# Paylake petition:



## BottomBouncer (Jan 20, 2005)

Well, instead of standing around complaining on the forums, why not do something about it....right? Well, I found a site that let's you make a free online petition. So I made one regarding paylakes and their harvesting/purchasing fish from public waters and using them for profit.

Here it is....I figured it's better than having the same old B**** fest on here about the topic.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stoppaylakes/


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## Ðe§perado™ (Apr 15, 2004)

They have done this for years and it just isn't going to happen. Good Luck to you.


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## BottomBouncer (Jan 20, 2005)

I've never seen one posted. It won't work if no one bothers following through with it. I guess we could all sit here and complain to each other, that might do the trick


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## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

Desp is correct I know this has been done on OGR/GFO several times w/ no success. You'll get disgusted about the lack of people signing it, but it's becasue most of us have alredy signed half a dozen of these only to see them fail each time. I think we're beating a dead horse with the petitions, but good luck to you.


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## BottomBouncer (Jan 20, 2005)

Normally people stop trying when they stop caring. Why sit around and complain? Obviously, by what you guys seem to think, nothing will ever fix it....so why keep complaining???????????

Frankly, I think many people don't care because it doesn't directly effect them or they are just too lazy to click, type your name and email and a statement if you choose. How hard is it and how far did people take it before? How hard did they really try?

It's like voting, people always say if you don't vote then don't complain about who's in office. Same thing in my opinion.


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

An online petition isn't worth the paper you plan to print it on. It's not much different than doing nothing at all, other than asking people to sign something. Things don't get changed by people setting around staring at a computer.


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## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

as much as i disagree with the ethics of paylakes i wouldn't and wont petition against them. even though there are the lakes that do whatever they can to make a buck there are still lots of owners out there who are good people just trying to make a living fishing. Also, no paylake steals our fish, the majority (all legal fish) in ohio paylakes are caught in kentucky lake or in alabama. to shut down paylakes you would have to shutdown comercial fishing in the entire U.S. our state does so little to protect our trophy catfish i dont know why we as anglers dont complain more about that. they set a "trophy" regulation to quiet people down. most of the people who can catch multiple fish over 35in release them anyway, but i could still go set a trotline and keep 30 flatheads under 35in. that is the real resource killer, at this rate im more worried about ohio's catfish than alabamas. plus would you really want the huge number of paylake fisherman on the river instead getting drunk every saturday


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## jason454ci (Dec 27, 2005)

What is the point of this petition? Are you wanting to ban something that is already illegal? Or do you want to ban commercial fishing? 

I doubt that the lake owners are buying fish off of people catching them out of local waterways. Yes tell me all about how someones uncles brothers nephew sold one to xyz paylake. Now do you really think these business owners are going to break the law and risk losing their lively hood. I doubt it. 

I really don't think states that allow commercial fishing for these fish are going to quit handing out licenses just because a bunch of guys from Ohio don't like where the fish end up. I'm sure that the states that allow this have done tons and tons of research on the impact of commercial fishing in their waterways.

Heck if you want to petition people harvesting and purchasing a natural resource for profit, maybe we can petition oil companies next. After all oil and natural gas are natural resources too.


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## Kyfisherman1 (Mar 22, 2007)

online petitions are garb, if you want to petition something it should be the catching of wild cats for sell to paylakes. Not trying to ban paylakes and stuff of that nature..... 

I've seen paylakes buy fish from individuals around here that came from the river, to me that is fine. What one man wants to do with his legal catch is up to him, but catching them commercially rubs me the wrong way.


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## Boss Hogg (Mar 2, 2007)

Big ups to you for getting this petition started. Everyone is giving you a hard time because people dont feel like they have a voice anymore. I salute you. Catfish should be no different than any other wildlife species. If a company took trophy bucks from public land and fenced them off on private property and charged people to come in and kill them people would be pi$$ed. I bet 80 percent of pay lakers eat the cats they catch.

I know some places have game farms where this is practiced. Do they actually get the deer and other animals from public land? Do they buy them from private businesses where they raise the animals to sell them? Im not sure. It seems shady to me though.


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## flathunter (Apr 5, 2004)

I signed and believe me I care..Not all those big paylake cats are coming from other states..Lots are coming off of trotlines set right here in Ohio.......But I have come to the conclusion it aint gonna stop, not enough Wardens to police it.


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## TheSonicMarauder (Mar 9, 2006)

so lemme get this straight............. youre in favor of people coming and abusing a city's water supply and letting them off without anything out of their pockets.... cause most paylakes that i know of and fish are city reservoirs.... IMO im proud to give my city a mere $2 a day to use the water thats gonna get piped into my home... heck... that sounds like an extremely cheap water bill that i get to fish whenever i want to.... and they keep that lake nice and healthy with the money they get from me........

and to let you know... the paylakes i fish are stocked by the state so they money they fork over every year for the fish goes right back into the state..........

to put it simply........ if you dont want to pay to fish then put the lock back on yer wallet and go somewhere else to fish... no one is forcing you to fish at a paylake


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## Kyfisherman1 (Mar 22, 2007)

Sky lake sells river caught catfish, always heard they use hoopnets.


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## Kyfisherman1 (Mar 22, 2007)

I believe there really has to be something done about taking all these big cats from the rivers, whether it is the ohio, or wherever, it doesn't need to be happening. Regulations on it, and then being enforced would be a dramatic step in the right way. A couple friends of mine found a hoop net in the river a couple years ago, said it had probably 100 cats in it. Said most were really nice ones.


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## Guest (Mar 22, 2007)

I too have signed these petitions before, and not much came from them.

However I do remember signing a petition about catfish limits in ohio, and two years ago guess what we got? Thats right more limits (length and size) on Ohio catfish.

I dont beleive that the petition alone got us these limits, but I dont think it hurt either. 

What I am trying to say is if you care about this issue at all then you should sign it. Im sure that it will do more good then it will bad. 

I signed it and will urge others to also. Thanks for posting this bottom bouncer. If people dont want to try to stop a problem, then they have no room to complain. So I hope we never hear any of these people who refuse to sign it whining. All you got to do people is click and sign.

As far as Im concerned, if your not part of the solution, then your part of the problem.


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## TheSonicMarauder (Mar 9, 2006)

the catfish thing i agree with,..... thats pretty shady but not all paylakes bring in cats caught from public waters... lake hodgson in ravenna is one of those... the channels they have in there were stocked as fry and the only brood stock that goes in there is the walleye and the yearly trout... not all paylakes are evil.... but i agree that the ones taking catfish from public waters need to be shut down... people who illegally take catfish like that rank right up there with the people who slit the throats of muskie.... the scum of the earth

might i suggest a petition to raise the patrolling of game wardens on enforcing the law a little more? im sure the rangers wont mind a little more time in their nice fast boats ~.o


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## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

TheSonicMarauder said:


> might i suggest a petition to raise the patrolling of game wardens on enforcing the law a little more? im sure the rangers wont mind a little more time in their nice fast boats ~.o


That's the problem, these paylakes that are designed for catfish are not regulated by the ODNR as far as patroling goes. The only patroling done is by the owners of the paylake.


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## BottomBouncer (Jan 20, 2005)

Seems some of you are a bit confused about what the petition is actually about. Try clicking on it and READING it first.

It has nothing to do with paylakes that buy from fish farms and EVERYTHING to do with wild caught fish brought to paylakes from public waters. Not a ban on paylakes. Hopefully that clears up some confusion.


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## BottomBouncer (Jan 20, 2005)

By the way, thanks to all that have signed so far. It's going better than I thought. Remember to pass it to all your friends that enjoy big cats. 


Should I adjust the petition to say that regulations should be placed on the size of flathead catfish? Blues in Ohio are protected as far as I know and I'm not sure with what, if anything, as far as channel cats? Any suggestions?


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## Kyfisherman1 (Mar 22, 2007)

It is not the paylakes folkds, get over it.. beating a dead horse

it is the lack of laws and regs on "our" public waters, not private paylakes!!! 
many people who run paylakes don't know much about the rivers, can't fault them, there not breaking any laws what so ever. If you want something to be done write your legislature and try to get something started to increase patrols or finally make some laws against this rogue commercial fishing. 

I see skylake bring in 3000 pounds of river cats one day, they were all over 30# all died upon release... a place that these came from is kentucky lake.. they abuse that fishery


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

I'd suggest understanding the current laws for a start. There is a limit of one fish over 35" per day. Smaller impoundments (700 acres) have a six fish limit. 
There is nothing wrong with what your wanting to accomplish, but these online petitions are meaningless. I can make one myself. I have a computer and I can make up a few thousand names. They can't and won't change law simply because some people don't like something. There has to be a real reason, supported by real facts. And, they must be presented professionally.


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## BottomBouncer (Jan 20, 2005)

Gotta start somewhere. Making up hundreds of email addresses wouldn't be too easy, especially if someone goes to check with that email address and that person has no idea what petition they are referring to. That would completely discredit the whole deal.

Look at the smoking bans....started out with petitions and people that were unhappy...


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## jason454ci (Dec 27, 2005)

BottomBouncer said:


> Seems some of you are a bit confused about what the petition is actually about. Try clicking on it and READING it first.
> 
> It has nothing to do with paylakes that buy from fish farms and EVERYTHING to do with wild caught fish brought to paylakes from public waters. Not a ban on paylakes. Hopefully that clears up some confusion.


Ok I did open it and read it. No where could I find who you are petitioning to. What waters are you referring to when you say public waters? Is that waters here in Ohio where your $ goes for conservation. Or are you referring to waters in other states where you are not paying anything?

I understand what your trying to do and agree with most of it. But as M.Magis stated this way is meaningless. I would suggest taking this issue to the states that allow the commercial fishing for these fish. That is where the problem originates at. You will need to do your research first though. They are not going to listen to just a petition. I am sure you are on a long list of many who have tried this. I wish you the best of luck on your quest.


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## BottomBouncer (Jan 20, 2005)

Meaningless = sitting around on a computer complaining about something.

Do the tiny details really matter at this point???? We can nit pick it all you want....just trying to get the ball rolling here. I'm not going to sit here and type an 80 page report just to spell it out to people...I'm sure most of you get the point of what we're trying to accomplish.


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## athensfishin' (Aug 15, 2006)

Life is in the details..... I think my dad and everyone else's said more than likely sums it up when you were told, if you won't do something right don't do it at all. You are doing exactly what most lobbyists and most of the current politicians are doing which is introducing information and asking for legislation based about minimal presentation of facts, which is fine if you are just arguing with some drunk at a pay lake but if you plan on making any serious attempt at solving the issue or parts of the issue you should be ready to take on a heavy responsibility if you don't then your really just spinning your wheels. The thought is noble but the action is pointless and even then legislation will not accomplish anything as laws would be easily broken and profits far outweighing the fines. If you really want to prevent this sort of exploitation of Ohio waters, Teach your kids to not support these types of actions and to respect Ohio waterways. Change doesn't happen overnight but it slowly comes around and it starts with education not enforcement.


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## jason454ci (Dec 27, 2005)

BottomBouncer said:


> Meaningless = sitting around on a computer complaining about something.


I ain't doing any complaining. Just thought I would throw some suggestions out there for you. But obviously you got this all figured out. Still waiting on answers to the questions I asked. Do you have any clue who you are going to send this to once you do get signatures? Do you really think two sentences worth of content is going to get anyones attention? That is why things like this are meaningless. I'm sure who ever you decide to send this to has already seen plenty of these. You are not the first to try this idea. Obviously the others tried and failed. Because if they succeeded we wouldn't be having this discussion. You have great intentions but you are going to need more ammo than some signatures to fight this battle. I'm sure everyone here has some idea of what you are trying to accomplish. No we do not need an 80 page report to spell it out. However the person or agency that you plan to send this to are going to want facts not just your opinion of why it's wrong. I wish you all the luck in the world with this.


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