quote:
Originally posted by in the grassI’m just trying to come up with ways to protect the fishery for everyone and not make regulations suited specifically for the charter industry.
FYI - I live a block from saltwater and eat fresh seafood year around.
Without lobbyists and money to throw around i feel it is a lost cause. Just like ARS, BSB, Grouper, etc Big money is going to do what they want through biased/fake studies.
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Originally posted by in the grassquote:
Originally posted by bangstickJust last year alone, I was checked by DNR multiple times. Each time, an officer was set up by the ramp at Remley’s and each time, he made it a point to make contact with each and every boat coming out.
The basis of your argument was it’s not “fair” that the guys on the coast get to catch more redfish than you because you have to drive “X” amount of miles to fish for them and that’s the reason the limit should be lowered. That is not based on the management needs of the resource. That’s based on you thinking it’s not “fair” the coastal locals get to get after the redfish more than you do. Given your comments, I bet you’d be singing a different tune if you lived at the coast and that again is more about your wants than the resource’s needs.
Here’s a thought…How about you let the fisheries biologists and the other trusted sources that spend hundreds of days on the water that the DNR reaches out to for information make the decisions that are best for this particular resource and you simply sit back and try to enjoy each and every chance you get to get on the water and pursue said resource.
I truly feel sorry for guys like you that base the quality of the fishing experience on how many fish you catch/kill.
“…be a man and PM me.”
I’m just trying to come up with ways to protect the fishery for everyone and not make regulations suited specifically for the charter industry.
FYI - I live a block from saltwater and eat fresh seafood year around.
How exactly is this proposed regulation change “suited specif
quote:
Originally posted by bangstickquote:
Originally posted by in the grassquote:
Originally posted by bangstickJust last year alone, I was checked by DNR multiple times. Each time, an officer was set up by the ramp at Remley’s and each time, he made it a point to make contact with each and every boat coming out.
The basis of your argument was it’s not “fair” that the guys on the coast get to catch more redfish than you because you have to drive “X” amount of miles to fish for them and that’s the reason the limit should be lowered. That is not based on the management needs of the resource. That’s based on you thinking it’s not “fair” the coastal locals get to get after the redfish more than you do. Given your comments, I bet you’d be singing a different tune if you lived at the coast and that again is more about your wants than the resource’s needs.
Here’s a thought…How about you let the fisheries biologists and the other trusted sources that spend hundreds of days on the water that the DNR reaches out to for information make the decisions that are best for this particular resource and you simply sit back and try to enjoy each and every chance you get to get on the water and pursue said resource.
I truly feel sorry for guys like you that base the quality of the fishing experience on how many fish you catch/kill.
“…be a man and PM me.”
I’m just trying to come up with ways to protect the fishery for everyone and not make regulations suited specifically for the charter industry.
FYI - I live a block from saltwater and eat fr
In other words, you have no idea how the proposed regulation change is “suited specifically for the charter industry” and you were merely looking to complain, got it.
No one, including the fisheries biologists of the DNR, are saying redfish are on the verge of extinction. They’re saying there has been a decrease and are therefore adjusting their management approach…as they should.
“…be a man and PM me.”
quote:
Originally posted by bangstickIn other words, you have no idea how the proposed regulation change is “suited specifically for the charter industry” and you were merely looking to complain, got it.
No one, including the fisheries biologists of the DNR, are saying redfish are on the verge of extinction. They’re saying there has been a decrease and are therefore adjusting their management approach…as they should.
“…be a man and PM me.”
Oh, OK.
Ok I have the solution,implement a fish tag system modeled after the great deer tag system everyone thinks is so great.Problem solved,we all get to kill the same amount of fish.
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Originally posted by smanOk I have the solution,implement a fish tag system modeled after the great deer tag system everyone thinks is so great.Problem solved,we all get to kill the same amount of fish.
I don’t think everyone thinks the tag system is so great. 
quote:
Originally posted by bangstickIn other words, you have no idea how the proposed regulation change is “suited specifically for the charter industry” and you were merely looking to complain, got it.
No one, including the fisheries biologists of the DNR, are saying redfish are on the verge of extinction. They’re saying there has been a decrease and are therefore adjusting their management approach…as they should.
“…be a man and PM me.”
Bang, There are some on this site trying to convince everyone that the creeks are sterile and that 90% of the redfish population is dead from one weeks worth of cold weather. I’m all for leaving it in the hands of the DNR biologists and moving this sort of sensationalized “reporting” to somewhere else.
Kevin
1720 Sea Hunt w/ 115 hp Yam
M’Ocean Sickness (SOLD)
2018 Sportsman 212 Open w/200 hp Yam
M’Ocean Sickness II
The redfish changes have nothing to do with the week of cold.
On the major fish kill thing to me a major fish kill is anything higher then a few percent. I feel like it was probably higher than 10 percent on trout and probably higher than 3 percent on our total populations.
10 percent is a lot. Think about losing 10 percent of anything its noticeable. I’ve seen less, caught less and the ones I’ve seen are not in normal health. The last group of reds I saw were lazy even when spooked they would go like 10ft and stop. I was close to catching one with my hand when oystering the other day. That’s not normal at all. I thought it was dead at first but it moved after I got confident I could grab it without getting cut.
quote:
sensationalized “reporting” to somewhere else.
you’re kidding right?
my bad, nice trollin
Your probably right PeaPod. Where would this site be without sensationalized reporting? It’s what keeps us coming back.
Kevin
1720 Sea Hunt w/ 115 hp Yam
M’Ocean Sickness (SOLD)
2018 Sportsman 212 Open w/200 hp Yam
M’Ocean Sickness II
KU- Let us all know how much on the water experience you have had here inshore over the past 20 years and how many days you have been on the water in the past 3 months to support YOUR claim. Please try to keep things separate and not generalized. This is a redfish thread. Populations were not greatly affected by the cold of 1+ year old fish but no one knows how it affected the fingerlings way up the rivers. Flats redfish populations are down here approximately 90% from being able to look at em on hundreds of flats over the past 10 years.
Most sheepshead made it offshore and populations were not affected significantly, but some did die like redfish who didn’t make it out in time. They could have been just the weaker of the species.
Creek trout were wiped out. This happens from time to time, and populations will rebound some after the upcoming spawn, but I anticipate >80% kill as happened in 1989, 2001, 2010. Science is what it is. Below 45 degrees, trout cannot metabolize fat into food. They get sluggish and succumb to predation; then, as water cools further, they loose the ability to stay upright.
I find it comical that the nay-sayers have never put their eyes on ONE flats school, much less hundreds. All the cries of "stop punishing the weekend fishermen " are just full of pure ignorance. The resource needs help, period. All the top fishermen in all areas of the coast that I speak to are in full agreement. Only about half are charter captains.
If you dispute my claims, give your own supporting evidence with personal experiences. Everyone should be on the same page to protect the resource.
KU, I’m not saying there aren’t less redfish. My point is, instead of some of these ridiculous “management proposals” made by the armchair biologists on this site, I am comfortable letting the fisheries biologists of the DNR do their job. I know they will use all available research and resources (to include charter captains) at their disposal to make decisions based on the betterment and well being of the resource.
“…be a man and PM me.”
Raddaddy. If you’ll re-read my post, you’ll see that I made no claim. Only that I support what DNR Biologists have indicated to be a fair and reasonable response to the fishkill resulting from a colder than normal January - which is a recommendation to reduce creel limits from 3 to 2 and 6 per boat per day. Again, this should be left to the experts, DNR, Biologists, etc. - not fisherman.
Kevin
1720 Sea Hunt w/ 115 hp Yam
M’Ocean Sickness (SOLD)
2018 Sportsman 212 Open w/200 hp Yam
M’Ocean Sickness II
I can guarantee that guides alone have more water time and first hand experience than the dnr does and that’s not even including all the dedicated fishers who are more educated on the subject than people would believe. It doesn’t take a degree to notice change or have knowledge on a subject, experience is just as valuable. You rarely if ever see the dnr biologist boats on the water. The dnr also use a collection of public data from things like catch reports. That’s why the dnr and others sit at the landing filling out catch reports from people.
40, all you’re doing is discrediting the DNR. No one is saying there aren’t valuable resources for such information outside of the DNR and no one said anything about needing a degree. Plus, “time on the water” or in the woods isn’t the only variable that applies when talking about fisheries/wildlife management. If that were the case, homeless people would be the foremost experts on climate change and sidewalk construction. I even mentioned the fisheries biologists reach out to charter captains when gathering intel. The thing is, they’re collecting this data all along the entire coast of SC, not just the Charleston area so while some want to talk about what they’re seeing in “their spots,” that alone is not enough data and is most definitely not a broad enough representation to make management adjustments on.
Fact of the matter is, it’s the job of the fisheries biologists of the DNR to gather intel and data to make management adjustments/calls. No one shows up at your job and consitnuously tells you how there’s someone better at doing your job than you are so why don’t you and a few others try extending the folks at the DNR the same professional courtesy. I trust you to be the authority when it comes to your job and I trust the fisheries biologists with the DNR to be the authority when it comes to their job. Our fisheries/wildlife managment system is screwed up enough with having to get politicians (the General Assembly) involved when it comes to these matters. Let’s not compound things. Unlike a lot of fishermen, the DNR has the best interest of the resource in mind and I would think that’s something any responsible fishermen could get behind. Maybe that’s being too optimistic.
“…be a man and PM me.”
Here! Here! What he said x2.
Kevin
1720 Sea Hunt w/ 115 hp Yam
M’Ocean Sickness (SOLD)
2018 Sportsman 212 Open w/200 hp Yam
M’Ocean Sickness II
I definitely trust our biologists more than our legislators when it comes to this subject, but this problem started back in 2011. We lost half of our flats redfish in 1 year in the North AND South Edisto rivers AND St. Helena Sound. There were other areas on the coast as well that took a major hit. I have been speaking to our head biologists since that time. In 2012, 200 thousand fingerlings were stocked in Wadmalaw Sound. There was no increase in juvenile reds the next year on the flats, and yes I check them ALL. Conversely, there was a decline. The numbers have continued to decline since then, and now we are seeing fewer and fewer breeder reds offshore. Weird things are happening like catching slot reds offshore (40-60 feet) in large groups. WTH are they doing offshore? Some of our best habitat, which are expansive, shallow, oyster flats are now deserts. As I’ve said before, there is only so much habitat, and reds are not going to take up residence with no structure. Fishing pressure here is minimal compared to other areas and definitely disproportionate to the rapid decline in redfish population density. Reduced limits will help, but they won’t address the larger issues that caused this problem which is what we pay our biologists to determine.
Yes, “we pay our biologists” to do their jobs but we all know (or at least should know) the DNR has limited ability/authority to act on their own. Most times, they can only propose things to the General Assembly and then politicians decide what to move forward with or what dies a slow silent death on a committee table somewhere.
Why would a fisheries biologist NOT want a particualr native fish species, let alone one as popular as a redfish, flourish in our waters? Like I said, I trust that the DNR has the resource’s best interest in mind and have no reason not to. I say that because far too often, it seems some believe the DNR has some sort of hidden agenda, especially if a change is made to a regulation that those same people don’t agree with. Look no further than the new tag system and limit changes for deer. Look at the ire that drew/draws towards the DNR.
“…be a man and PM me.”
Of course DNR has the protection of the resource first and foremost on their minds, and of course there are no hidden agendas from them, BUT, they are incredibly slow in identifying problems that exist with a particular species. They are 6 years behind on this issue. A somewhat similar situation happened with the striper population in Santee and it’s tributaries. An emergency closure could have been enacted, but DNR was unaware of the magnitude of the population decline. A private entity was established to have a voice, and new legislation was enacted that still stands now that includes moratoriums during the summer months.
Previously, this redfish decline was blamed on poor recruitment classes. This typically runs in cycles; however, the extent of the inshore decline in 2011 should have been recognized as WAY beyond normal poor recruitment. Why did the 200K fingerlings not improve population densities in Wadmalaw Sound? Our biologists can’t answer that question. Why?