# Redfish decline in Southwest Florida



## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

I was wondering if any other anglers have noticed this I am not talking about after the red tide kill I mean just in general. Do you think it's the tournaments or the pressure of too many anglers can't remember the last time I i have seen multiple reds while poling snook is a different story they seem to be thriving I have lived here my whole life and I get the fishing isn't a fraction of what it use to be what say you people.


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## Guest (Nov 18, 2018)

I've seen a lot of stuff on social media showing all adult/juvi redfish they are planning on releasing once/if it goes away

At least they are going to try


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## Guest (Nov 18, 2018)

Not sure, but I’ll trade ya some reds for some snook! While we have snook up here it is very hit and miss. Reds are another story though!


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## Str8-Six (Jul 6, 2015)

I don’t know where you are exactly but the fishery around Choko is doing good. I and a lot other people I’ve talked too have been seeing a lot of rat reds and smaller snook recently. Should be great in the next couple of years.


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

Sorry i should have been clearer I was talking about pine island sound Charlotte harbour atea I know the glades area is fukl


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

Full of them i fish out of chockoloskee also never have an issue down that way probably less pressure the


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## slewis (Sep 8, 2015)

Hey Jimmy,
I've yet to find the fall schools that I'm used to and numbers of tails I've come across seems a bit low. With that said, last weekend I did come across a new spot that was holding probably 15 fish, so they may just be hanging out in different areas.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Yes, all over, the pressures are up from ALL types of fishermen and environmental disasters (freezes, ret tide, green algae, etc). Same with the Glades. You think the Glades is ok now, you should have seen it years ago. It use to be really good. Now you have to work at it to be productive. Charlotte harbor back in the day use to be stellar! I mean, back in the day when there was no limits for the most part, it was a regular occurrence to either fill up a cooler of reds or get tired of catching them. Back then, I always thought of them as a by-catch instead of a target species. Today, even if you set out to target them, you had a great day if you caught one keeper. And even then, that may only happen once in a while. Now that is fishing with artificials! Live bait may be another story. But with fly? Forget it! You had a great month if you got a good one on fly!


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

Backwater said:


> Yes, all over, the pressures are up from ALL types of fishermen and environmental disasters (freezes, ret tide, green algae, etc). Same with the Glades. You think the Glades is ok now, you should have seen it years ago. It use to be really good. Now you have to work at it to be productive. Charlotte harbor back in the day use to be stellar! I mean, back in the day when there was no limits for the most part, it was a regular occurrence to either fill up a cooler of reds or get tired of catching them. Back then, I always thought of them as a by-catch instead of a target species. Today, even if you set out to target them, you had a great day if you caught one keeper. And even then, that may only happen once in a while. Now that is fishing with artificials! Live bait may be another story. But with fly? Forget it! You had a great month if you got a good one on fly!


Yeah I know the glades aren't like they use to be either pre gps spent many a day back there and I get the pressure maybe I'm just getting old and am grttget the back in my day syndrome. I personally think gps's are the devil you use to have to earn it


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## slewis (Sep 8, 2015)

Take me fishing on that Spear and I'll show you where they're at..


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

UnitedFly said:


> Take me fishing on that Spear and I'll show you where they're at..


Anytime you wanna go let me know we can set up a time when we meet up for our micro rally if you want


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## timogleason (Jul 27, 2013)

Redfish are definitely down in Matlacha area. I think due to a number of factors. 

1. Water degradation (too many factors to get into)
2. grass bed degradation (bad water killing grass and lots of fisherman ripping it up)
3. Lack of stuff living in the non grass beds for them to eat
4. commercial Blue Crab removal
5. Roe fishing killing the base of the mullet biomass
6. Sport fishing pressure (boats buzzing bars and shorelines and ripping across flats)

I used to be able to walk on the mullet in front of my house. Not any more. I used to expect to catch some redfish if I found decent concentrations of mullet. Not any more. I use to find tailers almost daily. Not anymore. 

Redfish are still around but not like they used to be. I fish everyday and there is definitely a steady decline. This last batch of bad water really put a dent in what I am seeing.


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## Ben (Dec 21, 2016)

It died in 2012. Still some around but nothing like it was. I know a lot of folks don’t want to hear this but we need a lot of no motor zones here....


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## Boneheaded (Oct 4, 2017)

We just need no take areas for a few years at a time.


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## timogleason (Jul 27, 2013)

I spoke too soon. The wind died this AM and went out to an area I never fish any more that used to be one of my go to places. Tailers everywhere. They even bit...


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## Steve_Mevers (Feb 8, 2013)

Ben said:


> It died in 2012. Still some around but nothing like it was. I know a lot of folks don’t want to hear this but we need a lot of no motor zones here....


Amen


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## Steve_Mevers (Feb 8, 2013)

We are experiencing a collapse of the redfish fishery in PI Sound and surrounding areas over the past 4 years. It is very sad, because it used to be very, very good.


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## Dawhoo (Oct 27, 2015)

This is based on my previous 2 years living in SW Florida fishing Matlacha , PI, and CH and years on the water in Charleston area.... in additional to habitat degradation...

I believe the increased pressure is causing more fish to head to deeper structure filled areas.. and less on shallow flats where they can be sightfished.


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## Snookdafied (Aug 8, 2019)

Dawhoo said:


> This is based on my previous 2 years living in SW Florida fishing Matlacha , PI, and CH and years on the water in Charleston area.... in additional to habitat degradation...
> 
> I believe the increased pressure is causing more fish to hand in deeper structure filled areas.. and let on shallow flats where they can be sightfished.


Used to target them tailing up in Bradenton years ago and it’s really, really tough to find’em now. A lot of factors but I think fishing pressure is the biggest one.


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## Steve_Mevers (Feb 8, 2013)

Ben said:


> It died in 2012. Still some around but nothing like it was. I know a lot of folks don’t want to hear this but we need a lot of no motor zones here....


AGREE 100%


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## Ben (Dec 21, 2016)

It drives me nuts watching tower boats running within 50 yards of the shoreline. I get that there are areas where you have to based on tides and weather for safe navigation purposes but I’m pretty sure thats not their intent.


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## TylertheTrout2 (Apr 21, 2016)

It has been sad to witness over the years. Estero Bay used to be full of trout too! I remember that was always first thing (or last thing) we'd do on a fishin mission..get a limit of trout then start searching for reds and snook.. cant even buy a trout bite in Estero anymore. Our water shed is ir-repairable


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Water quality and people not regulating themselves are issues everywhere. Lots of people think filling the ice chest with fish is what measures the success of a trip. Couple this with increasing population, more boat traffic and idiots burning shorelines and this is what you get.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

This past year we've seen much greater numbers of small reds in the 10K and ENP areas. We've all been saying a quiet prayer that those terrible red tides that shredded the SW areas never seemed to make it past Marco - then into our areas.... and that this year we'll be free of them entirely up and down the state. That said, I've been hearing for some time that y'all are hurting. I'm hoping that in the next year or so all those rat reds will turn into slot fish... and that everyone from Tampa south will see a resurgence in their numbers and sizes...

In the meantime, I'm also noting that the FWC has workshops planned around the state for speckled trout (and are proposing some smaller limits and other restrictions)... That's problematic for me since the Everglades hasn't shown the slightest problem with our stocks of speckled trout but the state may just lump us in with everyone else (where there are clearly troubles...).

And so it goes. I'd like to think that everyone reads this sort of stuff but figure that we're a tiny minority of the anglers that really need to pay attention to how our fisheries have declined...


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## Ben (Dec 21, 2016)

We can fix the problems but it’s going to take the effort of everyone and that’s the challenge. Humans do great things and horrible things as groups and individuals. Acknowledging the truth and changing ignorant behaviors and beliefs is no easy task.


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## duppyzafari (Jul 9, 2015)

I saw a pair of redfish carcasses (with the filets removed, of course) floating on my last outing. Rage-Inducing.


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## matt_baker_designs (Nov 27, 2012)

The Redfish are definitely down. I just posted a memory on my Facebook from 9 years ago where my buddy caught six and I think I caught four that day, just throwing gulp. I’ve seen the numbers of them noticeably decline steadily now for the past 5 or 6 years. The amount of people at the ramp in Matlacha park has been crazy the past couple of years too. I used to go during the week and there would be maybe 8 trailers there. Now it’s packed even on weekdays.


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## K3anderson (Jan 23, 2013)

I am still convinced the snook are eating them up here. After the freeze you couldn't find snook anywhere but red's were everywhere. Now its the opposite. There are more snook up here than I've ever seen. Way more than before the freeze and the red tide 13 years ago.


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

K3anderson said:


> I am still convinced the snook are eating them up here. After the freeze you couldn't find snook anywhere but red's were everywhere. Now its the opposite. There are more snook up here than I've ever seen. Way more than before the freeze and the red tide 13 years ago.


This summer I've seen juvenile snook at almost nuisance levels as far north as Cedar Key.


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## Boneheaded (Oct 4, 2017)

SOCIAL MEDIA RUINED FISHING and surfing for that matter.


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## dlpanadero (Mar 9, 2016)

Boneheaded said:


> SOCIAL MEDIA RUINED FISHING and surfing for that matter.


100% ^


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

Boneheaded said:


> SOCIAL MEDIA RUINED FISHING and surfing for that matter.


Hopefully people are beginning to see the error of their ways. I dropped all social media a couple of years ago and my life has been so much better for it.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Boneheaded said:


> SOCIAL MEDIA RUINED FISHING and surfing for that matter.


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## Boneheaded (Oct 4, 2017)

SomaliPirate said:


> Hopefully people are beginning to see the error of their ways. I dropped all social media a couple of years ago and my life has been so much better for it.


Some photos i see, of the boys back at the dock all limited out on trout or got a 50+ pound poon shlept over thier laps, makes me believe that guys and girls are out there killing fish just for LIKES! I understand some guides got to make a living and its free advertising, but alot of whats out there is a pissing contest.


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

New size and harvest limitations on trout will put more pressure on reds. FWC is always a day late and a buck short. They do a good job of reacting to problems rather than staying ahead of them.


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## sandyharris (Jan 12, 2015)

If you think reds are scarce down there, come to the NC marshes.......


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## Guest (Aug 13, 2019)

el9surf said:


> New size and harvest limitations on trout will put more pressure on reds. FWC is always a day late and a buck short. They do a good job of reacting to problems rather than staying ahead of them.


I have much respect and apprieciation for fwc LEO’s and all LE, but have no use whatsoever for the way the division is manage our lands and water! It’s all about the $$$! I mean, hunting is about getting meat first and foremost with everything else being second! If your gonna take an animals life, it should be for food or protection/prevention. But we have gone to using antler growth as a way of “managing” the herd??? I know we have “some” decent deer in Florida, but do not agree with this method of measuring for deer. I like the idea of reduced bag limits of a species when needed, and am glad we went to a tag system for our deer herd! But reducing bag limits while trying to get millions more to go chase the resource is pointless imo!


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Ben said:


> It drives me nuts watching tower boats running within 50 yards of the shoreline. I get that there are areas where you have to based on tides and weather for safe navigation purposes but I’m pretty sure thats not their intent.


Bwahaha 50 yards...more like 5 feet today down here. Dudes run all the shorelines and you can see prop scars less than ten feet from the mangroves and grass down here and yes that’s prop SCARS which is plural. My skiff will run that close to the edge and won’t leave a mark but that doesn’t mean I’ll ever do that. It’s almost comical to watch these jackwagons burning shorelines to get redfish to push then they spin around, shut down and toss a live bait at the spooked school and get denied then blow mud and grass rooster tail a hundred feet to get back on plane and continue to ruin everyone else’s fishing for the rest of the day(s).
Most of you probably think I’m kidding but I’m dead serious. I see it just about every time I’m on the water down here and have cut these dudes off and chewed their ass more than a couple of times.


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## Guest (Aug 13, 2019)

Sorry, I derailed a little there. But it’s relevant to how fwc manages our resources.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Boatbrains said:


> I have much respect and apprieciation for fwc LEO’s and all LE, but have no use whatsoever for the way the division is manage our lands and water! It’s all about the $$$! I mean, hunting is about getting meat first and foremost with everything else being second! If your gonna take an animals life, it should be for food or protection/prevention. But we have gone to using antler growth as a way of “managing” the herd??? I know we have “some” decent deer in Florida, but do not agree with this method of measuring for deer. I like the idea of reduced bag limits of a species when needed, and am glad we went to a tag system for our deer herd! But reducing bag limits while trying to get millions more to go chase the resource is pointless imo!


The difference is deer can be managed in a high fenced piece of land that the person owns.


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## Guest (Aug 13, 2019)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> The difference is deer can be managed in a high fenced piece of land that the person owns.


Agreed, I was referring to public lands though. We finally went to a tag system so the dog chasers that turn out 100 hounds and run them all to death will have a limit and tracking method of the harvest now!


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## TX_Salt (Nov 13, 2018)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> Bwahaha 50 yards...more like 5 feet today down here. Dudes run all the shorelines and you can see prop scars less than ten feet from the mangroves and grass down here and yes that’s prop SCARS which is plural. My skiff will run that close to the edge and won’t leave a mark but that doesn’t mean I’ll ever do that. It’s almost comical to watch these jackwagons burning shorelines to get redfish to push then they spin around, shut down and toss a live bait at the spooked school and get denied then blow mud and grass rooster tail a hundred feet to get back on plane and continue to ruin everyone else’s fishing for the rest of the day(s).
> Most of you probably think I’m kidding but I’m dead serious. I see it just about every time I’m on the water down here and have cut these dudes off and chewed their ass more than a couple of times.


If it's not a tower boat it's an airboat during duck season and they don't give a sh*t if they burn a shoreline or multiple. Going to have to skip fishing a lot of area this year due to the lack of caring about the fishery. I wish they would ban airboats in areas of the marsh as well.


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> Bwahaha 50 yards...more like 5 feet today down here. Dudes run all the shorelines and you can see prop scars less than ten feet from the mangroves and grass down here and yes that’s prop SCARS which is plural. My skiff will run that close to the edge and won’t leave a mark but that doesn’t mean I’ll ever do that. It’s almost comical to watch these jackwagons burning shorelines to get redfish to push then they spin around, shut down and toss a live bait at the spooked school and get denied then blow mud and grass rooster tail a hundred feet to get back on plane and continue to ruin everyone else’s fishing for the rest of the day(s).
> Most of you probably think I’m kidding but I’m dead serious. I see it just about every time I’m on the water down here and have cut these dudes off and chewed their ass more than a couple of times.


That shoreline run and bump method makes me want to use my stainless tip push pole as a javelin. Thank God I don't see it as much anymore. A few well placed cinder blocks will cut down on that behavior as well


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## Boneheaded (Oct 4, 2017)

I said it earlier on this thread, FWC should just have rolling no take zones for a year or two at a time. Lets face it guys our fish cant compete consuming shrimp and crabs with commercial fisherman. How about this, most of Biscayne bay is closed to Lobstering but open to shrimping and crabbing....pressure on the fish and the food source... Whats going to end up happening here, is our fishery will end up like the Mediterranean. But who knows maybe well get smarter.


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## Guest (Aug 14, 2019)

FWC should stop trying to sell as many hunting and fishing licenses as they can and start working on the conservation part of their name!


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## Boneheaded (Oct 4, 2017)

The kind of toxic egotism that social media perpetuates.


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## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

TylertheTrout2 said:


> It has been sad to witness over the years. Estero Bay used to be full of trout too! I remember that was always first thing (or last thing) we'd do on a fishin mission..*get a limit of trout then *start searching for reds and snook.. cant even buy a trout bite in Estero anymore. Our water shed is ir-repairable


Lots of issues for the fisheries but did you ever stop to think that maybe YOU were/are part of the problem?


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

ifsteve said:


> Lots of issues for the fisheries but did you ever stop to think that maybe YOU were/are part of the problem?


Water quality can’t be fixed with not keeping fish.


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## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> Water quality can’t be fixed with not keeping fish.


"lots of issues for the fisheries.' Guess you missed that part. Of course, its likely that water quality is one of if not the major issues. But the whole mentality of "first thing we did was go catch a limit' is not going to cut it now and down the road. Go look at all the fishing reports from LA that thrive on the deck of the boat, the dock, or the full cooler showing nothing but a ton of dead trout. All they say is " the marsh is thriving and the biologists have the data to show that we can kill this many." And my response is always the same. Go ask the east coast striper fisherman about their resource.

To me the question is one of do you want to go fishing so you can eat fish or do you want to go fishing for the fun of fishing. If you want the later then you better limit the former. Doesn't mean there is anything wrong with keeping some fish for dinner. What's wrong is keeping fish because you can to just take them home and put them in the freezer then a year later.....


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

ifsteve said:


> "lots of issues for the fisheries.' Guess you missed that part. Of course, its likely that water quality is one of if not the major issues. But the whole mentality of "first thing we did was go catch a limit' is not going to cut it now and down the road. Go look at all the fishing reports from LA that thrive on the deck of the boat, the dock, or the full cooler showing nothing but a ton of dead trout. All they say is " the marsh is thriving and the biologists have the data to show that we can kill this many." And my response is always the same. Go ask the east coast striper fisherman about their resource.
> 
> To me the question is one of do you want to go fishing so you can eat fish or do you want to go fishing for the fun of fishing. If you want the later then you better limit the former. Doesn't mean there is anything wrong with keeping some fish for dinner. What's wrong is keeping fish because you can to just take them home and put them in the freezer then a year later.....


I’m with you 1000% man! The guys on here that have met me in person, fished with me or talked on the phone know that I’m on the “limit yourself” page meaning not every trip is a meat haul and limiting out isn’t the goal. Honestly, we went down to 5 trout limit on the middle coast several years ago and just about the only way these marginal anglers can catch 5 keeper trout is with live croaker for 3-4 months out of the year. It’s a damn shame how ignorant and greedy folks are! Look at this meat haul a buddy sent me from a lodge trip here on the middle coast. Even with the 5 trout, 3 redfish and 5 flounder limit they managed to fill the bow deck of a boat for a hero shot. I bet there’s not one guy in that picture that can walk out waist deep and catch 5 with a lure and half if them probably can’t even clean their own fish.


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## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

Spot on Smack. Those kinds of pictures make me sick.


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## Guest (Aug 19, 2019)

ifsteve said:


> Lots of issues for the fisheries but did you ever stop to think that maybe YOU were/are part of the problem?


I agree, think about it, I guide more than 200 days per year. If I allow the taking of only 1 or 2 fish per day, my boat is killing several hundred fish. Multiply that by several hundred guides and, well, you get the picture.


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## Guest (Aug 19, 2019)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> I’m with you 1000% man! The guys on here that have met me in person, fished with me or talked on the phone know that I’m on the “limit yourself” page meaning not every trip is a meat haul and limiting out isn’t the goal. Honestly, we went down to 5 trout limit on the middle coast several years ago and just about the only way these marginal anglers can catch 5 keeper trout is with live croaker for 3-4 months out of the year. It’s a damn shame how ignorant and greedy folks are! Look at this meat haul a buddy sent me from a lodge trip here on the middle coast. Even with the 5 trout, 3 redfish and 5 flounder limit they managed to fill the bow deck of a boat for a hero shot. I bet there’s not one guy in that picture that can walk out waist deep and catch 5 with a lure and half if them probably can’t even clean their own fish.
> View attachment 88860


I bet that these are the same guides that wonder where all the fish went?????


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

mike_parker said:


> I bet that these are the same guides that wonder where all the fish went?????


They don’t give a damn. I’ve haggled with a few of them over beers and they just say “when I can’t make a living guiding I’ll go back to a real job”. Pretty sad way of thinking when even they have kids and the thought doesn’t cross their mind that they are ruining fishing for the next generations.


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## Guest (Aug 19, 2019)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> They don’t give a damn. I’ve haggled with a few of them over beers and they just say “when I can’t make a living guiding I’ll go back to a real job”. Pretty sad way of thinking when even they have kids and the thought doesn’t cross their mind that they are ruining fishing for the next generations.


Pretty short sighted! I wonder if they realize that those "real jobs" may be closer than they imagine?


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

This will always be a topic of concern... but at least here in Florida we've come a long way... I can remember a time when really skilled light tackle anglers... sold their catch "to defray expenses"... Some were so good at it that they actually bought places in the Keys (dry land lots were still really cheap back in the seventies...) on "fish money"... True Story... All of that's long in the past now, thank heavens. 

At root we've got multiple problems to fix - the biggest is still habitat for the fish (water quality at the top of that list of concerns...). The problem that we all need to work on is getting a majority of the residents here in Florida on our side as we need a bunch of money to do all that's needed - and that will require a majority of the voters to agree - and most of them aren't anglers and only have a passing acquaintance with conservation ideas...


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

When you have a bunch of greedy people that wait for the limits to be reduced or seasons be implemented to cry this us what happens. Reactive versus proactive fishermen. Why depend on Texas Parks and Wildlife to tell you what to do? Learn to limit yourselves and speak your mind so others get the picture. I have a feeling lots of folks that thought/think I was/am a dumbass treehugger are second guessing their opinions of me now. When there are closed seasons and all these damn tournaments are regulated they are really going to be crying.


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## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

Tournaments are almost as bad for fishing as social media


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

Too many people, not enough planet. Ecological laws apply to us too at some point.


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## TylertheTrout2 (Apr 21, 2016)

ifsteve said:


> Lots of issues for the fisheries but did you ever stop to think that maybe YOU were/are part of the problem?


Yes I do think that mind set is a part of the problem. That was 15/20 years ago and was just using that as a refrence for the amount of Bio-mass that used to be around. We didnt know a whole lot better back in the 90s early 2000s, and its not like we would always try to limit out...my father and I would keep enough to bring home to my Mom and Sisiter (back when I was a kid). Of course as years progressed we've changed that mind set, so to answer your response, YES.....again that was a point of refrence.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

SomaliPirate said:


> Too many people, not enough planet. Ecological laws apply to us too at some point.


Well the low IQ used to either be thinned out early on or got snuffed by Darwin’s Law...now the “Nerf the world” movement has taken hold and anything and everything is being outlawed because stupid people keep dying.


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## TooLoose20 (Feb 17, 2016)

ifsteve said:


> Tournaments are almost as bad for fishing as social media


Most tournaments (inshore) are CPR or live weigh ins. Displacement of fish - maybe across a bay - have comparable impacts? I agree, it cannot help the issue, but similar to other 'root causes' discussed in the threads?


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## TooLoose20 (Feb 17, 2016)

TooLoose20 said:


> Most tournaments (inshore) are CPR or live weigh ins. Displacement of fish - maybe across a bay - have comparable impacts? I agree, it cannot help the issue, but similar to other 'root causes' discussed in the threads?


BTW - very much a proponent of catch and release and support the current closure (and extension) across the west coast of FLA, but what is so concerning about tournaments?


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

TooLoose20 said:


> BTW - very much a proponent of catch and release and support the current closure (and extension) across the west coast of FLA, but what is so concerning about tournaments?


Displacement of fish in live weigh in tournaments and killing of fish for weigh in at kill tournaments.


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## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

Tournaments put immense pressure on fish in a given area with little benefit even to the hosting marina other than a few days of heavy launch fees at the expense of their routine customers.

Tournaments don't bring out the best behavior in people. Running banks. Cutting other fisherman off.

Even live release tournaments have to have a higher mortality rate over a fish that is caught and promptly released.

But I will flip the question around the other way. What is GOOD about tournaments?


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

ifsteve said:


> Tournaments put immense pressure on fish in a given area with little benefit even to the hosting marina other than a few days of heavy launch fees at the expense of their routine customers.
> 
> Tournaments don't bring out the best behavior in people. Running banks. Cutting other fisherman off.
> 
> ...


Tournaments bring out cheaters (thieves), congest boat ramps, put more pressure on large fish and most of them give very little or nothing back to actually help the resource.


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## TooLoose20 (Feb 17, 2016)

ifsteve said:


> What is GOOD about tournaments?


Can't argue with that.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

I learned long ago that tournaments take something I love and turn it into something I don’t like at all... The only way I’ll fish one is if one of my charters specifically ask for it (and that request needs to come long before the event).


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

Not a popular opinion but I was against the gill net ban due to the number of friends I had as a kid from commercial fishing families, that made their living that way. My father and I discussed this back then and he said the fishermen were being shortsighted by fishing harder during roe season, and depleting the fish spawn. An easy topic to be objective about when you didn't have to worry about feeding a family by fishing.

Net ban has been in place for about 25 years, and we still have a Redfish population problem. Personally I don't think the handful of people left commercial fishing with cast nets are having a major impact. Time to look in the mirror, I think it's us the "sport" fisherman, the guides, and too many people in FL putting pressure on the water quality. I would support a number of things 

1. shutdown on taking Redfish for 3 years
2. slow phase back into taking fish
3. as the phase in happens give anglers the option to keep more fish if they buy a tag (charge enough for #4 but still limit the number) 
4. make sure all the money from the tags goes directly to hatcheries that will replenish what was taken, not to fund some ass hat grad student studying lesbian seagulls... 

There's already enough money in the state university system for research imo, it's time to spend money on fixing known problems not studying them to death...


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

LowHydrogen said:


> Not a popular opinion but I was against the gill net ban due to the number of friends I had as a kid from commercial fishing families, that made their living that way. My father and I discussed this back then and he said the fishermen were being shortsighted by fishing harder during roe season, and depleting the fish spawn. An easy topic to be objective about when you didn't have to worry about feeding a family by fishing.
> 
> Net ban has been in place for about 25 years, and we still have a Redfish population problem. Personally I don't think the handful of people left commercial fishing with cast nets are having a major impact. Time to look in the mirror, I think it's us the "sport" fisherman, the guides, and too many people in FL putting pressure on the water quality. I would support a number of things
> 
> ...


Yep, TPWD still uses gill nets and kills a shitload of fish in the name of research. With the technology available and funds available there are better methods.


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2019)

LowHydrogen said:


> Not a popular opinion but I was against the gill net ban due to the number of friends I had as a kid from commercial fishing families, that made their living that way. My father and I discussed this back then and he said the fishermen were being shortsighted by fishing harder during roe season, and depleting the fish spawn. An easy topic to be objective about when you didn't have to worry about feeding a family by fishing.
> 
> Net ban has been in place for about 25 years, and we still have a Redfish population problem. Personally I don't think the handful of people left commercial fishing with cast nets are having a major impact. Time to look in the mirror, I think it's us the "sport" fisherman, the guides, and too many people in FL putting pressure on the water quality. I would support a number of things
> 
> ...


I am with you on everything except “the net ban not working”. I see you are from yankee town. I grew up here on the Nature coast and watched the redfish population grow every year after the ban. I too, did not support it at the time! 

What I do agree with is... today it is us sport fishers that are the problem! This is why I am frustrated with FWC’s attempt to “lure in” as many potential hunting/fishing licenses as possible! If I want to keep a redfish for the table, it should not be affected because the division is in the business of selling licenses and permits! It goes back to what Smackdaddy has been saying, we need self regulation, all the laws/rules in the world aren’t gonna stop the madness!


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