And just think the biologist went to school and all they needed to do was call Albert and get all the good info. think how much time they would have saved and money too.
Johnny

Hey GCG,
I hope it was not the bioligist that told you an F1 was a pure Florida strain fish. If he did, get your money back. Here's the truth at least on that:
F1 hybrids is a term used in genetics and selective breeding. F1 stands for Filial 1, the first filial generation seeds/plants or animal offspring resulting from a cross mating of distinctly different parental types. The offspring of distinctly different parental types produce a mix of characters from both parents. When the parents are homozygous lines, the offspring will have uniform characters each time the cross is made. In fish breeding, those parents frequently are two closely related fish species, while in plant and animal genetics those parents usually are two inbred lines. Mules are F1 hybrids between horse and donkey. Crossing specific parent plants produces a hybrid seed (plant) by means of controlled pollination. To produce consistent F1 hybrids, the original cross must be repeated each season. As in the original cross, in plants this is usually done through controlled hand-pollination, and explains why F1 seeds can often be expensive. F1 hybrids can also occur naturally, a prime example being peppermint, which is not a species evolved by cladogenesis or gradual change from a single ancestor, but a sterile stereotyped hybrid of watermint and spearmint. Unable to produce seeds, it propogates through the vining spread of its own root system.

I have been a part in lake management and he could be very "right" in asking you to keep the little ones and throw back the larger ones. Typically the reasoning for this is simple. If your goal is to have mostly larger fish for catching then you have to save your forage for these fish. Keeping the smaller ones is also something they preach because they know that purist bass fishermen typically do not retain any fish. Bass are prolific breeders and can quickly overpopulate which will result in a lower typical weight of your fish.
If you want to increase your lakes carrying capacity then you need to add forage. It's kinda like a high fence for deer. If you don't take off a large percentage of you animals per year you will have to supplement feed. And yes lakes are like high fence. The dam "is" the high fence it's just made out of dirt,steel and concrete!

nice useful info ... thanks for adding that, it really helps add a little clarity as to where you are coming from on this subject

your welcome let us know how you did....I think you guys will have to catch over 100 pounds to win...thats what I heard it was going to take anyway...

keep ribbing Johnny I like to hear him rant! it's good for his blood preasure!

I generally avoid such controversial subjects as this but now I feel the need to weigh in.

Miracle Whip is better than mayonaise.

Okay, there are exceptions. If you have a recipe, like baked fish, chicken salad, egg salad, etc., then I concede that mayo is better. But when it comes to a cold cut sandwich, MW is better than mayo ... unless you have mustard available. Then a mixture of mayo and mustard is better.

I'm sure I'll get lots of flames and hate mail over this but that's par for the course for making such a controversial comment.

And that's all that I have to say about that.

I agree ...I think???

bro terry i would not be surprised if the poundage is down a little which i guess 100# would be ... doesn't 200# or better usually win at tawakoni? ... i think (in my infinite catfishing wisdom & experience bwaaaahahahha) the time of year on this tourney is gonna make it a little bit tougher ... the lakes i'm used to, middle of may is usually about the start of spawn time,
if not a little after the start ... it's gonna be great to see tiny & get to fish with him again, & if i can ride in on his coat tail & place that would be great too

johnny keeps nailin' my hide to the wall

WAAAWAAAAWAAAWAAA,WAAWAAWAAWAA,WAAWAAWAA!!!

steve, hope you will be at the tourny ... kinda like to shake yer hand

Man I hate to stick my neck out like this, But I just gotta agree, But if it was made by heinz instead of kraft, I wouldnt touch it with a ten ft. pole. I would be afraid it would leave a bitter taste in my mouth.

Steve has such an encredible reputation. i am suprised he got in this arguement at all. Notice how Bighillcountry and Michael have not?
Steve has his following and his very rounded opinion from where he fishes. I have been dying to go river striper fishing with him! I did it about 17 years ago and it is incredible but super fast and then its over!

I really do think Albert is sincere in his last post. He is a good guy with his own opinion.
I think he's like me. When folks get a narrow opinion on how they think it should be (in every situation) with no reguard to others then the snake bites back. With a fury I might add.
I lose my mind when others try to pin me down. I hate to fight. I will walk away every time. When I get backed up to a corner you better have brought your A game because I will stop at nothing.
By the way,
I'll stick with Mustard but I do like the alternative now and then!
hell, I think I'll start another thread for fols opinions!!!

But at some point Scooter, it's NOT opinions. Facts are facts. Albert acts like every single person who practices CPR, talks about CPR, or even thinks about CPR is a fool.

CPR works. Biologists will tell you genes are very important in every living thing.

This whole arguement is NOT about opinions, it's about trying to get old time fishermen to accept facts. Not to change what Albert keeps, but to get him to open his eyes to the future reality of fishing.

Unlearned history will repeat itself. You, Albert, or anyone can list a bunch of species in fresh and saltwater that met or nearly met their doom.

I hear you Whack and I do agree. Where i run into this head on is when folks want to talk about the health of the catfish fihery with one big swoop. Some places are in much better shape than others.
Where my opinion starts is when we should have one mind set for all bodies of water whether it be lakes or rivers. It just can't be that way.
I am also a deer hunter and have gotten into discussions avbout the antler restricion thing. I do not shoot young bucks period and I wish others would follow suit.BUT.....I do not feel that I have the right to tell them what to do. maybe they want to shoot a young deer just for the meat. That's not my thing but I do not think I have the right to tell them what to do. I can't help but ask the question (and not in a mean way at all)....why do we have to have big fish at all. Don't get me wrong that's what I go for?
I don't argue the genetic arguement that much. The only thing I argue on that subject is that if you have super big brood stock do you really think that all of there fry that make it are going to get big? I don't know this myself.

Don't hate on me for these comments...I don't feel like argueing tonight. I am getting my stuff ready for the river tommorrow.

Seems to me that there are too damn many guys here that are looking for things to ponder before, during & after a fishing trip!! I always went fishing to relax, not worry or even give a hoot in hell about if 'ole so in so releases that 70# yellow cat he caught, that fish will be the one that saves the genetic line for all 70# yellow cats & that sorry so in so ate him instead of taking it's damn picture & turning it loose!All of this talk about who keeps what & how many legal fish is a crock of stink bait, if you ask me! Seems that people just need to mind their own damn business & not worry about the other guy & what he is doing! This sort of silly BS is exactly why & stopped giving any kind of fishing report or showing off what I was fortunate enough to catch on my legally set trotlines or jug lines! Good Gawdlemighty guys!!!

LOL @ Hank.... geez relax a little guy. Go back and read some.

Scooter, your right we really do not need big fish, but if we sit back and watch bass get bigger through gene breeding, carp get bigger through new laws, and other species the same then catfish will just be left behind eventually.

But big breeder stock is proven to be very important to ensuring a healthy fish population. Their offspring are hatched bigger and stonger than small fish offspring.
This is why people pay huge sums of money for huge live bass and other species. If you do not believe this then just pick ANY animal or fish and find someone who raises to sell them and ask them.

And I totally agree that each body of water is different.



On the opinion side of things I feel people put way too much pressure on fish. Our waters can sustain WAY more fish than they currently hold. Why do I think this? Just watch any OLD show, or if you get really lucky find a river truely out in the boondocks that has no human pressure and observe how loaded it is.

Also,as an opinion, most lakes do not need any help as far as catfish are concerned, but IMO they will within 5-10 years.

And carp numbers need to come WAY WAY down on most lakes. They have gotten out of control and are screwing up too many things. This is part opinion and part fact, but an entirely different endless debate LOL

Whack, I suppose you have read some of my thoughts in this thread before. I am becoming very muckh involved in my buddys fish/deer farm and I have worked for one other one in the past. I do know what folks will pay for stock no matter what it is as long as they think it is superior.
In reality those folks paying for those fish/animals make up less than 1/4% of the folks that fish public waters. Those folks don't need to or even want to for that matter. I love big fish but I don't ever want to tell anyone that they are less of a person if they don't go after and catch them. To each his own. the one thing I have said in the past is that when a fishery is pressured too much and the big fish seem non-existent then those of us that go for them will stop. Its like supply and demand. When the supply goes low then the demand will drop. I for one am not going to burn this 3.60 a gallon fuel to chase bait and burn in the boat if the chances are super slim for a good fish.
When folks back off the fish make a comeback...its like our pathetic federal government.
The part of the Brazos river had very few flatheads 25 years ago (according to all of the old timers I talk to) and now it is full of them. When the numbers slump I will lose interest and stop wasting money chasing them. It's that simple.

that speaks volumes & to me is what this whole argument boils down to ... if everybody could just get a hold of that right there


can you imagine a quote like the following in a thread like this from certain folks?

I go after big cats, thats all I do. I never try to belittle anyone for keeping them even when they catch them off my boat. If it's the biggest fish they have seen and makes them happy then great.
I just want people to be aware that the resource has limits.

Keep in mind that IF a newbie went with you or I, and on his first catfish trip caught 3 over 20lbs, they would automatically think there are tons of big cats in the water.
Now somone who has tried for 5 or 6 years may know thats not true and it boils down to fishing at the right time and place.

I wonder about the supply and demand theory because more and more people are fishing for small cats. I see WAY too many small noodle jugs and the cheap ones bought from the stores. I know that a 25+ lber would take that junk under and get hung up a lot of the time.

So even if big cat fishermen where to stop the 10,000 jug lines would still keep the big cats in check IMO.

But again like you said before, this all also depends on the river/lake as they are all different.

No one should have to release all fish over 10 lbs.

The question remains, If more BIG fish were left as breeders would that make the catfish in our lakes bigger and stronger and better off?

i dont care what you do in your own boat...but if you are fishing out of my boat and you catch a blue over 10#..its going back in the water unless its going to die anywyas from being gut hooked.

well i think the one thing leaving more big fish as breeders would do is just that, leave more big fish as breeders ... hit or miss on whether or not it would all around make the catfish in our lakes bigger, better & stronger

your posts & the value you add to these threads under whelm me ... what a huttbed

Albert,
Your posts are all one sided. We all know "You don't believe the verdict is out on releasing big fish". You are like a broken record , anytime someone talks about releasing big fish.

I hope you are as vocal at the tournament next weekend when you are "person 2 person" with the people you so dearly love to imply are ignorant on here.

your signature says it all. Explains your thought process.