Some questions for BISC

[vikingbud]

Gadget and myself fished thursday, friday, and in the tourn. saturday. We caught 30 to 40 fish a day, with a total of 110. We had 6 keepers total. We did have 3 nice fish saturday, but we caught them at 2:30 to 3:00pm, and of coarse the tournament was over by then. I agree with striper chaser. We were catching these same size fish 2 years ago. The reason your not getting any entries is because people cant catch a keeper fish. After you spend $200 to $300 dollars fishing for a few days, it gets on you some. I love catching and releasing, but I believe if you change the regulations to 2 fish at 24", and 2 more if they are over 26" in the winter season. This would change my mind on comming up there. The fall tourneys are a great time to catch fish, and have a great time. Its time that the people that live bait fish get treated with the same courtesy as the trollers and jiggers in the summer. If people believe they have a chance to catch some fish that they can keep, you will see your participation go up. Whats with having a weigh in at 3pm, when you have to load your boat and drive for 15-30 minutes. We use to have it at 4pm. 6 hours of fishing isnt much time.

Shaky Jake

[ashman]

I think that this dialog is very interesting. It poses some very good questions about the mission of the club. Is there a desire to just make the fishery at Buggs better at certain times of year? Are there real biological goals that be reached? I personally love to fish for stripers at Buggs. The fall and early winter offer some very enjoyable times for me personally. The pursuit and the catch of these fish are awesome. The tournaments have been fun, too. I have a couple of first place trophys that I cherish. But these new rules on the size and quantity limits do not really seem to be making a difference as Budman noted. If we are going to improve the fishery it is going to take more than the effort that has been put forth so far. I agree that the post about the slaughter of fish in the summer. It does not make sense that a 4 fish no size limit in the summer continue. You do not see dead stripers floating in the fall and winter. Doing the right thing is hard some times.

On the good news side, I did see the most smaller stripers (8-15") this year(later summer) than I have EVER seen. Maybe the rules need some more time to make a difference? Maybe the rules need to be changed? Or maybe some common sense can be practiced without the need for more official rules?

[vikingbud]

Gadget and myself fished thursday through saturday, and caught well over a 100 fish. We averaged 30-40 fish a day, and getting 1 to 2 keepers a day. I agree with striperchaser. We are catching the same size fish we did 2 years ago, and they are just under the size limit. We must have caught 50-60 24-25" fish. The reason people are not fishing in the tournaments is that they know they cant catch a keeper fish in 1 out of 10 trips. Who wants to spend the money and keep doing that. I have always backed catch and release, but the live baiters and casters need to be treated with the same courtesy as the trollers and jiggers in the summer time. The limit should be adjusted to allowing 2 fish of at least 22-24 inches, and the other 2 have to be over 26". This would give people some reward and something to look forward to. If you want tournament participation, there has to be some changes. We did catch two 30 inch fish, and one 28" fish saturday, but they were caught way too late in the day. We caught them between 2:30 pm and 3:00 pm, and we did not have to time to get to the weigh in.

shaky jake

[Rip N Drag]

"I have always backed catch and release, but the live baiters and casters need to be treated with the same courtesy as the trollers and jiggers in the summer time."

I have seen you write this a couple of times now and im still not postitive I understand what that means, can you clarify? Maybe I'm just missing a local thing I dunno lol

[vikingbud]

The fisherman from June 1 through Sept. 30 can keep 4 fish a day with no size limit. You can catch fish live baiting during this time, but its rough sometimes keeping your bait alive, and the fish are schooled pretty tight and moving. Your odds right now of catching a keeper are basically 1 in 10. thats not very good odds. I do believe in catch and release, and have been practicing it for many years, but I also enjoy striper on the table. I am not a big fan of the heat of the summer, and enjoy the fall and winter fishing more. I also work some long hours in the summer, so the fall and winter thing works better for me. It would be nice if we could keep a couple for table fare. I believe 24" would be a decent size for that, and then make the next two have to be 26" or more. Hope that helps rip n drag

shaky

[StriperChaser1]

I agree with Shaky. I enjoy eating stripers and those fish we've been catching would have been keepers three years ago. I hardly fish for stripers during the hot months but once the first frost shows on the pumpkins I try to go at least once per week for about a half day. With gas prices these days I sure hate not being able to bring a few home for filets. I fully supported the new laws to increase the size limit but when it was enacted, just like now we were catching plenty fish just under the 26" limit and I just assumed within a year or two all those would be over 26". I'm just not seeing that happen. I like the idea of 2 @ 24" and the next two over 26". Most of the fish being released now through spring survive to be caught another day. All those caught during the summer end up being catfish food. The VDGIF idea to keep the first four fish any size during the summer then quit fishing for stripers had great intentions but it’s just not happening. All you have to do in the summer is listen to the VHF or read the posts on the message boards about how many are getting caught day in and day out through the summer. The only way to affect the size of the stripers will be to just ban striper fishing during the hot months. That would be fine with me but there are a lot of trollers and jiggers that don’t live bait fish in the cooler months who would be very unhappy, so it’s not going to happen.

[JBee]

Shaky's plan sounds reasonable. One of the reasons I fished Jordan was it's pretty easy to get some fish for the table and I have less guilt knowing I'm not taking a potential spawner like you would at Kerr. I got a lot of flack a couple years back from the JLSC for calling Jordan a put and take fishery but that's what it is, nothing there is going to spawn and stockings will always replace anything harvested!

Like Buddy, I wonder when we are going to see the results of the rule change? According to the ramp surveys less and less people are targeting stripers and the stockings should be yeilding some real trophies by now, what gives?

[vikingbud]

I am with you buddy and jbee. I thought that a couple of years ago, that this would really help the fishery for the future, but I believe all it is doing is making good for the summer months when they take alot of fish out of the lake. If they want to be fair, allow 2 fish a day all year. In the summer months there would be no size limit, but when you get to Oct through June, bump it up to 24". Or if they want to keep the the same limits in the summer, let the fall and winter season be 2 @ 24" and 2 more if they are over 26".

shaky

[ashman]

I like the new ideas being posted, too. Doing the right thing is doing the right thing. Otherwise, all that is being done is making the situation better for a few. I guess if we are members then we should all make the effort to attend the next BISC meeting!

[StriperChaser1]

Problem is the BISC does not make the regulations, only suggestions. Doubt that the VDGIF would make another regulation change so soon without giving it several more years to see what happens. Those 24" fish still pull pretty good and there seems to be plenty of them. Maybe this new abundance of threadfin shad in the lake will make them grow a little faster. Then again there's always Lake Gaston and Jordan Lake. We do have other options.