State of Kentucky enacted new fishing regulations for the Ohio river, as the big cats are disappearing from the river. http://fw.ky.gov/FishBoatGuide/Pages/New-This-Year.aspx

Seems that the fish were being caught out commercially and being sold to the pay lakes in Ohio for contests. The man that pushed for the reform is Steve Douglas of Monster rod holders. http://monsterrodholders.com/

Don't know the guy, but my hats off to him.

I'm all in!
Signed!

People have been fishing twak hard for years. And every year we go it has just gotten better, if keeping larger fish was really that big of a deal I would think you would see the effects by now. I can see turning them loose over 40, they still taste the same and the belly flaps are awesome but they don't fit in the cooler to good. That lake along with most lakes in Texas mainly just need a 30' rise upriver. But as far as releasing big blues I'd be for it over 40lbs, not yellow cats though. If I were a guide and saw pics like that I'd prolly have a stronger opinion with people messin with my livlyhood.

Now Matt that was past pot stirring, that was whining. Did you vote for the participation trophy too.

I could certainly get on board with a "1 over" rule on Tawakoni. I fish the blues myself, and enjoy taking people out there to catch them too. Last year I put three people on their personal best fish in two trips. That being said, my boat has a self imposed 10lb and over release rule. I just don't see the point in keeping big fish when I can fill a 120qt cooler with 2-6lb'ers and still be under a 2 man limit while releasing the big'uns.

We can certainly disagree with what seems to be happening in the OP pic, but as long as they aren't breaking the law, there's not really much room to complain about it. Every year I witness people keeping every fish they boat when I'm on the same school catching a 50/50 ratio of magnum sandies and undersized hybrids. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to tell them that not all those fish are sandies and get blank stares in return. They know, problem is, there just isn't enough enforcement going on, not at the ramps, and certainly not on the water.

Wait till. I get some Mud-Cat. On those . 10/0!! Straight-J's.
Big-Heads. Hanging along my Fence. From the Concho,. To The SABINE.

1. I signed up this [censored] makes Me SICK!! Let me see how many BIG fish I can kill just for a photo!!! I am the best look at my picture and know I am better than you bullshi/ mentality.


2. Your trot lines and jug lines. I try to cut everyone I see down or bring it in and throw it away. I have removed 3 hooks from my dogs over the years while hunting and getting hung in a trot line or jug line that somebody left out. Remove your freaking trash from the lake!!!! I personally feel it's unsportsmanlike to fish this way anyhow. Like using a snare on a deer or some [censored].

Looks like portions of this thread got the ax

I think the whole post needs the axe. Lakes were built for water supply, fishing is just a bonus. Every person out there grew up different, were raised by people who were raised by people who grew up different. Everyone's situation and opinions will always be different and at times maybe hard for other people to understand. I've read this post many times and found myself getting a little more heated each time. It is a arguable topic from both sides and has been for ten years, prolly will be for another ten. At the end of the day if turning big fish loose to fight again and lay her eggs makes you feel like you did your part in conserving the sport for the future. That's fine. Or if you're one of the guys coming down for a three day weekend armed with jugs, big coolers, sharp knives and a thought of them golden belly flaps swimming through their mind. That's fine too. Fishing is and hopefully always will be what it has been.

Let me catch you running my lines or cutting them. We will have a major issue on the lake. It takes an hour to make one of my juglines. I have about $12 in each one in parts and equipment. You must live on the lake and have access to it daily. Some of us don't. Some of us get limited opportunities to go to Tawakoni. When we do go, we want to fill our freezers with meat we will use. You may not like jug-lines, but it is illegal to touch them if they are not yours. I have a 10 year old daughter. The look on her face when she pulls on the jug and it tugs back is worth more to me than your complaining.

And Matt, we have several mutual friends. If I wanted to go to Kroger and buy catfish fillets, I would. To me, going to the lake is about spending quality time with my family. We make memories while we are at the lake. Those memories will live long past my death for my daughter and other family members. Some of you need to drop the "Holier Than Thou" mentality and quit judging others. I agree the trophies should be released. Some don't. Educating others is all anyone can do until the law changes the laws. I have a problem with commercial fishermen who keep everything they catch...especially if they are doing it on a frequent basis. Some of the best memories of my life were growing up with my grandparents, parents, and siblings at the lake. Juglining, fish fries, running the lines, cleaning fish, all of that...are still great memories for me and my family. Everyone should be preaching enjoying the lake and using it resources to provide for their own families. Where to issue gets cloudy is when people use the resources to try to provide for everyones families, or selling their catch to others for profit.

Leave the jugliners alone. Just because they don't catch fish on rod and reel and you do, does not mean their way is wrong...or that you are a better fisherman.

A question for you guides...if a fisherman wanted to hire you for a trip to catch catfish on juglines, would you take their $350-$600 and make it happen? Or would you turn down that money and refuse to fish with them?

Again, I am all for regulations for releasing trophy catfish. A limit similar to what they have on Texoma for stripers would be great! But here is some truth about striper guides on Texoma that I have witnessed firsthand on numerous occasions: I have seen numerous guide boats catch a large trophy sized striper over the limit, and then reach into their iced down cooler and throw a smaller over the limit DEAD striper into the lake, just to keep the larger striper just caught. I have actually scooped one up before and added it to my catch just so it would not go to waste.

That, to me, is just as much an abuse of the resources as someone who keeps a trophy blue, regardless of how it was caught. It all boils down to ethics and doing what is right...now how anyone catches them-as long as it is by legal means.

So has anyone started a petition to do something in this direction?

Folks, one of the most important topics we can possibly discuss on the TFF is conservation. This is true whether the subject is blue catfish in our lakes, redfish at the coast, or grouper and red snapper in the Gulf. The concerns are the same. We have multiple user groups that all want to take fish from a limited, finite resource that is fairly long-lived and susceptible to overfishing.

This is not a matter of one group or another being inherently bad. Guides are not inherently bad, jugliners are not inherently bad, recreational fishermen are not inherently bad, and even commercial fishermen are not inherently bad.

What is at issue is whether our existing law and fishing practices are inherently bad by allowing a single fisherman to take 10, 15 or more BIG blue catfish in a single day of fishing, without even an annual limit on the number of oversized blues taken. Likewise, maybe it's time to reconsider the total number of hooks or devices that a single fisherman can use at one time. I don't know the best answer, but I do know that more people are being drawn to fishing every year, as evidenced by fishing license sales. Our lakes and rivers CAN'T sustain an unlimited take of every big catfish that someone catches as the total number of fishermen grows.

Lewisville lake has a reverse slot limit 30"-45" on blue cats, with a bag restriction of only 1 blue cat over 45". It seems to be helping the fishery, but we won't really see the real results for another decade or more. It wouldn't do any harm for similar rules to go into effect on other water bodies in Texas.

I personally don't have any better ideas, but this thread should be about exploring the ideas and options that we all have on how to conserve these fish for ourselves, our kids, grandkids, etc., not bickering over who does more over harvesting. EVERY user group (not individuals, but entire groups) is probably over harvesting big blue cats under our current regulations.

Well carp-- I guess I'm gonna join in this thread and you can take my part of it how ever you want--

I'm not wagging my finger just making a statement, There are over 3600 view's to this thread and only 88 post so I'm sure there are many reading this that are still forming an opinion one way or another--

For many years before finding this forum (I was 49 years old then, so I know to some of you that is MANY years) I had been fishing the same way I had learned and I had never caught a cat over about 7 lbs. and that was just an accident.
What I'm saying is my limited knowledge made me a non threat to larger blues even though I was fishing lakes that had them.
As I learned how to catch the bigger fish I also saw threads like this with all the differing opinions also.
I read the threads and formed my own opinion, what I do and the reasons I do it are my own.
I appreciate the folks on both sides of this issue and can understand the passion when you post here, and you can be sure there are many, many others just reading these same post and some are still forming their own opinions.
I am comfortable with my choice and those that have fished me know what it is, so repeating it here is not necessary.

I simply want to thank those earlier posters years ago for both posting enough for me to know the awesome excitement of catching a big blue on R&R, which I had not knew how to do previously, AND threads like these that helps me form an opinion that I am comfortable with for myself and my boat.

You folks on both sides put yourself "out there" by letting us know how you feel, I just think it DOES matter in helping others that haven't decided yet which side of the fence they are gonna be on.

Carry on-----

Sorry, MY BAD, we was just fishing