[wolverine]

Saw this posted on a Matagorda guide's website(date Wed. July 25th):

"A meeting to ban croaker takes place over here today...should be interesting stuff"


Whats up w/that? I'm assuming that means using croaker for bait. Is that for the whole texas coast or just the Matagorda area?

I don't use croaker(or live bait) and catch all the trout i want so i could care less, but isn't this pretty wacky? I mean how do you 'ban' a live bait?

Anyone know the outcome of that meeting? Was this w/the Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept or what?

 

[Mont]

There is an article in this month's GGC that EJ wrote about it. I talked to a guide down there and according to him, they are wanting gamefish status for croaker, which would mean it couldn't be used for bait. EJ seemed (at least to me) to think it was all going to blow over.

 

[haparks]

im def no expert but i do not think that croaker will reach game fish status--think about it do u hear about hoards of people talking about catching big numbers or even wantint to target croaker--dont get worried until u hear fish and game talking about it--but once again i am no expert

 

[mullet head]

That was a great article...
He talks about croaker being behind live shrimp and soft plastics as far as harvesting trout and concentrating more of our efforst on ourselves. No more "parading of hero stringers" or "plastering images of huge catches" as he put it.

 

[SP]

This has been a topic in the past and it got nowhere. I hope it blows over again, croaker as a game fish, IMO, is in the interest of the minority.

 

[trout250]

In this months salwater magazine Bill goes into some detail about it, I don't know how many of the guides down there are backing this move, seems like they are frustrated because some are brining incroaker to use as bait and carrying out full stringers no c & r on the larger fish.

 

[twitch-twitch-reel]

You know, not to be the brat or anything but…… I can remember when I was a kid telling people we ate croker and people turning their nose up at me. Acting like I said we like dog poo with our fish. Now people are getting upset because we use them for bait. What is with you people! Make up your mind. Why are you such a bunch of raciest? I don't see anyone getting a meeting together to save the Gafftops or the Heardheads! How about Save the crabs! Save the Stingrays?! Where is that org?



For just pennies a day you can save an endangered croker. What about the S.T.P.P.F.? SAVE THE PIGIE PEARCH FOUNDATION? Soon they will be extent and I will have to tell my kids how great it was when we had piggies because almost anyone could catch one.



I guess my point is, it is all bait! It isn't like redfish are going, O dang! I would eat that stinking trout but, he is a game fish now…… MAN!



You need to be fare to all fish. Don't be a fish raciest! I think there needs to be an organization like F.A.G.

Fisherman Against Gamnaming. They would stand for the rights of the downtrodden fish like our brother the stingray and gafftop. We could have a camp out in Crawford Texas and hold up signs for Bush to see. Equal rights for all fish! All fish are created Equally! We could gather data about how millions of gafftops are killed each year by their lack of status on the game list. And how Stingrays are being maimed and murdered over nothing more than a barb on their tails!



DON'T BE A FISH RACIEST!

 

[millertym_1978]

Alot more important issues concerning our bays and fish than what someone uses for bait. Whats next shrimp... Then certain colors of plastics....
Why don't we have a meeting about the man who has a basket full of 10" specs and reds. just my 2cents

 

[haparks]

ya buddy

hear hear--ya buddy save the piggie pearch--lol--im with u there are many more pressing issues than that--and yes i have eaten croaker and its good:birthday2

You know, not to be the brat or anything but…… I can remember when I was a kid telling people we ate croker and people turning their nose up at me. Acting like I said we like dog poo with our fish. Now people are getting upset because we use them for bait. What is with you people! Make up your mind. Why are you such a bunch of raciest? I don't see anyone getting a meeting together to save the Gafftops or the Heardheads! How about Save the crabs! Save the Stingrays?! Where is that org?

For just pennies a day you can save an endangered croker. What about the S.T.P.P.F.? SAVE THE PIGIE PEARCH FOUNDATION? Soon they will be extent and I will have to tell my kids how great it was when we had piggies because almost anyone could catch one.

I guess my point is, it is all bait! It isn't like redfish are going, O dang! I would eat that stinking trout but, he is a game fish now…… MAN!

You need to be fare to all fish. Don't be a fish raciest! I think there needs to be an organization like F.A.G.

Fisherman Against Gamnaming. They would stand for the rights of the downtrodden fish like our brother the stingray and gafftop. We could have a camp out in Crawford Texas and hold up signs for Bush to see. Equal rights for all fish! All fish are created Equally! We could gather data about how millions of gafftops are killed each year by their lack of status on the game list. And how Stingrays are being maimed and murdered over nothing more than a barb on their tails!

DON'T BE A FISH RACIEST!

 

[wolverine]

Had the new GCC in my truck just haven't touched it yet until a little bit ago.
Just read both pieces.
Interesting to see Bill P to be a proponent of this. I don't know the man but have valued his knowledge of the Matagorda bays for years through publications and emails. Sounds like a good argument but how in the world do you prove that using croaker will hurt our trout population of the future? Seems almost impossible to gather data on something like that. Like most of you have said, this will probably blow over b/c this seems like it doesn't hold water.

 

[SpookJr]

In fact not only just croakers, I am having meeting tonight at my house to see if anyone wants to make hardheads a game fish as well. limits will be set at 1000 fish per person/day or 5000 on a vessel which ever is less I mean higher. geez croakers as game fish status haha.

 

[Leemo]

No merit, (3) of the guys pushing this mess use to work for me, funny how in just a few short yrs. they've become experts on the ecosytem, wow, to each his own, I don't care if someone uses live bait or articficials, if someone is gonna tell me what I can and can't use to fish with it better be the law, other than that it's just an opinion based on poop! by the way anybody think they know east matagorda bay system; here's a little trivia (1) how many different sub species of flounder are found in the bay, how many of these varieties do you actually harvest, (2) Croaker- how many species, life span of each. maturity level of each, (3) why are qua-hog clams only found on the north shore of the bay, why don't the oysters on the west end of the bay ever "fatten" in the winter months, Oyster farm reefs are the result of what? why is it called Eidelbach flats, did you know that spice merchants use to sail and sell on the island! in what yr. was the pipeline put in, why are there pilings on the east and west side of the cut, why are there 2 steel pipes at three beacons, what purpose does the tripod on the west and east end of the bay serve? which reef in the bay covers more than 11 square acres? why don't brown and white shrimp mature in the bay anymore? who got sued for creating the spoilbank out side of "boggy cut"? in what yr? how many commercial vessels have sunk in the bay in the last 20 yrs? did you know that 7 yrs. ago an oil company was going to create an island out of drull's lump for remediation purposes, why are'nt there any private oyster leases in the bay, when was the last time Buster's Bait camp was opened? I better stop!

 

[jamesgreeson]

give'em an inch

If we agree to to this ban ,then what ,Gulps are better than live bait.And scented bait.[lets all just use spoons [silver for trout] [gold for redfish].I guess the older i get the less i like being told what to do that I've done most my life that was just fine then.

 

[Solid Action]

Ban guides.

 

[TroutSnatcher]

I've fished several times with some of the same folks asking me to sign petitions...as they cleaned my limit. What's the difference? They're out there every day doing no different. Just my opinion.

 

[twitch-twitch-reel]

Ban guides.

no kidding! every time you look up there is some new guide. What happened to the good old days when you went and found your own fish!

I am a guide, I specilize in piggie pearch and gafftop! $10 for a half day and $30 for the whole day. surenuff!

 

[trout250]

leemo are you going to post an answer to all your questions, pretty interesting points. The state does not care a whole lot about our little bay, only weather station that you could get any local info at they quit maintaining an then shut it down.

As far as eating I don't eat fish, But my ddad who considered himself a consisor of fish said that there was no better eating than a croker, but then he had me save the backbones when I flleted ou trout an would have my mother fry him up a platter of nothing but them.

 

[Solid Action]

I've fished several times with some of the same folks asking me to sign petitions...as they cleaned my limit. What's the difference? They're out there every day doing no different. Just my opinion.

The funny thing here is that the ones wanting to ban croakers as a baitfish are the same people/guides that are taking the majority of the fish from the bays. I don't know the numbers behind it, but I wouldn't be surprised if they harvest more trout than 90% of other fisherman (non-guides).

 

[Sand Eel]

How big were those trout?

I bet those backbones were from small fish and fried up perfect, bones and all. I would have liked to eat those with your dad and a cold beer!

As far as eating I don't eat fish, But my ddad who considered himself a consisor of fish said that there was no better eating than a croker, but then he had me save the backbones when I flleted ou trout an would have my mother fry him up a platter of nothing but them.[/QUOTE]

 

[Durtjunkee]

The funny thing here is that the ones wanting to ban croakers as a baitfish are the same people/guides that are taking the majority of the fish from the bays. I don't know the numbers behind it, but I wouldn't be surprised if they harvest more trout than 90% of other fisherman (non-guides).

And that's exactly why they get ****** when me or you come in to the cleaning table with a limit of trout....and I'm sure that's 90% of the motivation behind this BS "Croaker Debate". They're using the croaker as a scapegoat for their own harvest habits. Don't believe me???? Look at the pics posted on their reports and web pages. They're not talking about saving fish for grandkids, they're talking about saving fish for themselves and their businesses.

I been reading this forum for several months now, and I've tried to educate myself as much as possible about the habits of croaker and why they're such a hot topic these days. I see no merit behind the claims these guys are making. I rarely post. But this is enough already. Hopefully this will all die down soon.