[Berzerker]

Went to visit brother-in-law in Laredo for Turkey day and he was nice enough to take me out on Falcon.  This is the 4th time for me on the lake.  Most of them day trips without a whole heap of success.  Yesterday proved to be frustrating too!  On the water about 7:30 AM.  Not real familiar with the lake, but I think we were in the Diable area?  



Air temp: lower 60's, overcast with little wind.
Water temp: Lower 70's

We thought with the cooler weather that all fish would be deep.  Fished deep structures, trees, houses and drops in 20-30 feet of water.  It was hit and miss all day.  Fished with jig w/craw trailers pretty much exclusively and caught 6 fish.  I had the biggest at about -3-4lbs I would guess.  Glad we didn't get skunked, but frustrating to fish a lake like Falcon with such limited success.  First time for me to jig fish for any length of time, so great learning experience. Grateful as always to be on the water.

Wind picked up about 2:00.  Off the water by 4.

Kept all fish and had some great Jambalya.

 

[jason]

nice fish! bye-bye lmb! :'(

 

[Berzerker]

Not a full size ice chest BTW.

 

[marine0311]

nice fish

 

[Flatirons]

One of the few lakes I don't mind seeing fish taken from. Try pulling a guill net across the lake wrapped in your prop.
The lake has tons of 3-4 lbers.

 

[RO]

Nice fat LMBs! Never tried freshwater fish in jambalaya. Usually use deer sauasage, chicken and shrimp (plus veg's), but may have to try some freshwater fish in there too. Do you add them near the end of cooking (to prevent excessive fragmentation of the meat) or do you add them with everything else at the start? I usually add my shrimp near the end to prevent overcooking, is why I ask. Thanks for the idea.

 

[Berzerker]

Add them right at the very end RO. Good stuff. Yeah I never ever keep LMB, but for some reason, just wanted some fresh fish, although not sure if Falcon fish are the freshest... safe to eat? :-/ :-/

 

[Breazy84]

wow hurts to c a nice bass taken and not put back...nice catch though.
:-/

 

[RO]

Come on Breazemeister!  Does it hurt any more to eat a 3 lb bass from a lake chock full of them than to eat an oversized red from the LLM?  I've seen a few trophy reds hanging from hooks in some of your posts.  What is that saying about people living in glass houses throwing rocks?  It is certain that many freshwater fishermen have become largemouthbass-o-centric in the past decade or two.  We could use some of that conservation mentality at the coast, but the momentum just has not yet developed.  I predict that in ten years, people will be bemoaning the consumption of a redfish as they are bass today.  Think about it...

 

[TexasZX225]

Amen RO. I see countless ice chests of fish at the docks near the coast. I think a lot of people want to bring fish back to show off at the docksl. The Reds will follow the same path as the Black bass some day.

No problem taking fish from over-populated lakes.

Nice catch Berzerker. I want to get down there. I am tired of reading reports.

 

[Berzerker]

Just to clairify, we only kept 1 fish that was over 3 lbs estimated.  The rest were smaller 1-2 lbs.

 

[legend]

..hate to see a nice bass and a filet knife in the same picture. :-[

 

[LonghornTurfGuy]

Here we go... ..

 

[Fishless-N-Austin]

Beat that dead horse! Beat that dead horse!

It was ONE friggin' fish! Boo-frickin'-hoo!

 

[nitroguy]

Nice fish enjoy the eats

 

[Berzerker]

I really didn't mean to start something. I thought culling fish was actually good for the population? I am very confused. :-/ :-/ :-/

 

[RO]

Don't be confused man.  You did nothing wrong.  The mass confusion regarding absolute catch-and-release policies being applied to all fisheries everywhere at all times derives from several factors.  First of all, bass fishing is BIG BUSINESS, so Bass Pro Shops, and all the pro tournaments have promoted and advertised C&R not just to pay lip service to conservation ethics, but also in a simple-minded effort to help keep sufficient fish in lakes to support big money tournaments and all the revenue they generate.  Second, most people are too lazy to consider things like what is the size distribution of the population for the fishery where I'm fishing?  Are there too many small bass (i.e., Bastrop), are there too many of a competing species?  Is there adequate forage and an appropriate genetic lineage to support a trophy fishery in the first place?  It is much easier to just say "All bass must be C&R'd at every lake all the time, and anyone that removes a lmb should be ashamed."  This blanket policy can actually be malproductive, esp. as you point out, with respect to smaller fish in a fishery with an abundance of them.  Don't let people that don't know their facts get to you.  Enjoy your jambalaya.  Post or pm me the recipe when you get a chance.

 

[Kilroy]

I totally second that. The slots and size limits were put there for a purpose, to manage the fishing site. If the best management was for no fish to be kept, trust me that is what the state would do. It is a resource, not just a fun game for us.

 

[Kped]

RO summarized it best- thanks.

The CNR was introduced/emphasized a long time ago in assist with increasing our bass population. This caught on and now we have some of the best fisheries around.

TPWD help with the Sahre Lunker program cause many offspring of gian bass that too have helped.

Nowadays we are plantify.

If you own a license, u have every right to harverst as you wish as long as it's within the law.

Good and and enjoy the eats.

 

[lowbass]

Don't be confused man. You did nothing wrong. The mass confusion regarding absolute catch-and-release policies being applied to all fisheries everywhere at all times derives from several factors. First of all, bass fishing is BIG BUSINESS, so Bass Pro Shops, and all the pro tournaments have promoted and advertised C&R not just to pay lip service to conservation ethics, but also in a simple-minded effort to help keep sufficient fish in lakes to support big money tournaments and all the revenue they generate. Second, most people are too lazy to consider things like what is the size distribution of the population for the fishery where I'm fishing? Are there too many small bass (i.e., Bastrop), are there too many of a competing species? Is there adequate forage and an appropriate genetic lineage to support a trophy fishery in the first place? It is much easier to just say "All bass must be C&R'd at every lake all the time, and anyone that removes a lmb should be ashamed." This blanket policy can actually be malproductive, esp. as you point out, with respect to smaller fish in a fishery with an abundance of them. Don't let people that don't know their facts get to you. Enjoy your jambalaya. Post or pm me the recipe when you get a chance. Smiley


Amen!