Weirs Closed

[Capt.B]

I hope all this internet data can solve all these Big Lake problems...but not likely. I've been on BL for 25 yrs and have witnessed the decline with my own eyes. We will not find the solutions with google....but with solid hands on data. I wish I had all the answers and my comments aren't answers just a ton of observation

[MathGeek]

Originally Posted by Capt.B

I hope all this internet data can solve all these Big Lake problems...but not likely. I've been on BL for 25 yrs and have witnessed the decline with my own eyes. We will not find the solutions with google....but with solid hands on data. I wish I had all the answers and my comments aren't answers just a ton of observation

I grew up in Lake Charles, and the fishing in Big Lake post Rita was much better than it was in the 1970's. The rise of salinity and the slow death of the marsh give the appearance of health and life while it is happening, but then you're left with something more like Galveston Bay with a daily limit of 5-7 specks, 3 redfish, and two bull reds per year.

There are gonna be some hard years, but if we protect the marsh and the oyster reefs, Big Lake can remain a much better fishery over time than Galveston Bay. I met a gentleman out at Calcasieu Point a few weeks ago who had traveled here from the mid-West to do some fishing. After a few frustrated days on Big Lake, he hired a guide to take him fishing in Galveston Bay, which I could not believe. I tried to stop him, telling him any guide on Big Lake could put him on more fish than he'd likely catch in Galveston.

If the specks are down in a given year or one can't figure it out on a given day or season, you just gotta adjust. Let your customers know what's up when they reserve the day, and be prepared to shift and put them on slot reds or bull reds or sheephead or whatever. Guides all over the Gulf Coast make a good living putting customers on other species when the specks in their estuary aren't cooperating.

Some guides (to remain nameless) are overly elitist, looking down on popping corks or live bait or cracked crab or gafftops or whatever. But to my mind, if that's what it takes to bend a rod for your customer, then that's what a guide should do. It's not all the fault of the guys with the weir switch or the oyster boats, or whatever. Get out there and make some lemonade.

I've contributed to a lot of solid, hands on, scientific data on the Big Lake fishery over the past four years. I've got notebooks and spreadsheets full of data. I know the time, sweat, and money that it takes to collect that data, so when I can make use of reliable alternate data sources provided by our tax dollars and license fees through USGS or LDWF or USACE or NOAA, I do that.

We'll be collecting another year's worth of fishery data on Big Lake in late May to early June to help assess the impact of various management issues. We don't usually do surveys at Spicer's but we're staying close to there and can likely have a measurement team there quickly if you're headed in with a cooler full of fish. We can weigh and measure 60 specks and 20 redfish in about 20 minutes so it is hardly an inconvenience to most guide's routines. PM me for my phone number. With 30 minutes lead time, your "data" can contribute to our "data" and be a valuable addition to our study.

[Capt.B]

Originally Posted by MathGeek

I grew up in Lake Charles, and the fishing in Big Lake post Rita was much better than it was in the 1970's. The rise of salinity and the slow death of the marsh give the appearance of health and life while it is happening, but then you're left with something more like Galveston Bay with a daily limit of 5-7 specks, 3 redfish, and two bull reds per year.

There are gonna be some hard years, but if we protect the marsh and the oyster reefs, Big Lake can remain a much better fishery over time than Galveston Bay. I met a gentleman out at Calcasieu Point a few weeks ago who had traveled here from the mid-West to do some fishing. After a few frustrated days on Big Lake, he hired a guide to take him fishing in Galveston Bay, which I could not believe. I tried to stop him, telling him any guide on Big Lake could put him on more fish than he'd likely catch in Galveston.

If the specks are down in a given year or one can't figure it out on a given day or season, you just gotta adjust. Let your customers know what's up when they reserve the day, and be prepared to shift and put them on slot reds or bull reds or sheephead or whatever. Guides all over the Gulf Coast make a good living putting customers on other species when the specks in their estuary aren't cooperating.

Some guides (to remain nameless) are overly elitist, looking down on popping corks or live bait or cracked crab or gafftops or whatever. But to my mind, if that's what it takes to bend a rod for your customer, then that's what a guide should do. It's not all the fault of the guys with the weir switch or the oyster boats, or whatever. Get out there and make some lemonade.

I've contributed to a lot of solid, hands on, scientific data on the Big Lake fishery over the past four years. I've got notebooks and spreadsheets full of data. I know the time, sweat, and money that it takes to collect that data, so when I can make use of reliable alternate data sources provided by our tax dollars and license fees through USGS or LDWF or USACE or NOAA, I do that.

We'll be collecting another year's worth of fishery data on Big Lake in late May to early June to help assess the impact of various management issues. We don't usually do surveys at Spicer's but we're staying close to there and can likely have a measurement team there quickly if you're headed in with a cooler full of fish. We can weigh and measure 60 specks and 20 redfish in about 20 minutes so it is hardly an inconvenience to most guide's routines. PM me for my phone number. With 30 minutes lead time, your "data" can contribute to our "data" and be a valuable addition to our study.

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