Catfish Conservation, Central Texas Top Catfish Lakes and More [CR EP 27]

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On this weeks episode of Catfishing Radio we bring a very special guest on the show, Mr. John Tibbs with Texas Parks and Wildlife. John is the Inland Fisheries District Supervisor with Texas Parks and Wildlife office in Waco Texas covering much of the central Texas area. John is also heading up the research for the blue catfish slot limits that have been introduced on several Texas lakes.

Before the interview we do the show announcements.

• I screwed up the podcast episode numbers. Last weeks show on Sonar, Down Imaging and Side Imaging was episode 26 and this is actually episode 27
• Thanks to the sponsors Team Catfish and Brute Outdoors for being a sponsor of Catfishing Radio.
• We are running a sale THIS WEEK ONLY, it ends on Sunday May 13th at midnight. Use the coupon code MAY2012 for 15% off any of our premium products (except Jug Fishing 101). You can find all of these on the products page for quick reference.
• This is the time of the year for catching amazing numbers of channel catfish. Check out the Summer Channel Catfish Techniques program and fish those techniques using the Secret Channel Catfish Rig. If blue catfish is more your speed then the techniques outlined in the Spring Blue Catfish Techniques program will still work.
• We have a BIG announcement coming up soon. Make sure you keep a close eye on the website!

Catfishing Radio Episode 27

We have John Tibbs on the show. John and I  cover the following topics:

• Catfish Conservation – Texas Parks and Wildlife has an experimental slot in place on Lake Lewisville, Lake Waco and Richland Chambers Reservoir here in Texas. Anglers can keep a full bag limit of fish less than 30”, everything between 30 and 45 inches has to be released and anything over 45 inches the anglers can keep one per day. They are studying what they can do to increase the populations of trophy catfish on these lakes and what kind of impact they can have on the fisheries. John and I discuss this program, what they are doing, how they are studying the trophy catfish populations and monitoring the impact of this program. John provides a sort of 50,000 foot overview of what is taking place with this. He also covers what the plans are in the future if this program has impacts on these fisheries and what would take place.
• Trophy Catch and Release – John and I have a conversation about trophy catch and release and how the attitude has changed towards the catch and release of big catfish over the years and the support level that is coming from anglers and even from jug fishing anglers.
• Catfishing Popularity Is Growing – We discuss the popularity increase in catfishing across the country and the popularity of Texas catfishing. The catfish is the second most popular fish in Texas second only to bass and even beats out the “anything” anglers who are out on the water. John and I discuss this and discuss the attitude of Texas Parks and Wildlife towards catfish anglers.
• How Long Does It Take A Catfish To Mature – We discuss how long it takes a catfish to mature and how a 10 lb blue catfish in one lake can vary greatly in age from different bodies of water and some of the factors that impact these growth rates which is everything from the water body to the genetics of the fish and some of these “super fish” that have been stocked in one of his lakes.
• Black and White Catfish – Black and white catfish or what many anglers refer to as a “holstein” catfish are popping up in lakes all over the country. We discuss what causes this weird black and white appearance, albino catfish, pigment mutations in catfish and even color variances in flathead catfish.
• Catfish Populations – We discuss the populations of catfish in lakes and rivers across Texas and with the increasing popularity of catfishing if bag limit decreases are needed to keep healthy fish populations and exactly how Texas Parks and Wildlife is monitoring this and what the responses are.
• Lake Tawakoni – Myself and some other catfish guides have a theory about Lake Tawakoni and the catfish hype on this lake and how it may be overhyped. There is doubt it has excellent catfish populations but we discuss my theory on what would happen if some other lakes were to get the fishing pressure that Tawakoni gets and what the results would be.
• Texas Catfish Noodling  – We discuss the recent legalization of catfish noodling in Texas and concerns about flathead catfish populations amongst a group of anglers that are not historically known to catch and release fish.

Central Texas Top Catfish Lakes

John provides some of his top picks for central Texas catfish lakes in his district and provides what he thinks are the best lakes for catching blues, channels and flatheads in his district.

Some of the lakes we discuss in this segment are Lake Granbury, Lake Whitney, Lake Waco, Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir, Belton, Limestone and Squaw Creek. If you are anywhere near or around these areas you should definitely listen to this segment of the show and get the first hand update on what is going on at these lakes in central Texas straight from the man who manages them. Be sure to check out our catfish rigs section and the catfishing techniques and then get out on the water and hit these lakes up!

Finally we wrap up the show and discuss some of the upcoming interviews that will be on future episodes of catfishing radio.

Don’t forget, we are running a sale THIS WEEK ONLY, it ends on Sunday May 13th at midnight. Use the coupon code MAY2012 for 15% off any of our premium products (except Jug Fishing 101). You can find all of these on the products page for quick reference.