Thread: No more regulations!

Thank you POfisher for your well-written response. You have said all I wanted to say and said it well. I,too, only keep fish that are fillet size and only keep what I will eat. I am all for bettering our fisheries, but we can regulate ourselves without government interference. What about fish that swallow a hook - must we return a dead fish to the water? We don't want a law that prevents keeping a kid's fish.

Originally Posted by POfisher

I can see both sides of this.

Pro: In support of a limit size mandated by Government regulations
Results: 1. Eventually larger fish to catch.
2. Larger work load on DNR.
3. A need for more revenue (higher taxes) to support DNR work load
4. Possible over population due to lesser size fish returned to water.

Cons: Not in support of more Government regulations i.e. taking away more freedoms American citizens enjoy
Results: 1. Penalties for non compliance
2. smaller fish to catch due to over fishing
3. Less work load for DNR
4. Less taxes

When it's all put into the pot and washed down, I don't like the idea of any Government agency taking away one more right that I have. I don't like the idea of one more tax being placed upon me for whatever reason.
However, I also wouldn't like a careless angler who would over fish and could care less about preservation of our lakes and streams and the fish that live in it.
I will say this. It has been my experience that I've never once met a person such as this who is a crappy fisher. I'm sure they exist, I have never met one. Most serious crappie anglers I meet are gentlemen. Nice guys who'd give you the shirt off their back if you needed it.

Perhaps education and a Southern Gentlemens agreement would be more appropriate than having the Government regulate one more freedom out from under our ever growing lack of those freedoms.
Our Government has grown out of it's own holding pond and has become extremely too large and I simply can't support any more growth. We should (and eventually must) do some trolling in the halls of our regulators as they've become nothing more than power hungry feeders at the trough of the American Tax payer. It's beyond sickening, and never once was this type of government control that our constitution writers had in mind.
States rights have been trampled by Federal bureaucrats in the name of "for the betterment" of society.
Wouldn't this be what we're asking the DNR to do? We're asking the DNR to take away our rights and fine us, if we're caught with a crappie that's less than a certain size?
I won't keep a dink...when I'm out seriously fishing. But if I have a four year old fishing with me, and he catches a dink... THE LAST THING I WOULD DO, would be to crush his little feelings and throw his little dink back. We'd celebrate his catch and I'd encourage him to fish for something larger!!
I'd figure out something with the dink if I could, but I dang sure don't want a DNR person checking my live well then fining me because my 4 year old wanted to show Mama his fish!!! Think about it.

I offer education as the answer, not more government intrusion into our world of fishing. If we give them an inch... they'll take the whole damn ruler.
Support catch and release along with education.
Keep only what your going to eat, and take a youngun fishin!

Just my two cents

I really like your " two cents worth", If only this world had more poeple like this in it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well said!

One of the lakes i fish up in Illinois has a 9inch 15fish limit tons of fish 8.5 inches as soon as they make it to 9inches they are harvested. Very hard to find 10 plus fish. Just think up here its possible to have your license checked four or more times in one day. Let alone the next day by the same officers. Tight lines.

POfisher you said it very well. Thank You! I fish a good bit and on occasion have been known to keep a few dinks if the fishing is extremely bad and the freezer is empty. I don,t personally know anyone that hasn,t keep a few dinks at some time or other. With that said i will still try to keep only the bigger(those i have to stretch my hand to reach across) fish as most of the time i have plenty at home to eat.We don,t need more government just better people polieceing themselves.

Originally Posted by UFCreel

One of the lakes i fish up in Illinois has a 9inch 15fish limit tons of fish 8.5 inches as soon as they make it to 9inches they are harvested. Very hard to find 10 plus fish. Just think up here its possible to have your license checked four or more times in one day. Let alone the next day by the same officers. Tight lines.

wow! ive been fishing since i was about 9 years old and ive had my boat for about 6 years now. i have never been checked by anyone for anything.

Good post Jeff this would work if every one would follow this but it will not happen . You will have those that will keep eveything they catch if they need them or not just to be able to say they went out and brougt home 100 or more.Yes I know people who do this(not on this site) they like to brag about what they can go catch and most if not all will only be about 7 or 8 inches. Yes all of us on this site might agree to do this but there are a lot of people out there who are not on this site that fish for crappie.The only way we are going to make a difference to the population and size of this fish and to make it better for the future is to do this. I do not like more regs any more than any one else but I think this needs to be done.It will pay off for all in a few years.

Originally Posted by POfisher

I can see both sides of this.

Pro: In support of a limit size mandated by Government regulations
Results: 1. Eventually larger fish to catch.
2. Larger work load on DNR.
3. A need for more revenue (higher taxes) to support DNR work load
4. Possible over population due to lesser size fish returned to water.

Cons: Not in support of more Government regulations i.e. taking away more freedoms American citizens enjoy
Results: 1. Penalties for non compliance
2. smaller fish to catch due to over fishing
3. Less work load for DNR
4. Less taxes

When it's all put into the pot and washed down, I don't like the idea of any Government agency taking away one more right that I have. I don't like the idea of one more tax being placed upon me for whatever reason.
However, I also wouldn't like a careless angler who would over fish and could care less about preservation of our lakes and streams and the fish that live in it.
I will say this. It has been my experience that I've never once met a person such as this who is a crappy fisher. I'm sure they exist, I have never met one. Most serious crappie anglers I meet are gentlemen. Nice guys who'd give you the shirt off their back if you needed it.

Perhaps education and a Southern Gentlemens agreement would be more appropriate than having the Government regulate one more freedom out from under our ever growing lack of those freedoms.
Our Government has grown out of it's own holding pond and has become extremely too large and I simply can't support any more growth. We should (and eventually must) do some trolling in the halls of our regulators as they've become nothing more than power hungry feeders at the trough of the American Tax payer. It's beyond sickening, and never once was this type of government control that our constitution writers had in mind.
States rights have been trampled by Federal bureaucrats in the name of "for the betterment" of society.
Wouldn't this be what we're asking the DNR to do? We're asking the DNR to take away our rights and fine us, if we're caught with a crappie that's less than a certain size?
I won't keep a dink...when I'm out seriously fishing. But if I have a four year old fishing with me, and he catches a dink... THE LAST THING I WOULD DO, would be to crush his little feelings and throw his little dink back. We'd celebrate his catch and I'd encourage him to fish for something larger!!
I'd figure out something with the dink if I could, but I dang sure don't want a DNR person checking my live well then fining me because my 4 year old wanted to show Mama his fish!!! Think about it.

I offer education as the answer, not more government intrusion into our world of fishing. If we give them an inch... they'll take the whole damn ruler.
Support catch and release along with education.
Keep only what your going to eat, and take a youngun fishin!

Just my two cents

Best post I've seen in a long time. I don't keep a crappie that I can't filet out, unless it's injured then I'd rather take it home and fry it whole instead of letting it go to waste.
At the same time I've seen this over and over, People on there own hunting land and there home lake practices selective harvest. But when they go to other peoples land to hunt and lakes to fish it's Kattie bar the door anything thats walks is dead and anything that swims goes in the cooler. No law will change this.

I am sending my letter in supporting the 10" limit. At the last slabfest I was one of the people cleaning fish. I couldn't believe some of the dinks that were brought in. They were so small you couldn't even get a fillet out of them. That proved to me that self regulation is not a viable option.

Originally Posted by hunt4crappie

I am sending my letter in supporting the 10" limit. At the last slabfest I was one of the people cleaning fish. I couldn't believe some of the dinks that were brought in. They were so small you couldn't even get a fillet out of them. That proved to me that self regulation is not a viable option.

There you go a good chance to put into affect what some are preaching.
Implement a rule at Slabfest no Crappie under 10 inches.

Originally Posted by hunt4crappie

I am sending my letter in supporting the 10" limit. At the last slabfest I was one of the people cleaning fish. I couldn't believe some of the dinks that were brought in. They were so small you couldn't even get a fillet out of them. That proved to me that self regulation is not a viable option.

Thats where you get the popcorn crappie from!

I'm all for a 10" limit by the way... There's plenty of overstocked fish ponds people can fish in if they wanna catch/keep 7" slabs. Thats just one idiots opinion though.