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[QUOTE=Embrey;447905] juggin and trot lines are both lazy ways to do it if you ask me.[/QUOTE]
I love when people think their way is the only way, but I guess I will play along.
Using a baitcaster and throwing plastic lures is a lazy way to fish in my opinion. I think everyone should have to fly fish with flies they tied themselves and anybody that fishes different is lazy, ornery and their parents probably weren't married!
See how silly that sounds?
I have no dog in this fight but let's make one thing perfectly clear,,, There are NO trophy blue's in Taylorsville lake. A big blue in that lake might make 30lb, that is a baitfish for the Ohio river, just sayin fellas.
[QUOTE=RA;448063]There is good reason why the fishing is so poor in this state; many of us have the mentality of killing and eating practically everything we catch, and this is actually promoted by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Did the host of Kentucky Afield ever catch a fish he didn't eat (pardon the hyperbole, but it is close to being true)?[/QUOTE]
The fishing in Kentucky is poor? I don't think so. When it takes 18 to 25 pounds of fish win a bass tournament, it shows that the fishery is doing very well. Fish and Wildlife do a great job at stocking lakes and putting the correct limit on fish.
I fish to relax and to get a good meal out of it. There is nothing wrong with eating what you catch and it definately isn't backwards to do so. That's what the creel limits are for, so the resource doesn't get depleted.
If you really want to control fishing then you should limit the number of people allowed on a lake. Lakes like Taylorsville get so much fishing pressure that it is rare for a fish to grow to trophy size. Even catch and release ends up killing fish by stressing them during the summer or deep hooking them. The tournament people all pull fish off their beds during spawn. So to meet your utopia of fishing only a handful of people should ever be allowed on a lake, no fishing allowed during the spawn or when the water temperature is over 80 degrees. Then you would have your perfect trophy lakes where you can take pretty pictures with big fish. That seems more convoluted and backwards to me then eating what you catch.
[QUOTE=Embrey;447905]if i dont run across a bunch of trot lines with my motor this year ill stop frowning on it.[/QUOTE]
I am right there with you Embrey. I don't mind if someone has out a few jugs - I have done it before and it was fun. However, just like with anything else - a few people will give the entire bunch a bad name - trotlines spread out for weeks with no tags, people that put out so many jugs they can't keep up with them and lose about half. I am not saying fishing with rods and reels is the only way to go about it. But I can honeslty say I have never had to replace seals on my lower unit because I sucked up someons rod and reel in my prop. However, it is at least a yearly occurrence with trotlines and the occassional jug.
If I were to relate it all to hunting, I would have the fly rod as the equivelant to hunting with a bow, a rod and reel equal to a gun, trot-lines/jugs just like scattering a bunch of traps. I am not here to judge anyone, but it seems pretty clear to me which is more of a sport.
Forbin, I agree with your comment that a few make everyone look bad. I've seen it. I went to my favorite spot and found like 30 2 liter bottles all washed up on the bank with no names. Went back 3 days later and they were still there so I gathered them up and threw them away. You can't let exceptions to the rule govern your thoughts about the majority.
As for trotlines, I don't know of anyone who leaves them out for more than a day or two and they keep checking them. On Taylorsville if I set out a line, I watch it the whole time while jugging. I've even motored over to a boat to tell them to watch for it as it was approaching so it wouldn't do any damage.
No, kentucky fishing really is not that good. Not compared to a state like Alabama. What is the difference? Alabama has a lot of lakes and rivers. The average size of an AL impoundment is probable the size of Lake Cumberland. In KY, Taylorsville is about average. In Alabama, you are always within 1 hour of world class fishing. Fishing is so much bigger in AL but because there is so much more water, world class fisheries are easily sustainable. Ky just doesn't have much to offer unless we start aggressively funding these resources....
Isn't the growing season for fish also a little longer in Alabama....That's why a trophy largemouth a lot of places up north is 3 or 4lbs....Growing season, water quality, and foriage have just as much to do with good fishin as does a tight control on how many fish a person takes out of the lake
Of course the more southern and warmer states have better fishing than Kentucky. The warmer weather and longer season makes the fish grow faster and bigger.
For example with smallmouth one study showed that in Norris Lake, Tennessee an age-6 smallmouth measures 18 inches (about 4 pounds); in Lake Opeongo, Ontario, a smallmouth of the same age measures only 12.2 inches (about 1 pound). That is a huge difference in growth in a short period of time and has absolutely nothing to do with the number of fish eaten.
According to A Fishing Guide to Kentucky's Major Lakes large mouth bass average 15.3 inches long by 5 years of age. According to this link [url]http://www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/fish/bassblack/age.cfm[/url] Alabama bass reach that size by age 4 or 20% faster. Growth ceases at temperatures below 50 degrees F. How many month are Kentucky's lakes below that temperature compared to Alabama or Florida lakes? Lake Okeechobee is considered a world-class bass lake, it also a water temperature that doesn't drop below 75 degrees.
Kentucky does not have the year round growing season necessary to produce world class fishing. Given the seasons that we have Kentucky does a pretty good job. There was an FLW tournament on Kentucky/Barkley Lake in May 2010. The top first day catch was 5 fish 24.11 ounces, almost every fish was a 5 pound fish. Day two was 5 fish 22.9 ounces. When people can consistantly catch that many large fish how can anyone say the fishery is poor?
[QUOTE=restornator;448115]Ky just doesn't have much to offer unless we start aggressively funding these resources....[/QUOTE]
You mean aggressive funding, constant improvements, very tight creel limits with very high size limit...like Cedar Creek Lake? I remember years ago when they expecting a ton of fish over 20 inches to start being caught and then it didn't happen. You still don't hear many stories of world class fishing on the lake even though it was designed to be that from the start. The fish simply aren't growing as fast as they had hoped.
with gas being $3.70 a gallon and cumberland being across the road from the house.....kentucky fishing is good enough for me :D:D
[QUOTE=adam7456;448134]You mean aggressive funding, constant improvements, very tight creel limits with very high size limit...like Cedar Creek Lake? I remember years ago when they expecting a ton of fish over 20 inches to start being caught and then it didn't happen. You still don't hear many stories of world class fishing on the lake even though it was designed to be that from the start. The fish simply aren't growing as fast as they had hoped.[/QUOTE]
size limits do not protect your trophy-class potential fish, it only encourages people to keep the larger ones. In small lake management, 25lb/acre bass less than 14 inches are harvested each year. It creates populations with many 2lbers and good numbers of 4+lbers with an 8lber possible with time. Many of the Ky lakes have really high numbers of 11-12 inch bass. IMO the 15 inch size limit is counterproductive. Funding research projects on Ky resevoirs is what i am talking about. The MO for fisheries management isn't working in our state.
another supplemental stocking strategy could include triploid largemouth bass, which do not spend energy on reproduction