Thread: Fish hogging

By "hogging" do you mean keeping the allowed limit that NCW has set?

I shared my experience and don't feel it will have any affect on me catching fish in the future. I'm confident enough with my fishing ability that I can catch some fish no matter.
I don't fish Jordan but maybe once or twice a year because I choose to fish other lakes. If I was Monk I would be posting a report every time I went because if the fish are biting, the cash register is ringing and something tells me that probably makes he and Mrs Monk happy. Shouldn't we all be happy?

There's a 20-fish limit per person and all keepers must be over 10 inches. Jessica Baumann, NC Wildlife biologist for Jordan Lake, believes that the limit and size are okay right now, provided there is an abundant food supply, primarily threadfin shad. At the meeting last Spring, Jessica was asked about a 12 inch minimum size and she did not think it necessary right now. Last Saturday I was fishing on Jordan around 5:00 in the afternoon when the wind almost completely stopped. It was amazing at the numbers of shad schools working the surface of the water, which is a very good sign for the crappie.

Every now and then word will get out about some folks keeping buckets of crappie, not caring about the size and limit of the fish. That's the time we need to be calling the game warden so he can fine these people. Most of the crappie folks I have met are good and decent people, but there are always those few.

Originally Posted by gobblespeck

It sure is funny to me to listen to all the complaints about Jordan being down the last 3 years and then they finally start biting again and people start sharing with the world and keeping all they can. I'm afraid will see jordan down again unless people wake up and stop hogging. Just my opinion. Please don't take this personal.

there is a limit and RESPONSIBLE FISHERMAN will keep their limits, not HOGGERS!!!

Originally Posted by gobblespeck

It sure is funny to me to listen to all the complaints about Jordan being down the last 3 years and then they finally start biting again and people start sharing with the world and keeping all they can. I'm afraid will see jordan down again unless people wake up and stop hogging. Just my opinion. Please don't take this personal.

Do you know why Jordan has been "Down". The threadfin shad died off due to extreme cold in 2011. There was not a lack of Crappie, as a matter of fact , there were too many Crappie for the food supply. By taking what the legal limit allows, the remaing Crappie to grow faster, larger, and are healthier, because the population has been reduced.

One large female can lay as many as 5,000 eggs. It is easy for a lake or pond to become over populated and the fish become stunted and over time genetically small.

Remember, what my Dad told me many years ago, "fish don't get big from biting a hook".

Monk

I find it hard to believe people catching their "limit" can start the decline of the Jordan crappie. I went trout fishing and caught my legal limit and I know others who caught their limits. I guess the trout population is about to go on a major decline. This past deer season I harvested my legal limit of deer. I put to use everything I take and I do it in a legal manner. It might be crappie, bass, trout, or deer, I am under the assumption the WRD set these limits for a reason. I appreciate reading peoples post about fishing and hope everyone has a great trip. If I am not fishing I enjoy reading about others great trips. For every "Limit" trip think how many people go and catch just a few. We all can't catch fish every time we hit the water so there is no need to be a chicken little and think the sky is falling. We are entitled to our opinion and this is mine.

As long as the catch is legal and not wasted...catch em and keep em! I know guys that catch hundreds of crappie each week year round, but they rarely keep any.

Limits are set for a reason and although I don't always agree with them, I figure the ones that set the limits know more about setting them than I do. The only thing I like better than catching them are eating them. So I try to get my limit every time I go. Doesn't always work out that way though.

Thoughts...

Have sales of fishing NC licenses increased over the past 3,5,10,20 years?
Have the number of crappie fishermen increased over the past 3.5.10,20 years?


My gut tells me that the quantity of fishermen has remained somewhat constant over the past 10 years or so, but w/the leaps in technology and decline in secrecy (C.com), the average yield/fisherman has increased. In other words, I feel like there a somewhat steady number of crappie fisherman more concentrated in the areas where C.com says they are biting (the illusion of more fishermen), and using their toys, they are more successful in harvesting fish from those spots (an minor increase in harvest).

The threadfins are abundant again. And no matter how many fishermen are catching their limits, they are only catching they predators...leaving more prey for fewer predators. Everyone is right here. However, 3 years ago, when the prey declined and the remaining predators were concentrated into a few acres of water, I feel that was a time when fishermen keeping 20 fish each (myself included) may have had a negative impact on the Jordan Lake fishery in the short term. But even then it's a market, and economy of sorts...where supply decreased, demand moved somewhere else (Harris).


What if we (the C.com Jordan Lake crew) donated $$ to stock threadfins into Jordan Lake? How much would that cost? Perhaps Jessica Bauman could give us a $ amount? While I feel the number of crappie fisherman is somewhat steady, we can all agree that the C.com community has EXPLODED in the past few years. We have enough sway to pull our tax funded Wildlife representatives to us...and they are listening to us.
Jeremy