Why is it STILL so hard to keep Caney trout?

[Fish Whisperer]

This argument has popped up on this forum a few times and not always about trout in the Caney River.... Personally, I think it's good for us, and the sport we love.. If we agreed on everything posted on here it would be kinda boring. With that said, I hope to meet a lot of you guys at the gathering..

[jad2t]

Originally Posted by Mike Anderson

Your talking about these Trout as if they are wild. These are all "farm raised" Trout. I fail to seen any health benefit to eating them over farm raised supermarket fish.

I release the ones that I can tell were recently stocked. Once they've lived in the wild for a while and been eating like they are supposed to eat rather than those chemically concocted pellets, they are healthier. As far as you claiming there are no differences in health benefits between farm raised and wild caught, that's absolutely incorrect. I can provide data if you'd like but it's not necessary. This isn't about what is and isn't healthy, this is about my right to take home a few small browns if I choose to do so. Why won't you answer my question? What is the difference if I eat them or a striper eats them? You know it happens. One striper eats more 10" trout in a year than I would, that's for sure.

[creeksmallie]

I will be there as long as there is popcorn.
Mike

[Mnfishingbum]

Jad2t I think you miss the point. This is a shared fishery. I enjoy catching large brown trout and large numbers of them. I make investments via license fees to build that on the Caney because of these regs on brown trout. That investment seems to be growing which could mean there is some hope it will be back to 2007 levels....Stripers, otters, birds, and other trout will eat them but I hope some make it over 20 inches...

Others wish their license fees to be used to supply harvestable food source. This appears from your fishing report to be declining (possible over harvest with hatchery problems?). As a result now you want access to a fishery others are investing in that shows some promise of being successful (Gosh you could make this an analogy to much of what is happening in America's political landscape).

Current regs are not ideal for anyone but they are a compromise so we can share this resource.

Honestly I have not fished this since 2010. Still buy my licenses just trying to avoid further frustration/ dissappoinent.

[tkwalker]

Originally Posted by Mnfishingbum

Jad2t I think you miss the point. This is a shared fishery. I enjoy catching large brown trout and large numbers of them. I make investments via license fees to build that on the Caney because of these regs on brown trout. That investment seems to be growing which could mean there is some hope it will be back to 2007 levels....Stripers, otters, birds, and other trout will eat them but I hope some make it over 20 inches...

Others wish their license fees to be used to supply harvestable food source. This appears from your fishing report to be declining (possible over harvest with hatchery problems?). As a result now you want access to a fishery others are investing in that shows some promise of being successful (Gosh you could make this an analogy to much of what is happening in America's political landscape).

Current regs are not ideal for anyone but they are a compromise so we can share this resource.

Honestly I have not fished this since 2010. Still buy my licenses just trying to avoid further frustration/ dissappoinent.

MNFishingbum .... Well Stated !! <'TK><

[Mike Anderson]

Originally Posted by jad2t

I release the ones that I can tell were recently stocked. Once they've lived in the wild for a while and been eating like they are supposed to eat rather than those chemically concocted pellets, they are healthier. As far as you claiming there are no differences in health benefits between farm raised and wild caught, that's absolutely incorrect. I can provide data if you'd like but it's not necessary. This isn't about what is and isn't healthy, this is about my right to take home a few small browns if I choose to do so. Why won't you answer my question? What is the difference if I eat them or a striper eats them? You know it happens. One striper eats more 10" trout in a year than I would, that's for sure.

I'm not sure what answer your looking for from me? I'm not a fishery biologist, I work in engineering. I pay a license fee so that people who are well trained and have spent a lifetime studying fishery biology can make the decisions regarding our fisheries. I don't always agree with them but for the most part I accept what they do is based more on well planed and funded studies then my observations on the water as an angler.

I think Mnfishingbum laid it out quite nicely. This is a shared fishery. A large group of "stakeholders" (license holders) got together and came up with a plan to protect one of the three species of Trout on ONE river in mid TN with a trophy length limit in hopes of creating a trophy fishery. If the other two species have all been fished out and taken home by others then I suggest you start to write TWRA letters requesting more fish or to change the limits. Your opinion counts just as much as any. You could also visit some of the other tailwaters where the limit isn't as strict.


Pretty soon the Walleye will be showing up perhaps you might want to target them. I hear they are quite the table fare.

[jad2t]

Originally Posted by Mike Anderson

Pretty soon the Walleye will be showing up perhaps you might want to target them. I hear they are quite the table fare.

I'd love to get some this year. I've never caught one and know nothing about walleye fishing. Maybe some of you could give me some tips for walleye fishing in the Caney. If I'm able to, I'll eat those and leave the trout alone. Everyone is happy.

[Mike Anderson]

Originally Posted by jad2t

I'd love to get some this year. I've never caught one and know nothing about walleye fishing. Maybe some of you could give me some tips for walleye fishing in the Caney. If I'm able to, I'll eat those and leave the trout alone. Everyone is happy.

All of them I've caught (I'm a fly fisherman) have come on Chartreuse colored flies fished very slow and deep. I've caught alot of Sauger below Cordell Hull slow trolling flies deep. We were even out fishing folks using minnow tipped jigs one day while using this technique. BD will remember that trip.

[ojibwa]

Those big browns taste so good though.

[jad2t]

Originally Posted by Mike Anderson

All of them I've caught (I'm a fly fisherman) have come on Chartreuse colored flies fished very slow and deep. I've caught alot of Sauger below Cordell Hull slow trolling flies deep. We were even out fishing folks using minnow tipped jigs one day while using this technique. BD will remember that trip.

I can't make it all the way to Cordell Hull, I know they can be caught in the Caney and I flyfish a lot as well. I may give this a shot as Fall rolls in and the walleye do too.

[Travis C.]

If you just wanted to stock some up for the table, the Obey is only about 40 miles north from Cookeville. You can keep 7 there in any combo any size (I believe that hasn't changed). It would be about the same mileage to here as Cordell Hull though if you could swing it.

That river is way under utilized and there is good fish in it too. You could fish the Caney for sport then make the run up to the Obey for stocking up at least until the rainbows are straightened out numbers wise.

[jad2t]

Originally Posted by Travis C.

If you just wanted to stock some up for the table, the Obey is only about 40 miles north from Cookeville. You can keep 7 there in any combo any size (I believe that hasn't changed). It would be about the same mileage to here as Cordell Hull though if you could swing it.

That river is way under utilized and there is good fish in it too. You could fish the Caney for sport then make the run up to the Obey for stocking up at least until the rainbows are straightened out numbers wise.

Really? Wow sounds like a plan. I didn't mean to start a war here but I like to eat fish and I feel no shame in doing so. That's a long drive to the Obey though so I'd have to do my research before making the trip down there and wasting all that gas. Thanks for the tip!

[Travis C.]

Originally Posted by jad2t

Really? Wow sounds like a plan. I didn't mean to start a war here but I like to eat fish and I feel no shame in doing so. That's a long drive to the Obey though so I'd have to do my research before making the trip down there and wasting all that gas. Thanks for the tip!

On Low water you can wade from the Dam to Moody's ramp after that it gets fewer wading areas as the mid-lower river is deep. The tailwater is only 7 miles long and 1.5 miles up by the Dam is wading friendly.

It gets stocked weekly 52 weeks a year. Has browns, rainbows and brooks.

The back pocket place up there for those interested in eating trout is Hatchery Creek. Its hardly ever affected by high water and fishing is very very simple in it. Don't expected to have a difficult time in the creek because its setup that way. It's about as close to going to Kroger for stocker rainbows as you can get. Fish the main river and if you don't get you seven stop in the creek finish out the limit then head home.

The majority of fish caught either in Hatchery Creek or main Obey will be stockers but there are the big bows, browns and brooks around. Down at the rope hole 5-10lb browns are caught every year.

[agelesssone]

Jimmy, if you've never had walleye (or sauger), you are in for a treat when you finally get one/some. I don't like to eat trout as I don't care for the texture of the meat but walleye! If it's legal size, it's going home with me!

To me and my wife, it is the best eating fish in the lake/river. We used to buy it in Germany, paying $18.00 a pound and we'd have it almost every week. Love it.

I'll contact you this winter and we'll get out for a trip to a walleye spot that TK told me about in an earlier post.

[jad2t]

Originally Posted by agelesssone

Jimmy, if you've never had walleye (or sauger), you are in for a treat when you finally get one/some. I don't like to eat trout as I don't care for the texture of the meat but walleye! If it's legal size, it's going home with me!

To me and my wife, it is the best eating fish in the lake/river. We used to buy it in Germany, paying $18.00 a pound and we'd have it almost every week. Love it.

I'll contact you this winter and we'll get out for a trip to a walleye spot that TK told me about in an earlier post.

Count me in! I remember you saying you like walleye fishing and I hear they're excellent to eat. I won't be under gunned for those like I was for our striper attempts haha