Seems that New Hampshire Fish and Game wants to protect spawning females, which is the reason behind new hardwater limits on bass. Highlights from an AP article:
> The size and number of black bass that can be taken during ice fishing season will be reduced…to two fish, and only one can be longer than 16 inches.
> Steve Perry, chief of the inland fisheries division for F&G, said large bass have a tendency to congregate in wintering areas and that the larger fish tend to be females that spawn earlier in the season. “We’re trying to limit the number of large bass being taken through the ice,” Perry said.
> Four lakes and ponds considered prime spots for catching trophy bass will have even stricter ice fishing limits: On Clement Pond in Hopkinton, Grassy Pond in Rindge, Warren Lake in Alstead and Gregg Lake in Antrim, from ice-in to ice-out, the daily limit is three black bass and only one can exceed 20 inches. Also during this time, no black bass between 15-20 inches may be taken from those waters.
> On rivers and streams, from Jan. 1 through March 31, the limit on black bass also will be two fish, and only one can be longer than 16 inches.
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C. Craig
December 29, 2010 at 11:46 am
No big deal to me. Here in Texas we have many size limit restrictions to help maintain bigger fish on many lakes:
Lake Fork: Largemouth bass are subject to a 16- to 24-inch slot limit. Bass 16 inches and shorter and 24 inches and longer can be harvested with a daily bag limit of 5 fish, of which only 1 fish can be 24 inches or greater.
O.H. Ivie: For largemouth bass, there is no minimum length, but anglers can keep only 2 per day that measure less than 18 inches.
Lake Monticello : a special 14-24 inch slot limit on largemouth bass. Bass 14 inches and less or 24 inches or greater in length may be retained. Only one bass 24 inches or greater may be retained each day, with a total bag limit of 5 bass.
As you can see it is really crazy on some of our lakes! I just listed three but there are some others with slot limits. I think it helps with growing some big bass though.
What I think you really have to watch for is restrictions during spawning season, that is when you are stepping into states opinions versus facts on whether it hurts fishing population.
BryanT
December 29, 2010 at 2:33 pm
I wish I had recorded some of the aqua vue stuff I’ve seen on the backwaters of the Mississippi from pool 8-13. If I were to guess, there are 100,000+ of bass stacked up like cord wood. This makes sense, especially on the ice where everyone can get to them, and the concentrations are at their largest of the year.