[Ange]

I’m not likely to show up sadly I have other obligations.Hopefully some more of the commercial guys will be there.I have commercial license but not to make a living with.Just hate to see that rule enacted as I do believe there’s absolutely no need for it.Thera are oodles of 30 lb plus catfish in our rivers.

I understand and please forgive my feeble attempt at sarcasm. It’s like a city council zoning meeting. They have their minds made up before the meeting starts.

 

[Caveman jim]

Hopefully those guys that can make the meeting will show up but no one is on the agenda to speak.

it could be a bad thing when they decide which river is next.And it is always a bad thing for those guys that have to release a catch.They aren’t fishing for fun.

Those smaller ones are the best eatin catfish in my humble opinion.
When we lived in Mississippi we would always go to the catfish houses near Pearl at least twice a month with other family members, what a hoot. They had some of the best tasting little catfish I ever ate!

 

[msteele64]

I am the president of the Arkansas commercial fisherman’s association. This proposal was to limit both commercial and recreational fishermen to one fish over 34” (15-17 pound range). I was able to speak at the commissioners meeting today and they listened to our concerns. They have tabled the regulation proposal for now and they are going to survey licensed anglers and revisit this after the survey is complete. For you guys against commercial anglers , this reg is being proposed for recreational as well as commercial. Many of you are quick to condemn commercial fishermen but most of them are only trying to make a living off a resource that is in no way in danger. I am not going to get into any long discussions or arguments here but the commercial industry is regulated to insure the resource remains plentiful for all. I hope we can all agree this is a bad regulation change for a river that has a huge catfish population and don’t want to see it go through because it affects all of us. We are all fishermen and love the outdoors, we just have different passions that drive us.

 

[jcp]

I am the president of the Arkansas commercial fisherman’s association. This proposal was to limit both commercial and recreational fishermen to one fish over 34” (15-17 pound range). I was able to speak at the commissioners meeting today and they listened to our concerns. They have tabled the regulation proposal for now and they are going to survey licensed anglers and revisit this after the survey is complete. For you guys against commercial anglers , this reg is being proposed for recreational as well as commercial. Many of you are quick to condemn commercial fishermen but most of them are only trying to make a living off a resource that is in no way in danger. I am not going to get into any long discussions or arguments here but the commercial industry is regulated to insure the resource remains plentiful for all. I hope we can all agree this is a bad regulation change for a river that has a huge catfish population and don’t want to see it go through because it affects all of us. We are all fishermen and love the outdoors, we just have different passions that drive us.

Growing up around commercial fishing, I can’t see this industry damaging a fishery. Growing up I knew quite a few folks that used to fish for a living, and I only know 1 that still does it for a living.
The internet and television has opened the doors to trophy sport fishing and hunting, the old, I seen it on YouTube and I can do that.
I look at this just like Turkey hunting, 20 years ago, I could go all season and never see a soul, now days, everywhere you go is packed.
We can debate the whole commercial fishing, predators, weather, fire, or whatever you believe, has done all the damage, when in reality, the popularity of fishing and hunting has lead to a decrease in population’s of the given species.
If regulations are to be passed, it shouldn’t be placed on the commercial side of the fishery.

 

[tomhunter]

Have they done any studies on commercial harvest or is this being pushed solely by people sport fishing ?

 

[Punkinseed]

I am the president of the Arkansas commercial fisherman’s association. This proposal was to limit both commercial and recreational fishermen to one fish over 34” (15-17 pound range). I was able to speak at the commissioners meeting today and they listened to our concerns. They have tabled the regulation proposal for now and they are going to survey licensed anglers and revisit this after the survey is complete. For you guys against commercial anglers , this reg is being proposed for recreational as well as commercial. Many of you are quick to condemn commercial fishermen but most of them are only trying to make a living off a resource that is in no way in danger. I am not going to get into any long discussions or arguments here but the commercial industry is regulated to insure the resource remains plentiful for all. I hope we can all agree this is a bad regulation change for a river that has a huge catfish population and don’t want to see it go through because it affects all of us. We are all fishermen and love the outdoors, we just have different passions that drive us.

What kinda percentage of their sellable catch is made up of fish over 34 inches? Seems like it will take a lot more hours to make up 20 pounds fish with smaller ones. I prefer eating flatheads in the 15-20 pound range.

 

[msteele64]

Have they done any studies on commercial harvest or is this being pushed solely by people sport fishing ?

No studies, they said they have zero data. This is solely being pushed by bill dance and tournament fishermen, purely political.

 

[msteele64]

What kinda percentage of their sellable catch is made up of fish over 34 inches? Seems like it will take a lot more hours to make up 20 pounds fish with smaller ones. I prefer eating flatheads in the 15-20 pound range.

Varies from fisherman to fisherman and the type of tackle. I would estimate 25-50%, just a guess. Larger fish are great to eat, have to trim the fat and dark meat and cut into sizable fillets. I even know people that smoke large whole catfish and it is awesome.

 

[Kodiac]

I was able to listen to part of the live meeting today, on the line, and there were two commercial cat-fishermen who addressed the commission. They did a great job presenting their case (off the cuff) that the proposed reg was just not needed. IMHO they changed the flow of the tide. The commission agreed to postpone the decision for a time until they have heard more from the public on this proposed regulation concerning catfish on the Mississippi River. I have to say that the commissioners showed great respect to the commercial fisherman and really engaged the men with several thoughtful questions. I think that the recorded meeting will be available to the public and you can hear it for yourself.

So, if you have a dog in the fight, I would start sending emails to anyone you know on the commission or in the Fisheries Division. Here are some public emails I found on the line.
I would make those emails thoughtful and professional. You might even get a response.
Jason Olive - Chief of Fisheries - [email protected]
Ben Batten - DD over Fisheries - [email protected]
Austin Booth - Director - [email protected]

You are an impressive individual, JB.

 

[JB Weld]

View attachment 390459

You are an impressive individual, JB.

Diddy I am trying!

 

[JB Weld]

I am the president of the Arkansas commercial fisherman’s association. This proposal was to limit both commercial and recreational fishermen to one fish over 34” (15-17 pound range). I was able to speak at the commissioners meeting today and they listened to our concerns. They have tabled the regulation proposal for now and they are going to survey licensed anglers and revisit this after the survey is complete. For you guys against commercial anglers , this reg is being proposed for recreational as well as commercial. Many of you are quick to condemn commercial fishermen but most of them are only trying to make a living off a resource that is in no way in danger. I am not going to get into any long discussions or arguments here but the commercial industry is regulated to insure the resource remains plentiful for all. I hope we can all agree this is a bad regulation change for a river that has a huge catfish population and don’t want to see it go through because it affects all of us. We are all fishermen and love the outdoors, we just have different passions that drive us.

I listened to part of the meeting on the line and heard you speak today. Y’all did a great job presenting your case. I think y’all might have turned the tide. Time will tell.

 

[Caveman jim]

So was the commission planning to make a ruling today on this presentation with zero data?
Sounds like our jackwagon F/W commission.

 

[msteele64]

So was the commission planning to make a ruling today on this presentation with zero data?
Sounds like our jackwagon F/W commission.

Yes their plan was to make the ruling yesterday.

 

[JB Weld]

So was the commission planning to make a ruling today on this presentation with zero data?
Sounds like our jackwagon F/W commission.

IIRC Director Booth spoke directly to this issue. Maybe someone else who listened to the tape can chime in. I believe the proposed reg was on the agenda to merely be discussed and moved to the next step of becoming formalized. However after the speakers presented their case and answered some questions, the commissioners decided to wait a month to allow more public opinion to be heard and to examine the issue in a little more detail.

 

[msteele64]

IIRC Director Booth spoke directly to this issue. Maybe someone else who listened to the tape can chime in. I believe the proposed reg was on the agenda to merely be discussed and moved to the next step of becoming formalized. However after the speakers presented their case and answered some questions, the commissioners decided to wait a month to allow more public opinion to be heard and to examine the issue in a little more detail.

That is correct

 

[Wag]

This proposed reg just proves once again the use of the word "trophy" will always signal an unwelcome and unnecessary intervention by someone trying to tell others what to do. Creating friction where there wasn't before. You want me to believe that the current system that has produced these huge catfish in large and predictable numbers should now be changed. Sounds fishy to me.

 

[Jim_1978]

Bill Dance and BASSPRO ain't pushing this out of the goodness of their heart for the sake of conserving the resource. Their wanting to push catfish tournaments to the level of MLF and make money. Commercialization is what is ruining our resources.

 

[Jayepea]

It's been my experience that if there's enough people participating in said activities to warrant a change they'll look into a change. If not why bother.

 

[tmeredith]

I think a good butt whoopin would solve this problem real fast.

 

[Dmille5]

Bill Dance and BASSPRO ain't pushing this out of the goodness of their heart for the sake of conserving the resource. Their wanting to push catfish tournaments to the level of MLF and make money. Commercialization is what is ruining our resources.

HAMMER MEET NAIL this is all this is about.Sadly like said before after all of these years of having greater numbers of commercial fisherman in the past there are still unlimited TROPHY sized catfish in the Mississippi River.The commercial guys have probably helped this as much as hurt it by somewhat controlling an over abundant population that seems to be endless.If a 34 inch catfish is where trophy size starts then anyone can catch a trophy now,heck you can catch a full limit of TROPHY fish.