Quote Originally Posted by DShock
Quote Originally Posted by ladyflyfisher
I just visited a state park in Mo. (Montauk) You can fish from 7am to 8pm. What bothered me was the spin fishers
fishing the ff only part of the stream. This was happening everywhere. I did not advise anyone that the area was ff only, I didn't want to create a bad situation, I was there to have a good time.
If the people at the park don't know about this, they must never go to ff only stream, because everytime I was on the stream I saw one or two people with spin outfits.
What really bothered me at Montauk was people cleaning their fish and dumping the guts,skin and heads in the stream. In Illinois, you can't clean at the water. I did ask at the lodge about it and they said--oh, everyone cleans at the stream.
It may be okay for them, but I won't do it.
It's like litter, you pack it out!, out of respect for the stream.
Doug
Dshock, the folks around here...including many of the wildlife managers...will argue that it is more ecologically sound and beneficial to the fishery to leave the offal for the following reasons:

1. Keeps critters along the stream and out of the campgrounds, resorts, and yards near trash receptacles.
2. Gives the fish more biomass to eat.
3. Gives the scavengers stuff to eat.
4. Gives the predators EASIER stuff to eat than if they have to catch live fish...thus reducing predation of game fish.
5. Prevents that nasty smell in the parking lots, campgrounds, resorts, and yards of homes near trash containers.

It is a compelling argument that has always carried the day in Missouri. But I also suspect that banks littered with carcasses also ATTRACT MORE predators than would otherwise be there. So I'm not so sure of the net ecological gain vs. loss proposition with regard to predators. And it makes the fisheries smell and look nasty. But it sure does give you a lot more uses for white yarn and dubbing material! LOL