Gill nets

[IL.bassin36]

What are ya'lls take on these? I for one am against them. But if they are going to keep allowing them, they need to be more regulated and more strictly enforced.

[zman]

Well, I'm so very proud that it has been my state that has made gill nets the issue du jour in bass fishing discussions lately. You see, G'ville has been getting raped by gill nets for a very long time, most of the nets unmarked and hence illegal, yet nothing has been done about it. Why? Because nobody knows where the gamewardens are in this state. Seriously, I've never seen one and scarcely believe they exist. I've heard the number of wardens is in the single digits statewide. So effectivly we have nobody enforcing any conservation regulations in the state of alabama.

[jeffman]

WTL,
The lack of enforcement runs two ways. Bass fishermen are able to cut the gill nets and let them sink to the bottom with little chance of getting caught.
That is what we do in this part of the country when we find trot lines in our lakes. We run the lines and take off any live fish, then cut the lines and let them sink.

JackL

[Bassin_Dude]

wats a gill net ???

[gonefishy2002]

A dreadful thing. It's a large net that has mesh just large enough to let a fish swim into it and get partialy through but not all the way, so when the fish tries to back out of it it is snared by the gills. It is non descriminate so it kills anything too large to swim through it. They were banned in Fl. In the 90's in all inshore and fresh waters by pressure from petitions from sport fisherman and coservationists, largely in part by the efforts of Florida Sportsman magazine. I think they should be banned in ALL inshore and freshwaters in America!

[zman]

Jackl, many fishermen have cut and destroyed the nets...but there have been reports of drunk redneck netters pulling shotguns on fishermen they caught doing this.

[mike0062466]

WTL, I've read a fair amount of discussion on the Alabama gill nets situation, so I won't rehash that. What I would like to know is what are the target species of these nets? I've heard "rough fish", but I'm not sure exactly what that means in that context. Carp? Suckers? Sheepshead?

[zman]

I know less about the netter's side of this, but I think the most valued is actually catfish, which I really don't consider to be a rough fish. I also think they are trying to catch stripes, maybe carp but I cant imagine who these commercial fishermen sell them to.

[macgyver]

Yes they should be banned IMO.

Lizards

[mike0062466]

[quote author=WTL link=board=MessBoards;num=1110051317;start=0#7 date=03/05/05 at 19:47:55]I know less about the netter's side of this, but I think the most valued is actually catfish, which I really don't consider to be a rough fish. [/quote]
I agree. Once or twice a year, I accidentally catch a channel cat, and from the way they fight, I'd consider them a sport fish in every sense of the word.