of the doubt but I don't see how raising the length limit could hurt in the long run. You have to also realize that tourism dollars pack a lot of political impact on the board that ultimately will make the decisions. If John Henry owns a restaurant that depends on fishing tourism he is going to be against anything he perceives could hurt his business no mater what the long term impact might be.

First I'd like to thank Mrs Crappie stalker for going and being our eye's and ears. My take is that a limit is a limit. don't matter if your using one pole or 10. If I'm using 10 and catch mine in 1 hr and someone else is using 1 pole and it takes them 3 hrs good for them and me it's still a limit. Now something that hasn't been brought up and I have seen with my on eyes is the gill net folks. These should be banned and kill an enormous amount of crappie and tear up boat motors as well. If these guys want to see numbers increase lets get together with them and toot this horn. I'm told their catch goes to the Russians anyway so pee on them. Always amazes me that these biologists do the testing, have the numbers,and are educated to be where they are and know what their doing and some folks want to argue with them. That same guy that has the multiple rods catches his limit and comes back to do it again might be one. Two coves over there might be 2 brothers fishing with one pole and have over a hundred crappie caught and stashed like our TWRA guys caught last year so the POLES don't hold water.

I guess some could say I don't have a dog in this race being from KY but we do share lots of common waters so what goes on in either state affects both states. I know in our area enforcement is key to whatever laws are currently in place or that might change. We get tons of visitors/tourists to our area and most are lawful in their pursuits. Some are not.

Many think game laws pertain to everybody but themselves and those 8 inch crappie eat as good as a 12 inches so since I'm spending all this $$ for license and such, I'm keeping whatever I want until somebody stops me. I have had friends almost come to blows with such people at cleaning stations who were cleaning 5 gallon buckets full of 7-8 inch crappie and resented to the point of violence somebody saying something about it. Until the state F&W have the funding to put more enforcement people on the water and around the lakes, this mindset is not going to change. Until WE are willing to do something about the good-ol-boy mentality of many of our neighbors, all the new laws out there are not going to make a difference. I recently put a post on the main forum about seeing a guy catch some undersized crappie on KY lake and drop them in the livewell. Granted, I should have called my local CO right then and there. I keep his # in my phone. I got blasted by some here that it was none of my business. I decided then that the next time I see a willful violation of our game laws, I'm going to call. I'M GOING TO MAKE IT MY BUSINESS!!

The folks who are whining about pole limits are just doing so out of jealousy. It seems those folks may have an ally who has a big bully pulpit. I don't understand that at all. A limit is a limit.