Search:

Dave, Peter, etc.;

I am sorry to learn here that Fishin.com has taken the position in this long running debate that the majority of fisheries managers and lake managers are wrong, and that the...

Seemed appropriate to me. I was sort of surprised that the entire thread got canned. I was hoping to see it get more attention to help get more people in the larger conversation about invasive...

Most of th guys I am hearing from are still doing well, and catching some nice bass. I thinnk it has slowed some from the activity level of May and June, but that is pretty normal here. The water is...

I am willing to agree with you that it may not have been worth the fee to you. Worth of any service is a very subjective thing and can not be determined by anyone but the buyer. With that in mind I'd...

I also tried to find fish calculators online to see how the measurements might stack up for the weight possibilities. I know Fishin.com does not like links to be posted, but I am going to give you a...

Well, no... and yes.

The lake currently has some very large bass, and still in sufficent numbers to be very attractive for bass anglers. But the sever lack of recruitment (new fish being able to...

Geo,

I agree that formulas are at best only a guideline. If this weight estimate were being used in some way to set an official record, or receive any sort of prize money, the guidlines woudl not...

I thought some of you might enjoy seeing a story about an 11 pound plus bass from West Boggs. It is up on the westboggs dot com website and moving around in some local/regional newspapers.

I received an email forward today where someone is trying to allpy some pressure to the IDNR folks to change the regs on using live gizzard shad for bait. If anyone here knows the source of this...

Hey guys and gals. For anyone interested, the lake level is at full pool, and the ice is out. You might want to start thinking about visiting while there is still no one collecting money. As long as...

You are correct that no drawdown took place this winter. The study for Gizzard Shad control has completed that phase of the process. It will still be some time before the data is all assembled from...

The drawing was held and was well attended. Some 30 tournaments were permitted for the 2009 season. The list should be provided on the West Boggs website by the end of the week.

Discussion on...

Clubs and organizations interested in holding a fishing tournament at West Boggs Lake in 2009 are reminded that the annual drawing for permits will be held at West Boggs Park office at 9:00 AM on...

Eric, thanks again for being proactive in trying to help us better understand and manage these issue. But I need to explain one more aspect to you.

Keep in mind that, while tournament activity is...

Information is coming together that there was actually two unregistered tournaments at West Boggs on September 6th, plus one registered one. We still need a little more information on the second...

Eric,

As a matter of principle, we don’t and won’t support any preferential treatment of one group of park patrons over another. Treating small groups differently than larger groups would be...

Eric, thanks for asking, and I’ll get to your question in a moment. It goes to the very heart of the matter that causes many of these problems and misunderstandings.

But first I want to say that...

A bass fishing club from Martinsville, Indiana held an unregistered fishing contest at West Boggs Lake on Saturday, September 06, 2008. The club, Backyard Bassmasters, held their event on the same...

fishNnut is correct. The cost of 100% prevention by enforcement is not workable. And education is still a very long way from being what it needs to be. The idea of agressive presecution and...

Thanks bassmanic1, and for the record the fisheries professionals involved in this particular instance are the capable folks out of the Avoca shop of the IDNR Division of Fish & Wildlife.

Anglers...

Again, such decisions must be made around what is practical and cost effective, not just what is possible. West Boggs does not have a hatchery operation in-house. That means there are only two other...

First, I did not point my finger, and certainly not at one person. If you read my posts here and feel that you are being singled out, that may have more to do with your conscience than my comments. I...

Yes, that is what I mean by total renovation.

Yes, it is possible to use low-dose piscicides that are somewhat shad selective due to application levels. But because it is possible does not mean...

Cbass has this one correct guys. The decline in Largemouth recruitment was inevitable the moment Gizzard Shad were returned to the lake. Yes, there are still illegal tournaments going on, and yes...

If he was at North Region as the honcho in the early 80's I'm sure we met at some point. I left Monroe and the Div of Reservoirs in 78 and moved over to Forestry in wildland fire control, working out...

I didn;'t know your Dad so decided to google his name. Found a refrence from 51 years ago regarding an April snow that killed pheasants at J-P FWA. I was 5 then....

I have zero informatinon on any recent major fish kill. The district biologists are out there this week sampling and have mentioned nothing at all. Sorry, but I can't answer your question because I...

cgable, as you carry out that trash, remember that at West Boggs we still provide disposal facilities. If you plan any sort of clean up here you don't even have to carry it all the way out. That is...

Geo,

We were never really impacted by the flooding. The lake level is right at normal and the water looks pretty good right now.

Don't yet know what impact the unusual springtime shad kill...

Cgable, I am not down on tournament fishing or tournament anglers. We host some 40 tournaments per year and the guys and gals that participate, follow the rules and behave ethically are some very...

Yes, I do believe it. Obviously there is no single model for this sort fo thing, as people are individuals with a wide range of situations. But the manufacturers and wholesales who sell to the...

I’m sure there are people in all categories in this issue, but from my many years of dealing with anglers there is some inverse correlation between the amount of money spent on boats, gear and toys,...

I can't help but be surprised at the number of times we see people complain about money when discussing fishing. After 36 years in this business it seems to me that this is one of the most unfounded...

John, Kudos for "getting it". Too few really do. Your discussion of the relationship with politics is to the point and accurate. If we sportsmen and managers are really interested in making a...

The differences between honest environmental protection and modern environmentalism as a political enterprise is one that all outdoor enthusiasts need to better understand. I consider myself an...

Charlie,
I’m not going to try to change your mind on any of this; because I think you have made a valid choice in your selection of where to spend your outdoor recreation money. It is, after all,...

Anyone here that knows me at all, knows that I have a high regard for the professionals of IDNR. And while I currently work in a county agency, I started my career with IDNR way back in 1972. I...

Since I know a lot of you guys are bemoaning the high prices for gas for thes summer season, I thought some of you might be interested to know that at least one lake and park in Indiana has something...

Charlie, now you have my undivided attention. When you say the fees have gotten ridiculous, I assume you mean at West Boggs since that was the apparent context of the comment.

So, tell me why you...

Yes, there was a 30 pound bag here this year. There was also a fish over nine pounds taken this spring. West Boggs is currently producing some very large bass.

As for your three options, I think...

Thanks for the kind words about our facility, Tobias. We do try, although I must say I think there are some other places in the stat that are pretty nice as well.

When comparing Indiana waters...

This discussion is of particular interest to me from a resource management professional perspective. For those here who may not know me, I work in a county management agency that receives no revenue...

This shad kill is an unusual event for this lake, and its intensity makes it all the more likely to get some less than accurate stories going around. Today it is still ongoing and is in its 8th day...

Moose1am, there is no apparant disease vector in this event, and the kill appears to have run its course over the weekend. As soon as the temps cooled back down the kill subsided. I wish you were...

We have not been able to actually determine a precise cause for the shad kill, but we have eliminated some possibilities. The most likely cause, after talking with IDNR biologists, seems to be the...

There is really no doubt that the bluegill; and crappie fisheries at West Boggs are being seriously harmed by the abundance of Gizzard Shad. While there are still opportunities for these species,...

We are getting calls about what lake conditions anglers should expect to find for the tournaments on Friday March 21 and Saturday March 22.

Due the exceptionally heavy rains, the lake is at about...

I’m afraid your plan to fire them at the ballot box really doesn’t work either, bwframe. All you can do there is changing the name of the taxman. I’m not a fan of taxes or large government, or...

Sorry guys, but if I had the answer to all these questions, I’d be running for Governor myself. I’m not even sure how to keep our one county owned lake and park funded in these times of rising costs...

I don't really want to get back into the fee dispute, but I do have a professional interest in your post. You do a pretty good job of outlining what you thing is too high; but I'd like to hear what...