FLW Lake Cumberland

The lakes are a resource that I think a lot of people take for granted. There seems to be a natural assumption the fish have been here for years and will continue to be here for years. This is blind faith. They need to be managed by our fishery biologist in a positive way. I think fish in KY has taken a back seat to Elk, Deer and Turkey. I would like to see KY be more aggressive with how they manage fishing. Several northern and a few southern states have programs that would be great examples of how fishing could be managed. Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Texas really have their stuff together and show how much they care about preserving fishing for future generations.

[QUOTE=R19;568087]The lakes are a resource that I think a lot of people take for granted. There seems to be a natural assumption the fish have been here for years and will continue to be here for years. This is blind faith. They need to be managed by our fishery biologist in a positive way. I think fish in KY has taken a back seat to Elk, Deer and Turkey. I would like to see KY be more aggressive with how they manage fishing. Several northern and a few southern states have programs that would be great examples of how fishing could be managed. Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Texas really have their stuff together and show how much they care about preserving fishing for future generations.[/QUOTE]

I emailed the game and fish on my thoughts on this and it was not good. Hopefully someone will listen to the residents of our state. I've heard the same thing about the Licking River Watershed and them taking Smallmouth out of there to eat or stock their pond that this has been going on for years and now that the Otters are present I do notice the reduction of fish that I catch in the spring at the spillway dams and the size.

[QUOTE=EZGO;568088]I emailed the game and fish on my thoughts on this and it was not good. Hopefully someone will listen to the residents of our state. I've heard the same thing about the Licking River Watershed and them taking Smallmouth out of there to eat or stock their pond that this has been going on for years and now that the Otters are present I do notice the reduction of fish that I catch in the spring at the spillway dams and the size.[/QUOTE]

I've also asked the game and fish if there was any way to protect the small mouth during this time of year on the Licking River and South fork maybe put a slot or have catch and release to a certain date to let these fish spawn and never herd anything back from them. Thanks to all that posted on this subject it's been a learning experience for me

If the kdfwr wont listen maybe the folks who feel like we do should collectively notify the sponsors of these "competitors" how unsportsmanlike this favoritism is, and how is a product supposed to be any good if it doesnt even muster the rigors of a size limit on a given lake. Hit em in the ol seat cushion.

This is an absolute travesty that this was allowed to happen, the push back needs to stink as much or more than this foul smelling event

Don't take this as making excuses for the size limit changes or condoning pulling smallmouth off the beds. Both are D* moves. There certainly could be economic value from a tourist perspective down the road even if the actual FLW guys do not provide value today. The tournament is advertising. Is it advertising I like? Not one bit. But if you are a politician who is approached with the feather of added Lake Cumberland tourist dollars in your cap, you are probably going to press the KDFW to adjust the limits if the FLW asks you to. And I would bet that is how this happened. Why have it on Cumberland now and adjust the size rules? Obviously these guys are not good enough to put five legal fish in the boat or when the bass aren't on the banks and this is the only way they would agree to come here.

It was fun putting stripers in the boat with the FLW cameras rolling. I waved. I bet they don't show it. I didn't know about the size change and I wish I had caught some real bass (I didn't). I would have kept a few and held them up. And I don't keep bass. LOL

So do you all think that our fisheries have been affected by tournaments (Bass mostly)? If so, has anyone studied tournament results and compared them from year to year? I have noticed in our USA Bassin Green River that the weights have generally went up from the early years of that division. The weights and average weights have increased or remained steady. Green is pounded weekly by tournaments and has been for years. Yet in 2015, a five fish limit weighed in August weighed over 27 pounds! That weight was the largest for five fish USA Bassin in the states where they are held (all over southeast including Alabama and TN) until late that season some team had 28 plus on KY Lake. Now we haven't had a 27 pound bag weighed since then, but I have had a few days with that just fishing in last couple years. My point is that fishing in general kills some fish (Even immediate catch and release or harvest for eating), the limits set are there for helping to sustain a viable, healthy population. And within those limits, people can choose to keep and eat Bass or they choose to release them. I, for one, will not select a moral compass as which to judge other fisherman as long as they go by the rules. I may be a rarity but I fish tourneys, fish for fun, and fish for food (including Bass, YES Bass!). FLW and the one other tourney (High School I believe) had the smaller limit, I don't agree with it and enjoyed last years event, maybe more so than this years. I didn't attend either but know some high school and college fisherman who did and enjoyed the interaction with those who took the time to talk to them. I believe Stripernut could have won that tourney anyhow! Jeff catches them better than anyone I know on that lake and knows what he is talking about. I don't think that KDFW will start doing the lower size limits on a regular basis or maybe not ever again, just my opinion.

I don’t think the size should be changed, but if they are going to hold a spring tournament on Cumberland, like they do on lakes all over the country, wouldn’t it be best to weigh 12’’ fish than larger size spawning fish, what number of boats would be entered in a tournament like this, maybe a 100 or 150 boats, once a year, if they all weighed in 5 fish, your looking at 750 short fish loss even if they all die, for a lake the size of Cumberland with 60,000 surface acres, that many fish wouldn’t be a drop in the bucket, I would think the striper would eat more 12’’ bass than that in one day.

[QUOTE=waterdog101;568095]I don’t think the size should be changed, but if they are going to hold a spring tournament on Cumberland, like they do on lakes all over the country, wouldn’t it be best to weigh 12’’ fish than larger size spawning fish, what number of boats would be entered in a tournament like this, maybe a 100 or 150 boats, once a year, if they all weighed in 5 fish, your looking at 750 short fish loss even if they all die, for a lake the size of Cumberland with 60,000 surface acres, that many fish wouldn’t be a drop in the bucket, I would think the striper would eat more 12’’ bass than that in one day.[/QUOTE]

im really not arguing fish mortality here, my main argument is pulling hundreds of bass off the nest on one en of the lake and transporting them to the complete other end of the lake and releasing them. if this activity was sustained over time i dont see how it can be good in the long run. but hey this is tournament fishing , its legal, it happens and the fish are still here in spite of it all.
as far as the stripers eating bass, i am fortunate to be able to clean a bunch of stripers every year for over 30 years now, i cut the stomachs open on every striper to see what size shad they are eating. ive seen a lot of big bluegill, 1 crappie that i can remember, and i can count on one hand the number of ky bass ive seen in a stripers stomach, and they were tiny. not saying it doesnt happen but its a non factor

[QUOTE=bassmaster;568094]So do you all think that our fisheries have been affected by tournaments (Bass mostly)? If so, has anyone studied tournament results and compared them from year to year? I have noticed in our USA Bassin Green River that the weights have generally went up from the early years of that division. The weights and average weights have increased or remained steady. Green is pounded weekly by tournaments and has been for years. Yet in 2015, a five fish limit weighed in August weighed over 27 pounds! That weight was the largest for five fish USA Bassin in the states where they are held (all over southeast including Alabama and TN) until late that season some team had 28 plus on KY Lake. Now we haven't had a 27 pound bag weighed since then, but I have had a few days with that just fishing in last couple years. My point is that fishing in general kills some fish (Even immediate catch and release or harvest for eating), the limits set are there for helping to sustain a viable, healthy population. And within those limits, people can choose to keep and eat Bass or they choose to release them. I, for one, will not select a moral compass as which to judge other fisherman as long as they go by the rules. I may be a rarity but I fish tourneys, fish for fun, and fish for food (including Bass, YES Bass!). FLW and the one other tourney (High School I believe) had the smaller limit, I don't agree with it and enjoyed last years event, maybe more so than this years. I didn't attend either but know some high school and college fisherman who did and enjoyed the interaction with those who took the time to talk to them. I believe Stripernut could have won that tourney anyhow! Jeff catches them better than anyone I know on that lake and knows what he is talking about. I don't think that KDFW will start doing the lower size limits on a regular basis or maybe not ever again, just my opinion.[/QUOTE]

Ha! Tim when they allow dynamite in tournaments i might start fishing them again lol

[QUOTE=rickhise;568082]Surprised the size limit can be changed
Any entrants care to confirm[/QUOTE]

I wasn’t aware.

Maybe Ky Afield can expand on the issue

[QUOTE=stripernut1;568059]Yep, my bad, i live here and see it first hand, your economics class was correct all along. And by all means lets put the dollar ahead of the fishery[/QUOTE]

The changed teh law just for this tourney.........you don't see that as a problem. That is a horrible precedent to set for a lake. If they can change the law that easy for a tourney , ONE time.....what next.

I call ********.