I know it is a touchy subject by many, but the truth is the lake has gained popularity and is getting HAMMERED!! This petition if signed could be the start of some productive new regulations to protect trophy fish and keep the population of healthy trophy sized catfish sustainable for future generations.


http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/protect-lake-tawkonis-trophy-blue-catfish/

lets see:
Why the blue cat need laws changed is locked
GetBentFishing�s thread yesterday was deleted after about 20 minutes.
and now this one today.
Contrary to popular belief TPWD is managing Tawakoni and has been doing a great job forever.
The blue cat population is as good or higher than ever. In the most recent tournament the top ten teams caught 1,484# of blues and that is limited to five fish per team. That is 50 fish averaging 29.68# per fish, in less than ideal conditions in 8 1/2 hours of fishing. Yep Tawakoni is really low on bigger blues. Many people have been taking large numbers of blues out of the lake for many many years. A lot longer than you or others realize, it has not hurt the population. The lake record continues to climb yearly and it is known as The Catfish Capitol of Texas. When lots of people are fishing and continually showing big blue cat catches what do you expect? If you don�t expect it to be crawling with blue cat fishermen, you might need to think again. We have an ample amount of fish and game laws and really don�t need additional, you release your big fish just as I do but others keep there�s and it is within there rights to do so.

Put a slot on all Texas's lakes & cut back the limits. It won't be added laws it will be the laws.

I am not asking you to come back and start an argument. If you don't like the idea move along. If you read the article it has information of the diminishing numbers of large catfish reported by rod n reel fisherman. It is a worthy cause and it is in the works. If people wish to sign the petition they can. If not, nobody is forcing them to.

Is this a "new" petition Michael started or is it the one from many months back? i already signed the older one. If this is the same petition, no need to sign twice and look like ballot stuffin.

From what I am told this is a current (new) one.

old 1 comments section goes back to july 26 2014

this is the original one.

* Technology has advanced greatly allowing anglers to pin point precise locations of where large catfish are, greatly putting the odds in the favor of the angler.

* Research is easier than ever. More anglers are learning how to catch larger catfish.

I don't think rules, regulations, harvest regulations, have caught up with current technology, angler skills, etc, quite just yet. We're definitely at a potentially turning point with Twok and other trophy fisheries in Texas. I think the biggest thing needed is better education all around so we can make the best decisions. It's obvious fishing is great...right now, but we need to make decisions not just for today..but well into the future.

Ok. Good to know. I have also been in touch a few times with the Director of Inland Fisheries and Research to discuss several things and it seems a change in the limit of the larger cats is in the works. Not to remove taking large cats, but to simply linit the number of larger cats taken. I think we can all agree nobody needs to take 20 fish a day that all weigh over thirty pounds from any body of water.

I for one would be for a change on Tawakoni. There is a guy right now on Facebook showing 430 pounds of fish caught on the front deck of his boat.....what does anybody need with 430 pounds of big old nasty fish..He may can catch them but he don't respect them or how long it took to get that big. Pretty soon he will be saying I used to come out here and catch the heck out of them now I can't even get a bite...

Well stated, and points a lot of anglers miss. It's much easier now to target these big fish then it was just a decade or two ago.
The old "they been catching them like that forever" argument holds no water.

There are several people who look at pictures/videos...etc of blue catfish caught on Twok and other Texas lakes and assume populations are not being hurt by ample harvest of large fish. I hear it pretty often. The biologist who manages Twok is Kevin Story. Dan Bennett is also co-managing the lakes in terms of populations, harvest rates and overall health of the fish.

Admittedly Texas lakes have not been managed for trophy fish, but for populations of eating sized fish. While we have always know that folks have kept a share of larger, older fish, TPW admits it's efforts have not managed the lake or other Texas lakes for the trophy fishery. Thus why the slot limit study. Tawakoni was the very first lake proposed for the slot study but when local area interviews were done to see how locals would view the slot...it came back "a negative consensus." Looking back Kevin wishes he had found the TFF and other groups that promote C&R. He said he just didn't find the support for C&R when the slot study was being considered.

Fast forwarding to today, Kevin and Dan both firmly believe a restriction needs to be established on their lake, what/when/where that will be is unknown.

Those who have fished Tawakoni regularly for the past 10 years + know #'s have declined on fish over 20lbs. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that if it takes a fish + or - 15-25 years to reach the 40 - 60lb mark, harvesting fish in that range wipes out the chance that a fish will grow larger, older...etc. Once a fish defies the odds of getting 10lbs (which takes the better of 10 years) let it grow. Shoot, it has worked it's (tail) off to make it that long...let it grow.

I've talked to several guys over the years who have found it easier to catch fish on jugs / trot lines but prefer rod n' reel fishing. They say it's too difficult and with the time constraints they have w/ family/work..etc jugging and lining is the easiest way to catch fish. I've even had folks say they really don't like eating the larger fish but since that's what was on the line/jug we kept it.

If this is you and you desire to learn to rod n' reel fish and want to back off the lines and jugs...call me, I'll personally talk to you on the phone, share tips and tricks to catch, photo and release fish on rod n' reel.

Here is a video where Kevin talks about not harvesting the larger fish:

http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/local/201...shing/16289399/

Mr. Flat I am not trying to start argument. Just my opinion on how to save our bigger fish. Sorry

This is a good discussion, but please try and make your points without personal attacks. We also do not need to post photos of people who have a boat full of big cats. As long as they are not breaking the law, there is no reason to make them your poster for the agenda. The big difference between this and other similar debates is that most of the time, those catfish hit the skillet. Good thing is we are not dealing with a waste of game issue here.

My suggestion would be to give Kevin Storey a call and see if he will set up a "town meeting" near Tawakoni. I think you need to hear from the local biologists on this issue.