jbjennings
Captain
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2007
- Messages
- 3,903
Re: Slot limits--worse thing to ever hit fishermen
Never eaten bass? you must be from waaaaayyy up north! They're mighty tasty to say the least! I personally don't especially care for eating bass over say 3.5 lbs. as they taste a little stronger. Everyone I know around northwest louisiana eats them and loves 'em. also, nearly everyone I know often keeps what they catch up to the limit and like me, doesn't feel a bit guilty. By the way, my local lake has never and hopefully never will have a slot limit and when fishing tournaments are held (regularly) my lake consistently produces the best stringers for the top several places and most of time the biggest bass compared to nearby lakes with slot limits. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for using this as a tool when it is needed. But in my area, the fish grow fast enough that it is totally pointless and the tournaments and all the other everyday fishermen I talk to prove it. It seems to me that a lot of folks that have made posts on this thread feel like it's a sin to keep your fish unless they're dinkers. I don't feel that way. With a hook and line, in my area, it's almost impossible to have a noticeable impact on the fish if the creel limit is observed. THey don't bite everyday, everyone doesn't catch them when they do, and there is a reasonable limit on bass if you do catch a lot. A lake produces tons of fish-- why should we not take advantage of this resource? And I don't mean abuse the resource, just take advantage of it. I don't keep all the bass I catch every time I go and neither do most people I know but I simply would like to have the right to keep them. I worry that sooner or later, government agencies will have so much power that just getting a license to go fishing will be so costly that only the rich will be able to go, just like in other countries. I do want them to have the authority to make laws to protect the fish and game whether I like the laws or not but would like them to have a REASON to regulate things. I have no problem with a slot limit if it is NEEDED. I notice that many of you northern fishermen seem to be very confident that they are a useful tool and I'm sure you know what you're talking about., particularly in your climate where the growth rate is much slower. I'm glad they work for 'ya. In my area, I don't think they have any impact on the bass population, whatsoever. Once again, I have to stress that bass populations of any size are not a problem on 99% of lakes in louisiana whether it has a slot limit or not. If there is a problem, it is most likely caused by exotic vegetation like water hyacinth, not overfishing or "overkeeping". Where this vegetation does ruin the lake, the LA Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries does nothing to help--claims it doesn't have the money although we have a game warden around every tree with a brand new boat being pulled by a brand new extended cab 4x4 pickup. Contrary to popular belief the vast majority of people in LA. are just like me, they follow the law and want to protect their natural resources. But they like to utilize the resource as well.
Good news, though, the little ones grow into bigger ones..
jbj
Never eaten bass? you must be from waaaaayyy up north! They're mighty tasty to say the least! I personally don't especially care for eating bass over say 3.5 lbs. as they taste a little stronger. Everyone I know around northwest louisiana eats them and loves 'em. also, nearly everyone I know often keeps what they catch up to the limit and like me, doesn't feel a bit guilty. By the way, my local lake has never and hopefully never will have a slot limit and when fishing tournaments are held (regularly) my lake consistently produces the best stringers for the top several places and most of time the biggest bass compared to nearby lakes with slot limits. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for using this as a tool when it is needed. But in my area, the fish grow fast enough that it is totally pointless and the tournaments and all the other everyday fishermen I talk to prove it. It seems to me that a lot of folks that have made posts on this thread feel like it's a sin to keep your fish unless they're dinkers. I don't feel that way. With a hook and line, in my area, it's almost impossible to have a noticeable impact on the fish if the creel limit is observed. THey don't bite everyday, everyone doesn't catch them when they do, and there is a reasonable limit on bass if you do catch a lot. A lake produces tons of fish-- why should we not take advantage of this resource? And I don't mean abuse the resource, just take advantage of it. I don't keep all the bass I catch every time I go and neither do most people I know but I simply would like to have the right to keep them. I worry that sooner or later, government agencies will have so much power that just getting a license to go fishing will be so costly that only the rich will be able to go, just like in other countries. I do want them to have the authority to make laws to protect the fish and game whether I like the laws or not but would like them to have a REASON to regulate things. I have no problem with a slot limit if it is NEEDED. I notice that many of you northern fishermen seem to be very confident that they are a useful tool and I'm sure you know what you're talking about., particularly in your climate where the growth rate is much slower. I'm glad they work for 'ya. In my area, I don't think they have any impact on the bass population, whatsoever. Once again, I have to stress that bass populations of any size are not a problem on 99% of lakes in louisiana whether it has a slot limit or not. If there is a problem, it is most likely caused by exotic vegetation like water hyacinth, not overfishing or "overkeeping". Where this vegetation does ruin the lake, the LA Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries does nothing to help--claims it doesn't have the money although we have a game warden around every tree with a brand new boat being pulled by a brand new extended cab 4x4 pickup. Contrary to popular belief the vast majority of people in LA. are just like me, they follow the law and want to protect their natural resources. But they like to utilize the resource as well.
Good news, though, the little ones grow into bigger ones..
jbj
