Redfsh limit

[FUTCHCAIRO]

I WONDER WHY THE REDFISH POPULATION OVER IN THE DELTA STATES IS SO HIGH, IT IS NOTHING TO CATCH THE LIMIT OF 15 REDFISH IN A FEW HOURS, I MEAN BIG RED FISH, LIKE 36 TO 52 INCHES LONG AND WEIGHING IN AROUND 40 POUNDS. THE LAST TIME I WAS THERE THAT IS WHAT WE CAUGHT IN ONE MORNING AND MY FRIEND PUEBLO CHARTERS TOLD ME LAST WEEK TO COME ON OVER THE BIG REDS ARE WAITING, HE ALSO SAID THAT HE WOULD ONLY CHARGE ME 1/2 PRICE SINCE I AM OVER 90 YRS OLD. I WISH I HAD THE ENERGY TO MAKE THAT TRIP JUST ONE MORE TIME.
PA
SEMPER FI

[lordsfisher]

Tell your kids to roll you onto a plane! It must be the miles of habitat over there, but I don't know.

[MudDucker]

Well, I'm sure you guys will be happy to know, your "overreaching government" will be building a marine sportfish hatchery this summer in Pensacola, Florida. I just don't get why all you guys cant get onboard with the conservation mindset. FWC is trying to sustain the population of Redfish by taking a precautionary approach while still allowing stakeholders to harvest 1 fish per day. Do you guys not want Redfish for your children and grandchildren to catch in the future? This constant behavioral mindset of me me me just isn't going to work. The sooner we can take a step back and look at the big picture, the better we may understand the reasoning behind the necessary changes going into effect next month.

Are you here to say that the government is doing a good job managing the fishery? If you are, then you are in the minority, at least of those I hear from.

I'm great with conservation, but I'm afraid there are too many fishermen now for just conservation to keep up. I'm glad to hear that a hatchery is being built, but why would they build it in Pensacola, which is the furtherest point in the panhandle????

[MudDucker]

Regarding hatchery fish, this is just an example for thought, and don't know if it applies to redfish. But many moons ago, I was a fish and wildlife biologist for the US F&W Service in Utah in the mountains. We could always tell hatchery trout because they would be swimming down the middle of the creek in plain view. The wild trout had much better instincts and wouldn't be seen because they were hidden under the cover of the banks, all confirmed by electroshocking and fluorescent scale tagging of hatchery fish. Hatchery fish were easy prey for predators and quick to take any hook. The cautions are that the hatchery raising might dumb down the population and have unforeseen consequences. So it's best to focus on habitat preservation especially fish nursery areas. Just my opinion, others may disagree.

When I was in Athens, I got to be friends with the biologist that ran the Burton hatchery. Yes, there were behavioral differences between the two fish, but I sure didn't notice much difference in how they fought when hooked. The biologist then concluded that they would orientate to structure if they weren't caught out before they claimed a territory like a wild fish.

Myself, unless they can show that hatchery fish hurt the wild population, I like to catch them. I am not a meat fisherman, but I like to feel the tug on my line when I go!

[2Salty]

"declines both in red drum populations and size of fish over the past 2-3 years"?

03-08-2016

Spring Reds!!

My daughter came down to the coast for her birthday weekend and wanted to go fishing!! So dad poled the boat for two days and here are the results from this weekend fishing around Carrabelle, FL. She caught 9 over 15lbs and I actually caught 2 on fly and 1 on spin. Pole the boat, see fish, bail off the poling platform, grab fly rod, cast, fish-on!!

http://forums.floridasportsman.com/s...25-Spring-Reds!!

[Salty Gator]

Way to disprove your point. Only one inshore redfish report in the entire nw section for 2016( the Lanark Reds weren't caught inshore). Only one report for 2016 and this is somehow supposed to support that the fishery is doing so well that no change is needed. One good redfish report for the entire region in 2016, and it is 6 weeks old

[2Salty]

Why did a moderator lock a thread about redfish limit elsewhere on the BigBendFishing.Net Fishing Forum? Afraid of "two sides to every story"? Opposed to the American Way of "freedom of expression" and "freedom of speech"?

[NOTE: Minutes of the FWC Commission meeting 4/13-14/2016 in Jupiter, FL at which the FWC Commissioners decided to reduce the limit on reds from 2 to 1 in the NW Zone are not currently available online]

Commission Meeting February 10 – 11, 2016 Tallahassee, FL Minutes

Staff Report –Red Drum Stock Assessment

Ms. Recks presented an overview of the 2015 Florida red drum stock assessment.

Commissioner Roberts asked for staff to reach out to stakeholders and specifically ask about the idea of reducing the bag limit in the Northwest and Northeast Zone to one fish.

Vice Chairman Priddy requested stakeholder input on increasing the bag limit in the Southwest zone to two fish.

Public Comment

The following individuals addressed the Commission on this agenda item:

Mr. Ken Haddad with ASA addressed the Commission regarding potential regulatory changes for red drum. ASA does not oppose changes, but does encourage the collection of public input first that can be integrated into the information gleaned from the stock assessment.

Mr. Trip Aukeman with CCA Florida addressed the Commission stating that CCA looks forward to working with the Commission on this issue.

Mr. Ted Forsgren with CCA Florida addressed the Commission, advocating for going back to a one fish bag limit for red drum statewide.

Mr. Christopher Dierlam addressed the Commission, concerned with the recent increase in the bag limit especially in the Northwest region.

Mr. Justin Leake with Panhandle Guides Association addressed the Commission regarding the two fish bag limit in Northwest Florida. They would like to see it reduced back to a one fish bag limit while continuing to research other causes such as environmental factors (ex. red tide). They would also support the possibility of separating the Panhandle out from the Big Bend within the Northwest Management Zone because of the very different ecosystems in the two respective areas.


Mr. Raymond Spann with Panhandle Guides Association addressed the Commission in support of reducing the bag limit in the Panhandle.

Mr. Phillip Wilds with SWE and Anchored Charters Guide Service addressed the Commission in support of further dividing the Northwest Management Zone and reducing the bag limit in the Panhandle.

Mr. Marty Seeling addressed the Commission stating that redfish from Turkey Point to St. Joe Bay seem to be getting smaller.

Commission Discussion

Commissioner Roberts suggested considering a reduction in the bag limit down to one fish by Executive Order.

Vice Chairman Priddy commented that there are individuals out there who want to catch the bag limit of two fish for this species which seems to be sustainable based on the data. She noted that the majority of speakers on this topic are guides and she would like to know what the individual private angler’s preference is with additional outreach in all regions.

Chairman Yablonski noted that Commissioner Bergeron and Roberts were on the Commission when the bag limit changed in the past. He noted concern for making this change before getting the stakeholder comments and feedback based on the history of this topic with the Commission.

Commissioner Rivard would like to fast track this issue, but does want to wait one more meeting before taking action in order to let people know the Commission is considering a change.

Ms. McCawley recommended that the Commission wait until the June Commission meeting to consider regulatory changes in order for staff to have time to conduct a survey as well as attend fishing clubs and conduct additional outreach. She clarified that staff could provide an update on the public input process in April.

Commission Action

Vice Chairman Priddy provided a motion to approve staff recommendation and to come back in June with results from stakeholder input from across the state so that the Commission can be poised to take final action at that meeting.

Commissioner Roberts clarified that the Commission’s interest in taking swift action on the bag limit is based on feedback since the bag limit was raised in 2012, not just on input received at this Commission meeting.

Commissioner Rivard suggested staff focus outreach efforts in the immediate future on the Northwest and Northeast portions of the state where the bag limit was increased.

Vice Chairman Priddy amended her motion to direct staff to restrict efforts gathering stakeholder input between now and the June meeting to the Northwest and Northeast Management Zones.
Upon motion by Vice Chairman Priddy, seconded by Commissioner Hanas and carried, the Commission approved staff moving forward with stakeholder outreach in the Northwest and Northeast Management Zones.

[Note: FWC Commissioner Roberts is a Contractor from the Panhandle and FWC Commissioner Adrien "Bo" Rivard is a Panama City lawyer who's also past president of the Bay County Chamber of Commerce.]

[Can'tCatchAnything]

[MudDucker]

Why did a moderator lock a thread about redfish limit elsewhere on the BigBendFishing.Net Fishing Forum? Afraid of "two sides to every story"? Opposed to the American Way of "freedom of expression" and "freedom of speech"?

You are a funny guy ... not!

There is NO freedom of speech on this or most any other internet forum. The only fear I've noticed is users like me fearing that we have to wade through your cut and paste hogwash!

Go set up a soap box in front of the Capital and you can read your cut and paste all day long and that is where Freedom of Speech may be exercised.

Barry owns this site and he can lock, delete, splice, cut and dice as he wishes and most on here think he does a good job, me included!

BTW, I am admin on two sites and if you called out me as an admin or moderator on either one like this, you would find you could no longer join the party!

[onefishtwofish]

Why did a moderator lock a thread about redfish limit elsewhere on the BigBendFishing.Net Fishing Forum? Afraid of "two sides to every story"? Opposed to the American Way of "freedom of expression" and "freedom of speech"?

You are a funny guy ... not!

There is NO freedom of speech on this or most any other internet forum. The only fear I've noticed is users like me fearing that we have to wade through your cut and paste hogwash!

Go set up a soap box in front of the Capital and you can read your cut and paste all day long and that is where Freedom of Speech may be exercised.

Barry owns this site and he can lock, delete, splice, cut and dice as he wishes and most on here think he does a good job, me included!

BTW, I am admin on two sites and if you called out me as an admin or moderator on either one like this, you would find you could no longer join the party!

Winna winna chicken dinna.

[Tom Keels]

Always remember when talking about freedom of speech... The content of your speech is protected, not your method.

[weedline]

there is no shortage of redfish i live in the panhandle and my dad fishes st george over here u cant stay away from the big reds and the small ones are what we need to harvest redfish have been managed well why take a step back. cobia are all but gone we used to see schools of 50 now u are lucky to see 50 a year but the state changes redfish then u got the feds with red snapper u can sit on a public spot and catch a limit an 4 or 5 drops useing hotdogs.they are the most regulated fish in the gulf. now all the big charter boats are deep drooping killing off the tilefish and deepwater grouper both slowgrowing fish but what can u do not like a vote matters these days

[onefishtwofish]

there is no shortage of redfish i live in the panhandle and my dad fishes st george over here u cant stay away from the big reds and the small ones are what we need to harvest redfish have been managed well why take a step back. cobia are all but gone we used to see schools of 50 now u are lucky to see 50 a year but the state changes redfish then u got the feds with red snapper u can sit on a public spot and catch a limit an 4 or 5 drops useing hotdogs.they are the most regulated fish in the gulf. now all the big charter boats are deep drooping killing off the tilefish and deepwater grouper both slowgrowing fish but what can u do not like a vote matters these days

Harvest them to your hearts content. One at a time for now.

[leonreno]

I agree about the cobia, it seems to me with the ability to sight fish and catch them on their migration, some sort of management changes need to be implemented. Seems less and less are caught each year. Fron reports on the piers and charter boats, every year is a bad year for cobia. I don't target them but would like to, but the numbers don't seem high enough to really spend a lot of effort doing so.