Mycept,

Well said, I understand what you were trying to say and I agree with you that it is a problem.

That’s it 100% I think no matter what you keep there will be some one that gets upset because that is the species that they like to fish for and no one wants anything to happen to there fish.

I don't think the DEP can legally discriminate against out-of-state clubs in granting tournament permits either. I think they certainly COULD impose a limit on the number of tournies held per year.

I think the majority of tournament guys do not properly handle their catch. I take every extra precauation to care for my catch during the summer, and I lose very few fish. People think stopping at the gas station and buying 10 pounds of cubed ice is sufficient during a summertime tourney. It is not. You need about 50 pounds of block ice to keep the water at the appropriate temperature all day long. Rejuvendae additive also helps immensely. The recirculate pumps should also run continuosly.

WOW I didn't see that there were 5 pages to read - I'll have to catch up later.

I see Huskybass already said what I said.

Lots of great info and opinions. From what I see, every lakes bass population can be in a different place - too many variables in conditions, forage base, recruitment rates, fishing pressure, fishing mortality and of course harvest rates -- to have just one creel limit for an entire state and expect it do work the same in each body of water .

Would a 2 fish limit work if every angler that kept a limit, decided to fish there next year ? NO.

Would a 10 fish limit make any difference in a lake where no one keeps any ? NO

Tourney pressure on Candlewood has no negative impacts on recruitment there - but is that true of all lakes? I doubt it.

The current creel limits were set long ago and in need of review.

We need more "Lake Specific" management to expect better fisheries. To do that, we need a hell of a lot more fisheries biologists. That takes $$$ - and YES the money is there, but unfortunately it gets burried in the "general fund" and the DEP has to literally fight for it's own survival - and you can forget about expanding their presence.

I bet a dollar that they have our best biologists schlepping trout from the stocking trucks for 10 weeks a year because they are understaffed :rolleyes:

I think this creel limit discussion is very important and I think we as fishermen, need to make more noise in Hartford to get our moneys worth. Support the DEP - Don't demand more from them - demand more of them

No offense taken Jighead

This has been a very civilized and educational discussion and I am enjoying it lke others.

With the popularity of catch and release I feel bass fishing will only improve. However large fish need more oxygen and are more vulnerable to getting sick then their younger medium sized counterparts. This leaves them very open to fishkills when water warms or mortalities when handled poorly during tournies. Catch and release will improve quality, but it is wishful thinking that throwing back all 4-5lb fish means they will keep growing. Smaller bodies of water will only be able to hold a certain number of decent sized fish due to oxygen requirements and forage.