THE 2004 OUTDOORMISSOURI.COM CATFISH COMPETITION

[BornBad]

The shaking limb, case in point (more of a class respect issue). Down at Norfolk (sp), someone had set up at limb line right across from the camp site - all day long that limb was going it at and it was not any of the campers. Now I do not know how long you can leave a baited line, but after 8 hours I know of, it really started to wear at me and the other campers. It was not tagged with a name either.



More than half the trot lines, limb lines and washed up jugs I find do not have a name tags on them and I therefore consider them abandoned. I really do not care if a limb line or trot line was dehooked and left as an eyesore so the person can come back the following weekend or whenever- same token would be like me leaving myself a bag of chips at the bank for next time I came around. That's trash the way I see it and it will take one hell of a whatfore to change my way of thinking on making sure a place is cleaner than when I found it. Tell ya what, I'll leave your fixed lines alone if there is a name tag on it (always have). But how bout's this, we push a little slogan: "if your not using it, please remove it". Seems fair enough.



Yes, the river is everybody's and it's for everybody to enjoy. The stuff I mention, is the kinda stuff that, at least for me, causes me to frown on fixed line method though. But if it eats at me, and some of those things at you, just think what it is does to those that are not fishing enthusiast. Therein is the fuel that forces laws to be passed that does not favor either of us. I dont want more laws, I think there are just to many of them on the books as it is. I just got ticketed yesterday for some silly little speeding law.



BTW, this has nothing really to do with the contest. Each leaderboard is it's own. You can compete in one, two or on all boards- that much is up to you. All of this other stuff should have been hammered out on another thread. I have used fixed lines in the past (never much luck) and I will not hold it against anybody that does use it.

[cook]

set lines must be checked every 24 hours.I commend you for picking up trash,I do the same if it looks old or untagged=but wolfies right-some folk got a little temper problem when it comes to their stuff if not positive I don't touch it.
side note-I think "willful tampering" falls under the new hunter harassment law

as far as ethics-thats a sub set of legal-everyone has their own and no amount of posting or argueing is going to change anyones opinion.

Check the trout board on the cc(unless thats another ruse in which case thats not ethical )

[BornBad]

That "Warning!" Thread ?

[cook]

I think they only have 20 members w/2,000 names,but that is some funny chit:)

[BornBad]

Yes, that was

[Two Tall the Neanderthal]

Boys, I was fired up when I posted this stuff last week, maybe even over enthusiastic about it, but I stand by the fact that there are a lot of folks who abuse the fixed line regs.

Kutter, I'm glad you realease over 15#. I think that's a wise choice.

I'm not posting any of this just to stir the pot. I believe Mo needs much stiffer regs when it comes to catfishing. It's a heavily abused sport for sure.

Also, I'm not saying fish over 15 don't eat as well. More along the lines of the age structure of fish, more over flathead and to a lesser extent blues.

The growth rates of both fish are different, but it's not hard to understand that a flathead reaches a weight of 10-15 pounds much quicker in it's early stages of life than compared to it's maturing into a trophy that can take as many as 20-30 years. These fish are the breeding stock. If you have any faith in what biologists say, you'll believe that it's the breeding stock of the species and it takes a good percentage of larger fish to keep the ball rolling.

Channel cat are excluded from this.

I see so much wanton waste with fixed lines it's not even funny. I commend fixed line fisherman who take pride in what they do, but truth-be-known... that's a small percentage. I see jugs, limbs, and trots abandoned on every trip. These people are the idiots. Wolfman, you may put some serious science behind your fixed line strategy, but come on, you can't believe that the majority of others are doing the same. And if you thing spreading the water with a scads of hooks takes more skill than a few well placed rods your off your damn rocker.

Those of you who fish avidly for cats have to take these matters into you own hands and make good choices now. You obviously have some sort of attachment to them and it's up to us to enjoy and preserve them.

[BornBad]

2tall

[cook]

Nice to see you calmed down a bit.I have personally released all the cats over 20# that I have caught( both of them )I also agree that the regs need to tightend up-but that will take time.There has been an explosion in interest as cats for sport vs. food,once people see $$ signs it changes everything.Compare bass fishing now to 30 years ago.
This is my own opinion but I think most of the lines,jugs,etc... is caused by the occasional setliner,its just more visable cuz you can't see the trash left behind by the 90 percent who don't leave it behind.Did that make any sense??Kinda like trash along the road-we all see it-but out of the thousands of cars that travel it-only a few are responsible.

I hope catfishin dosen't go the way of bass or trout-where ifyou keep some occasionaly you are looked down on.
Tight lines all

[BornBad]

TROUT ? Who the fudge looks down at a person for harvesting TROUT ? I'll legally harvest every TROUT I get my hands on and fry it like I do catfish.

[Wolfman]

Trout=Cat bait...lol

Legaly ALL trot lines, limb lines and jug lines MUST be labled now. Tampering with them falls under the harassment law and takeing fish from them is considered theft, and removeing said lines is considered destruction of private property.
I agree if their done useing them they need to be removed. But ive got no problem with someone leaveing a limb or trot line out for two or three weekends to be reused as they do take a lot of work to put out and take up. They DO need to have the hooks removed though. This is also in the regs.

Like cookie said(god im agreeing with him) most set liners take good care of their equipment and don't leave anything. It's to expensive to start with. It's the odd duck doing it for the first time that figures out it's real work or just a lazy bum who leaves it. Things have changed and will continue to get better, hence the new jugging laws set into effect primarily because of the jugs left on truman, the osage and LOZ. The length limits below truman and bagnel dam as well.

Speaking of which, has anyone been below bagnel lately catting?

[RB]

Hey Wolfie, any more talk of a cattin get together?

[BornBad]

Done said I'll leave the name tagged ones alone wolfe. But if you aint got anything legal that says I caint mess with the unnamed ones other than a possible whoopin, then I still claim open season on those.

Come on, give me the benefit of doubt that I aint gonna go busting up what appears to be new or recently placed ones. My fishing time is to precious to hunt for the damn things, they just seem to find me... That the "bobbing" jug I mentioned was remote enough with no other jugs in the area, that it was beyond all doubt to me that this was a jug that would not be recovered by it's owner and the fish's fate was otherwise doomed. But had the owner takin the time to recovered all of his jugs I'd proly not have been faced with that issue. It's this kind of sloppiness I speak out against.

Them eyseores, I dont like them and I am sure if put to a vote most others would agree. If your not using them, please remove them... Or just keep em there and someday there will be one more reg forced on you. That simple.

[Two Tall the Neanderthal]

I'll stand by the fact that most fixed line fishermen are the sloppiest of all fishermen. You see thier crap everywhere and they abuse ethics by which a lot of us folks that care about sport and preservation fish by.

Wolfie... keep on keeping on. I'd hate to see you change some of your jackass ideas just for the good of the sport you talk so much about.

[Kutter]

No problem, Twotall, I had a feelin that post was just a bit venting. We all do that from time to time, especially when we feel strongly about something.
Other than the occasional poster, I believe we all here pretty much agree on most ethics and we all know that there are a few spoilers out there. I doubt most of the spoilers care enough about catfishing or whatever, to go to the effort of reading or posting on this type of board.

Due to not remembering where I read the following, do not take it for fact. I read onetime that most catfish of breeding age, produce about the same number of eggs. What happens later depends on the size of the catfish. The biggest, baddest cats get the better breeding holes. They also are able to defend the young better than smaller cats. Thus, according to what I read, the overall amount of fry that survive is larger than from fry produced and protected from smaller cats. Not sure of all the info I read, but you get the gist of the report. That is the main reason I release all uninjured cats over 15#. I know that some folks keep all cats, and that is fine with me, if that is what they want. I just chose not to. I sure don't need the food. As far as jugging and such, I love it. However, I am prone to catch smaller cats when doing so. For that reason, I jug fish when stocking up on food and R&R fish when targeting larger cats. Targeting very large cats requires a lot more than most fisherfolks are willing to do. Most of all, it requires folks willing to go out many times for more than 8 hours at a time, without ever getting a bite. Believe me, that IS hard to do. Sometimes I target small cats, just to be able to catch something. When doing so, if I don't need the freezer stocked back up, I release all of them no matter the size.

As far as messing with juggs or trotlines that are not mine, I don't, period! Now I have been known to pick up a stray jug washed up on the bank, and pitch it into the trash, but these are old juggs long abandoned. I have lost a few juggs myself before. It wasn't because I was sloppy or lazy. I watch my juggs the whole time I am out. Sometimes, I have seen a jug go under an never come up. I tried for hours to find it, to no avail. Who know? I can only guess that a larger cat pulled it under and snagged it on a rock or log. I lost one like that on a private, 20 acre lake that the owner and myself were tha only ones that fished it. That jug never turned up. Who knows? I know I haven't a clue.

[DShootnstGentemn]

TwoTall, Good post!

Here is a list of chit that I have come across hung in a trot line that was left behind.

• about a 100 lb dead spoonbill on Grand Lake
• a dead blue heron on Truman
• hundreds of dead catfish (everywhere ya go)

And the latest entry about a month ago;

• a nice little doe (dead) that was trying to swim the Sac River and got caught in a trotline

Trotlining, as it is, should be outlawed. The rules should be; if it's labeled and someone calls your name from the trotline and you don't answer, the trotline is fair game. I'll cut ever one of the abandoned mutha-fuggers I come across and throw 'em in the bottom of the boat. IF it is being attended, I'll never mess with one.