Catfish Man's News and Views
Joe Crumpton,
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
601 West Woodward Avenue, Eustis, FL 32726
Phone: 352/742/6438  Fax: 352/742/6461 
E-mail: joe.crumpton@MyFWC.com

Volume III                       October 2001

Editorial:
Over harvest of big cats-- a potential problem?
In an effort to stimulate the recreational use of catfish, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission included catfish in it's 2000 Taking of Non-game Fish Rule.  The Rule, F.A.C. 68A-23.002, makes it possible to take catfish along with a number of other non-game species at night with bow and arrow and gig, and in daylight hours by manually operated spear, gig, snatch hook, crossbow, and bow and arrow.
In the last newsletter, the CatFish Man even touted Sport Gigging and Snatching.  BUT!  Calls and letters have begun to come in about the potential abuse of the newly created fishery.  There is already some public concern about the numbers of big catfish being taken.  Is the concern justified?  Think about it and let me know.
~Joe

Sport Catfishing?  Two nights bow shooting
Maybe "Conservation" should be a word in every fisherman's vocabulary!!!             

Smart Anglers Think Like A Fish…
The smarter you are about fish, the smarter you will be about fishing.  What does the fish you are after eat?
Does it use its six senses?  If you can understand what a fish senses, you are better prepared to outsmart it.  Take a fish-eye view.  Fish can see at least several feet in water, and many can see into the air above the water.  If a fish can see an angler , it makes sense it will make a dash and hide.  How well does the fish hear or feel?  Some fish hear through their inner ears, but many fish feel or hear through their skin, or like the catfish, through skin receptors, or appendages like their whiskers.  Think about it!  Who is smarter, You or the Fish?