trophy management opinions needed!

[lowwall]

What do you guys think of proposing stretches of river for trophy management?

With the proposed rules being.

1) Artificial single hook.
2) 1 X Fish Day In A Slot Rang From 12”-16”, once fish is put on stringer all fishing for the day is done.
3) Pay to play, Stocking augmented by private donations. All anglers are issued a button with their donation. The donation would not be mandatory but recommended.

With proposed rules like this it would seem that you could get the whole fishing community on board.

I know the usual arguments that are who is going to police these regulated areas. You are always going to have guys poaching, littering etc. But with signage clearly indicating the benefactors of the trophy stretch will report all poaching littering etc. And help procececute the offenders maybe it would not be so bad.

I FF 98% of the time, (1 % Centerpin, 1% Conventional), The days of setting up elitists fishing areas are over as far as I can see. The way to better fishing is to cast a bigger net

What Do You Think?

[Gerry]

Mike,
I think what we need is more "Quality Trout Waters". These are special regs areas with single hook artificial lures or flies. Some are "Delayed Harvest Zones" meaning that they are catch and release from October 16 to June 15 and General Trout Rules from June 16 to October 15. We can expand the Quality Trout waters in one of two ways:
1. add additionalk stretches of river to existing special regs areas. the South Branch of the Piscataquopg Delayed Harvest Zone is less than a mile long. Why not expand it to 4 or 5 miles? The Contoocook River special regs area in West Henniker is less than half a mile long. Why not extend it all the way through Henniker?
2. Add additional waters to the list. If you have any in mind, why not discuss them here? And then submit a proposal to Fish and Game?
If you try to create a new class of special regs, you will run into more problems than you might expect. It will be hard enough to get more special regs areas under existing rule designations.
Come to the "Bienniel Hearing" tomorrow night at 6:30 at Fish and Game HQ on Hazen Drive in Concord. Stand up and say that we need more special regs waters. Let the commissioners know that there is support for this idea. Then write up a well thought out proposal and submit it this winter to Fish and Game. They will review it and possibly hring it up at a hearing next spring. If it passes their internal review (biologists, enforecement, legal) and there is public support, they vote on it and it will become a new regulation in 2009. The 2008 regs already went through this process earlier this year.
Hope to see you tomorrow night in Concord,
Gerry

[michaeledward]

I am in favor of many ideas that will help produce productive waters.

But, the last thing I want to see is more special regulations. Who can keep, what, straight. If every body of water, and every area of that body of water has its own special regulations, how the heck do we keep straight what we can, and what we can't do.

There has to be a way to simplify the regs. Doesn't there?

I imagine there must be some waters that have some special management: a couple of those FFO / Catch & Release Only waters are OK - a couple of those open all year rivers is good.

But, delayed harvest zones, slot size regs, and numbers of fish, all just confuse me. I want to stay within the regs, I just can't keep 'em straight.

One last thought ... the 1 fish a day idea won't work, I don't think. 2 fish a day is more workable - I can catch one for me, and one for my wife.

[lowwall]

I here ya Mike, All the regs are a pain but a necessary evil it seems. See my new post.

See ya Tonight Gerry!
Mike