A plead to the KDFWR

[Monarkman]

Is it going to be a Longhorn steak dinner or more like Waffle House? Just kidding. Preach it brother!

[adamchasejones]

GREAT thread Mark!!! I need not say much because you've pretty much summed up how most everyone feels about the smallmouth...Heck, when I fish the farm pond that I regularly fish at I even tend to throw back the bass I catch there...it's just a habit of throwing them back, EXCEPT for when it comes to a REALLY NICE HAWG, and then I will put it on the wall...that day hasn't came yet for me. I'm sure I'll get blasted for my feelings about putting one on the wall, but I don't care...at least I'm not eating every keeper I catch.

Why not a fiberglass mount? Take a few pics and a measurement and that fish can live and spawn and make more hawgs with hawg genetics and you get ur mount. Im not saying ur bad for this. Im just saying there is another option.

As for the other issue, I agree....put a fifty inch size limit on bass. If you're lookin for some eating you can catch bream till ur arms fall off n they're a lot better eating.

[spinnerbaitguy]

I started bass fishing when the early rumblings of Catch and Release were being heard .Personally , I bought into it and have no regrets .During and since that time there has always been the movement to recruit - take a kid fishing ,etc . which is a great philosophy .The thing is this - the more people who actually do engage in this great adventure of bass fishing , the more varying opinions there are about what is ethical . As much as I am a proponent of Catch and Release , FISHINCREEK is accurate in his summation .If he buys his license and plays by the rules , he can do whatever he wants within the confines of the law .The old commercial said , "Keep what you can use , release the rest to fight again."Total abstinence wasn't the primary focus back then .Legislating personal ethics is the same thing as legislating morality . Like state imposed religion .It can be forced and made illegal , but if it's not in someone's heart to do the right thing , they are going to break the rules anyway .

[CTFSHWHISKER]

i went to rodman res. in fla.a couple years ago.first time he'd been there for many years,in the 70's i think.he guided there then and was commenting on how the fishin was,he has a 17lb from there and has pics of limits with all fish in the 13-15lb range,they had a rope through their gills for the pic and went to the cooler.Now as he said then you kept what ever was legal and there were not near as many fishin then either.if the regs are followed there shouldn't be a problem,but after living on nolin and seeing what people on private docks and marinas keep...i'm suprised it takes 15lb to win a tournament.crappie and walley suffer too.

[LarryG]

If you pay for alicense, then you are entitled to abide by the laws. Catch and release? thats a joke, its catch put them into a liove well, and beat the heck out of them for m,ost of the day, and then put them back miles from where they were caught.I dont keep any bass other than spots, and I turn them loose as soon as i catch them. A 2 fish limit sounds like the best way to keep ourlake healthy.I fished power plant lakes in Ill. where that was it, two game fish, any game fish, and there were size limits that would make you scratch your head, 24 inch bass, 42 inch musky, 24 inch walleye.That lake always made for great fishing,but that aint gonna happen, the tournament guys would scream bloody murder.Just go to Dale, and catch 20 inch small mouth, till you want to scream.My favorite fish is the bluegill, good to eat, fun on light tackle, but a pain to fish for, because of the run and gun crowd.

[fishincreek]

One might want to be careful wanting to "legislate" ourselves into who-knows-where. I know this may sound silly and far-fetched, but before you know it, some places right here in the USA might want to tell you what type of dog you can own, or maybe even outlaw your leafblower, cuz the neighbor(or smallmouth fisherman) believes it too noisey. Heck some states might even want to go to a "season" for bass to where it doesn't "open" till, say May 31 st or something. Surely if that would happen we could catch a fish on every cast, right? Heck ,maybe even someday WAY down the road, somebody could try to convince the gov't to tax our trucks and 4X4's on the premise that "WE" use too much gas, and that we really don't NEED a vehicle like that anyhow. Ponder it boys.

[Chubminnow]

I checked the KDFWR website and did not see any contact information for David Godby as dh indicated there would be...I'm not the most computer literate person in the world either so maybe I wasn't looking in the right place for his contact information...Although what I did do was send an email to [email protected] regarding this thread that mark started. I basically asked them the same question that Mark did as far as a size limit increase or a slot limit. Hopefully, they will respond to me one way or another.

As for the fiberglass replica's - Nawww...I've seen them at Buckheads Restaurants, inside of various Bass Pro Shops, etc...I don't care for them. I will hang my "one" HAWG Bass on the wall "IF" and when that time ever comes for me.

[dh]

when you get to the ky f&w website click on commisioners office & then click on district comm. all nine names will pop up.

[smljaw]

As for the fiberglass replica's - Nawww...I've seen them at Buckheads Restaurants, inside of various Bass Pro Shops, etc...I don't care for them. I will hang my "one" HAWG Bass on the wall "IF" and when that time ever comes for me.[/QUOTE]

I caught, what I thought was, MY HAWG back in March 1990. 9 pound LM out of St. Johns River, FL. Paid $200+ and put her on the wall. Have caught 3 bigger LM since and have taken digital pictures of them all and put the pics in my fishin photo album. With digital camera technology these days, you can take a few pics, blow them into an 8x10 and hang the pic on the wall... JMO

[know1]

I caught, what I thought was, MY HAWG back in March 1990. 9 pound LM out of St. Johns River, FL. Paid $200+ and put her on the wall. Have caught 3 bigger LM since and have taken digital pictures of them all and put the pics in my fishin photo album. With digital camera technology these days, you can take a few pics, blow them into an 8x10 and hang the pic on the wall... JMO

I agree about the pictures. I also don't really like the look of a fish on a wall unless it's in a tackle or outdoor shop.

[jcb]

...9 pound LM out of St. Johns River, FL...Have caught 3 bigger LM since

Sure. Rub it in.

[mhall]

One might want to be careful wanting to "legislate" ourselves into who-knows-where. I know this may sound silly and far-fetched, but before you know it, some places right here in the USA might want to tell you what type of dog you can own, or maybe even outlaw your leafblower, cuz the neighbor(or smallmouth fisherman) believes it too noisey. Heck some states might even want to go to a "season" for bass to where it doesn't "open" till, say May 31 st or something. Surely if that would happen we could catch a fish on every cast, right? Heck ,maybe even someday WAY down the road, somebody could try to convince the gov't to tax our trucks and 4X4's on the premise that "WE" use too much gas, and that we really don't NEED a vehicle like that anyhow. Ponder it boys.

I was a little hyped up when I posted this thread, and there is certainly some thought and moderation that could be placed into this to accomplish the end means. You make a good point but please don't take personal jabs about the smallmouth thing as I don't think I'm better than anybody else and did not intend this to be percieved that way. You and Andrew wouldn't stand on the deck and catch and release 25 stripers in August because you know it would kill half of them and would be unethical, there is really no difference. Moderation, education and forethought is the key. Smallmouth are exceptionally suspect to live bait everybody knows that. 100 guides a day fishing with live bait with probably novice fisherman that want to keep ANYTHING legal they catch. Years and years of this at a daily basis, ponder it boys.