ODWC 2013 Rule Change Proposals

[bigjon]

Hello to all the Oklahoma Crappie.Com folks. I am the new guy BIGJON. I have been one of the lurkers for several years and decided it was time to register and participate more. I live in Tulsa and fish Keystone, Kaw, Birch, Fort Gibson, Hudson, Oologah, Skiatook, Eufaula and the Nav Channel. I fish out of a Fisher 1754 CC with a 40 hp Merc.

The ODWC just posted the proposed rule changes for 2013 and there are some changes that will drastically affect all Oklahoma anglers that use live bait. You can view and comment on the changes on the ODWC Website. There are two proposed changes I want to highlite but you should go to the website and view them all in detail.

Reg 800:10-1-7 " Live bait may only be used in the body of water in which it was collected....................." If you keep minnows or shad at home in a bulk tank you can no longer take them with you to fish another location. I sometimes catch minnows from a small creek near my house a day or two before a trip and under the new law I won't be allowed to do this. Don't know how this will affect minnows bought from a bait shop.

Reg 800:10-5-6 "Prohibits taking, possessing or transporting more than 25 nongame bait fish, except shad, from a river or stream............" This one is a real "killer". It would mean that not only could you not take more than 25 bait fish from a river or stream, but you couldn't even transport more than 25 minnows with you in the boat or on the bank in a minnow bucket. The way it is worded you couldn't have more than 25 minnows in your minnow bucket or live well if you fish in any river or stream, even if you bought the bait from a bait shop.


Please take the time to view all the proposed changes and send you comments to ODWC from their website.

[Crappie hole banger]

ODWC is a joke with the stuff they come up with, there is some deer changes in there that is BS!!!!

[Woodworker42]

Bigjohn, welcome to the board. Maybe we can meet up sometime; I fish Keystone a lot. The OWDC proposed rule changes a concern to a lot of people. We need to let them know how we feel. I think they are somewhat responsive to public input.

[bigjon]

Thanks for the welcome Woodworker42. I spoke to a Crappie.com member at Appalachia Bay boat ramp a few days prior to the last tournament but didn't get a name. We were sandbass fishing and the guy I spoke to was scouting for the tournament.

I understand that we have a real problem with invasive species like zebra mussles, etc. but I don't think live bait anglers are the main problem. While I support the ODWC and the great job they do with few resources I have a problem with the way the regs are written and open for interpretation. For instance, under the new reg no more than 25 bait fish may be taken from any river or stream. Small sunfish are sometimes used for bait and there are no size or bag limits on them. Technically I could take several hundred and still be legal under the bag limit regs but if I used them for bait I couldn't have more than 25
The new regs also don't address bait purchased from a bait shop. The regs also don't address other aquatic species used for bait like frogs, crawfish, tadpoles etc. My concern is that some overzealous LEO will throw the book some poor guy based upon his interpretation of the law.

I just wanted to get as much input as possible to proposed changes by Okla fishermen. I encourage everyone to log on and respond on the ODWC website.

I am looking forward to meeting you and other CDC members and will provide fishing reports and input to the board. My wife just had hip replacement surgery so I will be tied up at home for several weeks so I will look forward to reading the reports on the board.

[Woodworker42]

Bigjohn, we had a CDC tournament on Keystone back on Nov 17, but I don't know who was at Appalachia. Next tournament is Dec 15 at Oologah lake. Several of the guys will be there, but as of now, I dont think I will make that one. But if you can, come on out - I understand about the medical problems, but I'm sure when it's all over and done with, she will feel much better.

[cricket george]

There has been some discussion @ODWC regarding the minnow issue and I believe you will see a clarification on that. If you raise your own minnows or sunfish and harvest them from your own pond for bait then you will be OK. More on this soon. I discussed this with staff last night.

[Ranger09]

Welcome aboard BigJon...glad to see another local fisherman thats intersted in our fishing waters and the way we fish it. Again Welcome Aboard...Ranger

[Crappie ciller]

Glad to see you come out of the shadows BigJon. Welcome to the contributors and thanks for highlighting the potential ODWC problems. Good to hear from you.

[Ranger09]

Bigjon was you with Hawker on that day and if so you spoke with EB (Eufaula Boy and Ranger) on the ramp and then again down the lake later in the day.......Ranger

[bigjon]

No that wasn't me. I had my brother in law with me and we were taking out at the ramp at Appalachia Bay. The guy we met was putting in as we we were coming out. He had to go back to his truck because he forgot his fishing poles. I think Hawker has been launching out of Cowskin. We have been mostly fishing for sandbass but we have been picking up some pretty good crappie as a bonus. What is strange is the crappie we have caught have all been up in 5 or 6 ft of water in the rocks and hit small crankbaits. I plan on going back and checking a little deeper water in the areas where we have caught the crappie to see if I can find some brush piles. The shad have moved out to deeper water the last couple of weeks so I guess the fish have moved out with them.