Fishing Pressure

[NIMROD]

How much fishing pressure can our waters take ? Everyone buying high end electronics and fishing more . I used to catch plenty with no electronics then moved up to cheap depth finder , then hand held GPS . Now I have a 10'' Humminbird and ordering another one . All this technology moving so fast with upgrades every year . The imaging is improving at at fast pace like computers and options like 360 . Even the guys that don't fish tournaments that can afford them are doing so . With limits raised in some areas , technology , and folks having more time on the water has to be taking a toll on the resource . If trends continue we maybe looking at the need for tighter restrictions on some waters . I know some places even in the Crappie Capitol of the south , Mississippi looking at this .

[Crestliner08]

You still can't make them bite, regardless of what you buy to see where they are.

[Creekside]

Right, and not everyone keeps everything they catch. I throw quite a bit back. The exception for me is stocked trout, all stockies go in the freezer.

[Ranger690]

You don't have to keep fish. I haven't kept a crappie in years.

[ozarks ranger]

I would like to see a longer length limit here in missouri just for a couple of years. some of our lakes have a 9 inch limit. Even on these lakes I dont keep them until they are at least 10. my opinion after 2 years there will be lots more 10Plus. go ahead with the flames.

[INTIMIDATOR]

In SW Ohio we have several 2500 acre lakes, a couple over 7500, and a few smaller.
All are way over pressured....locals keep everything they catch, legal or not.
It's really sad to see the decline of our waterways, with overfishing, pollution, and erosion runoff.

[NIMROD]

I keep only 10''and bigger Crappie . When fishing is real good i release anything unless it is 12'' . My friends love Crappie fillets and many old people would not get fresh fish otherwise . I would release more myself but with crowds , spider riggers , and yoyos being used it would not help much if I released all mine . Some get upset because only ones I tell where I fish anymore are the ones that fish with me . The pressure got so bad on one lake a few years back a good percentage of those caught looked rough with lip damage from being caught or hooked.

[Ranger690]

I think if people would not keep fish for friends and old people, there would be more fish in the lake.

[wannabe fisherman]

I think if people would not keep fish for friends and old people, there would be more fish in the lake.

some of those friends and old folks can't get out to catch their own,

[wolfhnd]

This is always going to be a controversial topic. Eating what you catch is part of the experience. That does not mean treating game fish as a food source is logical. It would be much cheaper to just buy fish than go catch them, especially if you have a boat and lots of gear. As custodians of our environment we decide what we preserve and what we let fade away. The world is our garden how we tend it is a matter of choice but of competency. As long as we obey the law we can rely on the competency of fisheries managers. If we don't like the choices the managers make we can use the political process to bring them more in line with the choices we prefer. That said we have to accept the need to compromise our choices with those of others.

I belonged to a club that had numerous strip pits. The fishing was phenomenal because the club members paid for an experience that would be hard to provide on public waters managed for higher consumption. You get what you plan for and are willing to pay for. Unfortunately we have grown use to a free abundance that may not be sustainable with a growing population.

I would prefer stricter regulations and lower consumption on public waters but I recognize that I have not paid for the privilege of imposing my choices on others. The price of course is not just monetary but engaging with other anglers to persuade them that I have not only my own interests but theirs at heart.

I still have the option of paying for a better fishing experience but I quit the club. It wasn't the expense but a preference for the variety of public waters. While the quality of fish is lower, in part due to the tragedy of the commons, there are also advantages to public ownership in so far as few of us can duplicate in small groups what the wider community can accomplish. There is also the question of the greater good. If water is privately owned it would deprive all but the wealthy of access to it. Our public waters are a national treasure and should be treated as such.