!!!MLPA reserve process coming to SoCal in 2008 - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

madscientist · 01-22-2008, 11:20 AM

Slot limits might work for bass but they are highly impractical for the bigger fish.

YT are very migratory, grow like weeds, and the recreational anglers are not putting that much pressure on them. No need for slot limits there. Commercial pressure in Mexico is the probably the biggest threat our YT populations face.

WSB seem to be doing very well with the limited commercial pressure and the Hubbs restocking programs. It is also not easy to C&R big WSB, so you'd end up killing a lot of big ones anyway.

Not sure what the data says about halibut, but that range of slot limits seem more appropriate for the bays. I'd hate to not be able to target the big flatties in the ocean. Also requires netting of big fish, which carries a lot or risk to the fish and becomes somewhat self defeating.

It would be a huge pain in the ass to have to measure big fish on the yak. The YT and halibut bag limits are way over what a yakker typical catches, so I'm ambivalent on those. Very few yakkers I know take more than a couple bass at a time, if any. But I suspect the party boats are the ones most interested in maintaining the current 10 fish limit, since that's their bread and butter a lot of the time.

01-22-2008, 11:20 AM	#34
madscientist Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,906	Slot limits might work for bass but they are highly impractical for the bigger fish. YT are very migratory, grow like weeds, and the recreational anglers are not putting that much pressure on them. No need for slot limits there. Commercial pressure in Mexico is the probably the biggest threat our YT populations face. WSB seem to be doing very well with the limited commercial pressure and the Hubbs restocking programs. It is also not easy to C&R big WSB, so you'd end up killing a lot of big ones anyway. Not sure what the data says about halibut, but that range of slot limits seem more appropriate for the bays. I'd hate to not be able to target the big flatties in the ocean. Also requires netting of big fish, which carries a lot or risk to the fish and becomes somewhat self defeating. It would be a huge pain in the ass to have to measure big fish on the yak. The YT and halibut bag limits are way over what a yakker typical catches, so I'm ambivalent on those. Very few yakkers I know take more than a couple bass at a time, if any. But I suspect the party boats are the ones most interested in maintaining the current 10 fish limit, since that's their bread and butter a lot of the time. __________________