Just another government hand in the pot takin a little bit of freedom away one small bit at a time don't ya think? Won't that just restrict law abiding citizens even more? Those that want to take any fish outside of the slot restrictions are gonna do it regardless. Kinda like the antler restrictions, how many bucks you think got taken this last year that were absolutlely greater than 13"?

Not arguin, just hate seeing restriction after restriction get slammed in our faces. If we were dangerously depleting the resource I could understand it.

Thank you for your courage!

Is this the fish that was photographed then pitched away?

Just an old cat like me and smells the same and can't breed anymore...lol

CPR pregnant female. Promised them I would post her for letting her go.

And what would your slots be, you want people to sign a petition not knowing what its all about tell more details. Exactly what does your petition say exactly.Would really like to see your channel cat slot ?? While your at it why not add 1 rod per man also that should help less fish caught less fish to worry about thats what you want isnt it, how bout cant keep ANY FISH for 5yrs or hell make it 10 wouldnt that help

that thing would be awesome in a bass pro aquarium

I am open to suggestions on slot limit. My thought for blues was 12-30" and 18-36" for flats. I would love suggestions my wife is helping me put it togeather.

What a butterball! That fish is pretty big, too!

ouch!

Obviously you have no idea what a slot is !!!! Startin a petition about something you know absolutely nuthin about good luck. I actually like the slot but no way I would sign a Petition for flats and channels

I CPR all fish over 10 pounds. However, I say no to a slot. I would rather see the limit get dropped from 25 cats per day to 15.

strong opinions. I practice CPR but if I caught a lake record I do not see anything wrong with keeping it and having it mounted and/or for eating.
almost every fish over 10lbs I have returned for hopefully a future catch for my daughter and her generation.
Seems to me that jug and trog lines catch a lot more fish, including BIG fish that are kept. hmmm

We all have our opinions, but one thing that each should consider before demanding legislation is what good research is out there to back up the legislation some of you think is needed.

I don't think there is sound justification on most lakes to the lower the limit on catfish, especially smaller blues and channels. Catfish being the nest guarders that they are happen to be extremely prolific, especially channel catfish. In the right lakes blue catfish are also prolific although in some lakes they do not reproduce well. For example, there are so many small catfish in Lake Palestine that the limit has been upped to 50 with only 5 allowed over 20". To me this says that there are not enough people keeping catfish as it is. When it goes on like that long enough an overabundance of small fish will stunt the population and have an adverse effect on other population dynamics as well. I realize that not every lake is like Lake Palestine, but I do think there is something to be said for keeping more smaller fish than are kept now.

On the other hand, I also have to wonder if we really need disallow keeping the big fish. A few things are worth thinking about on this side. One, historically most cat fisherman have kept their catch, be it small or large fish. It is only in more recent times that the cat fish community has began to concern itself with CPR angling in the same manor that other communities have been at for 20 years or more. Consider that those larger catfish have already survived and managed to thrive despite most anglers of yesterday keeping what they caught, and also consider that today those fish have a greater chance of being released by whomever happens to catch them without the law compelling them to do so. Second, many of the lakes we fish in today were impounded post world war II, late 40's through early 60's, so most of them are mature lakes. As lakes age the structure and cover degrade over time, eventually leaving you with a featureless bowl for lack of a better description, it takes about 100 years for this to happen, so it could be said that some of our older lakes are on the decline from a habitat standpoint. Although relatively small compared to some, Lake Bellwood in Tyler is a good example of this, and it was impounded in the early 1900's. This can be a factor in why some are reporting less favorable fisheries than 10-15 years ago. It may be that rather than slot limits on fish what is really needed is habitat improvement. I don't think that is talked about enough. True enough, in the deeper water sections of many of these lakes wood cover will last longer than in the shallow portions, but cover in the shallow portions is vital to the health of a lake. It is this shallow water cover that provides good spawning habitat for the larger fish and helps protect the smaller fish as they age. It also provides protection and substrate for the smaller organisms that make up the food chain.

If you skipped most of my wordy post, then just read this part. Keep more small fish. Monitor large fish harvesting, but not enough data to support total shut off at this time. Improve habitat in lakes as they age if you want to preserve the fishery for future generations.

+1 Well said.