I never said anything about anyone keeping fish of any species. I am just in favor of a lower creel limit on bass, especially the ones over 18". To me, bass over 3 pounds are far more valuable in the water than on a plate or in a freezer.
As far as crappie go, I catch about a dozen a year by accident and the all go back in the lake.
#587786 - 11/24/0501:39 PM
Re: Creel limit for Bass
Bass Rebel
Member
Registered: 08/08/05
Posts: 1397
Loc: Watertown, CT
Husky,
Honestly in your opinion do you think a creel limit would help? Yes it would limit the number of bass someone could take in a day, but that would just mean they would take more over the season. 6 fish in one day or 6 fish over X days is still 6 fish. Most anglers out there including myself do practice C&R for the most part, and if they do harvest fish they do it sparingly. The ones that can/do have an effect on a lake system don't do it legally or follow a creel limit anyway, so setting a creel limit in that instance wouldn't help. IMHO the creel limit doesn't really matter, I'd follow the law and obey it, but like I said 6 fish is 6 fish. Question on the creel limit being lowered, lets say you fish all day, and you catch X number of fish, 3 of them would die due to the hook placement when caught, if you kept all 3 fish you'd be breaking the law, if you threw them back they would probably die, what do you do in a case like that? I guess someone stated it well before the only method to really make sure bass (or any fish) will be there in the future is to not fish entirely.
#587787 - 11/24/0501:41 PM
Re: Creel limit for Bass
Jon Pski
Member
Registered: 04/15/02
Posts: 5742
Loc: Winsted, CT
I forgot where I read it but I believe it was in some DEP literature that something like 50 - 60% of a lakes biomass dies of natural causes yearly. If that is true, and the fishing remains decent, I believe that it shows how strong and resilient nature, and a lakes ecosystem is.
Certaintly we have a much higher percentage of fishermen practicing catch & release now more than ever, and that's a good thing. Maybe, taking a few fish on occasion isn't as detrimental as it may seem. The DEP recently started to look at each lake as an independant ecosystem which is no doubt that best way to monitor and manage our resources. In some of our larger lakes, I think I would be hard pressed to believe that a couple of people over a season keeping their limit of bass or other gamefish could have a negative impact on the overall health of the fishery. Now, the same scenario on a small pond might be a whole different story. I guess what I'm saying is that the DEP needs to continue to look at our waters independently and create regulations to address that specific body of water.
I have a theory about Candlewood lake. It seems that over the last few years, the smallmouth population has been increasing at Candlewood. Is it possible that the mortality rate of Largemouth bass has hit a point high enough that the more elusive smallmouth bass is now filling a nich as the top predator in the lake?
Another thing that the DEP should be looking into is the effect of winter drawdowns and aquatic vegetation erradication on an overall health/ecosystem of a body of water. From a fishermans point of veiw, we seem to be noticing some shifts in fish habits and populations. Of course observations are a bit ancedotal at best. It does seem strange though that in some lakes that have had their weeds die off, it almost looks like the smallmouth populations are growing. Why does Candlewood have virtually no pickeral? Is it because of the winter drawdon eliminating suitable spawn habitat while at the same time creating more suitable areas for th smallmouth?
I've mentioned this before but it has appeared to me that during the ice fishing season is when I notice the highest rate of fish retention. If that is the case, how about a seasonal creel limit reduction? From Dec. 31 to March 15 of 2 bass with a slot limit of 16" to 22"? This would protect the larger predators while still allowing someone to keep a few smaller ones for the dinner plate.
I agree that harvest through the ice is the biggest threat to our poulations of quality bass, especially on the smaller bodies of water. Ice fisherman usually fish in groups and "6 per man" can add up pretty quickly.
I would fully support the idea you set forth and would be happy to work with you in having the DEP consider your recommendation. Please contact me if you would like any help in this regard.
And yes, I DO think a creel limit would help. I could have legally kept hundreds of bass this year if I wanted to, but I put them back so that my son, the guy down the street and I can have the thrill of maybe catching them again when they are bigger.
#587789 - 11/24/0502:04 PM
Re: Creel limit for Bass
Bass Rebel
Member
Registered: 08/08/05
Posts: 1397
Loc: Watertown, CT
Jon well said!
Husky I'm all for what Jon and you are suggesting for a creel limit during those times, it would reduce the number of fish taken out of a lake, from what I can tell (and I'm new to this ice fishing thing) most ice fisherman keep what they catch. To me IMHO ice fishing is boring, how much fun can you have fighting a fish through a hole in the ice? I'd rather see them do a tail stand and jump around. I have to recant what I said in the past a creel limit during those months might make a positive impact. At the least it would make the ice fisherman have to go back out in the cold multiple days to catch the same amount of fish.
Bass Rebel I've been keeping a record of all the 4lb+ bass that I've caught since 1994. And it is over 200. And out of all of them only 1 went belly up. So I took it home and ate it. I'm not against taking home some bass for the table But I am against someone taking a picture of 6 nice bass with 2 over 4lbs on a chopping block and posting it on a fishing site so the whole state can look at it. (No pun intended) I found it very distasteful.And I'm not allowed to say anything bad about it.
BTW I hope those bass you brought home to take a picture of went back to Lake X. Because it is not legal to transport fish from one lake and released in another.
My name is Jim. You can call me slim. I row my boat way out to the middle.Cause the fish I'm after ain't so little. Pike, Trout, Largemouth Bass. Get me out there really fast. I know I'm good,really the best. The rest of you are such a pest. - By Henry Gibson Jim Boyne
#587791 - 11/24/0503:31 PM
Re: Creel limit for Bass
Bass Rebel
Member
Registered: 08/08/05
Posts: 1397
Loc: Watertown, CT
1 that you know of went belly up, I'm sure there were more that died later on. And yes I did take them back to Lake X and release them, and they swam away just fine, will they die? Maybe, but I guess that doesn't matter I did release them. I will not post those pictures any more, if I do it will be holding one fish up at a time. I didn't know it would upset so many people, this IS a fishing site yes, and that should not be limited to only C&R fishermen/women. Heck I might not even post any pictures any more...people can bust my chops over me catching and keeping 6 legitimate fish but VERY few even said a peep about me getting my PB in CT but I guess that's the way it is.
I can see this is turning into a peeing contest. You two gentlemen do not have a clue what I was trying to say. There is a picture in the photo gallery called Lake shhh that was also distasteful. You two can post anything you like. It's your right. I don't care if they were the only bass you kept in your life. I still wouldn't like it.
This post is for a change in the creel limit to change. Let's keep with the topic.
I was thinking of deleteing this thread. But it has has more positive reply's then bad ones.
My name is Jim. You can call me slim. I row my boat way out to the middle.Cause the fish I'm after ain't so little. Pike, Trout, Largemouth Bass. Get me out there really fast. I know I'm good,really the best. The rest of you are such a pest. - By Henry Gibson Jim Boyne
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