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Future of Tawakoni? #11559761 04/22/16 11:23 PM
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Streetwalker Offline OP
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I've been noticing more and more Texoma guides on Tawakoni. Most all of them are fishing live bait.

This has me worried for the future of Tawakoni. I really wonder if the lake can sustain the extra pressure and kill.

10 extra guides at 4 customers a day means 80-100 hybrid/stripers and 700-1000 sand bass per day being taken off the lake.

I'm pretty sure that the Texoma guides couldn't give a squat what happens to Tawakoni as long as it puts money in their pocket. If ya all do let's see a donation to the Tawakoni Sportsman Association so they can put some extra fish in the lake.


Semper Fi



This Veteran heavily medicated for your safety. Keep me fishing and all will be well.
Re: Future of Tawakoni? [Re: Streetwalker] #11559931 04/23/16 12:55 AM
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Its gonna hurt it no doubt and if this flooding on Texoma gets any worse than it is right now you aint seen nothing yet. There are way to many guides in Texas. The state really needs to put a moratorium on guide license like they did in the Gulf of Mexico. That way there would be no new guide license issued and anyone wanting to start a guide service would have to purchase a existing license,also groups like Tawakoni Sportsman Association could buy licenses and retire them. We need guides but somewhere down the line there is gonna have to be some limitations.

Re: Future of Tawakoni? [Re: Streetwalker] #11560026 04/23/16 01:45 AM
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DU SOUTH5 Offline
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The effects are going to be VERY negative. Has anyone else noticed that the size of the sandbass on TWAK has gotten progressively smaller. Not to mention that several of the texoma guides not all already think they own the lake. I've had several of them be VERY unsportsman like in the past few weeks. I understand making a living, but I'll be glad to see most of them gone.

Re: Future of Tawakoni? [Re: Streetwalker] #11560048 04/23/16 01:52 AM
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Let me add that there are also a good few that are great people and have the best of intentions. People should help conservation in these down times and keep only what you need. Keeping 100 white bass is ridiculous. And keeping a 4 man limit of striper everyday is also ridiculous. Keep some release the rest.

Re: Future of Tawakoni? [Re: Streetwalker] #11560304 04/23/16 03:57 AM
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Texoma Guide John Blasingame Offline
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I've done everything in my power to stay on Texoma but the recent flooding has turned the water muddy over half the lake with lots of debris and 50 ft trees floating over the lake. Most guides are gonna fish the red river when the water is being released fast enough but I'm coming to Tawakoni starting today. I don't want to step on any toes or make anybody mad but I have to do something to feed my family. Last year was tough on us all here on Texoma. If something were to happen on Tawakoni like it has on Texoma then I know we would absorb the guides from there just like when golden algae got Possim Kingdom. I don't fish bait though and I think circle hooks would help decrease mortality rates, but that's up to TPW. We we're just starting to see recovery on Texoma and now we are flooding again. Texoma will come back soon. There are lots of small fish and it won't take them long to get big enough to keep. Most won't bother to make that drive but I am. Most of the guides will be on the red river than there will be coming to Tawakoni In my opinion. I've seen as many as 50 guide boats on the river in a 1 mile stretch down there. Guides should be respectful to other guides and other anglers. It's a shame some act the way they do. Call me directly on my cell or call me out on here if you feel I act like that. I'll start doing all my trips on Texoma as soon as things get close to normal. In the mean time I'm grateful to be able to fish other lakes as I need to and I'll be splitting my time between the two lakes.

Re: Future of Tawakoni? [Re: captain steve barnes] #11560340 04/23/16 04:25 AM
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Originally Posted By: captain steve barnes
Its gonna hurt it no doubt and if this flooding on Texoma gets any worse than it is right now you aint seen nothing yet. There are way to many guides in Texas. The state really needs to put a moratorium on guide license like they did in the Gulf of Mexico. That way there would be no new guide license issued and anyone wanting to start a guide service would have to purchase a existing license,also groups like Tawakoni Sportsman Association could buy licenses and retire them. We need guides but somewhere down the line there is gonna have to be some limitations.


The absolute last thing you need is to get the state any more involved in saying who can have a licence of any kind and who can't. The Gulf of Mexico rules should be used as an example of what NOT TO DO. Things down there are a real mess.The cumbersome poorly thought out rules have made greed, corruption, and outright theft the norm. The free market can be a cruel bit+h but it will effectively dictate the number of guides that can make a living in the long run.

I can see how those heavily involved in the sportsmen association could get a little frustrated, but they are putting fish into a public lake. This is Texas. In two months we may very well be griping about the new drought. Things will work out. This wet spell will come to an end soon and everybody will go back to their own playground.

Re: Future of Tawakoni? [Re: Streetwalker] #11560525 04/23/16 12:42 PM
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I know tha guys up north do things different (fishing style) and that's fine. All I ask is don't use the existing guides on the lake as your fish finders. Plenty of places on the lake to find fish. Most guides are more than capable to find your own fish...if I'm with customers and alone catching fish...please don't pull right up nxt to me and start fishing. It's a big lake, thumb

Also, if you don't have a trolling motor on your boat, please don't motor in and screw up schooling fish for everyone. I've seen this happen way too much lately.

Last edited by Salsa; 04/24/16 02:44 AM.

Michael Littlejohn's Full-Time Lake Tawakoni Guide Service
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Re: Future of Tawakoni? [Re: Streetwalker] #11560620 04/23/16 01:53 PM
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When the Brazos lakes went down in the early 2000's Lake Bridgeport was ASSAULTED by up to fifteen more guides. It had the fish, so the lake did survive. Once the limits got a little harder most moved on.Almost all of these guides were good people. Of course there were a few bad apples who were out of business a short time later.

Should raise the prices on guide licenses. Would not bother me a bit.

Re: Future of Tawakoni? [Re: Streetwalker] #11560673 04/23/16 02:25 PM
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forsanmedic Offline
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Whitney is starting to get some of this extra pressure as well. This being the first year in a long time that keeper size stripers can be caught in numbers the number of guide boats have exploded. I hope that they are not killing too many of the small fish, so the fishery will continue to be good.
I believe this type of thing happened to a lakes I fish. The lake was known to produce good numbers of fish. Started seeing a lot of guides, and the numbers for those fisheries dropped. Most of the guides went on to other lakes or out of business. The original ones are left, and the fishery took a couple years to recover.
Don't get me wrong, I am not against guides. I am friends with some and have hired a bunch of them. We use guides several times a year. Especially, if I want to see a new lake, or if I want to learn a new technique that someone is known for. I just think that there can be too many in a certain spot.
Tawokoni is a big lake. I doubt one extra guide would be noticed, but I am sure 10 extra guides running trips, everyday pulling out limits for their clients would. I am also sure that it would make the public holes very crowded. That will increase the competition for the easy fish for their clients, and therefore making it unpleasant for the private fishermen just wanting a family outing on their own boats.
Rude guides are not exclusive to any one lake tho. I make a point of setting up away from guides. There is more than one hump or school of fish. I have had guides on more than one lake, see us catching fish and run over to set up on top of us, or if our fish are on top, run through the school. I don't mind you fishing close to me, because my spot lock will keep me in a small area. Just don't fly up close to me without good control of your boat, not speak, and act like I should move just because you put your name on the side of your boat. I understand that you need to catch fish to get paid. If you speak, and we are catching fish a certain way, I'll tell you what we are doing. It doesn't make you a bad guide just because what is working today is different that what you started out doing. I would appreciate it if I was paying you, for you to find out what was working today and then start us on doing the same thing.
Like stated above, free market will win out. When the numbers and size aren't there anymore, people will stop paying for these trips. Then these guides will move onto the next hot lake. I believe the good ones, that truly know their lake will survive. The others will have a hard time. Lazy, rude people will struggle to stay in business. This is true no matter what the business is.

Re: Future of Tawakoni? [Re: Streetwalker] #11560778 04/23/16 04:18 PM
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I'm one of the Hubbard gang. I'm on the board of RHSA. Like Tawakoni we stock Hubbard with hybrids. Several of us took a day off and went to Tawakoni yesterday. I wanted to fish by the Dallas pump station so we stopped by there. We met a guy that was the only other boat there. Todd in our group quickly recognized his new boat from a recent post and asked, "Are you John Blasingame?" It was and we spoke for ten-fifteen minutes. We were talking to John about the lake. One of our guys, Keith, jumped on John's boat and we ended up fishing and calling each other to spots when the fish were on. A lot of us use guides as a diversion from the rat race. Most of us are good fishermen. But going together with your buddies with a guide is just a great, great time. I'm pushing 60. Hard to type that as I feel like a kid still- especially when fishing. But in all my years of using guides all over the country. I've only had one bad guide. Meeting and fishing by John was a good time yesterday. Now to the point. With Takwakoni and all lakes obviously the hybrids are a non-renewable resource.

To me the daily limit should be changed statewide. Makes no sense to keep so many. The pressure is building and will continue building on Tawakoni for the foreseeable future. We all read and one could say the lake is becoming a victim of it's own success. Guides come and go, but like life the strongest not only survive they thrive. Some guides won't survive the present conditions. So the others have to adapt to survive. And it would be good for everyone to give back to LTSA, and RHSA. It's just common sense. We can have a say in our future fishing by donating. The more that we donate the more fingerlings we can purchase. Finally Matt Cartwright has been my go to guide at Tawakoni. Matt will survive. Things will get back to normal. In the mean time like Rodney King so famously said one time, "Can't we all just get along?" Let's not forget this is fishing we're talking about here. Last time I checked this is still America and people are free to fish where they like. That includes the guides. These men and women are some of the hardest working people you will ever find. They just want to work. I pray every day. God is first in my life. Pray for our lakes and the weather. The guides will weather the storms. Peace.

Last edited by Fishboy Frank; 04/23/16 04:34 PM.
Re: Future of Tawakoni? [Re: Fishboy Frank] #11560855 04/23/16 05:31 PM
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Sounds like old Tawakoni is getting the pinch, and so far 3 people suggested donate to LTSA so they can stock more fingerling... Good luck with that and what you hope for is the blue catfish won't eat all those fingerling before the guides even see them...

If you think 10 Texoma guides can put the squeeze on Tawakoni, wait until After September 1, 2016, and in a year or two when the number of bluecatfish hatchlings increased multiple folds in old T-wok... Do you think those juvenile catfish like to eat hybrids and striper babies? Just saying.

Some body need to do some thinking before turning on some new guides or advocating cutting bag limits of hybrids or sandbass... just saying.



popcorn


Why do I go fishing? To catch a box of fish and/or some quality time under the sun. Thank Heaven I never fail fishing in Texas, catching box fish or plenty of sunburn.
Re: Future of Tawakoni? [Re: Streetwalker] #11560931 04/23/16 07:12 PM
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Fishboy Frank Offline
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Good luck with that? Lot of people do care enough to donate. Their turnout at the LTSA tournament and auction is good every year. A lot of us from Hubbard support them. People can talk in life or people can do. We choose to do. Of course there is a mortality rate. We have done a lot of studying with the help from the State. There's always going to be a percentage that survive. We look at the glass as half full. I guess we will take our chances. We work our butts off to raise the funds. And I put my money where my mouth is. I donate and I also have a breakfast at my docks on Hubbard. The last two years that breakfast raised $2,500 and $2,700 respectively. They are already talking new limits on catfish on Tawakoni. The same discussion needs to happen on hybrids. No one has all the answers. A lot of us are just trying to create a better fishery. We've gotten to become friends with TPWD in the process. They are all for what we are doing. At the end of the day it's just a lot of guys that have a common purpose. We want great fishing. Some choose not to participate and that's fine. We have made some great friends in the process.

Re: Future of Tawakoni? [Re: Fishboy Frank] #11560950 04/23/16 07:32 PM
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Think what old school guides like jimmy and joe think about it...back in late 90's I used to hit twak up often and there were very few guides. Last few years they have increased MEGA,here at texoma we have always had a ton of guides. One thing for sure is we have been influenced and from it we are also trying to start a sportsman association and put some fish in my home lake which is flooded 75% orange AGAIN during HIGH SEASON and we have been kicked in the balls multiple times in last year and after it being the best fishing for large fish maybe ever. Boo hoo I know but jeez just get over it I could rant on and on but i haven't frown frown frown


Lake Texoma Striper Guide Chris Carey


Re: Future of Tawakoni? [Re: Streetwalker] #11560966 04/23/16 07:46 PM
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Put checkpoints at all the ramps and make sure the Texoma Guides can't launch... That will solve the problem loco_2

Last edited by 79scooter; 04/23/16 07:54 PM.

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Re: Future of Tawakoni? [Re: Streetwalker] #11560988 04/23/16 08:06 PM
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Streetwalker Offline OP
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I'd like to see a limit on hybrids of 1-2 fish. Take the sand bass size up to 12".

The guides really need to start educating people that it's not necessary to kill everything you catch. Take no more than you can eat at one or two meals. I'd bet that most of the fish that get killed on guided trips goes to waste.

The resource is not unlimited. If you don't respect it you will lose it. If people managed their deer lease like guides do the fish in the lake you would be hard pressed to find a deer.

IMHO there's no reason to kill a large hybrid or striper on Tawakoni. If you want to eat fish catch sand bass. Same with the large blue cats. Keep those genetics in the lake. Keep the 3-7 lb fish which are much better tasting anyway. Killing a large blue cat is like killing your prize milk cow once you milk her.


Semper Fi



This Veteran heavily medicated for your safety. Keep me fishing and all will be well.
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