BigBendFishing.Net

Do you think it should increase? I do, at least to four.
The slot is ok.

I believe there considering a closed season on em like trout and shortening the slot an inch or two to increase esapement rates? .

I'd like to see it increased to two with one allowed over the slot, but I doubt it will ever happen.

I've heard they're considering shortening the upper end of the slot to 26", but I hadn't heard about a closed season. What time of year they thinking of closing it, RS?

Charles wrote:I've heard they're considering shortening the upper end of the slot to 26", but I hadn't heard about a closed season. What time of year they thinking of closing it, RS?

Charles, as I understand it the regulators are concerned that as fishing pressure increases, escapement rates will drop below 30%, their threshold. Next assessment is in 2008 and some are calling for changing regs now to avoid a problem then. I guess at this point, a shorter slot or potentially a closed season (probably winter when schools are vulnerable) are options that are on the table.

All in all, I'm with you its doubtful the limit will go above 1.

Keep as is....I remember in the 80's when you couldn't catch a redfish....I don't believe they are to the point of increasing the creel

Thanks, RS. Yeah, I can see wanting to do something now rather than wait 2 more years only to find they need to shut it down again. Like Chalk, I can remember when they had to shut it down last time. When was that? I joined the Marine Corps in '85, and the stocks collapsed because of the blackened redfish craze either right before or right after that. Anyway, the redfishing has been spectacular ever since, compared to what it was before that closure.

Wonder if a closure, if it comes to pass, will coincide with the trout closure?

The thing I'm really wondering about is if a 1" reduction in the upper end of the slot would really do any good, since it's the same age fish as a 27".

Charles wrote:Thanks, RS. Yeah, I can see wanting to do something now rather than wait 2 more years only to find they need to shut it down again. Like Chalk, I can remember when they had to shut it down last time..

But can you attribute the comeback to the shutdown, or more so due to the net ban?

Charles wrote: The thing I'm really wondering about is if a 1" reduction in the upper end of the slot would really do any good, since it's the same age fish as a 27".

Dunno. But, I'm sure we see hearings about this stuff before it happens. I would probably prefer reducing the upper slot limit as I like eating a 21-23" best anyway

I've heard talk of season closure also. I'm sure in all there wisdom Fish and Game will take into consideration there spawning,like the trout, and close it in the cold month of Febuary coincidentaly when fishermen fish and "spend money" the least. Be a great plan if they could talk the fish into spawning in 50 degree water.

rocket wrote:But can you attribute the comeback to the shutdown, or more so due to the net ban?

Well, for reds specifically, the shut down, and the co-occurring removal of reds from the commercial market. As I recall, the effect was immediate when the closure was lifted. But it has been a while, and I was gone nearly all of that time, so I may not recall correctly.

The net ban came later and certainly helped increase populations of all fish species across the board.

My understanding is that breeding redfish breed out in the open ocean. What we catch, including the upper end of the slot are juvenile fish. However, the big breeding stock was grossly overfished by open water netters back during the blackened craze. I watched catches go from phenomenal to hardly worth it in just a few short years.

Don't want to see that again.

catchin1 wrote:I've heard talk of season closure also. I'm sure in all there wisdom Fish and Game will take into consideration there spawning,like the trout, and close it in the cold month of Febuary coincidentaly when fishermen fish and "spend money" the least. Be a great plan if they could talk the fish into spawning in 50 degree water.

Actually the closed season for trout is not due to their spawning season, they spawn from late spring through summer. The closure is due to the fact when the water gets colder the trout will usually move into deep spots in the rivers and creeks for the winter. Here they bunch up real tight together and if you find them you can concievibly catch them all day long, of course there is a limit. But if you know where they are you could go back day after day as they due not move around much once they hole up. As for the redfish closure, I don't know when that would be, I think they also spawn during the summer also but not sure.

leonreno wrote: I think they also spawn during the summer also but not sure.

Between now and the fall....The reds I cleaned the other day were starting to develop roe sacks....25-26" reds, before someone jumps to conclusions

leonreno wrote:

catchin1 wrote:I've heard talk of season closure also. I'm sure in all there wisdom Fish and Game will take into consideration there spawning,like the trout, and close it in the cold month of February coincidentally when fishermen fish and "spend money" the least. Be a great plan if they could talk the fish into spawning in 50 degree water.

Actually the closed season for trout is not due to their spawning season, they spawn from late spring through summer.

I know when trout spawn. That was my faint attempt at sarcasm. I was making the point that the Lawmakers care more for the revenue generated by fishermen than the fish.That's why there is a closed season in Feb. instead of a spring or summer month when the trout actually do spawn. Less people fishing in Feb=less revenue lost to closed season. If it is indeed a cold weather issue then the only thing to do, in the best intrest of the fish, would be close the season all thru cold weather such as the snook season.
That's my theory, but it the feelings of others as well.
As for the redfish, as chalk just pointed out the inshore fish have roe as well this time of year.

Here ya go:

Redfish Management May Need a Tune Up
(Seawatch, June 2006)

Redfish stocks in Florida are currently healthy, but increasing fishing pressure could put a damper on continued abundance of this important sportfish species. That’s the message biologists delivered to Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissioners at a public hearing in April.

The report was based on a recently completed stock assessment for redfish that included data collected through 2003. The assessment indicated that redfish stocks are currently meeting the FWC’s management goal of a 30-percent escapement rate on Florida’s Gulf and Atlantic coasts. The escapement rate is the proportion of spawning-sized fish that survive to join offshore spawning stocks. For redfish, escapement rate roughly equals the species Spawning Potential Ratio (SPR), which is the measurement criteria used for most fish species.

Redfish stocks have been recovering in Florida since the late 1980s when CCA Florida pushed for and achieved gamefish status for the species along with substantial management measures. The rebounding redfish population and statewide recreational fishery that ensued has been one of the most important fishery management successes in Florida.

The current assessment estimates that escapement rates are 32 percent on Florida’s Gulf coast and 34 percent on the Atlantic coast. However, the continuing increase in the number of Florida anglers fishing for redfish has tempered recent gains by the stock. Even though localized large schools of redfish do occur, there has been slow erosion in the number of fish escaping to the offshore spawning stock, which is critical for the long-term health and abundance of the species. FWC biologists suggest that if fishing pressure continues to rise, as expected, redfish may fall short of management goals by the next stock assessment, scheduled for 2008.

Following the stock assessment, the FWC convened a stakeholder working group of guides and recreational anglers, including representatives of CCA Florida, to gather input on the future of the redfish fishery. After reviewing the latest scientific data, group members were inclined to suggest a cautionary, proactive management approach to ensure continued success for the fishery, including possibly adjusting the slot limit or closing harvest during certain periods of the year.

CCA Florida will remain in the forefront on this issue, and continue working with the FWC to promote full and complete protection for redfish, one of Florida’s finest gamefish.