Trash fish tournament

[skiz123]

Hi all this is my first post even though ive been a lurker for a few years. I figured you guys might be able to help me. A fish camp local to me is going to hold a trash fish tournament to "help clean up the lake" . It really bothers me when people kill fish that are native to our waters and justify it by saying they are trash fish so its ok! I have done some research but i cant seem to find anything that would seem convincing enough to change the minds of people that believe fish such as bowfin and gar are harmful to the lakes well being. Im sure many of you feel the same and i would like to hear from people that have been successful in changing minds about this kind of thing and how you went about doing it.

Thanks!

also im in florida if that matter at all

 

[Thekid]

Let's put the egos aside and think about it from a egcological point of view.

Let's think about it like a pyramid, every organism is a block with fungi and plants at the bottom and apex predators at the top. Every organism has a niche in the ecosystem. Doesn't matter if it's a dung beetle, an elephant, a wolf, or a human. They all have a purpose, however if we took out a pice of the pyramid from the bottom we'd see a ripple effect all the way to the top of the pyramid, there'd probably be a few blocks that wobble and maybe one or two that fall off due to the shift but life would continue. Say you took out the top, the one that has the job of being the controller of populations and health of the pyramid. You'd see a growth in the population along with a new top. The new top block or predator however wouldn't be able to do the job as the previous apex did and that would cause yet another shift putting even more strain on the blocks below. If we took out a middle block, say a scavenger like a vulture. We'd see the population boom of a lower scavenger such as flies and other animals along that line. Now the bottom is all contorted while trying to support an already unstable middle.

Bottom line is if you remove one species the ecosystem can absorb it however if you take out multiple and introduce a new species the whole ecosystem will fall.

 

[Thekid]

Frank Castle D davenmandy

 

[Wailua Boy]

The study of ecology is complex issue with many variables. I personally wouldn't be comfortable removing any but introduced species. Perhaps if there is an obvious population bloom of a species if could be warranted but that decision should be made by trained professionals.

My own opinion is removing nuisance natives has just resulted in lower overall fish counts and little benefit to the game species trying to be perpetuated, although there could be exceptions.

 

[MN_Rebel]

Good luck with educating the public. Believe me we tried and they almost made muskellunge stocking illegal last spring.

 

[krichardson]

Notify the proper authorities of this event.....exactly which fish are these people targeting?

 

[davenmandy]

Let's put the egos aside and think about it from a egcological point of view.

Let's think about it like a pyramid, every organism is a block with fungi and plants at the bottom and apex predators at the top. Every organism has a niche in the ecosystem. Doesn't matter if it's a dung beetle, an elephant, a wolf, or a human. They all have a purpose, however if we took out a pice of the pyramid from the bottom we'd see a ripple effect all the way to the top of the pyramid, there'd probably be a few blocks that wobble and maybe one or two that fall off due to the shift but life would continue. Say you took out the top, the one that has the job of being the controller of populations and health of the pyramid. You'd see a growth in the population along with a new top. The new top block or predator however wouldn't be able to do the job as the previous apex did and that would cause yet another shift putting even more strain on the blocks below. If we took out a middle block, say a scavenger like a vulture. We'd see the population boom of a lower scavenger such as flies and other animals along that line. Now the bottom is all contorted while trying to support an already unstable middle.

Bottom line is if you remove one species the ecosystem can absorb it however if you take out multiple and introduce a new species the whole ecosystem will fall.

Wow unbelievable post T Thekid . I agree with everything you said. Very insightful.

Here is my take on it. Summer fishing is my downtime. I go out, but I don't put much care into fishing, I'm there to be outside in the sun. Fall and winter fishing are my jam, those are the nights I wake up 4 am after drinking until 1 am. Those are the nights I drive to the spot before anyone else, walk to the spot, wait sometimes over a half hour for it to be light enough to fish (yes I'll use glow Sticks at night but that rant is for a different post). Those are the nights i freeze my ass off and sometimes think i may not make it back yo my car. Truth be told I hate that in a given day around may June I can go catch 50 bass in 3 hours (this weekend). On a fly rod my 3rd time ever fishing a fly rod. Suckers, bass, all those that eat trout and salmon eggs, I feel I could care less about respecting them. Too many, not a significant source of food or sport really. So i could care less about anyone fishing them out if season. I wouldn't go out of my way to organize a tournament to target them to kill theme, but I will take a bass and lob it 20 feet in the air to watch it hit the water for fun, no remorse. Disclaimer: bass may not be as prevelent in your waters, but on trout opener I caught about a half dozen 4+ lbers in water I'm positive that hold trout, couldn't get to them. Our trout and salmon run gets more abysmal every year. I kill Asian carp and snake head on catch, they destroy ecosystems, gobies too. I'm not a prick that enjoys suffering, I just simply don't care one way or the other for them, there's a reason that the expression is "plenty of fish".

 

[MonsterFishCreeper]

Where is this being held? I would love to know where theres so many bowfin that they are even catchable in reliable numbers. I've tried telling rednecks in maryland for years that pickeral aren't snake heads and they probably aren't keeping fish populations down. Hell most of the time it's green sunfish or other sun fish that end up being a nuisance in waters I've fished.

 

[skiz123]

Let's put the egos aside and think about it from a egcological point of view.

Let's think about it like a pyramid, every organism is a block with fungi and plants at the bottom and apex predators at the top. Every organism has a niche in the ecosystem. Doesn't matter if it's a dung beetle, an elephant, a wolf, or a human. They all have a purpose, however if we took out a pice of the pyramid from the bottom we'd see a ripple effect all the way to the top of the pyramid, there'd probably be a few blocks that wobble and maybe one or two that fall off due to the shift but life would continue. Say you took out the top, the one that has the job of being the controller of populations and health of the pyramid. You'd see a growth in the population along with a new top. The new top block or predator however wouldn't be able to do the job as the previous apex did and that would cause yet another shift putting even more strain on the blocks below. If we took out a middle block, say a scavenger like a vulture. We'd see the population boom of a lower scavenger such as flies and other animals along that line. Now the bottom is all contorted while trying to support an already unstable middle.

Bottom line is if you remove one species the ecosystem can absorb it however if you take out multiple and introduce a new species the whole ecosystem will fall.

Thats a good way of looking at it. thanks for your input

 

[skiz123]

The study of ecology is complex issue with many variables. I personally wouldn't be comfortable removing any but introduced species. Perhaps if there is an obvious population bloom of a species if could be warranted but that decision should be made by trained professionals.

My own opinion is removing nuisance natives has just resulted in lower overall fish counts and little benefit to the game species trying to be perpetuated, although there could be exceptions.

This lake in particular is one that seems to have a pretty healthy population of bowfin but it also seems like everyone that tries to catch other fish out there do well also. Thanks