Closing bays for spring spawn

I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THIS DEVELOPEMENT OF THE IDEA OF CLOSING SOME BAYS UNTIL MAY 1 TO HELP THE SPAWN BUT IT IS VERY TROUBLING TO ME. TWO YEARS AGO A CERTAIN GENTLEMEN FROM THE KENTUCKY SPORTSMAN LEAGUE PROPOSED THIS IDEA AT A MEETING SPONSERD BY KY. FISH AND WILDLIFE AND CHAIRED BY PAUL RISTER. I ASKED PAUL ABOUT THE IDEA LATTER AT THERE BOTH AT THE MURRY BOAT SHOW AND HE SAID THEY HAD NO SCIENCE OR DATA TO JUSTIFY THE CLOSER OF ANY BAY FOR SPAWNING. I THOUGHT THE IDEA WAS DEAD UNTIL I READ THIS IN PAUL RISTER'S ARTICLE POSTED HERE.
One suggestion is to close embayments to fishing. This might allow the fish
to spawn without being bothered or harvested. The result might be more recruitment
pending favorable environmental conditions. The down side would be closing a public
resource, especially if the area closed is where you prefer to fish. Closing a small
embayment in an isolated area might not bother anyone’s fishing, but would do little to
help the crappie population in the larger embayments like Blood River. Another
suggestion is to experiment with closing embayments that are already closed from
November 1 to March 15 as waterfowl refuges. The proposal is to keep these areas
closed until May 1 when the crappie are done spawning. This idea is being discussed
with TVA, USCOE and USFS.
I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT CLOSING A BAY I NORMALLY FISH IN THE SPRING SOUNDS CRAZY. I HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT FEDERAL AND STATE LAWS AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT APPROACHES UNCONSTITUTIONAL ACTS AGAINST US ALL.

The Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899 forbids building any unauthorized obstruction to the nation's navigable waters and gives enforcement powers to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

IF THIS GETS STARTED IS YOUR BAY NEXT. WILL THEY BLOCK OFF JONATHAN BAY !
WILL THEY BLOCK OFF SLEDD CREEK!
I THINK WE NEED TO EMAIL OR TALK TO ANYONE INVOLVED IN THIS AND LET THEM KNOW HOW WE FEEL ABOUT CLOSING YOUR BAY.THANKS FOR YOUR TIME AND PLEASE HELP.
[email protected]
[email protected]
TVA: Contact Us

We are obliged to answer to all of the public’s ideas or suggestions concerning management options of our lakes, streams, and rivers. However, we will not pursue a potentially controversial regulation without a full public survey. Such an inquiry would only occur after we determined that a particular regulation change would either benefit fish populations and our anglers, or if public outcry warranted a survey. KDFWR Biologist Rister was simply addressing issues brought to our attention at these meetings. We remain neutral to this and several other proposals suggested at these (or any other) meetings until it is determined that they are necessary options or that they have biological merit. Our intent is never to limit our resources for Kentucky’s sportsmen and women; in fact, the opposite is true as our record indicates.

Crappie.com is but one forum KDFWR may use to inform the public of any potentially controversial fisheries management decisions in Kentucky. We use all of our available media outlets. We also invite everyone to routinely visit the KDFWR website since every regulation proposal is posted there prior to beginning the process of passing them through the KDFWR Fisheries Committee (which convenes quarterly), the KDFWR Commission meeting (which occurs one month after the Committee meeting), and ultimately through the Commonwealth’s legislators. We wholeheartedly want the public to remain informed about everything we do. Evidence of this is a decision that KDFWR Fisheries Division recently made to simplify access to our annual reports and stocking protocols. That information can now be found at our “Fisheries Management” link which is linked to the “Fishing and Boating” link. This is a new attempt by KDFWR Fisheries Division to allow anglers easier access to the data our biologists use to make their decisions. Also, to be released very soon, we will include special reports that will cover in depth our responses to public comments at the League of Kentucky Sportsmen meetings, the recent Townhall meetings, and other comments as well. Our first release of some of these reports should be within a few weeks.

Ron Brooks, KDFWR Fisheries Division Director

I might not like seeing a bay I fish in made "Off Limits" but I would be willing to do it if it helped the fishery. The one thing I think should be considered is if they decide to do this, they should not make make the same bays "Off Limits" every year but rotate them every 3-4 years.

We are getting to the point where we could start losing more and more fishermen. It is getting more and more expensive while at the same time limits continue to decline. Many former fishermen will never come back because it costs to much with too little return. This means less and less money going into fish and game management.

We shouldn't abuse the resource but at the same time if sportsmen continue to see limits decrease some of them will finally say enough, instead they'll take the money they normally used to catch a fish dinner and instead buy steak for the entire family. If they did it would be way cheaper.

Being outdoors is what's its about but enjoying a nice bunch of crappie is icing on the cake. I think there are a lot of fishermen out there who would be willing to help put out habitat or do whatever that would help bring crappie back. Bass seem to be doing pretty well and you can't but wonder if it's because that's where the money is.

I've talked to Mr. Prister on a couple of occassions and he has always been a straight shooter. Hopefully the best decisions made will benefit fish and fishermen and in that order. There may be more serious problems on the horizon w/Asian carp that they will have to deal with. If it continues to be a problem, our fishery could be headed in a downward slide that will take many years to work out of.

Thanks Ron,
I appreciate your concern for Kentucky Sportsmen and there rights to hunt and fish on public lands and waterways. I started a petition 2 years ago against extending the closing of Smith and Duncan Bays.I had 14 locals,8 tourists and 6 guides that fish in these waters and they were willing to go to any meeting or talk to any official about what was seen as a threat to there fishing rights. I was told by Paul Rister that this idea was done because the biologist did not think it would have any significant effect on the overall population of crappie in Kentucky Lake.These bays are federal waters that we all enjoy in the spring. They in my opinion are the most diverse in wildlife that you will see anywhere in our beautiful state of Kentucky.The closure of these bays does not only effect crappie fishing it effects bass fishing,bank camping and wildlife veiwing. I have a good friend who is a professional photographer that anchors his sailboat in Duncan Bay in the spring and takes some very beautiful pictures of the eagles and wildlife in the bay.There are many boats that do overnighters in these bays.Can you deny the rights of everyone to enjoy a public waterway?

Why not change the size limit to say 12" I know most of the big Mississippi lake has a 12" size limit and it really helped the crappie alot according to the locals.

Our we could not do anything and hope for the best,everything Paul suggest someone has a complaint about it.Everyone wants better fishing but knowone wants to sacrifice anything for it.I sure would hate to have his job.

If extending the closure of Smith and Duncan bays until May 1st will help bring the crappie population up, then it may be something to consider. I guess one question is how many crappie normally spawn in these bays. And two, can these areas be protected from illegal fishing activities?

Another option may be to implement an 11 inch size limit. The Mississippi lakes with their growth rate seem to be able to support a 12 inch limit, not sure about a 12 inch limit on Ky Lake. It seems like there are lots of suggestions about how to improve the fishery and no easy answers.

I think the KDFWR has to start checking all the fish cleaning stations for short fish. I have seen crappie and largemouth ALL undersized being cleaned at a certain station or two. Paul, I can give you these by email. OOS fisherman are bad but I have asked even instaters about the small fish and they said it aint hurtin noone. I have called KDFWR with no response twice.Leave the fish alone and police the fishermen...that is all.

Paul, didn't you state in an earlier post that the fish in Blood River rarely left the bay? What good would it do to shut down a bay like that to fishing if the fish that are spawned there never go anywhere?

BBD has the answer. The lake and cleaning stations need to be swarmed with LEO's during the spawn and it won't take long for the word to get out. It really doesn't matter what size limit you put on the fish if people don't observe what is already there.

I regularly see undersized fish being cleaned, and I've also seen the same crew at the cleaning station more than once in a day. Never seen anybody checking them.

I'd like to see the limit allow a couple of short fish. I always hate turning one loose that's been deep hooked.

No matter what regulations are put in place some just do what they want. Of coarse they are getting away with it because no one is getting the big fines they deserve. I went fishing with 2 neighbors this year and could not believe what they kept. They were in one boat and I was in mine and when we met for lunch they said fishing was good but for me it stunk. I kept only crappie over the legal size and they kept anything that bit. Will never go fishing with them again. The sad thing is the kept complaining about the size the past few years.
Kentucky needs to put money into stopping these so called sportsmen. LOL:)

Why not make habitat thats unreachable or fishable? Conditions and habitat are whats needed to boost crappie populations.

the problem is water levels at critical times. they could close the whole lake and it would not
make any difference when the corp pulls the plug!

Quackrstackr you are correct in your thinking. Protecting crappie in one embayment will do nothing or very little for another embayment. The big problem is not really that the fish need more protection while spawning, although in theory it make sense; but might only work in a small inland lake and not a 160,000 reservoir. In the article that I posted, I had hoped to make it clear to anglers what is driving the population. The bottom line is we could close a few embayments, we could change the size limit, we could change the creel limit, we could stock, we could add more habitat, we could limit the number of poles anglers fish with... the population is driven more by things we have no control over. Yes, a change in limits to a drastic number might help at times, but to smooth out the highs and lows of this fishes cyclic life, then no.

I agree with many on here, the lack of law enforcement on the water is an issue. But think of the highways, how many people break the speed limit and get caught, as compared to those that don't get caught. Maybe not a good analogy, but there is a lack of man power for both branches of law enforcement. Our officers, which is normally one per county, have a lot of ground to cover, plus work the lakes. I have a staff of three, and we cover the western 14 counties, from the Mississippi River to the Tradewater. I worked with an officer last spring and just in a few hours one day on Blood River; several anglers were cited for having short fish. So I know it happens. However, anglers need to know, the fine is $50 per short fish plus court cost ($153). So do the math, is it worth it? If you know a repeat offender, let me know, name, boat number, what ever you can, and we will follow the lead; maybe not the moment you call, but someone will check into it. If you see undersize fish at the cleaning station; I would shame the guilty angler and stand in front of them while I called 1-800-25-ALERT.

I agree with the comment about throwing back deep hooked short fish. I hate to throw a wounded fish back that I know will probably die, but if we allowed it, then a lot of anglers would start ripping the gills out of short fish, just to be able to keep them.

A few referred to increasing the size limit. This would potentially have a negative impact because of growth rates. Yes, this might work in more southern states, but they have longer growing season. The farthest extreme is Lake Monroe in Florida where they have a 12 inch size limit, but the crappie are 15 inches by age 3. At KY Lake at age 3 they are only 10 inches. So you can't compare tobacco to oranges.

Thanks Mr. Briggs, all these comments and opinions just make my job interesting. The fish part is easy. As one old timer biologist told me, "fisheries management is 10% managing the fish and 90% managing the anglers".

Keep up the good discussion, if we talk long enough, the white crappie fishery will bround in 2012, and then we can talk about bass since bass and crappie in KY and Barkley lakes seem to operate in an inverse relationship.

Thanks Paul,
I believe you have a very interesting job to say the least. I do really appreciate all you do to help us out with all the information and help protecting a very valuable resource that I care about deeply.I know that a lot of ideas get discussed and some are good and some do not make sense and wading through all these has to be difficult for all of you at Ky. Fish & Wildlife.I feel like most of you the key to succesful spawning is water level and quality management. I have seen TVA and the Corp. drop the water level many times during the spawn.It has to be very frustrating to do every thing possible to help the the fish population only to watch them yank the water levels around. Paul,I enjoy talking with you and as someone else mentioned I think you are a straight shooter and I respect what you are doing for us all.I think your office is spread out too thin and it makes it hard to enforce what laws we already have. I have seen at least 30 boats behind the lines at Duncan and Smith Bays in the last 3 weeks. I watched a commercial fisherman run his nets behind the line in Duncan Bay 4 weeks ago.The buoys are all over the place in these bays by the way.I do not think extending the closing time on these bays is a viable solution.The last 5 years I have been releasing most of my larger fish especially during the spawn.I know big fish make big baby's and it is just a small part I can do.If there is anything I can do to help you out please feel free to contact me.Paul,I thank you Sir for your dedication and time and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season.

I do not normally enter into these type of debates because no matter what you do some one is not happy, although i love to crappie fish and i cannot understand why some of the people on here cannot understand what has happened to our crappie population.If you want to see a big part of the problem get on the water this spring and count the boats that has 8 to 16 rods hanging off of the side of them. Last spring i seen 2 boats in one bay that had 4 men in them and 16 rods in the water, although i realize that they were not breaking any laws and had as much right to be there as i did, i am just saying that is a law that needs to be changed. As for the fluctuations in the water levels, i am no biologist but i am convinced that a lot of crappie spawn 8 to 10 feet deep, as i have caught them several times in the spring in a brush pile 10 feet deep and there bellies be covered with eggs. Also i would like to know about the black crappie numbers since i dont ever really hear that mentioned then I take it that the blacks are doing o.k. One other thing i realize that i am going to make a lot of people mad but for my part if you want to raise the price of fishing license 20 dollars a year to help re-stock or hire more law enforcement then i am all for it as long as that is where the money is going.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Slab Slayer

I do not normally enter into these type of debates because no matter what you do some one is not happy, although i love to crappie fish and i cannot understand why some of the people on here cannot understand what has happened to our crappie population.If you want to see a big part of the problem get on the water this spring and count the boats that has 8 to 16 rods hanging off of the side of them. Last spring i seen 2 boats in one bay that had 4 men in them and 16 rods in the water, although i realize that they were not breaking any laws and had as much right to be there as i did, i am just saying that is a law that needs to be changed. As for the fluctuations in the water levels, i am no biologist but i am convinced that a lot of crappie spawn 8 to 10 feet deep, as i have caught them several times in the spring in a brush pile 10 feet deep and there bellies be covered with eggs. Also i would like to know about the black crappie numbers since i dont ever really hear that mentioned then I take it that the blacks are doing o.k. One other thing i realize that i am going to make a lot of people mad but for my part if you want to raise the price of fishing license 20 dollars a year to help re-stock or hire more law enforcement then i am all for it as long as that is where the money is going.

---

I agree on the rod limit! I say a maximun of 3 rods per person is enough. Not sure raising fishing license would help. The money would not be used for Fish and Wildlife purposes only.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by prister

I agree with the comment about throwing back deep hooked short fish. I hate to throw a wounded fish back that I know will probably die, but if we allowed it, then a lot of anglers would start ripping the gills out of short fish, just to be able to keep them.

---

Good point, Paul. I guess I don't think like a violator, so it didn't occur to me.

... the number of poles that you are allowed to fish with, really doesn't matter --- you're still only allowed to "legally" harvest a limit per day, per person. Cutting the number of poles allowed per person, still doesn't stop the person from catching/keeping short fish or too many fish.

Remember .... one person, fishing with one pole, that fishes 10x's as often as one person with 10 poles, is going to catch more fish in a year's time .... even if they both limit out every time they go. The daily limit isn't connected to the number of poles you use ... just the number of anglers using them.

Case in point :

Fishing on KY Lake, back many years ago, myself & 3 other buddies were fishing in a little cove. Myself & the buddy in the boat with me, were casting Roadrunners ... my two other buddies were fishing tightline with minnows (using 2-3 poles apiece). Another boat, with 3 anglers, was also fishing in this cove ... and they had 3-4 poles out, each. They, too, were fishing with minnows ... and were anchored in the middle of the cove, right over the little ditch that the Crappie were using as a highway to the flooded grass in the back of this cove. My boat partner & I were circling their boat, and casting randomly in the area ... my two other buddies were anchored 50ft away, in deeper water, just off the side of the ditch drop. While it seemed that the "other" boat was catching them in waves (pulling out 3/4/5 fish at a time, between them) ... and my partner & I were catching them "now & then" ... when the day was done, WE ALL had caught our daily limit. No more, no less ... regardless of how many poles were used by any one angler ;)

... cp :cool:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by crappiepappy

... the number of poles that you are allowed to fish with, really doesn't matter --- you're still only allowed to "legally" harvest a limit per day, per person. Cutting the number of poles allowed per person, still doesn't stop the person from catching/keeping short fish or too many fish.

Remember .... one person, fishing with one pole, that fishes 10x's as often as one person with 10 poles, is going to catch more fish in a year's time .... even if they both limit out every time they go. The daily limit isn't connected to the number of poles you use ... just the number of anglers using them.

Case in point :

Fishing on KY Lake, back many years ago, myself & 3 other buddies were fishing in a little cove. Myself & the buddy in the boat with me, were casting Roadrunners ... my two other buddies were fishing tightline with minnows (using 2-3 poles apiece). Another boat, with 3 anglers, was also fishing in this cove ... and they had 3-4 poles out, each. They, too, were fishing with minnows ... and were anchored in the middle of the cove, right over the little ditch that the Crappie were using as a highway to the flooded grass in the back of this cove. My boat partner & I were circling their boat, and casting randomly in the area ... my two other buddies were anchored 50ft away, in deeper water, just off the side of the ditch drop. While it seemed that the "other" boat was catching them in waves (pulling out 3/4/5 fish at a time, between them) ... and my partner & I were catching them "now & then" ... when the day was done, WE ALL had caught our daily limit. No more, no less ... regardless of how many poles were used by any one angler ;)

... cp :cool:

---

I hope you knew the guys who's boat you were circling.

I could not disagree any more about the number of poles that are being used as i live real close to the lake and i fish a lot and beleive me it does matter. These people are going out there at day light with 8 to 16 rods and catching a limit in the spring in an hour or two, then if not checked by a game warden they have people pick up the fish and then catch another limit in a couple of hours, put there boat on the trailer, go home and dress them, then go to another bay that evening and catch another limit. I have seen this happen and know that it goes on. If you reduce the rod number the limit will not be acheived as quick and will not stop all of this, but will cut down on it a whole lot as if you are fishing with 3 rods you will probably not catch the fish as quick as if you are fishing with 8 rods. I also understand that the problem is more on the enforcement side than it is on the number of rods, but it is a big lake and the reality of it is you would have to have a lot of game wardens to police it and that is not going to happen. I spider rig in the spring and there has been a lot of times that i have caught a limit of crappie in an hour or less and i put my boat on the trailer and go home, but you have to understand that there is a lot of people that will dress them and be back in another bay or if unchecked will be back in the same bay within another couple of hours.This may not work,but i would like to see the state of KY.go into each bay on the lake and tag a certain number of white female crappie and also a number of male crappie and if these crappie are caught with tags and not released and you get caught with them then instead of the 50 dollar fine you get a 5000 dollar fine and fishing license pulled for 5 years. If people abided by this then you would have a certain number of spawners in each bay and let mother nature take its course.

7 posts and this is what u bring.....WHOA NELLY!

Maybe just limit the number of hours per week that people that live close to the lake can fish to 14...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Quackrstackr

Maybe just limit the number of hours per week that people that live close to the lake can fish to 14...

---

Is a half mile too close for 20? Who am I kiddin, I rarely get 20 LMAO!

Don't worry about the rod numbers just the fish numbers and size that is the problem. One rod or 20 rods doesn't matter, when you catch your limit go home and come back another day. Keep only what is legal and that will help.

Not a part in all this...but after reading SOME of the posts in this topic it sounds obvious the problem isnt with your typical 12 mos. a year sportsmen, rather the spring timers wanting to fill coolers to fill freezers when the pickins are easy. These people arent your year round fishermen who enjoys the sport of catching. What will closing bays during the winter months do to curtail these activities of the spring timers? Just sounds to me the real problem needs to be addressed rather than closing parts of the lake off.:confused:

The number of poles will make no difference, good fishermen will find and catch fish, one rod or ten.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bgcastreel

I hope you knew the guys who's boat you were circling.

---

Actually, Bgcast .... we didn't know them from Adam. Didn't matter ... we didn't encroach on their space, but stayed far enough away from them that our casts never got within 20ft of their boat/rods. We didn't cast "towards" their boat, anyway .... we were casting parallel to it. They came in "after" we had already established our "space" in the bay, and we acknowledged their right to be there by not saying anything to them. They were catching fish often enough, & fast enough, that they didn't pay much attention to us, anyway .... and we were catching them often/fast enough that we didn't have any problem with them being there, either.

The funny part of the story was that my partner & I had to go back to camp, shortly after we had arrived at the cove ... we'd forgotten the lunch cooler .. LOL !! When we got back, we asked our other two friends if they were catching any ... & they said "no, nothing much going on". Then I happened to notice that they already had two stringers hanging over the side of their boat !! I told them to pull up the stringers & show us what they had. When they did, they'd already caught about 10-12 apiece !!
The other boat had shown up during our absence, and was anchored. No biggie ... we weren't minner fishing, anyway, so we just eased around the bay & cast our RR's. They were fishing with cane poles/floats/minners ... and when a wave of Crappie would come thru, it was a Chinese Fire Drill ... with fish & floats & poles flying ever which a way. It was a cold & drizzly day, with air temps in the 30's ... and we were entertained by these guys wailing & flailing on these fish. LOL !! I think they were watching us, and when we would catch two or three real quick, they'd get into the "ready mode" ... knowing that a wave was coming thru. At the same time, we were watching them ... and when they started snatchin & yankin, we'd ease towards the back of the bay (between them & the creek coming in), knowing that the fish that had passed thru their "space" would be heading towards the back of the bay. Everybody was catching fish & having a blast ... so there was no reason for any animosity.

Here's the results of that day :

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42...akeCrappie.jpg

I'm pretty sure their stringers looked about the same ... ;)

... cp :cool:

I'm of the opinion that closing the bays is not the answer.

I am a guide on KY Lake www.kicknbass.net and fish about 275 days per year. A lot of my trips are crappie, especially in the spring. The fact is we have more fishermen on the lake now that are fishing for crappie and these fishermen are better than they used to be for a lot of reasons. I know that the clients I fish with become better anglers since they are exposed to new techniques and good fishing locations. It's no secret that these same clients return to these same spots to fish and others that don't hire a guide see where we fish too. No issues here, it's just the way it is. The end result is you have more anglers fishing for the same amount of fish and fish will succumb to fishing pressure. Crappie fishing was very good this year for Kick'n Bass but for us to be successful we've had to find new locations and hone our techniques.

If push comes to shove, rather than close the bays, I would hope that the KDFWR would look at alternatives. Some have mentioned a reduction in creel and size limit or a combination thereof rather than closing of the bays. I'm no biologist and certainly don't have all the answers but it seems that doing so would probably have a more profound affect on the population since it would be a lake-wide implementation.

I know the KDFWR wants what's best for the angler and resource and I'm sure their intent is good.

I'm trusting them on this one and if they make a change I'm hoping it will be the right one.

Hey Slab Slayer why make a new law when the ones that are in place are not enforced?

In my opinion the state should hire some new KDFWR officers and let them do nothing but patrol KY lake and Barkley Lake. If people started getting fined for short fish/too many then more people would start abiding by the law. I know that the fine is $50 a fish but do the fines increase for repeat offenders? Maybe they should. Do it just like the laws for illeagal hunting. I guarantee you that if a few boats were confiscated by the state that would get peoples attention.

Are the KDFWR boys the only ones who can write tickets for this? If so maybe they should look into letting water patrol or forest service in LBL. I can remember a time when during hunting season you had to stop at either the north or south welcome station in LBL if you got anything. Do it for fish.

Limiting poles will not help if the laws are not enforced. If you want to limit poles I want there to be a HP restriction cause all the guys with the 150hp plus motors get to the good fishing holes before I can!

I think that if bays and coves were closed until may that would easily help the fish populations on KY and Barkley Lakes.


This is a fact, but it would take away some fisherman opportunity at first, but in the long run it would pay off.

But, many of the bays have easy to fish areas, and easy to fish habitat that makes it easy for people to catch fish. If the bays were closed it would have an affect on the entire lake. Many Out Of State fisherman only know how to fish habitat, and steak beds. So they focus on the coves during the spring.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by prister

Quackrstackr you are correct in your thinking. Protecting crappie in one embayment will do nothing or very little for another embayment. The big problem is not really that the fish need more protection while spawning, although in theory it make sense; but might only work in a small inland lake and not a 160,000 reservoir. In the article that I posted, I had hoped to make it clear to anglers what is driving the population. The bottom line is we could close a few embayments, we could change the size limit, we could change the creel limit, we could stock, we could add more habitat, we could limit the number of poles anglers fish with... the population is driven more by things we have no control over. Yes, a change in limits to a drastic number might help at times, but to smooth out the highs and lows of this fishes cyclic life, then no.

I agree with many on here, the lack of law enforcement on the water is an issue. But think of the highways, how many people break the speed limit and get caught, as compared to those that don't get caught. Maybe not a good analogy, but there is a lack of man power for both branches of law enforcement. Our officers, which is normally one per county, have a lot of ground to cover, plus work the lakes. I have a staff of three, and we cover the western 14 counties, from the Mississippi River to the Tradewater. I worked with an officer last spring and just in a few hours one day on Blood River; several anglers were cited for having short fish. So I know it happens. However, anglers need to know, the fine is $50 per short fish plus court cost ($153). So do the math, is it worth it? If you know a repeat offender, let me know, name, boat number, what ever you can, and we will follow the lead; maybe not the moment you call, but someone will check into it. If you see undersize fish at the cleaning station; I would shame the guilty angler and stand in front of them while I called 1-800-25-ALERT.

I agree with the comment about throwing back deep hooked short fish. I hate to throw a wounded fish back that I know will probably die, but if we allowed it, then a lot of anglers would start ripping the gills out of short fish, just to be able to keep them.

A few referred to increasing the size limit. This would potentially have a negative impact because of growth rates. Yes, this might work in more southern states, but they have longer growing season. The farthest extreme is Lake Monroe in Florida where they have a 12 inch size limit, but the crappie are 15 inches by age 3. At KY Lake at age 3 they are only 10 inches. So you can't compare tobacco to oranges.

Thanks Mr. Briggs, all these comments and opinions just make my job interesting. The fish part is easy. As one old timer biologist told me, "fisheries management is 10% managing the fish and 90% managing the anglers".

Keep up the good discussion, if we talk long enough, the white crappie fishery will bround in 2012, and then we can talk about bass since bass and crappie in KY and Barkley lakes seem to operate in an inverse relationship.

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kentucky Lake

I think that if bays and coves were closed until may that would easily help the fish populations on KY and Barkley Lakes.


This is a fact, but it would take away some fisherman opportunity at first, but in the long run it would pay off.

---

Bill, are you actually arguing with the KDFWR fisheries biologist now? lol

Close off all of the bays on the lakes until May to crappie fishing. That's a good one.