Thread: URGENT..........Alabama HB258 to allow gill nets in the Tennessee River and her lakes

We live in a capitalistic society where the dollar means more than a hobby. When a commercial fisherman fishes 7 days a week and you guys get to fish maybe 1 to 2 times a week a month or less, see how you like it when the fish disappear.Enjoy your boat ride and talk about the good ole days.I love to Golf so that is something I can fall back on,or join Ditch Basser in the backwaters with dozens more kayakers.No I would not mess with someones nets now, in my youth bad ideal to put your nets and creeks and lakes were the crappie hung out.
Everyone can fish Weiss were all nets are outlawed and join the hundreds of other crappie anglers vying for a crappie.

Crappie hold in the River Channels Prior to the spawn and after the spawn. I caught 10 today in 40 feet of water on the main river channel fish suspended at 20 feet. Dont think that the River channel will be a good place to fish after gill nets get set there. And it will decimate the Crappie fishery as they suspend over deep water far more of the time than they spend in back bays and shallow.

Good news in the Guntersville paper today IF it holds true. Senator Clay Schofield says he will kill the bill in the senate, either in committee or on the floor of the senate. He says he's been contacted by numerous people to kill it and not a single person has contacted him in support of it. He's gonna get LOTS of pressure since it passed the House 80-16 so we gotta keep the pressure on him. One representative said he voted for it because he was told the nets would be "deep" and that game fish don't stay in deep water. What a crock!

Thank you all who have stepped up but don't stop now. We gotta fight this till it's dead and then watch for it every legislative session on the future.

Our legislators need to be informed or educate themselves on the damage the nets will do in a small body of water like a river or lake. Also many commercial fisherman will fudge the law when they have the legal right to fish a specific mesh size by using a smaller mesh to catch more fish and also increasing their by catch which would be game fish.

This bill came up last year and did not get voted on. I emailed three of our reps from this area and only one emailed back. He said that he didn't know much about the bill but would research it. The last I heard from any of them. Has fish and game had input? This could be big for years to come and I sure hope more study has been done then what has been made public. I hope it is killed, why would it only be the Tennessee river?

Most fresh water in Alabama is legal to fish gill nets already using a 6 inch stretch mesh. There is a fairly new fishery, I think, starting up in alabama targeting spoonbill catfish for its row, (eggs), that I have heard is very highly priced. I have heard of a few commercial fisherman from here in mobile county that have obtained permits to fish rivers north of here in Alabama and even up in Tennessee for them during a short season. That may have something to do with the push to get more areas open to nets. This is just what I have heard but I can't say it for sure.

You also need to get people from other states to get in touch with these people also. It helped here in Tn to have every person we could get to send in emails.. Also one other thing to remember. Do not let the Senator or any Politition get in countrol of the rules. Here in Tn they now set the guidelines for TWRA. Sad part is one of them has sons that commercial fish. So he passed the laws his boys wanted. And now TWRA can tell them what will happen if they pass this. But There 2 tied up in greed to take there opion and use it.
I grew up in a family that was commercial fisherman. And for 10 years I tried to make a living doing it. And got out of it, as it was use Gill nets or not make money. I for one would not kill all the game fish that others did not care if died or not. So I got out of it.
Pete