Quote Originally Posted by fishincrazy View Post
You are on the water all the time and seem to know what the Fish and Wildlife people are doing and will or will not do. What is your prediction on the future of the fishery?
I really have a problem with somebody peeing on my shoes and telling me it is raining. The powers that be are putting folks like Paul Rister and the other regional fishery biologists in a really bad situation by asking them to tow the powers-that-be line that there is not a problem.

Let me be perfectly clear to start----I love my country but pretty much hate politicians and those who make the decisions as to where the $$ that is generated from OUR license fees is spent. I pay $95 per year for a Sportsman's license, $150 per year for a commercial guide license, $150 per year for a taxidermist license, plus all the other fees like elk draw and such, not to mention nearly $2000 total to get my Coast Guard Six Pak license. I feel those fees give me the right to express my opinion even if just being a CITIZEN of this once great country doesn't.

NOW--- I have been on top of this carp issue since it left the catfish farms in MS and AR. When it was just a novelty to see a video of some funny fish jumping out of the water, I was saying "OH CRAP!! We have to stop those before they get here!!" I screamed that at anybody who would listen as did thousands of us who depend on the fishery for part of our incomes or just love to boat and fish. We were told then it won't be a problem. When the commercial fishermen met with F&W types at KY DAM after netting nearly 200,000 pounds of the invaders in TWO DAYS, we were told it isn't as bad as we think it is. NOW we have them jumping into boats on KY and Barkely lakes, our bluegill and redear spawn was non-existant, and we can side scan the areas where we have traditionally caught good numbers of big gills and redears and all we see on the screen are 4 foot long shadows of bully invaders that are terrorizing game fish species into leaving those areas even if they claim they are not being eaten by the carp.

This week I watched silver carp jumping in several bays on KY Lake. I got report from friends who are seeing massive schools of bigheads as well as several silvers jumping in major bays on KY. There was recently an article written by Steve VanTreese in the Paducah paper about a family having their pontoon damaged by a big silver that took out the front railing when it jumped into their boat WHILE THEY WERE MOTORING IN THE CUMBERLAND RIVER CHANNEL ON BARKLEY.

IMO, they are taking a whizz on our shoes and telling us it's raining. Folks who should be able to tell us the truth are fearful of their jobs and retirements if they paint the true picture of how bad it is really.

Le t me add this--- this issue is NOT going to go away unless every state that has waterways that connect to the Mississippi drainage gets involved and works together on stopping them. I'm not so foolish to think KY can even make a dent in it by itself. It has to be a national issue. It's much more politically correct to give BILLIONS to take care of illegal invaders who cross our borders but will eventually find a way to vote to give themselves more of our tax $$.