Caney Fork

Originally Posted by Fish Whisperer

The whole slot limit they lobbied for is complete BS, they're just jealous that a guy with a can of corn can out fish 'em 9 outta ten times...

Is fishing with corn fun? I haven't fished with corn since I was 7.

[Erock]

I understand the sentiment of the original poster here, as well as some of the more thoughtful responses. I think I personally come from a unique place and have a veiwpoint I would like to share. I flyfish, and have done so for many years. I love the art, the ongoing learning process and peace I get from doing it. I also however am not above drifting a nightcrawler through a perfect hole on the river I grew up on in Colorado. It was how I learned, what brought me to my love of fishing and is every bit as enjoyable to me in many ways . . . nostalgia being one. I have a 4 year old daughter who LOVES to fish and it does not matter how we do it. The folks here who can't find the enjoyment in fishing with bait and state as fact that it is not fun, in my opinion, prove certain aspects of the original poster's view.
I have days where I fully intend on taking a few rainbows and brookies home to eat and I can say from experience, you feel the eyes when you carry a stringer wading down the Caney. People are much too polarized in one direction or the other, and I think that is too bad. This is a renewable resource and when treated in a responsible manner, along with effective regulations and stocking, nobody should be judging anyone else. I would challenge the elitist flyfisherman to try fishing for flathead with bluegill sometime and tell me that is not a challenging and adrenalin pumpumping experience. At the end of the day, I think we all could stand to be less judgemental and maybe even learn a thing or two from the guy next to us flyfishing or dunking a worm. My 2 cents

[txnative]

This seems to be devolving into a bait vs. Artificial lures debate. The true issue is attitudes of certain fisherman. As far as i'm concerned, any legal fishing method is ok by me. I employ all methods for all species and feel no shame in pitching crawlers at bass, drifting shiners for hybrids, dragging skippies for stripers, or suspending crawlers for big trout. I just PREFER using flies or lures. If someone using bait lowholes me on the caney or sets up directly behind me, in my backcast area (it happens), i will let them know how i feel and how discourteous their actions are. If that doesn't work and they decide to thump their chest and give me the "you don't own the river" speech, i will tie on a heavily weighted fly and take aim...and i am VERY accurate.

I know i don't own the river, but i do have a right to it. If i get to a spot before you, move on. This is common courtesy. Bait fisherman would be right to let me have it if i walked up and started swinging flies into their set lines. Most fishermen and fisherwomen are good people that truly love the sport and art of fishing. Please don't assume one group feels better than another, but know certain individuals do, and deal with them individually. Anyone can flyfish, and you don't need expensive gear to be good at it. I have a $40 5 wt setup and have no problem launching a 70+ ft cast. I don't have the "best" gear, yet i still catch a ton of fish. Anyone interested in flyfishing should contact Mike Anderson. He's a good guy and can show you how easy it is to join the "elite" club of flyfishers.


Chris

[Travis C.]

We went round n round about this a couple years ago on here until the thread ended up locked by bd... If everyone keeps it a decent conversation it should be fine but once it ends up in the bait vs. fly realm sharp arrows tend to get throw.

I imagine this topic would end up the same way if that happens.

[Travis C.]

Originally Posted by txnative

The true issue is attitudes of certain fisherman. Chris

I agree or at least that is what I took from the initial post. Like I have stated previously on this, there are people that will carry a self-entitlement with them where ever they go which is unfortunate. They aren't limited to fly fishing, gear fishing bait or any other means. I would be subjective and deal with it on a person to person basis. We all have the same rights to the river as licenses holders with or without stamps or as canoe'rs without licenses.

When ever I come upon those guys on the river both with gear or flies I smile and let them have their space. I don't cuss, spit or want to sling stuff at them. I don't because I "get it." I see the world different than them. It is not about the self it is about others. When they care for others more than themself that is when they will get. Live by example and pay it forward.

Originally Posted by txnative

the "elite" club of flyfishers. Chris

I really believe some of this comes from TV and non-fishermen becoming fishermen this way. I have yet to meet someone on the river who has been fly fishing their whole life and acts that way towards other fishermen. I speak of elders and life long flyfishers on that statement.

My observations have been on TV: a lot of strictly fly fishing shows there are back handed jokes towards gear fishermen. Most are taken in the joking matter they are intended but for some can be seen as a sign of it being weaker.

The other is the new guy new to fishing: a guy I know wanted to learn fly fishing because it looked cool and slinging a plug did not have the same appeal to him. He went bought reel, rod, vest all the gear and we went to the river. I quickly noticed him "looking down his nose at the conventional guy down river." I listen to him talk about how that is just not a challenge and so on so forth. This coming from someone who has never tried it.

Those are just examples of my opinions on the "elite" fly fishers. Remember there was a certain movie that brought a whole bunch of new fishermen into the world of fly fishing. I own it and it is great movie but how many movies have there been about gear fishing... Jaws?

Then again some people are who they are and that is fine with me...they are my brothers and sisters.

[Catchingtrout]

Fish and Let Fish.

I tried fly fishing a few times-couldn't catch anything except my hat. I'm not coordinated enough for it. Tried trout fishing with crawlers, corn, salmon eggs, etc. I'm so slow the trout can take my bait off and put moss on the hook before I even know they are there. So, I quit trout fishing. Now I just troll for walleye-put my rod in the holder and let them hook themselves. The being out there is the fun of it-fish are the bonus. I say, fish and let fish and don't put anyone down just because they don't fish the way you do. Just my 2 cents worth.

[bd-]

I got the impression that the original poster was more angry about the slot limit than anything else, and he blames the slot on fly fishermen. Well, sorry. I like the slot.

I like to fly fish, and I like to keep a few fish for the table from time to time too. I don't fish with gear much these days, but I don't have anything against it. I don't know that I "feel the eyes upon me" when I keep fish, but that's probably because I don't spend much time worrying about what other people think. Sure, there are some fly fishers who would have the river be catch and release only if they had their way, just like there are some bait fishers who would legalize trout fishing with dynamite and spears and a limit of 50 a day. Neither viewpoint is right in my book.

I think the slot is a good compromise. I probably would have started it at 16" instead of 14", but it's not really a big deal. I can keep five 13" trout and it's plenty for a meal. If it's not enough for some reason, there are always fish like white bass, yellow bass, and bluegill out there that I can catch a ton of pretty much any time I need filets and really want to mess with cleaning that many fish.

Meanwhile, TWRA's newest shocking survey results just came out, and the slot is clearly improving the quality of the fishery in the river. We just came out of an extremely wet spring with long periods of sustained generation, which is hard on Caney trout. But despite that, there were good numbers of quality rainbows in the slot and a few larger ones starting to come out the other side. If we can get a few good dry years with light generation like we had in 2009, we will see quality fish in the river like we have never had before.

I like catching bigger fish. Creel survey after creel survey has shown that most people share this preference. The slot improves everybody's shot at catching bigger fish and still allows folks who want to keep fish to take some home. Neither extreme gets what they want - both the "catch and release only" guys and the "keep everything" guys are going to be unhappy. But I think it's a good middle ground that offers something for everyone on the river and provides real, concrete improvements for the quality of the trout fishery.

bd

[Catchingtrout]

bd can we attach the report? I tried and apparently I understand computers like I do fishing. I keep trying though.

[Travis C.]

Originally Posted by Catchingtrout

bd can we attach the report? I tried and apparently I understand computers like I do fishing. I keep trying though.

I'll attach some copies. It looks really good for the coming years like bd said if we can get a break from all the rain. You can definitely see from the the creel survey a good rebound. The catch rates are almost above 2009 which was before the big May flood pushed a whole bunch of water through the system.

The big count of 6-7 inch browns were from a recent stocking.

[Catchingtrout]

Thanks Travis. Did you just change the file extension from .doc to .jpg?

This report might help to see the bennefit of the Slot limit. There are plenty of harvestable fish for everyone, then enough in the slot to keep us C&R guys happy too.

[Travis C.]

Originally Posted by Catchingtrout

Thanks Travis. Did you just change the file extension from .doc to .jpg?

I took the charts out of the doc and saved them to jpeg via paintshop then used explorer to view. I don't think you can attach doc files here.