Attachment 190026
Printable View
Are you sure this is the best way to go? Myself and other locals will probably cooperate but people who come down from other states are looking to fill freezers and thats the elephant in the room. Fishing pressure is a problem but we in cherokee county want our buisnesses to prosper so we like the tourism. My suggestion is lower the possession limit. Tennessee and Mississippi have done this.
I am all for Catch and Release 52 weeks a year. Keep some for the freezer but only what you can eat or need. I am all for a size limit of 12 inches or possibly a slot limit to release any fish between 10-14 inches. In just a couple of years there would be a difference in the "Quality" everyone wants and enjoys catching. In 5 years Weiss Lake would once again live up to what it was years ago. I used to hear good things about Weiss and always wanted to go. Now that I am able, I feel like it would be a waste of time to go there for much smaller fish when other lakes within 200 miles of me has much better quality...Just my :twocents
I also practice catch and release a lot and not just in the spring, I do it all year long. I do keep some fish to eat at times because they are sooooo good. I also give a few fish away to some elderly folks who are not able to catch them for themselves. I have posted this for some of the folks around Weiss Lake who are trying to help get things back the way they used to be up there. Everyone has their own thoughts on this and will do what they want to. I have my own opinion of this but will keep it to myself because I have friends on both sides of the issue. Feel free to post your comments about this but keep it clean and civil please.
That's a great program. Any little bit helps.
I thought it was getting better up there. last year I seen lots of good reports I don't understand .
I wonder if forty years ago folks were saying the same things we are now. Any big lakes out there that use to be full of crappie and have none now (don't know just wondering). Reminds me of the move "Blood Diamonds", as he's sitting on a hill dying his girlfriend says the world is falling apart and he replies "when hasn't the world been falling apart".
40 years ago you could barely carry the fish out the stringers would be so heavy. We use to wade fish and you could not walk in the water for tripping over stumps, that is not the case now not as much structure now as then. That has hurt the lake as much as anything. back then nobody though about catch and release. fish were to numerous. Also did not have all the pressure on the lake that you have now. We all have a opinion as to what it will take to solve this problem, I know that the biologist have been on the water a lot this fall and winter, I know some guides that they have been going out with them, give them a chance to come up with a solution to the problems concerning this lake and abide with what they suggest. With there help maybe we can get the lake back. Just my 2 cents.
Anglers Unlimited has bee putting structure in the lake for many years and I am sure this has helped some. I will take a combination of things to fix the problem.
I just checked a couple of guides web pages and they are posting pictures of 60 fish limits from this week. Would be interested if they will also catch and release for those two weeks. If they do, I will also. If your lake's slogan is "Crappie Capitol of the World" don't be shocked if during record low gas prices a lot of us travel to the "Capitol" and fish it. And when we do, if we get lucky and catch a mess, we put them on ice and have a few fish dinners. I am assuming that the guides belong to an association of some type and would appreciate reading the position on size or creel limits from them. If you want to know why the quality is declining - look no further than fishing pressure. And my 4 or 6 days a year on the lake isn't making a bit of difference. Now if I fished a couple hundreds days a year and took 30, 60 or 90 fish daily from the lake, then we have a problem. Reduce the creel limit to 15 per day.
I'm going to have to agree about All the fish pic. I've seen a lot of pic. From Weiss doesn't look like there's a problem to me. I have heard the same thing at the boat ramp on the lakes I fish I just roll my eyes I think the worst day I had last year was 20 crappie and that was in July. I agree we should practice catch and release and leave it better than we found it but most people just crappie fish in march and April.
There are a lot of crappie in Weiss Lake, and according to our state biologist, the crappie spawn the last few years has been excellent. Yes, our local guides and their clients catch many tens of thousands of nice crappie every year. So why practice "Catch and Release" ?
Because we see very few 3 + pounders any more, we have good spawns and bad spawns some years, we have many more lakeside homes and campers, we have lost much of the natural habitat over the years, and we hear many complains from bank anglers and those not using guides that the lake is not what it use to be. We also have reduced water flows due to Georgia taking water out of the Coosa River Basin for Atlanta, droughts that cause poor spawns some years, and a lot more of those big birds eating fish; and I could list many more reasons. Weiss Lake is a wonderful and special lake and some of us locals want to keep it special, and renew our claim of "Crappie Capital of the World"
To protect our lake for the future and our grandchildren, we must always be willing to be good caretakers of our natural resources. We need to replace lost habitat, fight to protect our water flows,
keep water quality good, stock fish when needed, abide by all game laws, and keep only enough to eat but don't keep all you can catch just because you can. Voluntary "Catch and Release"
won't won't be practiced by everyone, but every female crappie full of eggs will lay 10,000 to 20,000
Eggs but only 1 to 2% will live to reach 10", that is about 100 to 200 more crappie that will be available for harvest, and a few might make grow to 3 lbs. or more. The "Catch and Release" system did wonders for bass angles, and if we want a good crappie population every year, not just some years; then consider letting some of those egg filled crappie go, to have a chance to spawn.
I don't want anglers to have to go to Grenada, Mississippi to catch a 3 lb + crappie. Where there is a 12" minimum size limit, a daily creel limit of only 15 crappie, lots of man made fish habitat, no houses and docks around the lake, and a lot of game wardens to inforce their strict regulations.
Great post. I would fully support 12" min size limit and 15 daily creel limit. 30 fillets from foot long or better crappies (60 if you have a buddy...or better yet a youngster along with you) is a great day and plenty enough.
In a perfect world that would be great. The only problem is its not a perfect world some lakes just will never produce a lot of 12in. Fish. Most small lakes will over populate. I think that would be great on some lakes like Guntersville. Probably needs to be lake by lake .
Pop Rivers, You can tell that you really know about Weiss Lake. I enjoyed your explanation on catch and release.
I have a place on Weiss now, in Mudd creek. I LOVE this lake! I started my own conservation last year, I released all fish over 14" only killed one mess for a fish fry. Has any studies been done on the actual health of the fish? Are they safe to eat? From Weiss ?had one neighbor tell me it was only safe to eat these fish once a week? Huh? Just asking not wanting to stir up anything!
I got no dog in this ... but, I wouldn't think 2 weeks of C&R by a few concerned souls would make much of a difference, overall, unless the fish actually spawn during that timeframe. Even then it would take a majority of the anglers following the campaign suggestion, to have any major impact.
I also don't see the guides & their clients necessarily following suit. (with exceptions, of course)
... cp :kewl
Weiss is my 2nd favorite destination to fish ( right behind Lake Erie ) ....... Really love the surrounding area and culture...... The lake kinda gets in your blood...... Hopefully it can return to it's former glory one day ...... Maybe adjustments to size / creel limits or even some sort of slot limit would be a good thing ..... I release more than I keep through out the year, I think changing the culture of crappie fisherman ( all be it tough ) to practicing more catch and release around spawn could go a long way