I dont understand why our fishing in wild wonder west virginia is so bad, im not a great fisherman, but we catch nothing to brag about no matter where we fishing in the state. As soon as we travel south ( south carolina to south florida) we catch very nice fish ( heck, we go up north and do great). Is it our DNR, our fisherman or environment? Or maybe its me.....
buddy its the fishing and the dnr in my opinion. there is no conservation. we have no size limit and that hurts. there is no stocking program for bass. this state worries more about the trash fish and trout more than anything.Originally Posted by Mullins057
they cater to a man with a fanny pack with $20 worth of powerbait that catches his limit daily and puts them in the freezer. I know not everyone likes to bass fish but you would think we could get something in return for the amount of money we put into a local economy fishing. good example is trail of dreams tournament at Summersville. we paid $225 for entry. night in hotel was $85. gas for truck and boat $125 eating for 2 days $%0 with snacks and ice. ok that tournament had I think around 90 boats. I know not everyone spent the night but you see where I'm going with this. we are spending a fortune for nothing. going fishing is almost a waste of time and money.
on the conservation end all we get is Christmas trees. the federation did work with dnr a few years ago to get grass going but since our lakes go to winter pool the weather was to harsh and it dies in winter. they also put out a few of the concrete block trees but that's about it.
like I said this is just my opinion but ive met a lot of people over the years and everyone has the same conclusion. but I do feel like you at times maybe it is me!!!
I feel that a lot of the problem is spawn, for many yrs now right at spawn time we are getting the spring rains and the high water and floods that either covers up the beds with silt or they just get washed away. I agree that a slot limit should be put on for a few yrs. I also feel that with all the tournament's like 3 to 4 every week on every piece of water we have that our rivers and lakes just don't have the #'s of fish to withstand that much pressure, ( I do fish club tx's ). Also think it's bad when you have to degrade to a 10" size limit to even have a tournament. Just want to add that this is just an opinion.
I’ve always said WV never was known for largemouth, smallies are little better. Although we do have some nice size ones here, but you really have to work for them and they’re few and far between. The State really doesn’t care about the LM fishing. Like wvbassmaster said, It’s main concern is trout and trash fish. There’s a lot more bass fisherman in this state than they think. A lot of money goes into the fishery fund that should be better distributed. We need a better stocking program for LM and SM. The State DNR needs to hear this.
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The bass fishing in WV is horrible compared to other states but I hate the thought of a slot limit. One idea I have given a lot of thought to is to have a season. This way bass could have a chance to spawn without getting dragged of the beds. I know this works very well in the northern states. They still fish during the spawn but are not allowed to keep any fish. Just my two cents
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I have to agree the bass fishing is in WV is not great. Bluestone lake is my home lake. It gets a lot of tournament pressure for its size. I would love to see DNR put more effort into bass fishing. Did the restictions on Stonewall help the fishing?
so here is a prime example of what we are all saying.
I went to east lynn sunday. that's not that far of a drive for me. I spent $50 in gas for this trip. I spend 6 hours there and catch 1 6" largemouth. there is just no return on your investment here. taxes, license, ramp fees and you get nothing!
Just wondering is East Lynn full of musky ?
I don’t know how “full”, but some in there are healthy size. I’ve heard guys say there’s a decent amount. Just the hear say. My next door neighbor fishes it quite a bit for bass and musky.
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I have only caught 2 musky by accident and both have been at east lynn. one of those was over 40". both have been in the campground. I heard a few years ago they stocked 3000 pounds of them in that lake. not sure if that is true or not!
when's the last time you heard of a bass stocking anywhere in this state?
I have been there several times including last Saturday and have never caught a musky. I have heard that there are quite a few in there also but I haven't seen any
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Just wondering if all the musky their stocking in our lakes are eating up everything.
Not to start trouble here, but much of what you say has been researched to death and found not to work. Missouri tried a closed spawning season and even a closed shoreline to increase the number of spawning bass. What they found was the harvest was simply delayed, but harvested they were with fishing quality remaining the same. The fact of the matter is that fishing quality for most bass populations is not limited by the number of spawners in the population but by harvest. This why you see creative and lake specific size limits, including slot limits. Slot limits are useful when reproduction and potential for growth is good, but the population has been fished down to 12-inch fish. It takes fishing pressure and harvest below the slot in order to work. This is hard to accomplish with todays catch and release oriented anglers.
Im not an expert by any means and don't know a lot of details and I know its not really an apples to apples comparison but having a season sure seems to work at places like Erie
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I’ve fished areas that have had a closed season. The McClintic WMA, for example, back in the 70’s & 80’s had a closed season for certain ponds from Oct 1st- Memorial Day weekend, then at the end of the 80’s it went to Oct 31st- Memorial Day weekend to eventually all year fishing by the early 90’s. The only thing the closed season actually did was make the bite better at opening day and for a couple of weeks, then fishing pressure put it right back. What was really needed was a good slot limit and “regular stocking program”. Slot limits are essential in maintaining an above average size yields of bass. Our Largemouth and Smallmouth stocking program here in the State leaves a lot to be desired. Slot limits are a quick fix, but the big part of the equation, the LM & SM stocking program, is one that we may never see in WV or at least up to a capacity to truely benefit the bass fisherman.
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It's sad! The species that brings the most anglers doesn't matter at all to the state. If we all would just not buy a license, I bet they might start to listen. I guarantee bass fisherman account for at least 50% of the license revenue for the state. We have huge tournaments on the Ohio for decent money, but man is it a long weekend. Many people wonder why we even do it, but somebody has to win... If it wasn't for family and a good job, I'd definitely move somewhere else.
I feel the exact same way! About the moving too and for the same reasons I’m staying.
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