Pole limits

Instead of posting on hunters1 tread I thought that I would just start another.

Pole limits coming to Ky and Barkley Lakes?


Went to boat show at Murray and heard Paul Rister talk about the crappie and asian carp. He is the biologist assigned to KY and Barkley lakes. I have heard him speak many times over the years and always felt we were very fortunate to have him watching over our interests. Through the years he has said that the no. 1 thing that affects crappie populations is water fluctuations during the spawn. He uses a lot of charts and graphs that illustrates the results from their surveys, trappings, taggings, and etc.
The thing that stood out to me in my mind was the talk about spider rigging. He brought up an article in a magazine about how spider rigging and how it was the most effective way to put fish in the boat. He even had a graph that showed the number of fish and the method of fishing that was used to catch them. According to him, when the limit was reduced from 30 to 20 a few years back the research they did indicated that a 5 fish limit (or there about) would have been the one thing that would have made a significant improvement. He knew that the politics and economics wouldn't work for that and didn't talk like he wanted that at all.
I hate to see it but I think pole limits are coming and at a time that I was looking into increasing my number of poles. I love the thump and love to cast but the older I get the more I want to lean back with my hands in my pockets and watch my poles.
He did say that the bass fishermen have learned how to manage the resources and we need to learn also. He said that crappie fishermen keep and give away more than the bass fishermen.
It's not about how many you catch it's all about how many you keep or kill. And when we are in lean times there is a greater impact. Although the crappie are very large this year we have had some poor spawns that will effect the next two years. If this fall they see that this year was a poor spawn, I'm afraid we will see some changes in the number of poles and/or reduced limits.

How about we just say that OOSer can't fish KY or Barkley during the spawn? That will make about as many folks happy as pole limits will. How about outlawing soda and coffee in our boats while you're at it? Horsepower limits? Once it starts it never ends.

If they force pole limits on us I will move to TN. or FL. and never spend another dime in KY.! Watch me do it!

Have Fifth Wheel, will travel!

I just two pole fish but am dead set against the pole limits. The limit is the same for everyone, no need to force anyone to fish a certain way. Be just as fair to ban all good fisherman, they have data that also says 10 percent of the fisherman catch 90 percent of the fish. Spider rigging/multiple fishing isn't the problem, I hope that they don't go down that road.

Bring on the pole limits. Who cares, I catch just as many as the riggers with my methods.

I hear that they may raise/increase the minimum size limit on crappie as well. Just more improvements to our fishery!!!

Why not put a HP limit on our boats, say 35 or 40 max. That way we can't run all over the lake to fish more places and possibly catch more fish. While they're at it they might as well outlaw compound bows, carbon and aluminum arrows, mechanical broad heads and shotguns over 3". All this makes about as much sense as pole limits.

And while the humans argue on ethical/non-ethical methods of harvesting 20 fish per human per day...

The Asian Carp are completely destroying our freshwater ecosystem by devouring the entire basic level of the fishery's food chain....

Really people...??

There are more important things that can be focused on...

Rickie

How about outlawing depthfinders with sidescan and gps too. No dropping structure in the lake either. Comeon man, give it a rest will ya.

pole limits have nothing to do with any of it whether you use 100 poles or just 1, a limit is a limit. electronics and gps have turned avg. fisherman into good ones, and good fisherman to great ones. the thing is we are all on the same playing field everyone has access to purchase all these things. if you say well i cant afford these luxuries, well i'm sorry but its not my fault or anyone elses.
if your not willing to adapt to new methods and technolgy, then just be happy your fishing and not working. limits are based on surveys taken by professionals just like in hunting or anything else. there are so many other details to be considered, ie. asian carp and water levels during spawn, that should be addressed before we start taking away poles from ordinary fisherman.

i dont mean to come off as some sort of professional or elitist becasue im not, not even close. once you begin taking away peoples liberties and forcing them to follow more and more rules eventaully it will backfire in the form of license sells, gas sells, restaurant and lodging usage, and many more areas of the economy because people will find a place where they can go do things how they want to do them.

the resource is what should be protected here. if they feel people are catching to many fish due to no pole limits then change the amount of fish that can be kept, but we dont need to tell people how they should fish. if one or two poles is all you want to use and you can truly catch as many fish as the guy using eight poles then be proud you are that good of a fisherman, but don't force your beliefs or ideas on people who want to use as many as they can. we are all on the same team, we all just love to fish. we should stand united and work towards cleaning up real environmental and biological issues before we start taking rods out of peoples boats. just my 2 cents, sorry for the rant.

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Originally Posted by CRAPPIECON

pole limits have nothing to do with any of it whether you use 100 poles or just 1, a limit is a limit. .

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I agree

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Originally Posted by bandchaser

Bring on the pole limits. Who cares, I catch just as many as the riggers with my methods.

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So, you admit right here that pole limits have zero to do with catch rates? Sounds like a lame case of jealousy on your part.

​10-4 Crappiecon, well said.

Be careful what you say and be sure to attend any meetings you can about these changes if they are anything more than rumors. we have had then here on the big four for several years, no where else in the state I know of, only really an issue when fishing by yourself. Its harder on Nader and Sardis to locate a pattern with just 3 poles out, Enid and Butla we can use 5. Change has a way of sneeking up on ya.

I hope if they make pole restrictions, it will be based on sound biology. In Mississippi for example, the Fish and Wildlife Dept. had a meeting and made decisions based on the sentiment of some locals. The single pole mafia showed up at the meeting in force and were able to persuade them to drop the pole limit on Sardis. There was no sound science for the decision. It was made only to appease the crowd at the meeting. Don't get me wrong, I love to single pole as much as anyone. However I also love spider rigging, long lining, pulling cranks and casting. I'd stand on the deck and throw rocks at em if I thought I'd do any good. In Missouri, you can legally fish up to 33 poles a piece as long as anything over 3 has your name and address on it. It hasn't hurt the crappie population one bit. I guess my point is live and let live. Base fish and game laws on science and biology, not personal sentiment.

Your right.......well said Speck

Public sentiment got the Corps to back off the restrictions on the tailwaters of the Cumberland River dams. Of course, the politicians all patted themselves on the backs for it.

I seriously doubt the public meetings for pole limits will be a big Kum-Ba-Ya get together if they happen. I'm not real keen on somebody taking away my rights just because they think they can.

Sound biology had better take into account the fact the Corps or TVA can do more harm to crappie fishing on any lake than all the spider-riggers could ever do. One lost spawn because they pull the plug right after the crappie hit the banks can ruin fishing for years. Why should fishermen try to limit other fishermen? Why should one group bear the blame?

I heard years ago one of the Corps or TVA guys made the remark that these lakes were impounded for flood/navigational control and they had no interest in the fisheries. IMO I'd be more open to a slot limit than a pole limit if it would help our fisheries. Personally I don't keep anything over 1 1/2 pound, for eating I like 10-11" fish and honestly have never missed any fish dinners because I turned the bigger ones back.

I agree with several post that Asian carp are our biggest threat, not to just crappie but all sport fish and should be the main focus NOW.

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Originally Posted by ricky

He did say that the bass fishermen have learned how to manage the resources and we need to learn also.

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Really....?

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/...ease_bass.html

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Originally Posted by Speck

I hope if they make pole restrictions, it will be based on sound biology.

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Don't count on it....

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Originally Posted by ricky

Through the years he has said that the no. 1 thing that affects crappie populations is water fluctuations during the spawn. He uses a lot of charts and graphs that illustrates the results from their surveys, trappings, taggings, and etc.
According to him, when the limit was reduced from 30 to 20 a few years back the research they did indicated that a 5 fish limit (or there about) would have been the one thing that would have made a significant improvement.

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F&W is torn with it's own internal conflicts and being under the control of the department of tourism, which is political to it's core.... which in itself is in direct conflict of what KDFWR was originally created for. Tourism's marketing department has done a fabulous job of overselling our resources and now the ones that are affected are the ones that will bare the burden.

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Originally Posted by rnvinc

And while the humans argue on ethical/non-ethical methods of harvesting 20 fish per human per day...

The Asian Carp are completely destroying our freshwater ecosystem by devouring the entire basic level of the fishery's food chain....

Really people...??

There are more important things that can be focused on...

Rickie

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Well said!

I spider rig. , cast , hold 2 poles , whatever it takes to catch my limit . Fewer poles will just make me have to fish a little harder get my limit The pole limit won't keep anyone from catching there limit it just gonna slow down the people that are catching more than there share . I have fished in these lakes for 40 yrs and I will have to say that in years past ( before spider rigging and Multi- pole setups )it only took a pole or two to get your limit and back then it was a 30 fish limit . Slowly over the years of over harvesting and bad spawns I feel the numbers are down and if having a pole limit would bring back the numbers of fish I say bring it on ! The pole limit would probably be 2-4 per person anyway. , if it takes you 15 poles to catch 20 fish then something isn't wright anyway. !

40 years ago you drowned minnows in buckbrush and willow trees that were everywhere... that stuff's not there anymore. 40 years ago you couldn't walk across the two biggest draws for crappie bays on the fishing boats without getting your feet wet. 40 years ago the water was nowhere near as clear as it is now.

I don't know that the numbers are any different now than they were then... but the lake has sure changed a bunch since then.

Every time congress is in session, we as Americans loose another freedom.

Once it starts where does it end. Illinois has a two pole limit. It is a joke. Where does it end? Continuing drumming up more federal and states laws does not fix issues.

when GOVERNMENT starts telling us how,what,when,where its not good. We are all grown men and women here instead of punishing the ones that BREAKS the laws they always punish the ones that do OBEY the laws. We as FREE AMERICANS have to stand against the government telling us how to live. Where is it going to stop? I tell u what why don't they tell the ones that have all the good equipment and nice boats to share with the ones that don't have after all its not fair for anybody to be more successful at anything over the other is it (BS). Sorry for the rant but it really sticks in my crawl for others (meaning GOVERNMENT) to tell us how to live,fish,chew tobacco or smoke or drive my car without my seatbelt if I wanted to. PUNISH THE LAWBEAKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

KLaMastus says it all!

Gentleman I gotta out of law enforcement for the main reason of city, state and federal laws that are not going to make a difference after 9 years but we continue to grow them. Government then enforces them at discretion......Example......new chief wanted all trucks inside a garage like his former city near Chicago (all 1/2 ton trucks/light trucks). The law is in the books in Wheaton, IL. If the truck is not INSIDE a garage by 9pm you are getting a city ordinance violation ticket......AGAIN A BIG JOKE.

Anybody following Mr Bundy in Nevada over cattle grazing????

I should have the freedom to use 20 rods out if I wanted to and if I get my limit in 15 mins then I am done. Again punish the law breakers!

what congress doesn't realize is the more laws you make, the more law breakers you have, and they don't enforce the ones they have, except as plateboater says JMO

Let's keep the discussion on "pole limits" and leave the "political rants" out of it.

And let's stick with the facts, not rumors or hearsay. We do have a couple of members that are in the KDFWR ... so let's contact them & see if pole limits are really even being seriously considered. (PRister & BadBrad)

Continuation of politically slanted discussions/replies will get this thread locked, as it violates the site rules. You want to discuss the political side of things ... go to the Way Off Topic forum. But, bare in mind that all other site rules apply there, as well.

... cp :kewl

I think we need to be more worried about the asian carp and not how many poles someone is using to try and catch 20 crappie
West Kentucky relies on money brought it from out of staters and locals that are here to fish.
How many Bass tourneyments are held on Kentucky and Barkley lakes each year??? If we have too many incidences of jumping carp GOOD BYE bass tourneyments. Wow how will that impact the local economy?
If you lower creel limit it's not going to be worth the cost of gas food and lodging to make a trip to the lake to catch and keep only a few crappie.
Thats why I don't go to Canada to fish anymore too expensive of a trip to only be able to keep a few fish.
The pole limits have been argued many times on here. I don't see how 1-10 poles out at a time make any differavce if you only keep the 20 fish limit.
Ah.... theres the real problem how many people are keeping more than 20 fish per day??? And it ain't only the out of staters boys. I have never seen any one that I know keep more than there 20 but I have heard about some that have.
And what about short fish??? the other day there was a post about turning in someone you thought was keeping short fish. And some people said they would just mind there own business. Well if you think there should be pole limits then you should be calling the DNR about violators also.
I agree with crappie pappy we need to hear it from the horse's mouth.
But in my humble opinion pole limits will not help much. What we need is more DNR officers on the water checking boats. I understand they are short handed but thats what we need.

Question: In 2010 we had more water than we wanted, in 2011 at least in Tn the winter water level never got below 357 +/- , 2012 was a great fishing year, 2013 and so far 2014 not so good. If water is the key to good crappie spawns, where are all those fish from 2010 & 2011. It takes 3 years for a crappie to become 10". There should be gillions!

Personally i would love to see the limit stay the same, and the number of poles stay the same, although i would like to see the legal length on crappie change to 11 inches. I have heard the KDFW Biologists say if we did that on these lakes a lot of fish would die of old age, so be it let them spawn each of there mature years if no one catches them. A couple of my good friends have been to Sardis twice in the last couple weeks and caught limit of 15 each every day they have fished and average of over 2 pound, they have 11 inch size regulations and what is impressive to me have been checked at the ramp every day by the wardens. Not trying at all to be sarcastic but when i read some posts about the water level and spawns and where has the fish been for the last 2 years i honestly dont know where there fishing because we have caught a LOT of fish in the last 2 years, the lake was full of 9.5 inch fish last year and have caught a lot of 10 to 12 inch fish this year. The problem i am seeing is we have not caught very many short fish throughout the winter and spring this year.i would have loved to seen all of them 10 inch fish left in the lake .Just my opinion and by no means trying to start any arguments!

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Originally Posted by Slab Slayer

what is impressive to me have been checked at the ramp every day by the wardens.

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Way too many people throwing every fish that comes over the side of the boat in the cooler, regardless of length. This would be the #1 thing that could be done but the department doesn't have the manpower to do it. It doesn't really matter what the size limit is when thousands of fish per year that don't even come close go under the knife.

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Originally Posted by Slab Slayer

The problem i am seeing is we have not caught very many short fish throughout the winter and spring this year.

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They're out there. I caught over 150 of them in one day back at the beginning of March.

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Originally Posted by Quackrstackr

Way too many people throwing every fish that comes over the side of the boat in the cooler, regardless of length. This would be the #1 thing that could be done but the department doesn't have the manpower to do it. It doesn't really matter what the size limit is when thousands of fish per year that don't even come close go under the knife.



They're out there. I caught over 150 of them in one day back at the beginning of March.

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This is good to hear.