Got Mad at 2 of the Big 3 in Mississippi Today

[Minnerman]

I was able to get away from work early today and decided to try my luck at Grenada. When I got there at 1:30 this afternoon there were bout 50 people on the south bank of the spillway and more than half of them were snagging. Got mad and never wet a hook. Left Grenada and went to Enid. Guess what? The same thing. Got mad and went to Sardis and finally found some people actually fishing. Didn't catch but 5 and gave them to an older gentleman. I did make one fellow think twice about keeping a snagged fish though. I stood above the rocks watching at Grenada and a fella snagged a 11'-12' fish. He held it between his legs and removed the hook from its tail and looked around to see if anybody was watching. When he noticed I was, he kind of sat on his bucket as if he was deciding what to do with the fish. After a couple of more looks toward me, he fianlly decided to throw the fish back. Could have been the green jacket I was wearing or maybe he was really going to throw this fish back.............I doubt it. He was one of the ones using a 1/4oz jig head with no skirt. To me this is a POOR way of fishing. How do ya'll feel about snagging? OK now I got that off my chest. Thanks

[NIMROD]

It's a legal means of fishing here in Arkansas. It is only allowed below dams and no fish maybe released. You stop when limit reached.:D Most use surfcasting tackle with large treble hooks and large sinker. That are targeting most of the time large Catfish or Paddle fish . But all fish are legal that can be caught using other methods.:D

[willsjwills]

there was a time when spillway fishing at Granada was fun, but I have to agree with you, Tracy, that what these people do is not fishing. I'm assuming it's legal, since you can keep fish that are snagged from the gills foreward. not much sportmanship there.
gonna try Columbus lake this week-end with my son. What you gonna do?

[drill instructor]

Please tell me that they were not snagging crappie? I dont even wont to see that.

[Minnerman]

Please tell me that they were not snagging crappie? I dont even wont to see that.

I can tell you they were not..................but I'd be lying.

John, I got one last weekend of deer season and then it's over..............Thank the good lord. I or we will be fishing next weekend. Somewhere, Somehow.

[Jerry Blake]

It's a legal means of fishing here in Arkansas. It is only allowed below dams and no fish maybe released. You stop when limit reached.:D Most use surfcasting tackle with large treble hooks and large sinker. That are targeting most of the time large Catfish or Paddle fish . But all fish are legal that can be caught using other methods.:D

Here's the Arkansas Regulation on snagging:

"Snagging - fishing with conventional rods and reels where the fish is impaled by the forceful retrieval of one or more hooks. Snagging sportfish from a bank may only be done within 100 yards below a dam. Any sport fish snagged must be kept, applied to the daily limit and may not be sold. Half the sport fish daily limit may be taken by snagging, or the lesser whole number nearest one-half the limit, when the limit is an odd number, although a full limit of catfish and paddlefish may be taken. Snagging must cease whenever a limit of any species is attained.

Suckers may be snagged between sunrise and sunset, from April 1 to February 15. The daily limit for suckers is 20, the possession limit is 40."

I agree it doesn't sound very sporting to me.

[gooch]

My grandad and dad used to snag red and blackhorse suckers in the Little Mazarn when I was a kid. Grandmother would gut em and cut the heads off and cut them into steaks then pressure cook them. They tasted just like salmon to me. I agree that it sure dont sound to sporting for crappie but sometimes I dont think spider rigging is either and I love that. In fact my dad and cousin told me they dont think it is. They dont tell me anything when there eating my crappie though.

[crappieken]

Here in Illinois snagging of sport fish is illegal. Only "trash fish" can be legally snagged and then it is permitted only on certain waters in the state. I have seen tickets issued by our CPOs for violating this law. Illinois also has a hotline number you can call if you see a violation and it operates 24/7.

[ceb]

I have no desire to do it, but...Once you see that absolutely worn-out guy that tries to make it back up the chunk rock bank after snaggin' all afternoon with nothing to show for it...You'll just about shed a tear for him. That's way too much work for me!

The reason that I'm saying this is because...I worked on a catfish farm for a summer during college. About once a week we'd get to go "catch samples" by the snaggin' method from a pond that was about to be seined. The samples were sent in to confirm the quality of the fish, as most of these were destined for the table. One day, one of the poor new guys was given the duty of snaggin' a sample. It seems that no one informed the guy of how to select the proper location of snaggin' a catfish in a farm pond. By the time that he finally got one...it was time to clock-out and he could barely make it to his truck.:D

The spider-riggin' thing, on the other hand, I completely disagree with as far as it's question of "sporting". To do it correctly, it takes a lot of prep work and dedication. You gotta know where to do it and how to do it. If the fish are slow, it takes a lot of patience to keep with it instead of moving onto another tactic. But it always seems to pay off. I see lots of sport in this...your just increasing your chances. With snaggin', the only chance is if you are gonna sink a hook into him; you don't have to trick him at all...

[fishman247]

i grew up in western new york and always looked forward to salmon snaging in the rivers (think it was oak orchard and olcott) we used treble hooks with about 3 ounces of leas melted to them....
now i dont think i would snag anymore not crappie for sure.....it used to be dinner, now fishing is more than that to me