Gillnetter at the nuke at 4 pm on 11-03-07

[Guest]

Today when we were heading back up river we watched a gillnet being laid from the community red bouy all the way over to the green one. He was stretching it out as a bass boat was trying to fish the red bouy. If anyone fishes the nuke on sunday good luck on the mess that will createemoAngry . You would think he would know better than lay it out there. With as many boats that catfish and bass fish right through there they are sure to get tangled.emoBadLanguage

 

[Guest]

The Gerber Game Shears that work so well on skipjack will work equally as well on gill nets.

 

[polo-dog]

I was down on the river today with some friends kayaking from Suck creek to the Pot House and I was really saddened to see a net down there with a couple of big turtles and some fish bloated and stinking. The net wasn't a gill net but was one of those circular nets that is shaped like a slinky. I didn't see a name or any other type of info on the net. I thought that all of those needed info on them to be legal. We have had some info about poaching on the lake and river but even if these guys aren't poaching they need to be responsible with their catch the way I look at it. I think I was both sad and a bit mad too.

 

[DHaun]

I would not recommend destroying another angler's property, but I encourage everyone to report any violations they encounter:


Please add this number to your cell phones:
*** Report Poaching and Creel Limit Violations at 1-800-241-0767 ***

Here is a great link with information and rules.
http://www.state.tn.us/twra/fish/Commercial/TN_com_reg_08.pdf

An excerpt from the link above:

"No commercial fishing gear may be fished within 100 yards of the mouth of any river, creek, slough, inlet,
or outlet, nor shall any commercial fishing gear be set so as to extend more than three-quarters (3/4) across
any stream, river, chute, or embayment.

Commercial fishing gear is prohibited within 1,000 yards downstream of any TVA or Corps of Engineers
Dam or within 300 yards of any commercial boat dock or resort. For enforcement purposes, wingwalls and
lock walls are considered to be part of the "dam", and measurements will be made from their downstream
end.

Each piece of commercial fishing gear, including trotlines fished commercially, shall be marked with a tag
securely fastened to the head end of the line or net or to the float. The tag should measure 1 inch by 3
6 inches or larger. The name and current license number of the commercial fisher using the gear must be on
the tag. Tags may be made from metal, plastic, or other non-degradable material. The commercial fisher
must furnish the tags."

 

[EricM]

Aw jeez, I hate that. That's the area that all of the paddlefish frequent. I just hope he doesn't kill a bunch of them. There are days that you see all kinds of paddlefish floating/struggling on the surface where they had been gillnetted and thrown out.

 

[Fishin Fool]

What a waste. The other day when I was at the Riverpark I saw a guy with a net stretch all the way across from the Amnicola side, to within a hundred or so feet of the Hixson side. He took a boat load of fish out, and tossed many apparently dead fish back into the water. I saw no tags or markers of any kind.

 

[Guest]

I would not advocate destroying someone elses property. However if I got hung up in it I would not hesitate to cut my bait free without damaging my own property.

 

[Fishin Fool]

cheez - 11/3/2007 11:51 PM

I would not advocate destroying someone elses property. However if I got hung up in it I would not hesitate to cut my bait free without damaging my own property.

emoThumbsup emoThumbsup emoThumbsup

 

[Guest]

Has anyone reported these violations or are they violations? Are there names and numbers on these nets or funnel nets? Everyone has a cell phone now a days, call the number listed above.

 

[puddle jumper]

Guys
Hope this is not a dumb question. but im a little confused about this net thing.. with TN trying to support the fishing and to limet one fish over 34" for sportsman "Cats" and pushing for quality on smallys and other things.. How can they allow the comercial fishermen to take the kinds of fish i have been hearing about?? I know of several states that have banned netting in coastal areas becouse of the damage it does to the overall population of fish?? Is there just not enough law enforcement to regulate the fishing or is it the State Laws?? emoScratch emoScratch I Dont have the desire to keep Big cats, but am I just returning them to the water so a comercial fisherman can catch it and sell it off to a privat pond??? or elce where??/emoDoh Is that where the big fish are??? Obvious everyone is passionate about the subject but where is the problem??

Puddle...emoUSA emoThanks

 

[Fishin Fool]

Doc1 - 11/4/2007 1:08 AM

Has anyone reported these violations or are they violations? Are there names and numbers on these nets or funnel nets? Everyone has a cell phone now a days, call the number listed above.

Doc, in my experience I have reported some violations, have stayed in the area for a couple of hours, and saw the violater load their boat and head out. I have yet to see (where I personally witnessed it) any violation that I have reported be acted on. I know that TWRA has it's hands full with various problems on the water and can't respond to all the complaints they get. Plus you can get the names and numbers IF they display them, and that is a big IF, but without someone from TWRA actually seeing a violation I don't know how much good it would do. I am under no circumstances saying that anyone seeing violations should not report it, they certainly should. I guess I am just expressing frustration over how thin the enforcement line is in our state and how little resources we have to combat violation. I have no solution for it.

 

[Guest]

Puddle you bring up some good questions. As stated above about the funnel nets with rotting turtles and fish in them, these nets have been there for a long time and where is the game wardens or water patrol? Have these nets been checked and are ok or does'nt the proper authorities care what goes on? Things like this go unchecked but be out there on the water with no license or the wrong life preserver and see if you get away with it. I believe just the easy violations are acted upon, too much work to check for names and numbers and run the names and numbers through the states data base to go after the offenders. This is my 2 cents worth.

 

[DHaun]

Thanks for the clarification Cheez. For a minute there I had visions of numerous anglers loading scissors in their boats going after nets.

I am no expert, but it appears this net is legally positioned based on the description given and the rules I have read. I know I have lost a ton of spoons to those things...

Whether action is quickly taken or not, I think if If TWRA gets enough calls on an issue its going to create a heightened awareness of that activity so I encourage everyone to make the call if a violation is witnessed:

http://www.chattanoogafishingforum.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=4797

 

[2jigs]

I'm with you Doc1. I saw the same TWRA officer all summer making sure everyone had this & that. He never once even started his big motor. I know TWRA does the best they can with what they have to work with. And if enough people complain in 6 months or so they will over do what ever it is they do. But how many fish are going to die between now & then? If anything is done at all!

 Sorry to be so neg. I just don't like to see fish wasted.

 

[Jmax]

We had a post on here like this before. I called the G&F to inform them of some things I saw and asked them several questions concerning the netters. They told me that if they were to be stopped from netting the populations of cats in the TN river would get out of control. They also told they are regulated very closely and also have limits on sizes and cannot take any other types of fish. If caught they are fined very heavily and can have serious jail time as well as their equipment taken away. I have to say I do not like it either becuase I have seen big bass caught in their nets and watched them throw them back in the water dead or dieing. However on a pro side if the cats got so populated that the forage was depleted the results on the bass would be even worse. With this in mind I can see the need for the netters. I also believe the larger/bigger cats seem not to get caught up in those nets. May be the size of the mesh. The G&F told me that they needed more folks keeping cats out of the river but due to mercury concerns and other issues over the years there has been a decrease in folks keeping them. I really do not have a horse in this race since I hardly ever catch cats unless by accident but I do have a concern with the bass and crappie getting caught up in the nets.emoScratch Jmax

 

[drumking]

Commercial fishermen aren't supposed to keep any catfish 34" or longer. Must throw them back. emoTskTsk How many do you think really obey this law? I hope that most of them do.emoGeezer

 

[Guest]

A lot of them are dead when they throw them back and also all the sport fish that they catch in the nets.

 

[fishinvol]

There are a ton of nets down near Sullivan's ramp too!! They are starting to pop up everywhere!!! emoAngry I just don't see how they can keep allowing them to keep killing and discarding all the fish they don't use!!emoBadLanguage

 

[fish]

Catfish in Tennessee have been classified as a sports fish but with commercial harvesting. This same subject came up on another board I am a member of and one of the members called the TWRA and that is what they told him.