I have fish LL for over 30 years and sometimes I have trouble telling the difference. One tonge patch and one solid line on body equals sand bass. Two patches with broken lines on body usually means hybrid. Also if it is seems like a huge sandbass strong possibility it is a hybrid.
What I have a problem with is the all these irate know it alls that refuse to share this info with their fellow fisherman!!!

Sounds like to me the guides are gettin schooled by us regular guys and they don't appreciate it. I mean if you are close enough to tell that someone is catching a hybrid instead of a sandbass, then that probably means you are in a boat show and the guy next to you is trying to keep up with the school of fish and catch as many sandbass as you are with your paying customers. Heck, he/she probably doesn't even know you are a guide, and what difference would it make anyways? We used to have run-ins with guides down on the coast in the Rockport area and they just couldn't handle the fact that we were coming in with limits of redfish and they weren't, and were quite rude about it on the water. Maybe I am totally wrong about this, but I have a feeling that that has something to do with it. Of course there are some people that probably can't tell the difference between the two fish. If you think you need to call OGT or whatever it is called then go ahead. I am a Police Officer and am very much for catching people breaking the law. But sometimes a little education and a warning goes a long way. Yall are supposed to be "sportsmen". Try and give a lil advice to someone who may not know the difference, if you really "think" they aren't abiding by the law. If they are a jerk about it, call that number. I just mind my own business and keep fishing. But, you usually won't find me in the middle of a boat show anyways.....Too many idiots!

Schooled? I dont think you know what your talking about. And I dont recall seeing you at the Lewisville tourney two weeks ago to back up your claim. Trust me police officer or not I have not problem taking your money lol ask grove rat he is also a police officer hahahahaha . I am not a guide but I do care as should all other sportsmen. If you frequent this forum or frequent Lewisville you know the guides on that lake are none the such that you claim. And I highly doubt you can outfish XYZ much less the real guides on Lewisville tbarnes / don the angler / boston bob / txcatfishguide (chad). And if you have ever met them then you would not make such statements. They are not the type to get mad cause you caught a limit.



You say everyone should be sportsmen and educate others. Hmmmmm I thought it plainly states in the handbook how to tell the difference. The handbook is free with your license. Hell you dont have to buy a license to get one. Besides tell me what does it matter if the game warden is notified that there could be a potentional violator on the lake. Why should it go unnoticed? If they wont read the handbook like they are suppose to then maybe they will pay closer attention when they start getting tickets. I mean is that not what police officers do when speeding or running a stop sign. You can only warn so many people. Bottome line is if your legal you should have no problem with the game warden checking you. And if you are a true sportsman then you will welcome the site of a game warden or fellow sportsman showing concern for their lake. See those that frequent that lake rather it be a guide or people like me we care about the fish crop. We see the bank fisherman seining and keeping fish and throwing castnets and keeping fish. Legal or not they keep them. Or when you try and tell people how to tell if it is a sandbass or hybrid and they act like idiots about it. Well my thinking is this. If they are legal they have nothing to worry about. If they are not then that tells me they either dont care or did not read up on the regulations. That is your responsibility as a hunter or fisherman in Texas to know your legal bag limit. In order to know this you must know what your catching. If you do not know then you should just release the fish. And when you get home go look it up and make sure. I suggest to people to keep the handbook in their tackle box so they can compare to their handbook illustration. If you turn your back to poachers then you are not a sportsman.

Most wardens I have met and come to know on a first name basis are not out to BBQ someone for an honest mistake, sure they will give you a ticket if you are an @ss... and you probably deserve it. But I can tell you first hand from guideing waterfowl hunts west of houston they know that there is sometimes a differance between what is legal and what is right.

in the case of keeping a gut hooked fish the legal thing to do is to throw it back in the lake... the right thing to do is to take it to the cleaning table.

Obiviously you cant have a law that says one gill hooked fish is legal because some people would do it just to keep them. But lets be realistic if you throw it over the side to feed the catfish then you catch a sandbass to fill the limit what is the end result... one dead hybrid AND one less sandbass.

If you want to have more hybrids simply change the law to 1 a day and watch how many big fish LL would have in it in a matter of a couple of years, people would be complaining that they couldnt find the sand bass.

finally the guides could play a huge role in helping. Does every client really need to take 5 hybrids out of the lake?, especially when filling the box with sandies is pretty easy most days, My first time on LL 2 years ago with DTA I took home 10 or 12 fish and threw back 10 times that many. clients can have a great time and not have to take home 25 sandies and 5 hybrids each, plus the guide dosent want to clean all those fish anyway.

the last time I saw some guys taking illegal fish I called the Hot Line. didn't even get an answer. I wonder how intent the enforcement people are about apprehending poachers.

i have had that happen as well, saw a couple of guys throwing castnest at the spillway from addicks res. in houston had buckets of crappie, shad, carp and bass... didnt get an answer. told the guys that they where gonna get REALLY busted and almost got into a fight.

Okay, I try not to get involved on stuff over here, but this one has me baffled.

Now I go along wholeheartedly with the stuff that has been said about people should get the Outdoor annual and learn the difference between Sandies and Hybrids. If they don't and they get caught, it is their own fault.

My problem comes in with the idea of trying to develope any lake into a Trophy Only hybrid fishery. Unless something has changed in the past 15 years or so, it has been proven by TP&W, that hybrids can reproduce. They are not sterile as once thought.

If a person wants to practice Catch and Release, then by all means do so. If a person wants to catch/keep/eat a 5 fish limit of hybrids or stripers, that should be fine also. They paid their money for the license and for their tackle, if they want to eat some fish, that should be their business and nobody should look down their nose at them.

Illegal activities should be reported, as that is the best way to educate people.

Trying to create a trophy fishery, that was developed to provide the average angler an opportunity to catch a really good fish with out a lot of specialized equipment, is wrong, especially when people that want to catch and eat fish are looked down upon.

Catching and keeping undersized fish, and numbers of fish over the limit, is wrong and needs to be stopped.

Keeping a limit of legal fish is not wrong. JMO.

Here is a B-Port "Junior" caught and released about 3 hours ago.



Keith
www.lakebridgeportguideservice.com

Now that is HOT! What did you catch her on a humdinger LOL trying to keep it clean hahahaha nice little throwback too. But she is a keeper for sure!

I guess it never crossed your mind that I start boat shows This has gotten a little off base. We are talking about people that knowingly keep illegal fish. Not the regular guy that makes a mistake. By the way�..what is a regular guy? I know a lot of regular guys that catch a lot of fish is there irregular guys�what about the girls

You sir....are my hero

I don't think its quite that much, but still pretty pricey, I believe its just under $200 a fish, someone correct me if I'm wrong, I'd be interested to know.

Well do not glass but when you ar at the dock and the idiots
show you the cooler and they have more than double the limit and
don't know the difference a pair of bino's are not nessary...


this really has gotten some peoples attention I hope it does some gooD!

I'm glad you don't think I know what I'm talking about. The reason I wasn't in that sandbass tournament on the 28th, I'm assuming, is because I was fishing the Farmers Booster Club bass tournament and watched all yall taking off. I collected a pay check that day, did you? Anyways, like I said before, I'm all about catching people breaking the law. Some people get all bent out of shape when someone that does what I do for a living actually has an opinion about something. I'm not worried at all about game wardens being on the lake...I mean, they are my "brothers" aren't they? And yes it does state everything you need to know in those handbooks. Just like it does in drivers ed. But I bet if you got stopped for speeding or something else, you'd be wanting a warning and a lil education, instead of a ticket, and if you say no youre a liar! Bottom line is, if you think someone is breaking the law, call the law. If you just wanna go out and fsh and have a good time and mind your own business, then do that. I personally wouldn't call anyone out unless some fool is being dangerous, which never happens out at the Gulf of Lewisville, right? And since you don't think I know what I'm, doing out there, then you probably won't believe me when I tell ya that I limited out yesterday too in a couple of hours. But hey, what do I know? haha

Oh, about these sandbass tournaments, how much are they? Whats the schedule? Whats the payout? Rules? etc...