two trout eaters

[stilllookin]

 

[Tennessee Lead]

Very nice!

 

[CATCHDAWG]

Heck yeah! A couple of good ones!

 

[LA man]

Thats awesome. Someday ide like to catch one

 

[catman529]

Those are good ones, are there any numbers up in there this year?

 

[RUGER]

Color me jealous

 

[bigluresonly]

Bigguns!

 

[Model70Man]

Awesome!

 

[stilllookin]

Some days there seemed to be several. Caught these beast on top water plugs.

 

[Buzzard Breath]

Good riddance. Now go back and keep another limit tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, and the next, and the next, and.......

And bring all your friends to keep their limit also.

 

[scn]

Good riddance. Now go back and keep another limit tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, and the next, and the next, and.......

And bring all your friends to keep their limit also.

x2

 

[catman529]

Good riddance. Now go back and keep another limit tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, and the next, and the next, and.......

And bring all your friends to keep their limit also.

yeah cause trout are the only fish in the water worth catching that should be allowed to breathe water...right

 

[Buzzard Breath]

Good riddance. Now go back and keep another limit tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, and the next, and the next, and.......

And bring all your friends to keep their limit also.

yeah cause trout are the only fish in the water worth catching that should be allowed to breathe water...right

.........

 

[AllOutdoors]

Big fish and nice catch. They sure do fight!...but they also eat largemouth and smallmouth. So long as its fits in there mouth, they will eat it.

 

[catman529]

Good riddance. Now go back and keep another limit tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, and the next, and the next, and.......

And bring all your friends to keep their limit also.

yeah cause trout are the only fish in the water worth catching that should be allowed to breathe water...right

Nope. The guy looks hungry and could probably use the meat to feed his family. Sort of like you flock shooting turkeys in the fall to feed yours.

that's not why you told him to keep em all. You just don't like other fish that eat the almighty trout. Which is fine if you don't like them, but a lot of people prefer catching stripers over trout which I am one of them. If he wants to feed his family with the fish that is awesome and I actually plan to keep the next eating sized rockfish I catch because I hear it tastes good. But I don't want them all gone because of some speckled fish that are stocked by the tens of thousands.

 

[AllOutdoors]

I don't trout fish and like the fight of a rockfish. With that being said. I love to fish for smallmouth. It stinks to dress a 30lb rockfish to find a smallie in its belly. I have had
them knock 2lb smallies off my hook. Even chase them up in inches of water by my feet while wading to eat them. Just saying. They do fight hard and are fun to catch but they eat most anything that will fit in there mouth!

 

[THEdonkey0515]

Awesome fish!

 

[catman529]

I don't trout fish and like the fight of a rockfish. With that being said. I love to fish for smallmouth. It stinks to dress a 30lb rockfish to find a smallie in its belly. I have had
them knock 2lb smallies off my hook. Even chase them up in inches of water by my feet while wading to eat them. Just saying. They do fight hard and are fun to catch but they eat most anything that will fit in there mouth!

thin em out but don't kill em off... I can see why they like smallmouth, they taste pretty good too

 

[MidTennFisher]

Rockfish eat whatever they want. They're like the Great White Shark of Tennessee rivers. Since you guys seem to want them all killed off, and I realllllyyy want to land one in my kayak, maybe we can work out a deal huh?

Help me out with some location info and I promise if and when I land one, it hits the hot coconut oil really soon after.

 

[Setterman]

Good riddance. Now go back and keep another limit tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, and the next, and the next, and.......

And bring all your friends to keep their limit also.

yeah cause trout are the only fish in the water worth catching that should be allowed to breathe water...right

Nope. The guy looks hungry and could probably use the meat to feed his family. Sort of like you flock shooting turkeys in the fall to feed yours.

that's not why you told him to keep em all. You just don't like other fish that eat the almighty trout. Which is fine if you don't like them, but a lot of people prefer catching stripers over trout which I am one of them. If he wants to feed his family with the fish that is awesome and I actually plan to keep the next eating sized rockfish I catch because I hear it tastes good. But I don't want them all gone because of some speckled fish that are stocked by the tens of thousands.

I absolutely love catching stripers and think they're probably the best freshwater game fish we have in this state. However, they have no place in a trout river which is managed to be a quality fishery with slot limits and special regs, it completely defeats the purpose.

I would never kill one in the reservoirs or below the warm water dams, but will gladly kill every one I can get my hands on in the Clinch below Norris. I have killed an absolute truck load of them this year and will continue to kill all I legally can until I don't see another one in that river.

They have a niche and places where they should be and they have places where they should be eradicated

 

[bigluresonly]

Recently I caught/ate a 44" rockfish with no trout in its stomach. The next day, same area, I caught/ate a 25" brown trout that had trout in its stomach.

In order to save the trout you must kill the trout.

 

[Setterman]

Recently I caught/ate a 44" rockfish with no trout in its stomach. The next day, same area, I caught/ate a 25" brown trout that had trout in its stomach.

In order to save the trout you must kill the trout.

Sadly I think you believe this.

Having large brown trout are part of a healthy well managed fishery. Them feeding on trout is part of it, not to mention large brown trout feed on a wide variety of forage, not just trout. The same cannot be said of the stripers as there is no other fish for them to eat

 

[catman529]

Recently I caught/ate a 44" rockfish with no trout in its stomach. The next day, same area, I caught/ate a 25" brown trout that had trout in its stomach.

In order to save the trout you must kill the trout.

Sadly I think you believe this.

Having large brown trout are part of a healthy well managed fishery. Them feeding on trout is part of it, not to mention large brown trout feed on a wide variety of forage, not just trout. The same cannot be said of the stripers as there is no other fish for them to eat

no other fish? I always see them busting HUGE schools of giant gizzard shad. I know they will also eat trout and smallmouth but where I have seen the rockfish they are eating nothing but baitfish.

 

[Cottontop]

When I was a kid it was no problem to catch sauger regularly below Nickajack Dam. Then sometime around the mid to late seventies along come the rockfish and away went the sauger not to mention the thousands of skip jack, threadfin and gizzard shad. All of which I have found in the gut of dead rockfish.

 

[AllOutdoors]

I don't trout fish and like the fight of a rockfish. With that being said. I love to fish for smallmouth. It stinks to dress a 30lb rockfish to find a smallie in its belly. I have had
them knock 2lb smallies off my hook. Even chase them up in inches of water by my feet while wading to eat them. Just saying. They do fight hard and are fun to catch but they eat most anything that will fit in there mouth!

thin em out but don't kill em off... I can see why they like smallmouth, they taste pretty good too

Crappie taste pretty good too. And I can keep 30 per day. The smallmouth fight much harder and like to jump making them fun to catch. Its easy for me to decide which fish to catch and grease and which fish to catch and release.

 

[Setterman]

Recently I caught/ate a 44" rockfish with no trout in its stomach. The next day, same area, I caught/ate a 25" brown trout that had trout in its stomach.

In order to save the trout you must kill the trout.

Sadly I think you believe this.

Having large brown trout are part of a healthy well managed fishery. Them feeding on trout is part of it, not to mention large brown trout feed on a wide variety of forage, not just trout. The same cannot be said of the stripers as there is no other fish for them to eat

no other fish? I always see them busting HUGE schools of giant gizzard shad. I know they will also eat trout and smallmouth but where I have seen the rockfish they are eating nothing but baitfish.

Come on catman, keep up

I'm specifically talking about the Clinch below Norris. There is nothing but trout in that stretch of river.

The stripers that live in other places are fine with me as they have a wide array of fish to feed on

 

[carsonmac]

Setterman-

I PM'ed you a couple weeks ago, let me know if you didn't get it, thanks!

Carson

 

[easy45]

good ones

 

[stilllookin]

I dont belive these fish are intentionally stocked in this are . Theres a huge striper fishery below melton hill and I assume they come through the lock at melton hill dam. Plus ive heard they releaae their brood fish from eagle bend hatchery which I would think would be a small number. Also if you use lures resembling trout and carch big trout that tells me well you get the picture.

 

[snaildarter]

I love to see people fight over which non-native is best......

There used to lots of bait fish up there from just below the weir all the way into town.

I may have to go back up there and catch a few rocks though.