West Boggs

[MikeAxsom]

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 who miss the great fishing that Boggs offered just a few years back, need to realize that fixing these problems are inseparable from the concerns over higher fees and license costs. Renovations, like what is now needed again at West Boggs, are not possible to continue on 10-15 year cycles, unless we are all willing to see fees go much, much higher levels. The cold hard facts are that if something does not change the patterns seen in the past, fishing is just going to decline and not be replaced.

The time is now and the people who can fix this are you and me. The entire fishing community needs to quit the shuck and jive about how all this happens and become the solution to the problem. Any, and I mean ANY, stocking of ANY fish into ANY water that is not done under scientific controls by authorized professionals, is wrong. That needs to be on the cover of every bait container, and on the label of every rod and reel, and on the warning tag on every new boat. And every organization should make it a mantra in their meetings and in their publications and in their rules and regulations, until it sticks.

And for the record, although it has been said a million times, a big part of the problem is that too many publications and outdoor writers talk about the big benefits of shad forage in southern waters, without explaining that those are threadfin shad, not the gizzard shad we are plagued with in this region. It’s like the difference between a pimple and skin cancer. We should make sure that everyone understands that.

[Stevens]

The time is now and the people who can fix this are you and me. The entire fishing community needs to quit the shuck and jive about how all this happens and become the solution to the problem. Any, and I mean ANY, stocking of ANY fish into ANY water that is not done under scientific controls by authorized professionals, is wrong. That needs to be on the cover of every bait container, and on the label of every rod and reel, and on the warning tag on every new boat. And every organization should make it a mantra in their meetings and in their publications and in their rules and regulations, until it sticks.

And for the record, although it has been said a million times, a big part of the problem is that too many publications and outdoor writers talk about the big benefits of shad forage in southern waters, without explaining that those are threadfin shad, not the gizzard shad we are plagued with in this region. It’s like the difference between a pimple and skin cancer. We should make sure that everyone understands that.

Preach it brother!.. your exactly right. Not enough emphasis is being put on illegal stocking. WHY not just check our livewells before we enter a place like west boggs. It would only take a second and might defiantly prevent this if illegal stocking is the culprit. If any outdoor writers might be reading this, please write articles on this problem. SIGNS are cheap. put them up by the ramps. And i think there should be more conservation officers out there. So far it hasnt been treated like a real problem and all it takes to fix it is a little awareness.

[fishNnut]

While I agree that education is a key part to preventing illegal introduction of different species; checking livewells, signs and conservation officers are not going to be able to prevent it. The ramp is not the only access to the lake and most shad introductions are not done via a livewell. The people that do this at places such as Boggs and Patoka know that it is wrong and are not that "dumb" about how they go about it. I've never heard of anyone pulling up to a ramp with a drum full of shad and dumping them into the lake.

What it really takes is someone that knows the people to turn them in with proof. Make an example out of them and that will slow it down. Fixing the lake everytime that it happens helps the fisherman, but does nothing to prevent it from happening again.

[MikeAxsom]

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 staggering costs for violations is where the only real hope lies, in my opinion. I also think that making a few examples is a necessary part of the education process. If people learn that they can lose their homes, boats, trucks and future earnings, they tend to have a higher incentive to want to learn how to avoid that.

That's why we tried a $1,000 reward for information that led to the arrest of the parties that introduced shad in this lake. That reward is no longer available, but I would be willing to bring it back, and add it to a pool of reward money that could be pledged by all the major fishing clubs, and some of the smaller ones. Would a $10,000 reward loosen some tounges and change some opinions? $50,000? How about all bass tournaments in the state drop 10% of all entry fees into a statewide fund for just this purpose? Or maybe a state law that places a percentage of all fishing violation fine monies into a reward fund?

What does it take to buy our way through the code of silence that presently exists in the fishing community?

[Stevens]

While I agree that education is a key part to preventing illegal introduction of different species; checking livewells, signs and conservation officers are not going to be able to prevent it. The ramp is not the only access to the lake and most shad introductions are not done via a livewell. The people that do this at places such as Boggs and Patoka know that it is wrong and are not that "dumb" about how they go about it. I've never heard of anyone pulling up to a ramp with a drum full of shad and dumping them into the lake.

I'm sure your probably right here, but what im not getting is why? If people are determined to do this, its going to happen over and over again because its such a simple things to accomplish, all they have to do is put them in the feeder creeks. I think the little things should be done to help inform the fishing community on the problem and then maybe someone would be more eager to point out the certain someone who might have done it once they realize he just ruined there favorite fishing hole.