re: Louisiana’s Redfish Population Has Collapsed

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Get rid of the mud boats and airboats and I am ok with bow fishing. The problem is that these style boats can now go where others were not able to before and it puts not only a dent in the population through harvest, but it also runs them out of the (shallow) ponds through agitation. Mud boats and duck hunting are another conversation.

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Same thing is happening with fishing that happened to duck hunting. Modern technology is allowing any Joe blow to easily do it and it’s become popular. Popularity leads to reduced numbers due to more being taken combined with pressure on the species and ruining of habitats as people venture deeper and deeper into areas that formerly weren’t touched trying to find fish/ducks/ etc.

Used to be only the hardcore outdoorsmen did these things. Hell duck hunting was tough before the fancy boats and decoys and all that. I used to walk breaking ice in waders while carrying a sack of decoys through a swamp or rice field, to a blind I made days prior with cut cane or a pirogue boat covered in rice stalks. Half the time end up tripping and getting wet. Break the ice, put out decoys rig up a jerk string. And limit out on mallards. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. Couple friends would join, we would shoot bourbon to stay warm and smoke cigarettes in the blind. Everyone knew how to call properly. Now you got a bunch of rich boys in their fancy boats who don’t what they’re doing and doctors and lawyers buying up all the good land. Duck populations are down, a lease on a duck hole cost 10k and you aren’t guaranteed to even have ducks. It went from a man’s sport to a rich kid hobby. I’ve all but quit going and it makes me sad because I love it and used to go every weekend 10-15 years ago

Why are skimmers not being mentioned? Or were they? There’s no way they can be doing what they do without having a detrimental effect on the ecosystem as a whole. Not just the redfish or flounder.

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The popularity of nighttime bow fishing has also put a dent in redfish populations, I would think.

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It just has to. Airboats going into sheltered places and shooting fish that aren’t even biting.

I've noticed a significant decrease in the Hopedale rigolets area in just the last 3 years.

I would like to know what LDWF is doing to study the population. It certainly deserves a look.

But I think the hurricanes have a much bigger impact than people understand. They change the whole landscape, as well as kill fish. Areas that held fish in the past are no longer popular with them. The fishermen that adapt are still going to be successful.

The Cocodrie area has been great for reds up until Ida hit. We still found plenty of reds stacked up in canals in the winter, but the usual spots we fish in warmer weather have been a different story.

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Last time I was at Venice marina they were deep up everyone’s arse who came in. Especially the charter guys

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I got asked to show license and box a few weeks ago while fishing roadside down around Elmers. Never had that happen in my life. Was interesting to see

Reds need gamefish status. Bow fishing for them needs to stop. 5 guys on an air boat shooting their own limit along with the captain and hand's limit isn't right. Where I fish the airboats keep the clear water pretty much cleaned out. For years now we have focused mainly on dirty water where we know the bow boats don't "fish". A 5 fish limit isn't bad.

Pogy & Mullet populations in Lake Ponchartrain and Lake Borgne have diminished considerably the last two years. The Jacks, Reds, and Tarpon have also disappeared because they aren’t following them in like they usually do.

There are 10x more Menhaden ships working Louisiana’s coast now because they were booted off the Atlantic seaboard. These things are killing everything. Those adult sized pogies migrate to the gulf and well these ships have sucked them up leaving these species to fight for limited forage.

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A redfish is a red drum….drum are considered a rough fish.

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Redfish have been considered a game fish in LA since the 1980s.

The people crying about bow fishing are looking at the wrong things. By comparison, bowfishing is a drop in the bucket. Most people aren’t nearly as successful as some of y’all think. Charters have more success, same as rod and reel charters. If anything, you could potentially add regulations to charters, but you’re messing with someone’s livelihood just because you think it’s a problem.

There are guides and recreational fishers that load up on Bull reds which more likely causes a bigger impact. If you’re going to make a change, eliminating spawning sized fish is probably where you would start. I don’t think it’s necessary though.

I bowfish and rod and reel fish. I keep the fish we shoot (obviously), and I release the fish I catch on rod and reel (unless my freezer is empty). I’d bet there are a lot of people who do the same.