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Yellow perch record falls after 2 months

Administrator — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:40:50 +0000

Some things are made to last, and then there is Brian Clapp’s fishing record.
Clapp, of Butler, captured the Missouri state record for yellow perch March 18 when he caught a 1-pound, 7-ounce fish measuring 13 inches. His fame was short-lived.
On May 3 Vince G. Elfrink, of Walnut Shade, landed a 1-pound, 11-ounce yellow perch measuring just a shade over 14 inches.
Elfrink hooked the fish around 2 p.m. while fishing for white bass near the upper end of Bull Shoals Lake, just about a mile from Lake Taneycomo’s Powersite Dam.
Conservation Agent Charles T. Nofsinger verified the fish’s species and weight. Elfrink said he has caught several yellow perch while fishing for white bass at Bull Shoals. He said they usually bite on minnows or jigs.
The Missouri Department of Conservation recognizes fishing records in two
categories, pole-and-line and alternative methods. Elfrink’s yellow perch is pole-and-line record. No one has ever registered a state yellow perch record for alternative methods, which include gigging, bowfishing and the use of trotlines, pole and bank lines and other set lines.
A list of Missouri fishing records, rules and entry forms are available online at www.missouriconservation.org.

2009 trout stocking down due to 2008 flooding

Administrator — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:54:06 +0000

The Mo. Dept. of Conservation announced that fish losses at Missouri hatcheries in 2008 will result in about 180,000 fewer fish being stocked in 2009 at Missouri trout parks and other waters. This is about a 10% reduction, or 0.25 fish per angler, according to James Civiello, Trout Hatchery Program Director.

Civiello said that normal stocking was done for trout openers across the state, but the numbers of 12-inch fish will be reduced for the rest of the year, due to limited supply. Flooding at Table Rock Lake last year negatively affected trout both due to flooding and poor water quality, and other hatcheries had water quality issues, especially murkiness and water too warm for the fish as the slug of floodwater moved rapidly into and through the springs. MDC will monitor hatchery inventories, trout tag sales and other factors to keep the understocking from having more than minimal effect on angling.
This reduction does not affect trout stocking at Ft. Leonard Wood, nor will it have an effect on winter trout fishing in urban lakes. The latter are supplied from non-MDC hatcheries.

Twisted Cat Tournament 2009 Gears Up

Administrator — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:44:13 +0000

If hooking into a big river catfish, and feeling the whiskered power try to pull your boat upstream is your idea of fishing, take note: The Twisted Cat Tournament Series for 2009 is underway.

The first event, March 7 at Columbia Bottoms/Confluence, has already passed, but six events remain:

April 4 – Hermann MO, Missouri River
May 2 – Eire, IL , Rock River
July 4 – Louisiana, MO, Mississippi River
Aug. 22 – Fishing for the Cure @ Eire, IL, Rock River*
Sept. 12 – Taylor’s Landing Columbia MO, Missouri River
Oct. 10 – Quincy, IL, Mississippi River.

Sponsored by Blackhorse Custom Rods and The Catfish Academy.com, early entry fees of $60/boat include Big Fish; Fees are $65.00 day of the event. Each event runs from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. *The August 22 event is limited to manufactured bait only, and all proceeds go to diabetes research.*

For info, entry forms and details, call 314-225-5416, or go to catfishacademy.com or blackhorsecustomrods.com.

It’s Almost Spring; Noodlers Back at State Capitol

Administrator — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:13:22 +0000

According to a report this morning in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, noodlers, fans of barehanded catfishing, are back in Jefferson City at a Senate hearing to legalize their sport.

MDC had a five year trial starting in 1995 on Missouri’s big rivers, in which 159 people caught and reported 27 fish. Noodling has been a point of contention ever since it was outlawed in 1917. After the trial, Department fisheries biologists ruled that noodling would negatively affect catfish stock, and the ban was reinstated. Noodlers, however, are not deterred easily. Noodling link.

2009 Fishing Permits Needed March 1

Administrator — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:39:31 +0000

Resident fishing permit prices remain unchanged from 2008.
Resident and nonresident anglers under age 16 will be able to buy trout
permits for $3.50 instead of the regular price of $7, effective July 1. Daily trout tags remain $3 for adults and $2 for anglers under age 16.
Effective July 1, nonresident fishing permits will increase from $40 to $42.
Nonresident students attending public or private secondary, post-secondary or vocational schools in Missouri can buy 2009 resident permits, except lifetime permits, starting in July. Such purchases must be made at MDC offices. Such student fishers need student and residency IDs with them while fishing. –MDC releases.

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MDC backs off test of catfish restrictions

Administrator — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:39:38 +0000

The Missouri Department of Conservation has decided not to
test special restrictions on catfishing in central Missouri. The agency
held four public meetings in July and August to gauge anglers’
attitudes toward a possible trial of more restrictive flathead and blue
catfish regulations. Eight out of 10 anglers who commented on the proposed regulations said they did not want the change.

In a catfish angler survey the Conservation Department conducted in 2002, 55 percent of Missouri River catfish anglers who responded expressed support for some form of harvest restrictions on
flathead and blue catfish if it increased their chances of catching a
trophy-sized catfish.

The agency was considering restrictions on an 82-mile reach of the
Missouri River from Glasgow to Jefferson City and part of the Lamine and lower Blackwater rivers. The changes were designed to increase the
number of large flathead and blue catfish.

The Conservation Department is seeking anglers and business people to
join a catfish-management stakeholder group. The group will meet to
discuss catfish management with Conservation Department biologists. For more information about this advisory group or to ask questions or submit comments about catfish management, contact Resource Scientist Kevin Sullivan, P.O. Box 368, Clinton, MO 64735, phone (660) 885-6981, e-mail Kevin.Sullivan@mdc.mo.gov.

Speaking of Missouri River catfish, check out the story on catching monster catfish in the Big Muddy in the January-February issue of River Hills Traveler.

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