Can anyone give us a report from last night?
Well I went to the meeting last night. I was really impressed with the turnout. There were a lot of clubs and guides, some commercial harvesters, and a bunch of recreational anglers like me.
I got there a little late, but I got there in time to see some of the sample numbers.
So basically every time there is a year where the lakes (Marion and Moultrie) stay at full pool over the duration of the spawning season, we get a record crop of fish and get a crop of quality fish. Some fish grow faster than others, but five to six years after that quality spawn, we end up with a large population of ten pound fish. When the ten pound fish are there in good numbers, we fisherman start hitting them hard, and the commercial guys hit them harder. This leads to the decline in the population of these fish. We are seeing the results of the decline in population now. These bigger fish are the spawning stock for the next time we hit that full pool, so we need some of them to still be around for that event.
This year we had another full pool year. The spawn from this year is expected to bring the Santee Cooper lakes back to its world class blue cat fishery status, and SCDNR biologists believe that we need to do more to protect this year’s stock.
Some of the ideas discussed last night were:
-Creel limits
-Size limits: A lot of folks at the meeting seemed to agree that one of the best ways to protect the spawn was to protect the larger “breeder-size” fish. The idea that I heard that appealed to me the most was making possession of the larger cats during the spawn (May-August) illegal. In other words, catch and release only of fishes 30" and above from early May through late August.
-Better enforcement of existing laws and any new regulations. This sounded pretty difficult, because there are only six DNR law enforcement officers that run these lakes. They were at the meeting and spoke up. What they said is that they need our help. If you see something illegal, call the Operation Game Thief number and report it. Th
Thanks for reporting on the meeting. Are they just discussing options or are they going to implement some of the topics discussed? The guys that go by my house with the tanks in their boats to keep the fish alive I think are local, because I see them all the time.
BOB
The biologists said that they will prepare their report using their observations and input from the public (everyone at the meeting was given a survey to fill out with information and ideas) and turn that in to the committee. The committee will make recommendations to the state senate and house who will pass new regulations.
The goal is to try to get our legislators to pass the new regulations early next year.
If you like the idea of protecting the blue cat fishery, call or email your state legislators.
The blue cat fishery in the Santee Cooper system is responsible for over 50% of the economic impact to our state from fishing activities. $8.3 million is the number they reported. Not bad.
Semper Fi
18’ Sterling
115 Yamaha
Big Ugly Homemade Blue Push Pole
A big thanks for taking the time to go and report back here what you found out. I sure hope we can come up with a solution to sustain to blue cat fishery that everyone can live with.
Key West 19’6" CC 115hp Merc
14’ Fast Craft w/ 60hp Merc
Did they say anything about the cooper river population?
Nothing specific about the Cooper. Just the Lake system and above.
http://www.southcarolinasportsman.com/details.php?id=3285
Semper Fi
18’ Sterling
115 Yamaha
Big Ugly Homemade Blue Push Pole
quote:
Originally posted by HoofArdedhttp://www.southcarolinasportsman.com/details.php?id=3285
So they’re blaming the decline on the drought, and the bait being eaten up?
Sorry, but I have to strongly disagree.
Look no further than the grass elimination project Santee embarked on in the 90’s/early 2000’s. Every species of fish was hurt after the grass was killed off…bass, stripers, bream, shellcrackers, and cats. Santee is an old lake, and depended on that grass cover to shelter bait and juvenile fish of all species. Once they’d poisoned that off, that bait and those juvenile fish had no where to hide. The fishing boomed after the grass died for a short period of time, then it all fell to pieces.
The rebirth of Santee has coincided with the regrowth of grass. The drought (particularly the very low water of 6 or 7 years ago) actually benefitted the ecosystem. In fact, that ecosystem would actually improve with more large drawdowns. Willows would be better established, and it takes low water for those cypress trees to reproduce. Every reservoir that has a major drawdown benefits…Santee is no exception. They could use drawdowns to control the shallowest grass, and leave the deeper stuff alone. Also, every reservoir that has ever had a major grass eradication program such as the one at Santee has had a similar crash of the entire fishery.
If they tighten the limits and leave the grass alone, the catfish fishery will rebound strong in a few years, as well as the fishery for everything else. However, it’s not politically correct to mention leaving vegetation alone to the bigwigs at Santee Cooper Power.
In response to some of pitchers points: submerged aquatic vegetation is very beneficial to several species of game fish and their abundance and growth can be directly tied to the presence or absence of it. However, aquatic vegetation has much less benefit or no benefit to a game fish like striped bass, which inhabits open water or open sandy beaches throughout its life history. Likewise blue catfish do not depend on vegetated habitat in their native large rivers or in reservoirs where they have been transplanted. Even the young fingerlings (<3") tend to inhabit deeper portion of the open water lake. Lake level doesn’t have a whole lot to do with it other than it reflects how much water is coming into and flowing out of the system…low inflows = low nutrient additions. High flow = more nutrients washed off the watershed and more nutrients reaching Santee Cooper before they can be trapped by upstream reservoirs. Not a real hard concept. Drought = clear water, which has favored much higher levels of submerged vegetation and better bass and bream habitat. Higher flows = more turbid and cloudy water, which shades out some aquatic vegetation, but tends to favor open water fish species like striped bass and blue catfish. I do beg to differ on your perception that Santee Cooper Power Company (today) is not conscious of the benefit of a high level of native vegetation. They spend a tremendous amount of time and effort controlling exotic plant problems that would do more harm than good if given the chance. I?ve personally worked with Santee Cooper crews involved with transplanting eel grass and water willow into areas that don?t have any. After several mild winters, water hyacinth has once again become a problem (just ask anyone living on the upper lake). Floating crested heart (white flower 4" pad plant) has become a significant problem and will likely get worse before it gets better and Hydrilla has begun to be a problem. So, while I agree that no vegetation was a major problem, the other extreme of b
I agree!!, you can’t have a wide open rule, too many greedy people out there who take advantage of it…
Key West 19’6" CC 115hp Merc
14’ Fast Craft w/ 60hp Merc
quote:
Originally posted by rasputenscIn response to some of pitchers points: submerged aquatic vegetation is very beneficial to several species of game fish and their abundance and growth can be directly tied to the presence or absence of it. However, aquatic vegetation has much less benefit or no benefit to a game fish like striped bass, which inhabits open water or open sandy beaches throughout its life history. Likewise blue catfish do not depend on vegetated habitat in their native large rivers or in reservoirs where they have been transplanted. Even the young fingerlings (<3") tend to inhabit deeper portion of the open water lake. I do beg to differ on your perception that Santee Cooper Power Company (today) is not conscious of the benefit of a high level of native vegetation. They spend a tremendous amount of time and effort controlling exotic plant problems that would do more harm than good if given the chance. I?ve personally worked with Santee Cooper crews involved with transplanting eel grass and water willow into areas that don?t have any. After several mild winters, water hyacinth has once again become a problem (just ask anyone living on the upper lake). Floating crested heart (white flower 4" pad plant) has become a significant problem and will likely get worse before it gets better and Hydrilla has begun to be a problem. So, while I agree that no vegetation was a major problem, the other extreme of being covered up with exotic vegetation, that crowds out all the good stuff, is far worse and harder to overcome. So, I stand with high levels of native vegetation, but control the stuff that can easily overrun everything else.
</font id=“quote”></blockquote id=“quote”>Just to rebut a few of your points, you’re a bit off in your contentions about where stripers and bluecats hang out. As for stripers, back in the hydrilla d