coast fish freeze

[Loftin]

Gonna be planning the yearly trip to Gorda and Rockport in June/July. Anybody living in this area that can attest to how the fishing is at all after the freeze? We fish all inshore stuff.

[Walker]

There will be fish there. Maybe not as many.

[Man]

It wasn't as bad as expected. They didn't lose anymore than what 5 guides can take out of the water in any given week.

[JB_Archery]

I'm sure they did all right... I heard the bass bite has been going crazy since that week of the freeze.

[Mayhem]

No fish in Gorda.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mexico]

ULM and LLM got hammered, our deeper bay systems faired much better. You'll be fine, might be a little slower than normal but the beer will still be cold.

[Capt Glenn]

East Matagorda took a lick. On a positive note I have already heard a couple of positive reports out of EMB, better than you'd expect after hearing doom and gloom and total devastation for a couple of weeks. But it is still going to be off for awhile. How off is yet to be seen. West Matagorda Bay didn't appear to suffer much of a loss at all. Reports from over there have been what you would expect this time of year.

I fished last weekend and we did pretty good, as well as I would expect for February. Time will tell how many fish move back into EMB and how fast. All I will say is we are seeing some positive signs. I have heard several reports that have made me smile. They didn't all die and there are more in there already than I expected. So let's hope for a steady stream of new arrivals.

It won't be the best year ever but I don't see any reason why you can't come catch some fish.

[88 Bound]

In Port A sheepies and reds were around. Close enough to Rockport.

[bigbad243]

Went yesterday and fished Redfish bay area and it was fine. Saw a lot of bait around and we caught 6-7 reds, 5 really nice black drum and an 17" sheepie. And this was in crap conditions with east wind and slack tide. It will be fine.

[Loftin]

Reading all this makes me feel much much better lol i hit a private pond up here in north texas and spots on the lake i always have luck yesterday and was skunked out. Always worth the trip to get in the saltwater!

[goofiefoot]

I'm here in Rockport, and there was definitely a large fish kill. That said, I went out this morning and caught 3 healthy reds out of a large school. While out, I saw plenty of live sheepshead, drum, and bait fish in the shallows. I personally plan to catch and release for the time being, but I feel we will rebound soon enough.

I filmed some of the area over the past couple of weeks and shared my thoughts if you're interested:

https://youtu.be/BGMg9bwXehs

https://youtu.be/adquciw6CQs

Feel free to reach out with any questions.

[drifter]

There was a huge fish kill down here in Corpus and all the way down through the Landcut...lots of dead trout amd Snook from what I saw...Hardheads, mullet, and most of the forage fish took huge hits...that being said the next month should bring bait back into the bays because right now there are redfish and black drum everywhere and they are HONGRY! On the bright side when I went looking at dead fish I never saw a dead red...black drum ,snook ,trout ,mullet ,hardheads, and literal tons of pufferfish

[ACbob]

This freeze wasn't nearly as devastating as the freezes of the 80's, however it was the worst since then. I hope some folks will practice CPR or lower self limits. The freeze wasn't as bad, but the day to day pressure compared to the 1980's is insane. That said, come on down and spend some money while you're here!

[Tommyh]

Thresherfishing on you tube has done several videoswhere he films in corpus flats with big girls dead. With the waters still cold, he is saying that decomp is taking a bit of time to get them floating, but the white bellies under water are unmistakable.

[stickbow]

it is pretty bad Port A and South. Please consider catch and release and avoid meat hauls this year so we can get back on track. Just a suggestion from one Captain. Have fun!

[rtp]

Is a person keeping 5 trout this year considered a meat haul? I keep hearing that term and have wondered exactly how someone has a meat haul/freezer filler with a 5 fish limit. Most people come for the weekend and fish a couple days at most.

[HeyMikey]

Originally Posted by rtp

Is a person keeping 5 trout this year considered a meat haul? I keep hearing that term and have wondered exactly how someone has a meat haul/freezer filler with a 5 fish limit. Most people come for the weekend and fish a couple days at most.

^^ this....keeping 5 fish is not a meat haul, but I won't keep (and haven't kept) more than 2-3 fish, and then only when I know that my wife and I are gonna eat them within a day or 2.

[DUKFVR]

No one should feel guilty for keeping whatever they want if it is within the law.

[panhandlehunter]

Originally Posted by rtp

Is a person keeping 5 trout this year considered a meat haul? I keep hearing that term and have wondered exactly how someone has a meat haul/freezer filler with a 5 fish limit. Most people come for the weekend and fish a couple days at most.

Five 15-17” trout is dinner for a family of 4. Lol. It’s impossible to meat haul with our limits. I’ll continue to keep what I want.

[Speck]

How about you just ban croaker as bait. That would go a lot further for the trout population.

[JES]

Originally Posted by DUKFVR

No one should feel guilty for keeping whatever they want if it is within the law.

Originally Posted by panhandlehunter

Five 15-17” trout is dinner for a family of 4. Lol. It’s impossible to meat haul with our limits. I’ll continue to keep what I want.

Agree with these guys.

[Mexico]

Originally Posted by rtp

Is a person keeping 5 trout this year considered a meat haul? I keep hearing that term and have wondered exactly how someone has a meat haul/freezer filler with a 5 fish limit. Most people come for the weekend and fish a couple days at most.

Mic drop. Our extremely conservative limits have done away with meat hauls. Even if you kept your possession and next day limit, that's 10 fish total. Enough to feed a family of 4 MAYBE twice.

[HNT ETX]

Since we all so worried, maybe guides could take a year off, but im sure that is just silly talk.

[Tommyh]

Originally Posted by HNT ETX

Since we all so worried, maybe guides could take a year off, but im sure that is just silly talk.

Would you take a year off?

[HNT ETX]

And there u go. If my job was running something i love in the ground. Yes, i would seek other employement until things improved.

BTW....all industries have downturns. When the oilfield crashes, people move on and are expected to do so. I was one of those a long time ago.

[Capt Glenn]

What is it about a guided trip that is different from an unguided trip when you go with your buddy in his boat?

Fishing guides provide a means for the general public to access a public resource. Guides provide a service to the general public. The anglers on my boat are regular citizens like you and follow the same rules and limits as you do. They have the same ability and option to catch and release or catch and kill as you do. There is no difference at all. Either the resource can withstand a harvest at a particular level or it can't. But it isn't right to limit public access to the resource based on if people can afford to buy a boat or not. People should be allowed to access the resource in whatever way they choose so long as they follow the same harvest rules.

Do not fool yourself for a second, stopping guided trips will not stop guides from fishing. Not at all. Most of us do it because we love it. If I can't work as a guide I'll load my boat with my fishing buddies who are all outstanding anglers and we will still be out there catching as many or more fish as I ever have. I did it for many years before I became a guide and if I ever can't guide fishermen I will do it as long as I can after guiding.

The notion of banning guides is misguided and short sighted. It would solve literally nothing.

[DallasCoon12]

The difference for me is..... when i go with a guide i catch a lot more keepers and less hardheads. Haha

[BW412]

Originally Posted by Capt Glenn

What is it about a guided trip that is different from an unguided trip when you go with your buddy in his boat?

Fishing guides provide a means for the general public to access a public resource. Guides provide a service to the general public. The anglers on my boat are regular citizens like you and follow the same rules and limits as you do. They have the same ability and option to catch and release or catch and kill as you do. There is no difference at all. Either the resource can withstand a harvest at a particular level or it can't. But it isn't right to limit public access to the resource based on if people can afford to buy a boat or not. People should be allowed to access the resource in whatever way they choose so long as they follow the same harvest rules.

Do not fool yourself for a second, stopping guided trips will not stop guides from fishing. Not at all. Most of us do it because we love it. If I can't work as a guide I'll load my boat with my fishing buddies who are all outstanding anglers and we will still be out there catching as many or more fish as I ever have. I did it for many years before I became a guide and if I ever can't guide fishermen I will do it as long as I can after guiding.

The notion of banning guides is misguided and short sighted. It would solve literally nothing.

I agree with you.

[skeeterboud]

Originally Posted by Capt Glenn

What is it about a guided trip that is different from an unguided trip when you go with your buddy in his boat?

Fishing guides provide a means for the general public to access a public resource. Guides provide a service to the general public. The anglers on my boat are regular citizens like you and follow the same rules and limits as you do. They have the same ability and option to catch and release or catch and kill as you do. There is no difference at all. Either the resource can withstand a harvest at a particular level or it can't. But it isn't right to limit public access to the resource based on if people can afford to buy a boat or not. People should be allowed to access the resource in whatever way they choose so long as they follow the same harvest rules.

Do not fool yourself for a second, stopping guided trips will not stop guides from fishing. Not at all. Most of us do it because we love it. If I can't work as a guide I'll load my boat with my fishing buddies who are all outstanding anglers and we will still be out there catching as many or more fish as I ever have. I did it for many years before I became a guide and if I ever can't guide fishermen I will do it as long as I can after guiding.

The notion of banning guides is misguided and short sighted. It would solve literally nothing.

^^^ do not fool yourself for a second... it's becoming more and more obvious that population growth is starting the 'fight' for Texas' resources. so, don't take it personal when people take note of all the guides social media pages full of dead fish. people just don't see guides(esp. bay guides) the same any more.. what they do see is..well, scroll through the pictures on your facebook... many, heck, the majority of those fish would still be in the water if it was left up to your clients to catch their own fish.... some wouldn't have a boat..some wouldn't have the skill, etc. that, in itself, would leave many more fish in the bay..

now, i've fished out of the harbor and charlie's for over 30 yrs(i've even seen your al. rig w/the rails frequently) you can not tell me, honestly, that if you were NOT a guide, you would feel compelled to keep all the keepers you lawfully could.. i'm sure you can catch fish, so if you fished just a few times a month, you'd have more fish than your immediate family would ever want to eat..

glen, on the topic, why do you think no one has caught a water body record speckled trout in decades without a major freeze?(you can't really count bud rowland's, b/c it was never seen/weighed etc by txpwd) why have so many bass records been broken on our tx lakes this year alone? despite the pressure..

you are very correct, you do provide the means, etc as you mentioned on your post.. i'm not saying guiding is wrong, but i am saying guide boat's take a very large portion of fish out of the bays. people realize you are making a private living on a public resource.. bass tarpon bonefish billfish and many other types of fish are mostly released on guided trips..i think that is what hnt etx was conveying.

after the freeze, i posted something very much related.. got hammered by a few(heck, mexico called me a puta! but his opinion doesn't really matter b/c i hear he is the kind of guy that will shoot a buck that he himself has agreed to being off limits!)

a lot of people genuinely love the coast, and the fishery. and see where it's headed.. 12" dinks the norm.. you wrote that the general public should have a means to access the fishing public resource. i absolutely agree.. but there was a time long ago when pretty much everyone had access to productive hunting land as well.. not so long ago about anyone could commercial flounder, oyster or shrimp.. times are changing just as fast as our population

[kingranch]

i say a year or 2 increase the size limit to 17 minimum would do wonders for all the skinny dink 14.75 trout that get kept.. that might offset the dent put by this freeze..

but if its within the law and im hungry for trout you darn right Im keeping some table fare

[skeeterboud]

Originally Posted by kingranch

i say a year or 2 increase the size limit to 17 minimum would do wonders for all the skinny dink 14.75 trout that get kept.. that might offset the dent put by this freeze..

but if its within the law and im hungry for trout you darn right Im keeping some table fare

^^^^ i'm right there w/you kingranch.. and i don't think a single person will starve(or even lose a lb!)

[HNT ETX]

Originally Posted by Capt Glenn

Either the resource can withstand a harvest at a particular level or it can't.

Exactly!

Originally Posted by Capt Glenn

The notion of banning guides is misguided and short sighted.

No more so than someone suggesting that me turning loose my catch the few times a year that I get to Matty will impact the fishery.

I was more pointing out the silliness of asking your average Joe to help save the bay by not keeping fish the few times a year he gets to go.

Also, I know you know that you are one of the 10%ers that can flat catch fish, whether you are guiding or not. Your clientele is made up primarily of the 90% that can not. So no, time on the water with a guide is not equal to time spent on the water without.

I never said ban guides. I respect what you do and Hope you keep full books. Guys that guide full time to make a living and raise a family is a commitment and you may be one of them. But seems to be alot of craigslist and facebook guides that could use a real job. Me and the group I fish with have no trouble catching fish, and i even have a couple in my circle that post adds when they get time off or get on them good, trust me...I don't cut them any slack.

[walker1983]

If there are more fisherman on the water and less fish in the bay systems than years before - TPWD should should assess populations and set limits/restrictions accordingly.

If the state says I can keep my "keepers" then they are going on ice because I love to eat fish, and I can only make it to the saltwater a couple times a year.

Drop the trout limit to 3 - raise the minimum size - keeper redfish to 2 - I am on board with any change that allows me catch more quality fish, keep populations high, and eat a few fish dinners.

[bboswell]

Originally Posted by kingranch

i say a year or 2 increase the size limit to 17 minimum would do wonders for all the skinny dink 14.75 trout that get kept.. that might offset the dent put by this freeze..

but if its within the law and im hungry for trout you darn right Im keeping some table fare

that would shift all of the pressure to the females which is exactly the fish we don't want to over harvest. A little reading up on trout age/size base on sex makes LA's 12" min more logical

[bloodtrailer28]

Originally Posted by bboswell

that would shift all of the pressure to the females which is exactly the fish we don't want to over harvest. A little reading up on trout age/size base on sex makes LA's 12" min more logical

Exactly my thoughts on increasing the size limits. From what I have read it would seem like all your doing is removing more females from the breeding population which is what we wouldn't want.

[bloodtrailer28]

Originally Posted by walker1983

If there are more fisherman on the water and less fish in the bay systems than years before - TPWD should should assess populations and set limits/restrictions accordingly.

If the state says I can keep my "keepers" then they are going on ice because I love to eat fish, and I can only make it to the saltwater a couple times a year.

Drop the trout limit to 3 - raise the minimum size - keeper redfish to 2 - I am on board with any change that allows me catch more quality fish, keep populations high, and eat a few fish dinners.

We have more redfish in our bay systems than we probably ever have. Why would you want to take the limit down to 2?
Lowest trout limits we've ever had and let's take that down to...while raising the size limit which means more females are taken. None of that makes any sense whatsoever

[skeeterboud]

what, if anything, can we do to have a great fishery? i'm pretty sure all these reds are eating lots of trout. years ago we often had big/giant trout attack and try to eat the small ones we hooked. i think the lack of giant trout is why we have so many 8-12" trout these days. of course, it was impossible to land one with the lure in the 14" trout's mouth. we had it happen in baffin a few times, and in the s padre surf many times, estes flats, emb often. i have a good friend that i took to emb 4 yrs ago that only fished salt a few times in his life. we made one drift on the way back to dry off, and he hooked a 13" trt. an honest 28-29 swallowed it at the boat! i don't even carry a net, and i don't think it would have helped. after a few runs it just opened it's mouth and out popped a scarred up dead trout. that was the last time it has happened to me/us..

[skeeterboud]

i'm still catching hell for not having a net

[DUKFVR]

Originally Posted by bboswell

that would shift all of the pressure to the females which is exactly the fish we don't want to over harvest. A little reading up on trout age/size base on sex makes LA's 12" min more logical

This!

[BW412]

Originally Posted by skeeterboud

i'm still catching hell for not having a net

Maybe a net ban would help.

[DUKFVR]

Originally Posted by skeeterboud

what, if anything, can we do to have a great fishery? i'm pretty sure all these reds are eating lots of trout. years ago we often had big/giant trout attack and try to eat the small ones we hooked. i think the lack of giant trout is why we have so many 8-12" trout these days. ..

We have a great fishery or had in between freezes. Mother nature puts the brakes on it every once in awhile with freezes. Not everyone cares to catch a big trout. Some of would just as soon catch good eating size fish. I don't keep anything over 22 or so inches. Usually won't even keep those a little smaller than 22. Would rather eat fish on the short side of the size limit. If big fish are your thing, that is good. Not knocking that at all. To each his own. I could be wrong ,but TPWD probably manages for numbers so everyone can get a few. Maybe you aren't catching big ones ,because you lost your A game!!!LOL!

[Mexico]

Originally Posted by skeeterboud

^^^ do not fool yourself for a second... it's becoming more and more obvious that population growth is starting the 'fight' for Texas' resources. so, don't take it personal when people take note of all the guides social media pages full of dead fish. people just don't see guides(esp. bay guides) the same any more.. what they do see is..well, scroll through the pictures on your facebook... many, heck, the majority of those fish would still be in the water if it was left up to your clients to catch their own fish.... some wouldn't have a boat..some wouldn't have the skill, etc. that, in itself, would leave many more fish in the bay..

now, i've fished out of the harbor and charlie's for over 30 yrs(i've even seen your al. rig w/the rails frequently) you can not tell me, honestly, that if you were NOT a guide, you would feel compelled to keep all the keepers you lawfully could.. i'm sure you can catch fish, so if you fished just a few times a month, you'd have more fish than your immediate family would ever want to eat..

glen, on the topic, why do you think no one has caught a water body record speckled trout in decades without a major freeze?(you can't really count bud rowland's, b/c it was never seen/weighed etc by txpwd) why have so many bass records been broken on our tx lakes this year alone? despite the pressure..

you are very correct, you do provide the means, etc as you mentioned on your post.. i'm not saying guiding is wrong, but i am saying guide boat's take a very large portion of fish out of the bays. people realize you are making a private living on a public resource.. bass tarpon bonefish billfish and many other types of fish are mostly released on guided trips..i think that is what hnt etx was conveying.

after the freeze, i posted something very much related.. got hammered by a few(heck, mexico called me a puta! but his opinion doesn't really matter b/c i hear he is the kind of guy that will shoot a buck that he himself has agreed to being off limits!)

a lot of people genuinely love the coast, and the fishery. and see where it's headed.. 12" dinks the norm.. you wrote that the general public should have a means to access the fishing public resource. i absolutely agree.. but there was a time long ago when pretty much everyone had access to productive hunting land as well.. not so long ago about anyone could commercial flounder, oyster or shrimp.. times are changing just as fast as our population

Haha... don't know how a deer got drug into a fish freeze kill thread but I kinda don't think your opinion matter's either. Lots of guys here feel the same way as there was plenty of head shaking going on off that thread and your post. Pretty obvios you don't know what you're talking about there fish killer, the deer or fish.

But hey you start a thread bashing " pop a top " .. to guides for killing fish and you yourself show pics of killing giant trout. Gotta take pictures and get that weight, that social media fame you so desire. Makes sense to me... you sound real legit!

[bloodtrailer28]

Originally Posted by skeeterboud

what, if anything, can we do to have a great fishery? i'm pretty sure all these reds are eating lots of trout. years ago we often had big/giant trout attack and try to eat the small ones we hooked. i think the lack of giant trout is why we have so many 8-12" trout these days. of course, it was impossible to land one with the lure in the 14" trout's mouth. we had it happen in baffin a few times, and in the s padre surf many times, estes flats, emb often. i have a good friend that i took to emb 4 yrs ago that only fished salt a few times in his life. we made one drift on the way back to dry off, and he hooked a 13" trt. an honest 28-29 swallowed it at the boat! i don't even carry a net, and i don't think it would have helped. after a few runs it just opened it's mouth and out popped a scarred up dead trout. that was the last time it has happened to me/us..

We have a great fishery and have for many years....we will still have a great fishery for years to come. Your acting like it's been the dead sea out there and that's FAR from the truth. There's been nothing wrong with our fishery for a long time.

There's plenty of fish that eat little trout including like you said big trout. My little brother had had a 28-30 in trout all the way to the boat and I went to grab it. Came undone and the trout swam off...only to see that he had about a 12in trout hooked and big mama ate him.

[Leemo]

Originally Posted by skeeterboud

what, if anything, can we do to have a great fishery? i'm pretty sure all these reds are eating lots of trout. years ago we often had big/giant trout attack and try to eat the small ones we hooked. i think the lack of giant trout is why we have so many 8-12" trout these days. of course, it was impossible to land one with the lure in the 14" trout's mouth. we had it happen in baffin a few times, and in the s padre surf many times, estes flats, emb often. i have a good friend that i took to emb 4 yrs ago that only fished salt a few times in his life. we made one drift on the way back to dry off, and he hooked a 13" trt. an honest 28-29 swallowed it at the boat! i don't even carry a net, and i don't think it would have helped. after a few runs it just opened it's mouth and out popped a scarred up dead trout. that was the last time it has happened to me/us..

The reason you don’t see any 10(+) pound trout caught out of East Bay is because you don’t know what you’re doing!!!! 6,489 go fast boats running up and down the shore line all day spooking fish doesn’t help.......
If you saw the numbers of big dead trout I saw 2 weeks ago on a Monday you would have scratched your head, I called Glenn and two retired Biologists to let them know.....
But , it’s probably just me , I don’t know squat

[sneaky freak]

Originally Posted by skeeterboud

^^^ do not fool yourself for a second... it's becoming more and more obvious that population growth is starting the 'fight' for Texas' resources. so, don't take it personal when people take note of all the guides social media pages full of dead fish. people just don't see guides(esp. bay guides) the same any more.. what they do see is..well, scroll through the pictures on your facebook... many, heck, the majority of those fish would still be in the water if it was left up to your clients to catch their own fish.... some wouldn't have a boat..some wouldn't have the skill, etc. that, in itself, would leave many more fish in the bay..

now, i've fished out of the harbor and charlie's for over 30 yrs(i've even seen your al. rig w/the rails frequently) you can not tell me, honestly, that if you were NOT a guide, you would feel compelled to keep all the keepers you lawfully could.. i'm sure you can catch fish, so if you fished just a few times a month, you'd have more fish than your immediate family would ever want to eat..

glen, on the topic, why do you think no one has caught a water body record speckled trout in decades without a major freeze?(you can't really count bud rowland's, b/c it was never seen/weighed etc by txpwd) why have so many bass records been broken on our tx lakes this year alone? despite the pressure..

you are very correct, you do provide the means, etc as you mentioned on your post.. i'm not saying guiding is wrong, but i am saying guide boat's take a very large portion of fish out of the bays. people realize you are making a private living on a public resource.. bass tarpon bonefish billfish and many other types of fish are mostly released on guided trips..i think that is what hnt etx was conveying.

after the freeze, i posted something very much related.. got hammered by a few(heck, mexico called me a puta! but his opinion doesn't really matter b/c i hear he is the kind of guy that will shoot a buck that he himself has agreed to being off limits!)

a lot of people genuinely love the coast, and the fishery. and see where it's headed.. 12" dinks the norm.. you wrote that the general public should have a means to access the fishing public resource. i absolutely agree.. but there was a time long ago when pretty much everyone had access to productive hunting land as well.. not so long ago about anyone could commercial flounder, oyster or shrimp.. times are changing just as fast as our population

This, most think because they can go catch a limit of keeper trout that the fishery is great, it was great when it was a 6-7 lb average, I also could care less who keeps what especially if they only fishing a couple times a yr, we live on the water and can go anytime off work, we release most and do keep a few to eat from time to time. Any one that thinks 10 lbers are every where these days are either lying or just dont know what they are talking about, if that were true more 10 lb era would be showing up at the big tournaments that the best fisherman on this coast fish. And it just dont happen regularly

[Capt Glenn]

Originally Posted by Leemo

The reason you don’t see any 10(+) pound trout caught out of East Bay is because you don’t know what you’re doing!!!! 6,489 go fast boats running up and down the shore line all day spooking fish doesn’t help.......
If you saw the numbers of big dead trout I saw 2 weeks ago on a Monday you would have scratched your head, I called Glenn and two retired Biologists to let them know.....
But , it’s probably just me , I don’t know squat

I saw them too. I knew we grew a whole lot of big trout but the numbers I saw were pretty surprising even to me. We grew A LOT of big trout. And we will again. The plan TPWD has in place is working and will continue to work.

I think you hit the nail on the head as to why more were not caught. Pre-freeze I talked to guys all the time who are "artificial only, wade fishing only, trophy trout specialists" who tell me how bad the fishing has gotten, there just aren't any big fish left, the croaker guys have killed them all, etc. The problem is many of them are still trying to do it like we did it in the 90's. Fishing the same places in the same ways. The fish don't behave the same way anymore and they don't live in the same places. We have had major habitat changes. The big high reefs are a shadow of what they were in the 90's with very little live shell on them. There is hardly any grass on the shorelines. We have seen huge amounts of erosion in some areas. There are 10x as many boats on the water. All of that has changed where those fish live and how they act. If you were not catching big trout pre-freeze and you wanted to you need a new plan. They were there and there were lots of them.

[Capt Glenn]

Originally Posted by sneaky freak

This, most think because they can go catch a limit of keeper trout that the fishery is great, it was great when it was a 6-7 lb average, I also could care less who keeps what especially if they only fishing a couple times a yr, we live on the water and can go anytime off work, we release most and do keep a few to eat from time to time. Any one that thinks 10 lbers are every where these days are either lying or just dont know what they are talking about, if that were true more 10 lb era would be showing up at the big tournaments that the best fisherman on this coast fish. And it just dont happen regularly

When was there a 6-7# average? True 10# trout have always been extremely rare.

[sneaky freak]

How many 10 lbers were weighed in the legends tournament
How many 10 lbers have been weighed in specktacular in the last 20 yrs? The answer is 1, I guess we dont know what we are doing. I'm not saying you cant catch a 7 or 8 because we do but a true 10 lber on certified scale is rare

[sneaky freak]

Originally Posted by Capt Glenn

When was there a 6-7# average? True 10# trout have always been extremely rare.

Before my time

[El General]

Originally Posted by kingranch

i say a year or 2 increase the size limit to 17 minimum would do wonders for all the skinny dink 14.75 trout that get kept.. that might offset the dent put by this freeze..

but if its within the law and im hungry for trout you darn right Im keeping some table fare

There would just be more 16.75" fish.