Blue Ridge Lake Report..Fishing is hot...Walleye, Rainbows, Smallmouth, and Spots....

[jeremyledford]

Would it be better if a heron or otter or snapping turtle or striper or 35 lb. flathead ate it instead of him? Everyone of those fish are gonna die and be eaten by something. Why is it so bad for it to be a human?

I've probably ate a thousand smallmouths, and probably released 5,000 more. Neither action made me morally superior or inferior to anybody else.

No, I'm just a hater. I've watched the fishery nearly disappear to the mistakes of other bass fisherman(by the introduction of spots, not by eating) . It's not the OP's fault, but I still have a soft spot and want to save all the smallies I can in Blue Ridge.

I had to say something, as even one of those fish that were eaten would be a trophy for thousands of GA bass fisherman.


Nothing morally wrong done here. Accept/reject my rant as each wishes.

 

[NCHillbilly]

I guess I'm biased because I can walk out of my driveway with a spinning rod and handful of lures, wade into the river, and catch 30 smallmouths in a couple hours. I wouldn't trade one smallmouth for a dozen largemouth, I love the smallmouths, but it honestly pains me a lot more to see two dozen shot gar piled up and wasted at the boat ramp than someone eating a smallmouth. I'm with you on the spots, I've watched a bunch of top-notch smallmouth lakes here taken over by illegally introduced spots. They would have been a lot better off knocking those spots in the head and eating them instead of releasing them, for sure. ten thousand razor-sharp fillet knives can't do the damage to a smallmouth lake that one livewell full of spots can.

 

[cumberland]

It is a shame that white trash throw out fish at boat ramps.

 

[cumberland]

The Ga DNR just can't ever come up with sensible regulations. It is a no brainer that you should have size limits on chattahoochee tailwater brown trout, and blue ridge smallmouths.

 

[Joey Youngblood]

What difference would it make if he keeps the smallmouth, or let them go, if a fellow keeping a few smallmouth is gonna be detrimental to the smallmouth population, I say there is no hope for them anyway, might be the last chance he has to eat a Georgia smallmouth. It bothers me that the smallmouth are disappearing, but releasing a few is not gonna bring them back, I say good for him, he caught a few of the last remaining fish from a doomed species.

This is the correct answer.

 

[The mtn man]

The fishermen that should be hanged are the ones that think the spot should be stocked. Fontana is gone. Half the smallmouth you catch are a little off. They got teeth from being crossed with spots. The spots now have the majority vote on Fontana. It is a disaster and will never be put back right again. Oh; and the idiots who transported spots think its funny; and they even brag about it. They are eating the deep water fry of the walleye now due to excessive numbers in deep water.

Didn't your lake get stripers stocked this year?

 

[NCHillbilly]

The fishermen that should be hanged are the ones that think the spot should be stocked. Fontana is gone. Half the smallmouth you catch are a little off. They got teeth from being crossed with spots. The spots now have the majority vote on Fontana. It is a disaster and will never be put back right again. Oh; and the idiots who transported spots think its funny; and they even brag about it. They are eating the deep water fry of the walleye now due to excessive numbers in deep water.

I wish they would remove the spot limit on Fontana like they did Santeetlah. Years ago, I never caught spots at Fontana. Now, I catch more spots than smallmouth or largemouth. It's a shame.

 

[Hammer Spank]

I don't think that fisherman can have an impact on spotted bass once they are there. They are a nightmare for a body of water. I just wish we had a smallmouth stocking program so that we would still have them around. It's a shame, but pretty soon, smallmouth in the SE will be relegated only to rivers and streams unless they become a stocker fishery like the hybrids and stripers are here.

 

[NCHillbilly]

The blueback stockers are just as bad. They've ruined some good walleye and white bass fisheries.

 

[The mtn man]

I don't think that fisherman can have an impact on spotted bass once they are there. They are a nightmare for a body of water. I just wish we had a smallmouth stocking program so that we would still have them around. It's a shame, but pretty soon, smallmouth in the SE will be relegated only to rivers and streams unless they become a stocker fishery like the hybrids and stripers are here.

I can agree with that, I was rambling around on chatuge in my kayak last week, and seen literally 10s of thousands of spot fry balled up in the creek. No competing with that.