# Respect on the Tusc.



## CTB86 (Feb 16, 2006)

I went down to the Dover spillway yesterday and someone had tossed up a nice sized bowfin and three carp on the shore for no reason. Nothing ticks me off more than when some idiot just throws a fish on the shore because he "dosent like it." This isnt the first time I have come accross this either. These people need to have a little more respect for the fish.


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## Fishing-Miller23 (Jul 16, 2005)

I agree. Some people in T-County are pretty stupid.


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## firetiger (Jul 24, 2004)

did u catch anything down there? i heard the saugeye and catfish are really going at it below the dover dam.
As for the carp and bowfin theres plenty more where they came from.


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## fishing_marshall (Jun 12, 2004)

I saw those fish there also. Some people have no respect.


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## wave warrior (Oct 2, 2005)

Fishing-Miller23 said:


> I agree. Some people in T-County are pretty stupid.


EASY there miller!!! ALOT of idiots from out of town fish & disrespect our sacred river!!!


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## tcba1987 (Jun 22, 2004)

Bowfin are garbage fish and they eat anything that swims. as for the carp they are a great fight on ultralight tackle. i dont have a problem with people eating fish but to throw ANY fish on the bank IS a waste. however the bowfin are OVER POPULATING almost all of the oxbow lakes that are attached to the river and killing everything in them so i really dont have a problem with killing them.


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## Fishing-Miller23 (Jul 16, 2005)

wave warrior said:


> EASY there miller!!! ALOT of idiots from out of town fish & disrespect our sacred river!!!



What? I know, I was agreeing with him. I was going to say a lot of people, but I didn't want to make anybody mad.


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## CTB86 (Feb 16, 2006)

Since the Bowfin, and maybe the gar, are the only two species of freshwater fish still around from the jurassic period. I would say that it is still a pretty interesting fish.


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## tuscriverfisher (Jun 29, 2005)

"""""Bowfin are garbage fish and they eat anything that swims. as for the carp they are a great fight on ultralight tackle. i dont have a problem with people eating fish but to throw ANY fish on the bank IS a waste. however the bowfin are OVER POPULATING almost all of the oxbow lakes that are attached to the river and killing everything in them so i really dont have a problem with killing them."""""" 

TCBA i am sorry but i feel you are very wrong here you stated an opinion of yours therefore i am stating one of my own with all due respect!Ok first off bowfin are garbage fish because they eat everything that swims????So what your saying is that catfish bass just about any other fish is a garbage fish?I mean lets look at reality.How many of you fish with lures?How many ugly lures have you fished with and caught a numerous amount of different species?This tells me just about any fish will eat anything that swims.Bowfin have been around a very very long time.You feel there over populateing?Why did they wait for hundreds or thousands of years to overpopulate?Im sorry to say but they are not "overpopulating" they may be abundant but face it if the conditions are right it doesnt matter what fish it is they will group up there.If the conditions are not right they will move on and find what they need.Im speaking any fish.They are killing everything in them is just ridiculous.There is no one fish that is going to kill everything in a river or lake.Do they eat other fish includeing gamefish?Ofcoarse they do as do bass pike catfish etc etc you get my point.So just because you catch alot of them doesnt mean they done ate all the fish it just means the conditions are good for them.And if thats all your catching in an area well move to a different spot be a fisherman and learn what fish like what conditions and learn to catch them.There never going to eat all the fish you like or anything like such.So with all that being said i love fishing for bowfin.And there not a horrible fish there just like any other fish.Alot of bass fisherman think cats are garbage and vica verca.I love to fish not kill fish because i dont like them.I feel this is very wrong.When i started catching alot of bowfin i honestly felt pretty close to the same way as you but then i researched them and found out they are a fish that has a history behind it and honestly enjoy them not everone can enjoy these awsome fish.Here is a great site to learn a lil more on these fish and hope you realize there not just "Garbage fish" http://www.bowfinanglers.com/ Best wishes and try catching a bowfin on your ultralight tackle they fight just as good if not stronger than a carp. ;-)


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## rockbass (Apr 16, 2004)

tcba1987 said:


> however the bowfin are OVER POPULATING almost all of the oxbow lakes that are attached to the river and killing everything in them so i really dont have a problem with killing them.



Brian, you never told me you fished all the oxbow lakes......... I know the one old snad pit is full of them though. The only oxbow area I know of is by Walmart. We need to fish some of these areas you are talking about. and watch that caps lock key.......it must be sticking on your keyboard


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## rockbass (Apr 16, 2004)

Very good points tuscriverfisher!

I think he is only talking about the place they call twin lakes......even though it is not connected to the river and is only one pond not even a lake. There are a lot of them in there. I like to go there every once in a while to fish for them, but I have also caught a lot of nice channel cats from there. I want to bass fish it, but just have not done it yet. I also go there to catch turtles.....on rod and reel


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## 'Rude Dog (Apr 11, 2004)

saw this about 5 years ago on the little stillwater , by flex, in Midvale- someone had thrown 6 or 7 NICE channel cats on the bank to die- these were 3 to 6 lb , nice keeper/eater fish- I always wondered WHY someone would do that - there was enough cat for a good fish fry-( kinda makes your mouth water, don't it ???) - btw did you read the article about the tusc. in the latest OHIO OUTDOOR NEWS ??? ( someone let the cat outta the bag about water quality improvement.) 'Rude Dog


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## Dougerus (May 26, 2004)

'Rude Dog, I read that and it made me think I may need to drive a little north and give the Tusc a try. It feeds the Muskingum rive that I fish all the time so it might be fun to fish the head waters!


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## tcba1987 (Jun 22, 2004)

ok its a pond connected to the river by a small feeder stream, thing is 7-8 years ago that pond was full of nice crappie, big bass, big bluegill and of course cats and carp. the bowfin found there way in there, i mean at first you caught one or two, now its not unusual to catch 15-20 in a trip over there. ive seen them spit up bass 10-12 inches long, crappie, gills and small forage fish. I KNOW_I KNOW all gamefish eat smaller fish....good point...however i have seen this pond go from a very productive place to fish to a pond so full of bowfin that you cant even catfish on bottom with livers without catching them. i agree they are awesome fighters but they IN MY OPINION are a nuisance fish. they are way over populated in this pond/lake. i know one guy who went over there to crappie fish in the spring , he went through 2 dozen crappie minnows and caught 15 bowfins and never landed a crappie. just my opinion, everyone has their species that they pursue, i fish for just about everything at different times throughout the year so i am not HOOKED on one species or another, i have just saw the damage these (bowfin) can do to a pond/lake.


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## firetiger (Jul 24, 2004)

if they dont taste good they are trash fish. carp,bowfin,gar. all others are good. Back in the early 1900's people ate anything they caught. the easiest were carp,bowfin. nowadays why fish for bowfin and carp when there are walleye in the inland lakes now bigger bass crappie perch saugeye,sauger,white bass. u name it. Nobody keeps those ugly looking fish thats why they are spreading through out the inland lakes and getting very abundant.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

And to think I never caught or saw one until last year on my trip to Canada. I just mention that so that folks realize that they are not taking over all of the waters throughout the state. It does sound like there are big numbers of them in your area. However I don't think that would drive me to personally ever kill them and leave them. But they are considered a forage fish just like carp, suckers, gar, etc. So you can catch and keep as many as you like by the law. I still would not recommend leaving them in the water or on the bank as it leaves a bad impression on all fishermen.


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## rockbass (Apr 16, 2004)

bkr43050 said:


> And to think I never caught or saw one until last year on my trip to Canada. I just mention that so that folks realize that they are not taking over all of the waters throughout the state. It does sound like there are big numbers of them in your area. However I don't think that would drive me to personally ever kill them and leave them. But they are considered a forage fish just like carp, suckers, gar, etc. So you can catch and keep as many as you like by the law. I still would not recommend leaving them in the water or on the bank as it leaves a bad impression on all fishermen.


 They are not overly abundant in all our waters around here. There is the one pond people fish where they have moved in big time. More likely what tuscriverfisher said. The pond is ideal for these fish. Just like some ponds are full of bass. Or crappie. They really are not much of a threat to anything around here beings they have lived in our waters for years and the fishing is just as good now as ever. The conditions in the pond mentioned must be great for bowfin, but they are not eating anythign more than some catfish would eat. You ought to see how many turtles are in there and can be just as easily caught on rod and reel as bowfin. The place is still awesome for ice catfish too, but it has been being fished really hard this year


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## kennedy327 (Jul 12, 2006)

I hate seeing any fish thrown away. I have only seen one bowfin in my lifetime. I cought one at the bolivar spillway yesterday, pretty good fight, I wouldnt mind catching another. I mostly fish for carp this time of year. Considering I do not keep anything I ever catch, carp make sense. They get huge, and fight strong. I also keep koi at my house that I am attached to so I have a respect for carp. The only "trash fish" that I dont like to catch is suckers, just because Its like reeling in a small log. I honestly cant see why more people dont fish for carp, they are abundent and fun to catch. They are not always easy to catch easier, they are smart as far as a fish goes, If they see you, they will get the hell out of there, when they go to take the bait, if they feel the hook they will spit it out right away.


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## KATKING (Jun 10, 2006)

i seen some kids at the beach city damn that caught a bowfin..they was kicking it around until it died...no respect what so ever


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## kennedy327 (Jul 12, 2006)

KATKING said:


> i seen some kids at the beach city damn that caught a bowfin..they was kicking it around until it died...no respect what so ever


I used to live by sippo lake, and you would find trash cans full of carp there. Now half the people there fish for carp. I personally have respect for any animal. The only fish I cant stand catching is a sucker, no fight at all, but I would not kill it. It is a living animal and did nothing wrong. Me and a buddy caught a couple of carp out of the sandy that would qualifiy for a fish ohio award (barely) but threw it back because I got more enjoyment out of catching it then I would a pin. I really dont like the idea of bowfishing because most of those carp get thrown away, but I also understand the fact that since very few people eat carp, they need a way of regulating them so they dont over populate more then they do. But I still dont like it.


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## fishing_marshall (Jun 12, 2004)

You don't have to keep the fish to turn them in for a fish ohio. Just fill out the form and send it in.


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## kennedy327 (Jul 12, 2006)

fishing_marshall said:


> You don't have to keep the fish to turn them in for a fish ohio. Just fill out the form and send it in.


Do you need photo proof or anything else?


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## Hatchetman (Apr 13, 2004)

No photo needed Kennedy. In fact you can go to the ODNR web site and register it on line. All you need is the length....


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

if you have a printer,you can also download and print your certificate from that site
they will send the pin later.


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