• Fish Chokers may be coming back to our Lakes

    Yes, just when we thought we had gotten rid of the “gill nets” it appears that there is a bill in the State of Alabama making its way to approval putting them back in the Tennessee River. The argument is that there is an industry that is suffering from the lack of ability to use gill nets in our waters; yes this is the argument one of our Senators is using to get this bill passed. The few that would benefit from this passing seems to be gaining steam in our legislature, the question in my mind is does the benefit out-weigh the harm and the answer is “no-way.”

    Yet it seems to be ready to be passed by our State leadership for the benefit of a very few people; why? Fish Chokers or gill nets act as a mesh that catches the head of a fish “via squares of mesh that slide over the head of a fish and then jam tight right behind the gill plates--they're locked in place.” Killing everything it locks into the net, sure they are not targeting game fish but what prevents them from getting caught; size maybe, but a big 5 lb plus bass or 2 lb. plus crappie will get caught in any gill net used to catch a carp or cat fish.

    “Game fish would very likely be caught, occasionally in large numbers, as a by-catch of the nets, which can extend for hundreds of feet, forming a sort of "wall of death" around anything on the inside. While the commercial netters could not legally land them, they very likely would be killed in the process of being shucked out of the mesh--they'd wind up as buzzard bait along the shores. The bill as written has no limitations on net length or square footage--whole feeder creeks could be "stop netted" with a damming effect from shore to shore.”

    If you haven’t got my drift it’s time to voice your opinion to your local leadership if you don’t well we can all just complain about them passing this bill and my guess is it will take generations to change it once it gets put in place; I’m old I will survive through it, will you?
    Comments 1 Comment
    1. CarpLimited's Avatar
      CarpLimited -
      Mike,

      While I don't disagree that any form of netting should be closely controlled to limit by-catch, it is going to soon be a necessary evil to protect the game fish species of the TN river. While industry may be the current argument, the movement and proliferation of the big head and silver carp in the TN river is reason enough to support such legislation given that strict processes and controls are put in place.

      The big head are taking over taking Kentucky Lake and the silver are right behind them. These fish can be found in all TN river impoundments at some level. I had my first experience on Kentucky Lake of a 20lb. silver carp jumping several feet in the air and nearly landing in my boat directly behind me. I was only idling, but even at that speed it would have done damage at that weight from the height it made. In fact, if it impacted the old melon it probably would have knocked me out. I'm not too keen on taking my little girls out on the water with the risk that they'll be struck by an object half their weight. Pleasure boaters won't take this risk either.

      Kentucky allows netting by permit during the off season. It is very much controlled and has not seemed to impact the sport fish population over the years. However, every body of water the carp enter, they eventually replace most or all of the biomass and make boating hazardous.

      In a March 2013 event on Kentucky Lake, 42 tons (yes tons) of carp were netted during over two days (yes two) and removed by commercial fisherman in a state conducted tournament. By-catch was monitored and recorded. I recall only a single 4lb largemouth was reported. A single bass vs. 42 tons of carp.

      IL has commercial fisherman working full time to net carp from the IL river to help prevent their movement northward. These are areas where only a very small percentage (if any) of the biomass is something other than carp.

      Don't think this problem is "over there" and "won't effect us in north AL" because it is moving fast. These fish are hardy, prolific and grow fast. I've fished some of my favorite ledges on Kentucky Lake and watched as acres of big head carp swirls moved through the bay as a gull passed over head.

      In order to protect our way of life on the water and the economy that comes with it, the states of KY, TN, MS, and AL need to work together to help control them in the TN river.

      I'm an avid sport fisher, but I recommend we contact our state representatives in support of controlled netting for the control of these invaders before our whole way of life on the river is forever changed.

      Regards.