I'm really confused now

[Doggydaddy]

Originally Posted by Fish Nut

They (DNR) increased the amount of net legally allowed for the gill-netters. Not twice the amount. They say it is so the commercial netters could keep different size mesh onboard to better target different size class of fish. However nothing in the law stops them form deploying all of the gill nets on a licensed vessel. There quota has not changed they are still allowed the same poundage of fish. If the commercials reach there quota early DNR shuts the fishery down. A few from this site were at the meetings and may have a better detailed explanation of the reasoning.

Thanks Fish Nut.
IMHO B Faithful has a good idea with slot fish limit, it would allow for fish to be taken while protecting the large spawning cows, on the other hand as you mentioned other states need to come in line with lower limits, that in its self would be a challenge.

[B-Faithful]

Originally Posted by Doggydaddy

Thanks Fish Nut.
IMHO B Faithful has a good idea with slot fish limit, it would allow for fish to be taken while protecting the large spawning cows, on the other hand as you mentioned other states need to come in line with lower limits, that in its self would be a challenge.

I should note that I dont support a slot that has an upper limit as I believe in the preservations of the opportunity for records and tournaments, which are a large draw to recreational fishing too. Large "citation" fish make up a small portion of the migratory fish harvested anyhow. I think a no take slot that would target allow the a higher percentage of spawners through would work. Given that the VAST majority of migratory fish harvested in 2009 (by far) were between 34" and 40" long, a slot that targets that range would be most appropriate. The difficult things managers would have to look at is, what slot would work best at protecting the spawn while still providing for enough opportunity for anglers to harvest a fish. If that opportunity gets too low, interest in the season may dry up losing the economic benefit of the season. It would be a balance left up to the managers and scientists.

[Skip]

Easy fix - C/R until May 15th of fish over 28 inches.
Still can catch that big one - just have to let her go.

[RonaldMcDingle]

Originally Posted by Skip

Easy fix - C/R until May 15th of fish over 28 inches.
Still can catch that big one - just have to let her go.

But Sir, weren't you the one that just posted the pic of the roe laden female above? I don't see consistency? Fish caught all year are pre spawn in some manner or another. If you feel that way, why keep fish at all until May 15th, lead by example!

[B-Faithful]

Ron, many times it is difficult to determine a prespawn fish before you clean it. Skip, keeps far less than his creel much of the year.

With that said, and with all due respect to Skip, I do not think making it catch and release over 28" until May 15th would foster good participation, especially given the restrictions on efficiency that were passed for catch and release this past spring. Lets face it, participation levels go way up when there is the opportunity to keep a fish....



Ok, I looked at the presentation that I have and here are some other key stats to consider.

2006 Maryland had a 33" min and harvested 63k fish
2007 Maryland had a no-take slot of 35"-40" and harvested 35k fish

The participation (angler trips) levels in 2007 where higher than the 2006 and we still had much lower harvest numbers.

Why? No take slot limit. Also, I think the no-take slot did not deter anglers from fishing. There still was the opportunity to keep a fish, our harvest was greatly reduced over the previous year despite more angler trips and our socio-economic benefit was still realized. I am assuming that the majority of migratory fish fell within that size range given that we reduced the harvest by nearly half despite the increase in angler trips.

I think the no-take slots of 2007 were an effective tool in reducing the impact on the striped bass harvest during our trophy season while also not creating a negative impact on the participation levels. I believe a no-take slot also fosters better catch and release practices by anglers realizing that recreational fish is not soley about the opportunity to keep a fish but the opportunity to catch it with less opporutunity to keep. It also recognizes that the opportunity to catch a fish is a large part of drawing participation and provides for it adequately.

[RonaldMcDingle]

Mr. Faithful, I don't know any of you guys, or who Skip is, so forgive my ignorance. But, that being said, I do know how hard it is to determine if a rock is pre or post spawn. I've been fishing the bay for 40 years. My point to the Mr. Skip was that if you are truly concerned about killing pre-spawn fish, and preaching C&R through May 15th, why are you posting a picture of a fish you kept during the spawn? I understand his point, I am not trying to be controversial, just trying to make a point. I am very new to these message boards, but have gotten a few of these private messages about my post, some telling me thanks for saying what I said and one yelling at me for questioning this Skip fellow. I do not fault anyone for keeping fish, fishing for trophies even though I choose not to. The regulations are in place the way they are and they are determined by people much smarter than myself, so I am ok with people fishing inside of these regulations. I just am against preaching one thing, and doing another. Thank you for your input though, you seem very knowledgeable on this subject. Are you with DNR or another organization?

[B-Faithful]

I greatly appreciate your contributions to the thread and glad you are here for the discussion. Your points are well noted. While I cannot speak for Skip, I believe his point of the photo is to draw attention to the fact that there are prespawn fish being caught and kept while DNR chose to try to reduce effort on catch and release fishermen during the preseason. I had discussed my thoughts on "prespawn" fish previously.

I dont represent any organization. I am recreational angler who is an active member of the MSSA and RFA. I am very passionate about fostering the best fishing opportunities for anglers both today and the future. I believe recreational fishing is a past time that strengthens families and is vital to our society both socially and economically.