Gill Nets

[drdetroit]

Fished up by Mullins Cove and ran into a series of gill nets. One was marked fairly well the other two were not easy to identify. They were loaded with all kinds of gamefish. I saw some nice crappie and bass. We got tangled good in the last two. They were about a half mile apart on the bank across form Mullins Cove going toward Chattanooga. Be aware, maybe they were picked up because we later some fellows harvesting the nets. Why do they even allow gill nets in the river/lake systems??

 

[Guest]

depends, some are used by commercial fisherman, some are used by agency personal for rountine monitoring, also sometimes used to gather brood fish for hatchery operations.

 

[drdetroit]

These were not TWRA people. They must have been commercial fishermen. Can they harvest bass and crappie? Game fish must follow creel limits and size limits. Who monitors what is caught? Most of the fish I saw were dead. The nets do not discriminate.

 

[rsimms]

These are the commercial fishing regulations:
http://www.state.tn.us/twra/fish/Commercial/TN_com_reg_07.pdf

 

[Guest]

Me and a friend fished down at guntersville yesterday and we seen a young guy pulling gill nets up over next to the city park. Nets aren't marked and we were surprised we didn't get hung up since we had just came through where one was. This guy had nets all over the place, and seen him throw back a few small ones, but he was keeping any kind of fish with size.

 

[Guest]

a legal gill net must have 3 inch squares, since bass and other game fish dont have bone side fins like a cat, they catch very few game fish of which most push their way out the other side, usally game fish well avoid the net but in muddy water a few very large bass may be caught and by law released. if a commerical fisherman is caught with just one game fish in the boat, they will lose their lic. and their income, not worth the risk to them. some nets can be t.v.a or research nets. i once found a 2 inch net and reported it, twra called me back and explained they were utc students and did have a special permit to use it. i some times get upset when i see a net accross a good fishing hole, but they will spook the fish not catch them.

 

[Guest]

i have mixed feelings toward net fishing, they do help keep the cat, drum, carp, and bufflo pop. under control. years ago when net fishing was stopped in watts bar because of pollution, i thought the fish pop. would benifit, but now watts bar is wall to wall with rough fish and populations of game fish on the fall . line boats may run miles of trot line per night, bating with red worms , honey bees, shad, ect. will catch large numbers of game fish and cats
from 4 in. up. this i think hurts, i get really mad sometimes with their choice oflocations with the nets, but i guess they have their place. as for the line com. fisherman that strech miles of line per night, on chick i think it really hurts.

 

[Guest]

If the gill nets are marked well I have no problem with them. It is legal and those folks have just as much right to their livelyhood as anyone else. If they are not marked and I get tangled in them like I once did on Weiss with an unmarked trotline, I will cut it up and remove it. I figure if it is not marked it must be abandoned so it needs to be removed like any other litter.emoSmile

Cheez