Upcoming RAC meetings for 2015 fishing

[FishMcFisherson]

Based on common sense.

I realize that in all reality that this probably wont make that big of a difference because asses are already doing this, and the people who already catch and release will probably keep doing so. However, I would LOVE for every person who posses a license to go and take full advantage of this new law

You can't tell me that if everyone who has a license fished all day every day and just went back and forth to and from the lake to put their limit in their freezer that it wouldn't completely destroy every fishery.
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[Kent]

[quote FishMcFisherson]

You can't tell me that if everyone who has a license fished all day every day and just went back and forth to and from the lake to put their limit in their freezer that it wouldn't completely destroy every fishery.

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Wow, you think that with this new change that "...everyone who has a license..." is going to fish "...all day every day..." and go back and forth to their house with a limit of fish every trip? Thanks for the chuckle.
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[FishMcFisherson]

I don't think that. Precisely why I started my statement with "I realize that in all reality that this probably wont make that big of a difference". I'm saying that it is a possibility that I want to happen.
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[dubob]

[quote FishMcFisherson]Based on common sense.[/quote][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Ahhhhhhh! So no factual data; just unscientific opinion. Understood![/#800000][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Common sense is a basic ability to perceive, understand, and judge things, which is shared by ("common to") nearly all people, and can be reasonably expected of nearly all people without any need for debate. Based on that commonly held definition of common sense, you seem to be of the opinion that nearly all people who have a license will fish all day, every day, and just go back and forth between their permanent residence and the lake to put a limit of fish in their freezer on each and every trip, thereby destroying the fishery. Is that about right?[/#800000][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]There are people doing that now. We see reports of this activity on these boards all the time. The proposed changes will not change that. But I also see hundreds more reports of people following the intent of the law as it is written today and not exceeding their possession limit in the field or at home. I can’t speak to the ethics of the folks in your circle of fishing friends, but I know that most of mine understand possession limits and adhere to them on a daily basis.[/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][/#800000][/font][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]There are always going to be those individuals that pay little or no heed to the intent of the law with regard to possession limits on fish. But they are a miniscule portion of the total fishing population. They are firmly convinced that society’s rules do not apply to them. This proposed change to the possession limits at home isn’t going to change the thought process of those folks and I and the DWR certainly don’t think this change will convert the rest of us to a mob mentality of grab everything you can while you can.[/#800000][/font]
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[#800000][/#800000][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]I might catch 20 walleye in a good year. I might also catch upwards of 1,000 perch in a given year and eat them or give them to non-fishing friends and neighbors who love them as much as we do. My fishing habits and trips aren’t going to change if and when this proposal becomes effective. What will change will be the fact that I will not have to keep track of how many fish are in my freezer or in my pantry to plan my next fishing adventure – except for the trout family of course.[/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Life is good.[/#800000][/font][/#800000][/font]
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[RockyRaab]

FishMc, you missed one important fact: We still will be able to take only one daily limit per day. That's spelled out explicitly. We also cannot have more than two days' limit in possession while we're afield (as in camping). The only change is that we'll be able to have more fish than that at our permanent residence. (And, again, this excludes trout.)

The scenario you paint will be illegal. That doesn't deter a group of happy harvesters who already do as you describe, I'll admit. But it won't make it any worse, either.
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[ifishutah]

The one that truly is a real concern is the LMB population at UT lake. There are a lot of harvesters that can take those fish home and quickly return to do so again, and again, and again. Of course most already do that anyway.

Maybe stocking LMB would turn out to be a good idea...
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[RockyRaab]

May I suggest that if you actually do know of people doing that, you report it to the Utah Poaching Hotline? 1-800-662-3337

If it matters to you, you would.
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[dubob]

[quote ifishutah]There are a lot of harvesters that can take those fish home and quickly return to do so again, and again, and again. Of course most already do that anyway.[/quote][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]And no amount of rule changing is ever going to change that unless folks like you that see it happening report it.[/size][/#800000][/font][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3] And for the record, I disagree with your assumption that MOST already do it. I believe the number of licensed fishermen that do this is a very small percentage of the total.[/size][/#800000][/font]
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[FishMcFisherson]

But it won't matter any longer, because now it will be perfectly legal.

Also, I do know plenty of people that mainly fish just for having fish to eat, and only keep what is legal. These people will have no limit to the fish they can keep in their freezer.

Another thing that cracks me up is that this law will not pertain to trout, the fish that is stocked most often.
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[Fishsticker]

[quote ifishutah]The one that truly is a real concern is the LMB population at UT lake. There are a lot of harvesters that can take those fish home and quickly return to do so again, and again, and again. Of course most already do that anyway.

Maybe stocking LMB would turn out to be a good idea...[/quote]
"Most do that already"???
It's funny I know I haven't been fishing as long as many of you(only 30 years on my own) but I have NEVER seen this happen. Am I missing something?
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[wiperhunter2]

I guess it depends on the location but I have seen this in many areas. Some people will catch a limit and I know because I'm standing near or fishing beside them, they leave and come back a little while later and keep fishing or they work in shifts. They fish for 4 to 6 hours, they get a phone call and a few minutes later a new group come in and the ones that are there get up and leave. I see it much more often when shore fishing but I have seen it while boat fishing as well, especially when fish are in a small area and boats are in very close together. Community ponds are another place where this happens often, once the "WORD" is out that a pond has been stocked it is just a matter of time before they show up. If you don't fish near groups of fisherfolks then you may never have seen this happen but trust me it does happen and this law change will not effect them in any manner. It sounds like this law change is mainly for those that obey the law and release fish once their possession limit is filled. We eat fish once a week and would bring more fish home, especially walleye, if this law goes into effect. As it is now we usually run out of fish around the first of the year and have to lower my standards to eat trout[], until I start catching walleye again in the spring.
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[TubeDude]

[quote ifishutah]The one that truly is a real concern is the LMB population at UT lake. There are a lot of harvesters that can take those fish home and quickly return to do so again, and again, and again. Of course most already do that anyway.

Maybe stocking LMB would turn out to be a good idea...[/quote]

[#0000FF]I would like to know of anybody who is good enough to catch a limit of largemouths out of Utah on any given day...much less multiple limits. The knowledgeable bassers who know that lake well often are happy to score only a few fish in a full day of cruisin' and chuckin'. And they mostly release all they catch.

Largemouths in Utah Lake are not like white bass. They don't school up and they do not hit just any old thing you put in front of them. It takes a lot of skill and sometimes a lot of luck to get even a single fish in a hard day of fishing. Married ones are even worse.

With current low water levels it would not be a good idea to plant more largemouths in UL. It is too shallow...with little or no structure...to provide ideal habitat, spawning and recruitment for bass. Additional stocking would only add more competition and reduce food supply for the existing fish.
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[ifishutah]

There's a couple of things I think I should point out.

1. Limit on LMB over 12" on UL is 1. During the spring in certain locations, I have witnessed and reported multiple people catching and keeping 5-10 bass over 3lbs. If anyone spends any significant amount of time fishing during the spring you'd certainly be able to vouch for what I've said.

2. I don't want to seem thin skinned, but it seems there was an intentional dig at me for being an "
unknowledgeable basser".

[#0000ff]The knowledgeable bassers who know that lake well often are happy to score only a few fish in a full day of cruisin' and chuckin'.[/#0000ff]

I can assure you I'm extremely knowledgeable. My name is Joe Johnson I live in Orem and spend considerable amount of time each year on UL.

3. No matter what others claim, there is a lot of pressure on the LMB in UT lake especially in the spring. While the low water is certainly not ideal, planting extra LMB would certainly allow for more fish to be taken and take pressure off the LMB population as a whole. The numbers of sunfish, baby carp, baby white bass, crawdads and other minnows could easily sustain more LMB.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Sorry. Nothing personal intended.

I put in a lot of hours on Utah Lake and am in close personal contact with a few other knowledgeable regulars. So I do observe and hear what is going on. My evaluation is that there IS a group of happy harvesters who have learned enough about the habits and locations of largies to be able to extract a few. But even the dedicated bass anglers will admit to having more slow days that banner days...with a few blanks.

For the most part, the bass are in only a few locations. Most anglers simply don't fish in the right spots with the right gear. So there is not a wholesale harvest of bass...just a limited harvest by a few that don't care what the laws say. They treat the lake as their own private fish market...for all species.

Until the lake returns to something close to full pool, with abundant reeds and flooded structure, adding bass will not be as productive as you might hope. It will only concentrate more fish in smaller areas for the killers.
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[AmyC]

Update: We were just notified that the location for tomorrow's Southern Region RAC meeting has changed. The new location is the Snow College Richfield Campus (800 W. 200 S., Richfield). The meeting time is still 7 p.m.
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