Lots of guys selling catfish

[mhall]

Thank you Mr. Brooks as you can see there are some very informed, intelligent and concerned fisherman on this site. Dialog is the key and listening, truely listening. You seem to have an open mind, I would hope your collegues would be the same.

Maybe we can get somewhere positive on this and save a waning fishery...

[steve douglas]

My representative Dave Floyd just called me back and assured me he will be at the October meeting.
How about your rep.

[KDFWR Fisheries]

Drew, I am answering this because I failed to state earlier that I rarely have time to scan the various discussion boards and almost never have time to get into a running discussion. Therefore, I will limit my posts to address issues in a fashion similar to the catfish response I gave yesterday. It's not that I do not want to talk to anglers, I simply do not have the time on these many forums. We are looking at possibly getting a person to keep an eye on the forums so that we can address at least some of the questions and concerns that a broad number of people may have - such as this catfish issue.

Having said all of that, I will try to answer your questions since i'm here. I agree that actually catching illegal sales of fish is not easy, but when it becomes as widespread as it sounds like this has, we do have resourceful Conservation Officers. I would reiterate that the most important factor in catching people who persist in breaking the law is the public who are willing to call us. If someone is really concerned about illegal selling of big catfish, then it should be no problem to turn the culprit(s) in.

I also want to tell you that there are several states talking together to address oversight of pay lakes given the popularity of the trophy catfish aspect of the business.

Fish kills below dams can occur if large amounts of water is released and the plunging below causes supersaturation of nitrogen in the water. The fish end up with nitrogen bubbles in their circulatory system which can be fatal. Not alot that can be done in those cases short of major renovations of the way water is released or by creating a situation where there is minimal plunge associated with the release. There has been some research dedicated to this issue. Google "nitrogen embolism in fish" for more information.

hope this helped.

Mr. Brooks, I feel like the best way to catch these people that do not have the lisence and that are selling these fish is to have the pay lake owners fill out some sort of a forum or paper that shows the lisence number the amount and sizes of the fish. These pay lakes need to have a limit on how many fish they can buy and of what species because clearly a blue cat will not thrive in these environments because of the lack of flowing water. I know this probably won't change your thought but I hope it will. I hope to be able to fish the rivers and lakes of Kentucky when I'm old. I'm not one to often fish the river but I feel like its only right to keep the lakes and rivers in balance. I would also like you to look at the conversations on here about the dead fish in the river because of the dams. I was told there were many dead fish from a variety of species in the water. Thank you very much, drew

[jfw]

Is that legal?

You are supposed to have a commercial fishing license to sell any fish ...period

[Beespringer]

Missouri, Tn ,WV and Alabama all have regulations on catfish and their quality shows it. Ky has lagged behind in this matter even though other species have limits and regulations. Many C/F from other states come to Ky to catch big catfish for the paylakes because their states reckonized the damage done and made it illegal,
its not only the Ohio river that's being hurt its also other rivers and reservoirs like Ky and Barkley lakes.
Many of these trophy fish that are netted in KYs wild waters are taken out of state and stocked in pay ponds !
Imagine the outrage if this were Bass or trout.... If you feel the same as I do than call your Rep and request him to attend the meeting.

[Rudypoo4444]

We have to look no further than the history of the Missouri river to find out what over harvest by CF will do. Catfish need regulations the same as the rest of sportfish that are high in demand before over harvest plain and simple. Why hasn't someone created a pay lake full of bighead and silver carp????they get huge,are great fighters and get air...Two birds,one stone.This is what our big blue population has to look forward to....dumpsters behind the paylakes. Sad

Can you tell us what paylake this was?

[mhall]

Missouri, Tn ,WV and Alabama all have regulations on catfish and their quality shows it. Ky has lagged behind in this matter even though other species have limits and regulations. Many C/F from other states come to Ky to catch big catfish for the paylakes because their states reckonized the damage done and made it illegal,
its not only the Ohio river that's being hurt its also other rivers and reservoirs like Ky and Barkley lakes.
Many of these trophy fish that are netted in KYs wild waters are taken out of state and stocked in pay ponds !
Imagine the outrage if this were Bass or trout.... If you feel the same as I do than call your Rep and request him to attend the meeting.

AGREE..............

[riverrat12]

Can you tell us what paylake this was?

I believe it is Catfish Paradise in OH. Chuck

[riverrat12]

AGREE..............

Mark I believe the rep. we need to talk to here is Ernnie Harris, Oldham Co. State REP. (502) 564-8100. Chuck

[riverrat12]

Missouri, Tn ,WV and Alabama all have regulations on catfish and their quality shows it. Ky has lagged behind in this matter even though other species have limits and regulations. Many C/F from other states come to Ky to catch big catfish for the paylakes because their states reckonized the damage done and made it illegal,
its not only the Ohio river that's being hurt its also other rivers and reservoirs like Ky and Barkley lakes.
Many of these trophy fish that are netted in KYs wild waters are taken out of state and stocked in pay ponds !
Imagine the outrage if this were Bass or trout.... If you feel the same as I do than call your Rep and request him to attend the meeting.

Yes very well stated. Chuck

[Lowerider]

I'd love to see a bag limit put in place - start treating the cats like the "sport fish" they truly are. Before a fish can grow to 35 inches it has to be left alone at 34. You get my point. A 15 fish total daily bag limit with only two being over "x" inches is really what we need. That should be plenty generous to those looking for a fish fry.

The Dept seems to be downplaying this as only a concern to tournament/trophy hunters. The CF would never willingly go for it.

People need to adapt. I work in a city where workers are displaced by the 100's if not 1000's annually. Those that want to survive learn new skills and find new jobs. Not to sound like a hard a$$ but that's just life.

CF could fish for Asians. Brooks has pressed hard to create that market. Yes the going rate / lb is less but if you can catch 10,000 lbs a day there's still a good living to be made. The Dept created the first ever CF tournament - threw $20k in the pot and guess what... 15 boats showed up? Most didn't even bother to fish the second day including a boat that finished in the money?!? Are these guys that spoiled?

Pay lakes should be stocking carp. They grow huge, are fun to catch and can live in ponds better than big cats. They love em in Europe.

Point is people can and will adapt. Job creation or preservation is not in the Dept's strategic plan nor should it be. Regs should be based on what's best for our state's natural resources (only).

[peter]

I'd love to see a bag limit put in place - start treating the cats like the "sport fish" they truly are. Before a fish can grow to 35 inches it has to be left alone at 34. You get my point. A 15 fish total daily bag limit with only two being over "x" inches is really what we need. That should be plenty generous to those looking for a fish fry.

The Dept seems to be downplaying this as only a concern to tournament/trophy hunters. The CF would never willingly go for it.

People need to adapt. I work in a city where workers are displaced by the 100's if not 1000's annually. Those that want to survive learn new skills and find new jobs. Not to sound like a hard a$$ but that's just life.

CF could fish for Asians. Brooks has pressed hard to create that market. Yes the going rate / lb is less but if you can catch 10,000 lbs a day there's still a good living to be made. The Dept created the first ever CF tournament - threw $20k in the pot and guess what... 15 boats showed up? Most didn't even bother to fish the second day including a boat that finished in the money?!? Are these guys that spoiled?

Pay lakes should be stocking carp. They grow huge, are fun to catch and can live in ponds better than big cats. They love em in Europe.

Point is people can and will adapt. Job creation or preservation is not in the Dept's strategic plan nor should it be. Regs should be based on what's best for our state's natural resources (only).

Pay lakes and Silver Carp. Works for everybody. Commercial fisherman could cull the best. Tons of them available in sizes small to huge. Bigger than cats. Fight like the dickens. Snag em or whatever at the pay lake.

If I had a pay lake I'd be out in the front on that. Turn on the juice once an hour and let they jump all over the place. That's entertainment. The possibilities are endless. They are good eating too as is well documented. I have eaten some and it was great. The only complaint I have ever heard is they don't taste "fishy" enough.

Win Win Win