2016 star tournament

[MathGeek]

https://youtu.be/xWeXBHDSJUs?t=286

The linked clip shows a CCA commercial that makes it clear CCA's vision for conservation is about "taking a couple home for tomorrow" and saving the rest for another day.

They have a consistent history for pushing for lower limits in TX and LA, and they won't be happy until limits are reduced to 2. There is no appreciation for good science and abundant resources, just the ever present need to "protect" stocks by lowering limits.

[MathGeek]

CCA: Bringng TX regulations to LA since 2000.

http://www.texassaltwaterfishingmaga...bpage2086.html

[MathGeek]

CCA: Bringing LA $$$ back to TX for expensive conservation efforts.

[MathGeek]

More expensive TX projects financed with LA money:

[Marque]

My question is has the lowered limit help increase the trout population in the lake? Is there any available data on that? It seems like its been in place long enough for them to see if it has help one way or the other. Most people I know who fish out there, who aren't guides, are lucky if they catch half a limit. Just because there are 1000 boats out there doesn't mean the majority of them are pulling limits out of the lake.

[eman]

Since the limit reduction was not done for increasing the trout population. I doubt any studies have been done.

[Marque]

Originally Posted by eman

Since the limit reduction was not done for increasing the trout population. I doubt any studies have been done.

If it wasn't done to protect or increase the population why was it done?

[Baychamp1]

Time to show your pictures of limits by the weekend warriors, if your catching limits on a regular basis, there's validation for your argument! But that's not what ya'll are sayin, avg weekend warrior is catching half current limits. You want increased limits let's see the proof. A lot of you anti CCA guys undermine your own agenda.

[eman]

Originally Posted by Marque

If it wasn't done to protect or increase the population why was it done?

Because their were a bunch of folks coming over from Texas wading the lake and hauling out stringers of 25 big trout. The local guides didn't like that and convinced CCA to push for the reduction. There was no scientific evidence that it would help the fishery. If i remember right the biologist said it wouldn't make any difference at all.

[Baychamp1]

Originally Posted by eman

Because their were a bunch of folks coming over from Texas wading the lake and hauling out stringers of 25 big trout. The local guides didn't like that and convinced CCA to push for the reduction. There was no scientific evidence that it would help the fishery. If i remember right the biologist said it wouldn't make any difference at all.

Clarification, exactly, that makes more sense! Some guides wan't to blow smoke up your a$$ until you have colon cancer!

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by Marque

If it wasn't done to protect or increase the population why was it done?

Trout population was just fine before the limit on Big Lake was reduced.

Here is a picture my catch a few days before the limit was reduced.

I caught 25 trout [most are under the crabs] by mid morning and then I caught 5 dozen crabs. Most of the ice was remove to take picture.
.

[Baychamp1]

Ok, you've got one picture from when? Before the limit reduction, one day one pic, we need to see more. Maybe ya'll have validation for increased limits. Just sayin post your pics.

[redaddiction]

Originally Posted by Baychamp1

Time to show your pictures of limits by the weekend warriors, if your catching limits on a regular basis, there's validation for your argument! But that's not what ya'll are sayin, avg weekend warrior is catching half current limits. You want increased limits let's see the proof. A lot of you anti CCA guys undermine your own agenda.

Same thing goes for you! If you wanted the decreased limits, then where is YOUR proof it was needed???

[Marque]

Originally Posted by Baychamp1

Ok, you've got one picture from when? Before the limit reduction, one day one pic, we need to see more. Maybe ya'll have validation for increased limits. Just sayin post your pics.

You want us to post pictures of Limits we have taken out of the Lake? You can only post like 6 at a time. I don't have that kinda time.

[Marque]

Originally Posted by Baychamp1

Time to show your pictures of limits by the weekend warriors, if your catching limits on a regular basis, there's validation for your argument! But that's not what ya'll are sayin, avg weekend warrior is catching half current limits. You want increased limits let's see the proof. A lot of you anti CCA guys undermine your own agenda.

The fish are there, the point I was making is that most people don't know how to fish. Some guides do and they don't have a problem catching fish. The good fisherman I know don't have problems. I fish Vermilion Bay a lot, the limit is 25 there and hardly anyone ever puts one limit of 25 in a boat full of people. That doesn't mean the fish are not there. Quite the opposite. It doesn't get a tenth of the pressure BL gets. You would think the fish would be jumping in the boat but that ain't the case. Ask any biologist what the strike net surveys look like and they will tell you that they are full of trout. The likelihood of an average weekend warrior filling his chest with trout at any fishery in the state is relatively low. An old man once told me that 10% fisherman catch 90% of the fish, I believe it. Guess I should have clarified that so you couldn't misconstrue my words to promote your own agenda. You sound like a true believer.

[eman]

I have fished big lake 2 times in my life, didn't catch a trout either time. Fish not there? Nope. This fisherman didn't know anymore about the lake than a blind hog looking for an acorn. As long as those that know how and where to fish the lake are catching limits then there is no problem w/ the fishery. Come to my side of the state and fish the areas i fish and i have no trouble catching a limit. As for pictures i have taken 2 pics since 2005, one was a rare day when we limited on trout reds and flounder off the side of the road and the other was last month when i caught my PB trout. Pictures and people Lie, To easy to keep fish on ice a day or two to make up a big stringer for a pic,

["W"]

Originally Posted by Baychamp1

Ok, you've got one picture from when? Before the limit reduction, one day one pic, we need to see more. Maybe ya'll have validation for increased limits. Just sayin post your pics.

Limits are 25 in Venice

I watched 5 guide boats pull in with 100 trout limits

I also watched what looked like weekend warriors come in and unload 10-25 trout with 4 people

Just this month there have been days I could of filled a 4 man limit of 100 trout easy ..

I'm talk to the fishing survey biologists that come to the landing all the time and do fish counts
Two Saturdays ago I came in late around 2 because my guys wanted to just fish after we limited out

We had 60 trout
4 other guides that fished out of Heberts had 45-50 trout on the survey
Next highest amount of fish that was not a guide was 20 trout
Most were all 7-15ish

10% of fisherman catch fish

["W"]

Originally Posted by Marque

If it wasn't done to protect or increase the population why was it done?

State could lower speckled trout limit
By John N. Felsher

Several anglers contacted Henry Mouton, a member of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission from Lafayette, La., asking him to submit a regulation reducing the trout limit in the Calcasieu Estuary south of Lake Charles, La.

Mouton said he may submit a recommendation to the LWFC in July 2005 after he heard what the members of the Lake Charles chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association wanted to do. The members debated several options, including reducing the limit to 15, 12 or 10 specks per day.

“I can remember counting fish by the number of 150-quart ice chests we filled,” Mouton said. “Now, if we can fill half an ice chest, we’ve had a great day. I think we need to take a hard look at this. Let’s do something on the proactive mode. If we leave more fish in the water, we’ll produce more fish. That can’t be bad.”

If the resolution passes, it will probably apply only from the Mermentau River to the Texas state line. However, it could extend to other parts of the state in the future. Mouton said that he heard from people in other parts of the state who also want to reduce the limit.

“Just a couple years ago, it was almost inconceivable to talk about reducing the trout limit in southeastern Louisiana,” he said. “Now, there’s more traction for a statewide reduction. If we do Calcasieu Lake now, it might take another year or two to do the rest of the state. The feedback that I’m hearing is running 100 to 1 in favor of reducing the limit.”

Biological observations

Biologists don’t see a problem with the trout population in Calcasieu Lake. They said that anglers might catch fewer specks because fish simply don’t bite occasionally or they move to find better food, temperatures or water conditions.

“The speckled trout population in the Calcasieu Estuary is healthy,” said Mike Harbison, a biologist with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in Lake Charles. “I don’t see a biological need to change the limit. We are finding fish in our sampling. If something is not broken, why fix it?”

Trout spawn from April through September with the peak in June, Harbison said. A speck reaches sexual maturity after one year. One large trout can produce 1.65 million eggs in a spawning season.

A trout may live 13 years, but most die before they live one year. More than 90 percent of trout die before they live four years. About four percent reach 25 inches long. One percent reaches 26 inches. Natural mortality from predators or other environmental factors take 66 percent of the trout regardless of fishing pressure. If the state banned fishing entirely, that percentage will not change, Harbison said.

“If we dropped the limit to 15 fish per day, we’ll only save about 14 percent of the fish caught now,” Harbison said. “If we go down to 10 fish per day, we’ll save about 29 percent of the fish now caught and kept. To make any significant changes, we’ll have to go to eight fish per day or less.”

Too much pressure

Human activity can certainly make fish more difficult to catch. Some people claim that the estuary produces the same amount of fish, but more anglers divide the pie into smaller pieces for each one.

Mary and Jeff Poe of Big Lake Guide Service support lowering the daily limit to 15, but only if the change occurs statewide. They feel that only reducing the limit in southwest Louisiana would send their customers eastward where they could still catch 25 trout per person.

“Jeff and I are opposed to any changes in the limits not recommended by the LDWF,” Mary said. “The department has trained professional fisheries biologists. We think that it would behoove everyone to listen to what they say. They say -- and we believe -- that Calcasieu Lake is very productive and will continue to be for many years.”

However, the Poes did acknowledge problems from too much pressure. As president of the Louisiana Charter Boat Association, Mary estimated that more than 100 licensed guides operate regularly in Calcasieu Lake. That does not include guides who legally come from Texas to fish in Louisiana or self-proclaimed, unlicensed guides who operate illegally. She said that about 30 to 40 licensed guides, more on weekends, fish Calcasieu Lake on any given day.

“The problem with Calcasieu Lake is not a lack of fish, but too much pressure,” Mary explained. “We’ve seen a large increase in the number of boats fishing the lake, both recreational and charter boats. The constant running of outboard motors scatters fish and closes their mouths. We’ve seen people fishing with live bait catch too many undersize fish without thinking of moving to find larger fish. We’ve seen an increase in night fishing from both boats and docks. The fish never get a rest.”

Trophy status

On the other side of Calcasieu Lake, Kirk Stansel of Hackberry Rod and Gun Club wants the lake granted “trophy status.” He also supports a 15-fish daily creel and wants to see the minimum size raised to 14 inches to give fish one more chance to spawn before hitting an ice chest.

“I’d like to see the lake declared ‘the trophy estuary of the Gulf Coast,’” he said. “Everyone wants to catch a limit of fish, but the majority of people who come here from other areas want to catch a big trout, not fill their freezers. If we lower the limit and the rest of the state keeps the 25-fish limit, that will hurt our business some, but if we lose our fish, we won’t have any business at all. If the lake is declared a trophy lake, that might even increase our clientele.”

Stansel said his club fishes about 10 boats per day, each with a guide and one to three anglers. They can expand to 20 boats if necessary. Their boats catch a three-person limit of 75 trout about three to five percent of the time or less.

Too many weirs

Besides fishing pressure, Stansel blames weirs blocking tributaries from entering Calcasieu Lake. Shrimp, crabs, baitfish, specks, redfish and other creatures grow up hiding among marsh reeds to avoid predators. Although “flap gates” allow some water and organisms to flow in and out of the marshes, weirs make such movement far more difficult.

“Weirs choked the life out of Calcasieu Lake,” he said. “Those tributaries feed this lake. More shrimp, crabs and baitfish used to flow in and out of those marshes. Block off those tributaries and that takes the bait out of the estuary. Trout need to eat.”

Technological advances

Technological advances also contribute to people finding and catching more fish. Now, most anglers carry cell phones or radios on their boats. If one person finds fish, he or she calls friends or fellow guides. Within minutes, a flotilla of boats may surround the school of fish.

With bigger boats, people can carry more equipment. Global positioning systems can pinpoint reefs. Giant outboard motors pushing boats in excess of 60 miles per hour allow people to reach any part of the estuary quickly.

More studies needed

Will Drost, an avid angler and Lake Charles businessman, supports lowering the limit to 15 trout per day. He actually prefers 10 per day, but believes more people would support a 15-fish limit. However, he wants to see more scientific studies conducted in the estuary.

“The Calcasieu Estuary is different from the rest of the state,” Drost said. “It should be managed differently. I believe that the data the state uses has become outdated. I don’t think the LDWF has the money to do a comprehensive study, but we don’t have the time to wait.”

What others want

In a survey conducted by Hackberry Rod and Gun Club, anglers voted overwhelmingly to reduce the trout limit. More than 84 percent of the respondents supported dropping the limit from 25 specks per day to 15 per day.

About 66 percent listed catching a 25-fish limit as “not very important” to them. About 85 percent supported raising the minimum size limit from 12 inches to 14 inches. Nearly 90 percent supported keeping only one trout per day over 25 inches instead of the two allowed now.

About 87 percent of the people from outside the area reported that changing the limit to 15 fish per day would not affect their desire to fish in Calcasieu Lake. About 88 percent also supported designating Calcasieu Lake as a “trophy” trout lake and supported managing the lake for bigger fish.

About 67 percent of the people who responded to the HRGC survey lived in Texas. In a survey I conducted of some Louisiana anglers, the results mirrored the other survey. The overwhelming majority supported dropping the daily creel to at least 15 trout with some people preferring a 10-fish limit.

Here are some random comments from my survey:

- “I almost never catch my limit. If I did, I probably wouldn’t keep 25 fish because that is too many to eat. I want to see the statewide limit reduced to 10 per day with a minimum of 14 inches.”

- “I realize that our economy benefits from Texas anglers visiting Calcasieu Lake. If we had similar regulations, maybe some of the ‘meathog’ pressure would ease up. Keep a few. Don’t try to feed the neighborhood.”

- “I do not feel that the limit should be changed, but I do not feel that changing the size requirement from 12 to 14 inches would be a big problem with most people. There are quite a few people like myself that may only get a chance to fish once or twice a month, so reducing the limit would be very disappointing. There are many days when we only get a small handful of fish.”

- “I fish in the Calcasieu Estuary a lot, but I don’t often catch a limit. I think the limit should be changed to 10. I don’t think guides should keep a limit on a paid trip.

- “I fish Calcasieu Lake nearly every weekend and sometimes during the week and on holidays. I agree that something should be done. In recent years, the pressure has been enormous. The fish are definitely getting larger since the netting stopped, but we need to protect numbers too. We should release all fish between 5 pounds and 8 pounds. I support a 14-inch minimum. Maybe we could give people one tag per year to let them keep a trout over 8 pounds. I think the entire state should be on the same program.”

- “Trophy status would open a whole can of worms. I’m against it. Do we really want the legislators determining fishing limits? It would be a convoluted mess. Fishing and hunting regulations are of limited impact at best. Laws only serve to keep honest people honest. The outlaws are already taking more than their limit. The answer in more enforcement.”

- “I fish four to six times a month, but I seldom catch a limit of speckled trout. I target other species equally. I’m not qualified to determine the limit. Let the biologists, not the politicians or the Coastal Conservation Association decide what’s best for the lake.”

- “The trout limit is way too liberal. Trout don’t freeze well. If people don’t eat them right away, a lot are wasted. If people are not going to eat trout in a day or two, they should practice catch and release.”

[DaPointIsDaBomb]

You need to talk to the new secretary of LDWF about getting the limits back to 25 on big lake. He seems to get things done. The former secretary spent 8 years working with the black bear and Charlie melancon came in and the black bear was delisted within a month

[biggun]

Guy's.. You all forget.. Back in the day "Your Senator" supported and voted for the Bill along with the WL&F Commission that passed to allow for the dredging of oyster's. It's easy to blame organizations.. But the WL&F commission have members representing all user groups. They are the ones that "IN FACT" ultimately voted for lowering the limits and for dredging of oysters on BL. It allowed for many more for oyster permits in BL because of the displaced oyster fisherman in the SE after Katrina.

Everyone on here or anyone that fishes BL, that wants to complain or make comments can attend and are allowed to speak at the monthly commission meetings..All members have a profile on the WL&F site with there emails listed.

How many of U go and make comment?? Email the commission members?? Call them???

Be totally honest..... Not many, I'm sure.. Believe me when I say the Commercial peps are there..

So ask yourself.. What have I done to effect chance?? Have I missed work or a fishing trip to go and present my opinion.. I would guess????? Probably Not...

I'm sure if half the guide's, and 2 or 3 hundred recreational fishermen who fish BL show up at commission meetings every mth.. I'm sure you would get their attention..

That's why the USA is SO GREAT... We as Citizens have the "RIGHT" to voice our opinions, and hold our appointed commission member's accountable.

Again just my HUMBLE OPINION.......





I totally agree that hand t