Thread: The future

Originally Posted by manta1

So on talquin 25 per person per day has a ceiling of 50 fish total?so if a feller stays a week, lucks up and catches his limit every day, he is breaking the law to go home with them?

This is the law on any lake in Florida or Georgia you are allowed to creels in your possession, that includes truck, boat cooler, and freezer. 25 in Florida times 2 days equals 50 a person to take home. In Georgia it is 30 a day and 60 in your possession! Some used to think if they night fished and it turned to another day after midnight, but it is considered one trip and you are only allowed 1 creel limit per person in the boat period. They will count the same fish twice if you have shorts and over the limit. 50 Talquin crappie fillets is a lot of meat! 100 bream possession in both states.

If you go for a week catch and release or change species! Should not need over 3 days to get a possession limit anytime on Talquin. Use this time to try something new or look for bigger fish, don't rape an area as Tim said.

i have truely enjoyed reading this entire thread. alot of very good points and some things i realy didnt want to know is going on. it makes me sick and very angree when i see someone abusing the priviledges that we have and raping the lakes. im the kind of guy who tends to speak his mind. i have no problem yelling at a guy in another boat or on the bank when i see them keeping tater chip size fish. or any of the other stupid crap we see on the water. but then again my mouth has got me in hot water most of my life if you know what i meen. i have always tried my best to maintain a 10 inch size limit for me and whoever is in my boat. i dont like to keep fish during the spawn but i do keep enough for a meal or 2. and keep smaller fish than i should if im fishing a tournament. to get my seven to wiegh if im having a bad day. and we have all had those days.

after reading this and alot of it twice i will most deffinatly be thinking more about what i do and what i see. just to try and do my part for the betterment of our beloved sport. and the future of it. we can only hope that others do the same. i know there will always be those few dumb a** SOBs around who dont care and all the talking in the world will never change that. and im sure my mouth will get me in more trouble. but at least i can sleep at night knowing im trying to do the right thing. thanks for a great read and some good food for thought.

I have never taken more than a limit of any kind of game and have only caught limits of fish a few times. I won't keep a fish that I think is too small to eat unless its injured and may not live, I let the turtles fend for themselves.

If I have to choose between bringing small crappie home to eat and not bringing any I'll take a mess of small ones. I would rather have fileting size fish but I have made a lot more trips when we only caught small ones than I have when they were all slabs.

I agree with ya''ll about leaving some to grow, but when I spend fifty dollars and ten or more hours trying to catch crappie to eat, all the negative comments in the world ain't gonna cause me to throw back everything under ten inches if it means emptying my livewell and coming home empty handed.

No offense intended, but I have spent a pile of money and am working hard trying to learn how to catch more and bigger fish like a lot of folks report doin, but until then I'll have to settle for eating small ones. I likes fried taters and I likes hushpuppies but I anin't agonna cook either one lessen I got some fish to flavor the grease.

Richard

Stickburner, no offense was intended! No one has a problem with you keeping what the law allows. Which is 25 over ten inches at Talquin. Talquin has plenty of nice slabs as it has the best shad population in our area and no hybrids to gorge on them. Up until a few years back we did not have flatheads either, until someone self introduced a keystone invasive species. This allows the crappie to eat more and grow faster. They are working hard to get the flatheads out as their juveniles eat these shad and their adults can eat adult crappie.

There are many of us who are able to catch a limit+ whenever we go and must remember that we have been blessed and respect that blessing. Its like the parable of talents in the bible. Matthew 25:13-31 Sorry if anyone offended you. If you are down towards Talquin shoot me a PM and I will be sure you catch plenty.

I am one who doesn't like to see someone catch a pile of small fish weekend after weekend. Usually we keep the good size fish and not the number of fish and have plenty to eat. But one thing that I have to agree with is the guys that keep the small fish don't waste 20% of the fish like the guys that fillet the big ones and throw away what most would eat. Just my opinion but I hate to see those fish that were fillet floating around on the lake with all that meat wasted.

I agree with the cost of fishing and not bringing anything home. That's why I am in favor of either a 10 inch size limit or dropping limit to 20 or so. It would keep more fish in the lakes to catch. Wouldn't see immediate results but after a few years you would. Every trip I make to oconee cost me about $80 in gas for the truck and about $20 for the boat plus lunch and minnows etc.. been lots of trips where I come home empty handed or with one or 2 fish. If all I am catching is throwbacks I still enjoy it. Don't get me wrong I like eating them but the catching part and being out on the lake is what I enjoy. Honestly id rather eat a ribeye over fish and I could buy a lot of ribeyes for what I spend every week or 2 going fishing. But I enjoy fishing and spending the time with family and friends so that's worth more than a steak to me. It may seem like it wouldn't help to change some of the rules but you got to consider the amount of crappie fishermen that don't post on this site. A lot of us have personal limits but there are way more people fishing than just on this forum. That's my opinion anyway.

It ain't about the fishing, it is about the trip. Fish will never make a lasting memory but time with family and friends last forever.

We must find ways to preserve our fisheries and our game. I remember Talquin, Santee, and Oconee 35 years ago and how it is today. I also remember the Dove hunts we had when I was young and how they are today.

I believe if we honor the Possession limits all will be OK but most don't and won't.