Outdoor Adventures
Phil Taunton, Special to the Gazette
Friday, January 16, 2009
NEW FOR 2009 — a special season for floatline fishing, or what us backwoods worm dunkers more commonly called “jug fishing,” will be legally introduced to Kansas public waters this year, the start of a three-year pilot program.
Floatline fishing, where the angler can tie up to two hooks on a line dangling from a closed cell float, will be allowed during daylight hours from July 15 through Sept. 15 at Hillsdale, Council Grove, Tuttle Creek, Kanopolis, John Redmond, Toronto, Wilson, and Pomona reservoirs.
Besides being able to use up to three fishing poles, an extra small $2.50 permit allows the angler to use up to eight floatlines with no more than two hooks attached to each float. This method of fishing can be employed within the 150-yard restricted area on the designated reservoirs, where the more commonly known set lines and trotlines cannot be used. When I use to do this as a kid, my bait of choice was freshly cut morsels of some type of baitfish or a live two- to three-inch bluegill or sunfish. My floats were gallon milk jugs, and they were allowed to float with the current of the river or go wherever the live offering would take them. Any species of catfish were what I was after, but it has been so long ago I can’t remember how successful I was, and unlike some fishermen I know, I am not about to lie to you now! The main thing I do remember was, once you had a fish on, a merry chase would come about until the fish was boated, especially if it was one of any size.
My best recollection of jug fishing was when a famous celebrity fisherman — not to mention any names, but his goofy giggle and dark fishing glasses are a dead giveaway — filmed his weekly televised fishing show on Glen Elder Reservoir in north central Kansas. The show’s sponsor was also promoting a float he was using called a Yo-Bob. And boy, was he stacking fish in the boat! Yo-Bobs were sort of a spring-loaded bobber that came in various sizes, and when the fish hit, it would release a trigger in the float and set the hook — technology at its best. This made quite an entertaining fishing program, and a new style of fishing was about to sweep Kansas.
The only problem was, the celebrity, sponsor and filmmaker never checked Kansas fishing regulations before they did the filming or aired the show, and soon after, they were issued a summons for violating Kansas fishing regulations and “method of take” laws! I don’t know what the fine was, but once the show was aired the evidence couldn’t be disputed.
Under the new regulation, all floatlines must be under immediate supervision of the angler and must be removed from the water and not left unattended when the fisherman leaves. Materials used for floats are restricted to “closed cell” devices made of plastic or wood. Boat bumpers, used to protect the side of your boat, would make a good choice. It is legal to use some sort of foam device but unadvisable due to the possibility of this material breaking down. Closed-cell floats do not hold water and will aid in the fight against aquatic nuisance species, such as zebra mussels, being transported from one body of water to another. Metal or glass floats are not legal to use at this time.
The 2009 Kansas Fishing Regulations Summary booklet is available now at our local Wildlife and Parks office in Emporia, just north of the college on Merchant Street, or anyplace fishing licenses are sold. The publication is a summary of our state’s fishing regulations, and among other things, it lets anglers know all the new regulations that took effect on Jan. 1. More complete laws and regulations can be found online. From new regulations on methods of fishing to length and creel limits, and a new free permit for disabled veterans, the booklet has everything the angler needs to know in order to fish Kansas waters safely and responsibly.
You may also download a copy from the KDWP website, www.kdwp.state.ks.us. Type “2009 fishing regulations summary” in the search box on the home page.
For those of you who don’t know your bass from a bluegill, the summary booklet features a full-color fish identification guide of all the state’s sportfish, complete with text descriptions and detailed illustrations by renowned fish illustrator Joseph Tomelleri.