Well we got out yesterday and fished most of the day. Started graphing in 25’ and nothing, kept moving around and finally located fish in 18’ with some big fished mixed in. We circled back and set up a drift and caught a bunch of box fish and a 17#. Made a move to look for shallow fish and found a few in the shallows but not a ton. We set up for about 30 minutes on them and caught more box fish. So we left and went searching again, found some big fish in 13’ and set up on them for about 30 minutes but no take downs. Ended up going back to our first drift and catching more box fish.

Some jack wagon set up a drift dang near on top of my long planer boards and was drifting really fast and ended up passing me. I told them it would be nice if they would leave some distance in between the boats so we can both fish, but they acted like they couldn’t hear me. They caught 1 in the mid 40s and then circled back and did the exact same thing and caught 1 about 25. Not saying I would have caught them but both fish were not far from my spread. Those guys kept both fish. I tried to educate them and tell them to keep small fish and let the big fish go to get bigger, but apparently they are smarter than me. Then they offered me some bait, I guess that was their way of saying sorry. I declined.

I will refrain from commenting Matt. If I say what I want to about this, I'll get in trouble...

Sad to say but Twok’s glory days are rapidly coming to an end Matt. The amount of Toads in that lake has rapidly declined in the last 5 yrs. I see ignorant folks keeping big fish nearly every time I go. We really had something special with that fishery and those of us to have been lucky enough to have epic days on that lake will most likely never get to experience trips like those again.

Do any of you guys know where to find the electrofishing or gill netting surveys TPWD is conducting on area lakes, especially Twk? I have done my best to follow the available information about the fishery for several years. There's no doubt it a special place for catfish. My firsthand experience of the lake only goes back to 2009 but I have heard many stories that go back to the mid 70's. I'm sure some of you have or know of someone that's been around the lake from the 60s. I understand there is a LOT more rod and reel pressure these days, and I know 100% there are people keeping big fish although I have not seen it firsthand in my 13 years around the lake.

Most of the "glory days" stories I hear about big fish being kept are from people who ran lines on the lake, they were very successful and literally brought big fish out by the boat load (10-20 a day) for days/weeks on end. I don't know if the jug/trot lines are doing as much damage today as they were in the past, hopefully the regulation changes are being enforced? I see hundreds of abandoned lines on Twk when I get around the standing timber. There's going to be an interesting time period here to watch and see what happens with time as the relatively new size restrictions gain time on Twk. TPWD has to be monitoring the fish in the lake to see if the regulations are helping or hurting. I'm like you guys, I will not allow a fish 10lbs or over to be kept on my boat, and for the record I have never kept a fish in TX, I come to CPR big fish.

Here in OK, there is currently a big push for Bass anglers to start HARVESTING bass, the Catch and Release push was very successful here and across the country as Bass fishing exploded, now 40+ years later, turns out it was NOT the best policy to keep the Bass population healthy. Bass numbers are too high, too many fish competing for the same limited food resources. I'm sure not the nations leading fisheries biologist, but I majored in Biology/Environmental Conservation and I spend a lot of time reading the fisheries management research and implementation in several states across the South. One thing to remember, all lakes are cyclic, think about Lake Fork, stood atop the Nation as the premier Bass lake for a good period of time, likely one of the most intensely managed fisheries there's ever been.... even with all that management, Fork fell from grace and other lakes around the country have cycled through and held the title as best in the business.

The big fish protection rules on Twk are PROOF that Texas catfisherman have a VOICE capable of enacting change in fisheries management. I would urge all the passionate anglers here to continue your lobby of the rule makers, push for more research, push for transparency, information and education is the best chance you have at sustaining your high level fishery. Only a handful of years ago, an angler would be allowed to keep 25 big bluecat per day if he chose, that number is now down to basically 2 trophies/day, if the regulations are enforced and appropriate, your gonna see the fruits of those changes, probably slower than we would like (instant gratification doesn't really exist when managing long lived species like catfish).

Texas has long been revered for fisheries and wildlife management, its BIG business and they were among the first to figure it out. Get or stay organized, like em or not, Littlejohn's were the leading voice for change on Tawakoni, do your own research, learn as much as you can, look at other lakes and species and how their management has evolved, look at how successful or how miserably other types of rules have performed, organize your ideas or requests and work with your area leaders to keep the conversation about conservation moving forward.

Well said BFH...

I know most of us on this forum are conservationists. That doesn't mean we all are, and if guys want to keep fish within the law, they can. The way to fix this is as you say through working with TPWD and the legislature to make conservation the law of the land. In my mind the biggest element of this is enforcement. I never see TPWD on the water except on holidays when they are looking for drunks. We need enforcement of the creel limits and sizes especially the trot liners. I used to see them up in the timber on Tawakoni pulling in loads of fish without any thought of how big or how many.

Bottom line, it is up to us. We can whine about it here or we can help work towards a solution. "DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH, LEARN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN".

You can go to TP&W website and there is a link to write to them and voice your concerns. I write to them 3-4 times per year and they alway respond back and will pass on your concerns to the biologist and people in charge of rule changes. I’ve expressed my concerns with removing the slot limits as well as unsupervised jug lines that get lost and are littering our fisheries and killing fish. I challenge all true Bluecatrs to stand up for what you love and write TP&W for change. It is the only way things will improve and give the next generation the opportunity to experience the epic big fish action we’ve had the pleasure of taking a part in.

Contact link for TPWD

The link above is to the TPWD questions and comments page. Feel free to click away...

There’s already a group of guys here promoting the right ideas, putting together community events and reaching out to the next generation of up and coming conservationist. Your already putting in the hard work, don’t be afraid to reach out to your local Game Warden or Biologist, try to include them into your events. Don’t attack em if they show up, but in a fun, relaxed fishing environment, make your proposals, ask them questions about whats going on behind the scenes, do it while their eating your charcoaled burger and drinking your cold pop! Have the conversation with the regulators that you have with your friends. Remember they are tasked with serving the needs of a diverse sporting community.

Most of those guys have chosen their career because they have a passion for protecting resources. Ask them to show up at your events, here in OK they jump at the chance because they have a funded program called “Aquatic Education” and they LOVE showing up to get photos for their social media campaigns. Surprise them, its a rare thing when a Game Warden hears from his community “Hey man, we see a ton of serious rule breaking and would love to see you guys on the water or posted up in the afternoon at the ramp.” Get a good relationship with those guys, heck take em out for a good day of hammering big fish! Make your passion their passion, you’ll end up with a direct line of communication with the people that have the final say in how your waters are managed. Your already doing the work, when you bring those people into your community, they see you live it, your promoting conservation, your attracting young and old members to enjoy the sport, it can only help having those guys meeting the people and seeing the Catfish community in action.

There will be bad actors in the catfish community, guys that don’t want anything to do with Mr. Warden, but thats part of the problem, not the solution. Chris, Tim, Bob, the guys I see most active here, your well spoken, well versed, diverse, your already building the community, you share the same passion, your gonna get good results either way but your voice will carry further when these officials can put a face to the name, when they know the community they serve. OK stays behind on most wildlife management, but I have been on a first name basis with my county Game Wardens for over 10 years, I call them 3-4 times a year, run into them in the community, and have even had them reach out to me a couple times looking for assistance.

My family and I have put on a kids fishing tournament for around 10 years now, its a tournament we took over from previous volunteers. I live near a small town of 1600 people, we have built up through donation and partnership to provide every kid that participates with a new rod and reel. We usually have around 150 kids aged 3-15 participating, broken into divisions with winners in each division, they get $25 BassPro gift cards, Champion T-shirts, trophies and an upgraded Champions rod and reel combo. This is an event that we invite local Wardens too, they have brought grab bags with info and small prizes, they have provided fishing equipment for kids that showed up without any, they interact with families at the event and its how I developed a relationship with those guys. Reach out and see if you can get them roped into your community.

The new catfish regulations at Twok are good but I noticed something last year that was interesting.

I was fishing a shallow flat with timber where big fish always hang out, noticed 3 old aluminum boats show up with men, women, and kids, two boats stop and were just sitting there not fishing or anything, the other boat was moving up into shallower water.

I was wondering, what are they doing, because there not fishing, the other boat was running trout line puling in fish and I saw them boat a few 40lb fish, once they got done running that line they took the fish to one of the boats with the kids and transferred them to that boat then went and ran the other lines. They had a bunch of lines and caught a bunch of big fish and all three boats met up and sorted them out then left.

I realized then why they had so many boats and people. My point with this is that those guys that used to rape the lake running lines are still doing it, they have just found a way to get around the law.

I am kinda new to this site. I had an account years ago. Came back last year cuz I started fishing public water again.

While I understand putting the big ones back to continue to breed, I think folks throw around the "conservationist" word loosely or rather, incorrectly. A conservationist advocates for conservation. Conserving the natural resources. It doesn't mean that a conservationist never keeps fish or never kills a deer, duck or squirrel. They conserve it. Take what they need, within legal limits, and not try to stock the freezer on one trip, so to speak. As a trout fisherman, I am fully aware of the C&R only guys that actually get PO'd at folks with the temerity to keep a legal trout to eat and enjoy.

I am talking about keeping legal fish to eat at my house.

I think the regulations we have are sufficient but need to be enforced more regularly.

What we need to remember is not everyone goes fishing only for the sport. Some go because that is their supper. And as long as they are legal, I have no problem with it. When the more conservative minded folks begin to try to force their C&R ways onto the other folks, that is where things can get out of line.

My example: Some years back, they changed the definition for legal bucks in Texas. That 13" wide spread is the most useless regulation in Texas. Hard to guess, or sometimes see. The buck has to look directly towards or away from you to get a good guess. Now, if they had stated a certain number of points on one antler, that would be much easier to get right, but I digress.

The new regulation causes undersize bucks to be left to rot in the field or causes folks looking to kill a deer or three for the freezer to take either none or maybe an illegal buck. I know, it's for the greater good they say, but I don't think you should force an entire state to suddenly become trophy hunters.

Just another point of view. Fish on my Brothers & Sisters!!

Well said Bob. And I tend to agree with you about the need for enforcement. I consider myself a conservationist. And I harvest fish to eat now and then. And I agree with you that some folks are out there to catch supper or they don't eat. We all need to help preserve the resource for future generations to enjoy but we can't force our views on others because we don't know their needs.

I have had some very enthusiastic CPR guys come at me in the past and it really didn't make me want to join their cause. The old saying says it best, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar

I only see 2 guys on this site that are outspoken catfish conservationist, Tim and myself. I know there are many others but they prefer to stay in the background and promote conservation on their boats and that is fine. Tim and I both eat catfish and we both believe the breeders should be turned loose. I’ve not seen anyone throw the word conservation around loosely or incorrectly here. I’m very excited that more folks are conservation minded and I welcome it as well as the changes that are happening and will continue to happen in the catfish world. I for one am happy that the majority of Bluecat anglers are now becoming more conservation minded and turning the big fish loose and are getting educated and informed as to why we should continue down this path. I completely understand that it is in folks legal right to keep a big fish but It is my legal right to disagree with keeping big fish and will continue to educate and inform the next generation as to why the big ones should be turned loose. I pledged that if it’s 10 we let em swim and I think that’s a good way to help conserve our resource so that not only the trophy anglers are happy but the eater guys will also catch more fish as well. No one is being forced to be a trophy fisherman. It quite the opposite. There are just more guys wanting to catch big fish these days and with all the money pouring into our sport they are trying to find a way that will benefit both the meat haulers and the trophy anglers. It doesn’t have to be one over the other if both sides would work together.

And lastly, there will never be enough boots on the ground to enforce the current or future regulations. The battle to conserve these resources will be won in the hearts and minds of the next generation of anglers who self regulate because they have been taught that it’s the right thing to do.

Gato and Tim are not the only ones, all the people I fish with are the same. I don’t keep any catfish, my family prefers crappie and I always have plenty.

I fish for blues purely for fun and always target big fish, when I take people fishing I will let them keep a few but the rule is they can not keep a fish over 10lbs in my boat. Some don’t like it but it’s my personal rule.

Keep up the good work Nellie! I think quite a few guys don’t like to speak up and voice their opinion because they don’t want to be attacked or thought of as trying to push more regulations on people when the current regulations can’t even be enforced. I’m not worried about what some guys think and I’m going to stand up for what I believe and try and protect what I love. Some people will never change so I have pivoted my effort to the youth and will continue to host Jr Angler events each year and try to get kids to understand the importance of big fish conservation and responsible harvest. Im currently trying to get a speaker to come to our next event in April so we’ll see how that pans out.

While I am not a "Blue Cat" maven like y'all are, (no boat!) I have no desire to keep a 40 lb catfish of any kind. Would I love to catch one? Oh hell yeah. I like 5 pound catfish and under for eating though.

I mainly catch channel cats and an occasional blue fishing from a dock on Rabbit Cove.

Thanks for not flaming me!