Gill netters

Allison2002

New member
Saw a Gil netter inside Grasshopper creek yestarday are they allowed to put nets inside the creeks.I could stand on the dock and watch high pull all 4 he had out. Does any one know the rules for netters.
 

Rannger361

New member
As I was leaving Grasshopper yesterday I had to raise my motor and turn it off to drift across it. It was ridiculous. I should have taken a picture of it.
 

jimwarden

New member
There is a lot of misinformation about commercial fishing regulations. Always has been, and always will be. But, here are rules from State of TN website.

https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/pub/proclamations/10-07-17.pdf

Nets are allowed in creeks and only violate if they are within 100 yards of the mouth of the creek, or if they extend across more than 3/4 of the width of the creek. Commercial fishermen remove rough fish that are an under utilized resource. A body of water can only support a certain number of fish, and by removing rough fish it allows more room (nutrients) for game fish. This fact is becoming vividly clear in lakes that have been overrun with invasive carp species. When and if these invasive species arrive in Chickamauga, there is only one group (commercial fishermen) in a position to harvest them and try to limit their adverse effects. Food for thought on a rainy Friday.
 

jimwarden

New member
Tn bullet - 12/16/2018 7:34 AM

Also supposed to be a certain depth under surface

Actually this is not a requirement. No mention of this in the above rules. Some species of rough fish could never be caught if this was a requirement including the invasive carp species that are causing such problems.
 

Tn bullet

New member
Jim I think you need to read into it more they do have to be well below the surface not to impede boaters just not sure what the depth has to be
 

flipper

New member
Tn bullet Jim is actually correct at this time there is no law on them floating. The term hobbled is meant for the tie downs on the main lines,lets say you have 8ft. mesh the tie downs can be around 5 1/2 feet so the fish has more room to tangle in the remaining mesh.With that being said you are responsible for your net if it gets ran over. Not trying to argue just trying to make it clear.
 

Canecutter

New member
After running over a gill net last spring, I reached out to a number of game wardens to explain the commercial fishing rules and regulations in better detail. I never received a concise answer from the wardens I spoke to. Most seemed disinterested and their answers often conflicted with what other officers told me. The final officer I spoke with informed me that since the net I hit was located in the main channel, it should have been sank to a depth where boats could pass over top of it. The officer also said that the gill netter was under no obligation to cover/responsible for damages caused to my boat, despite me having the gill netter's contact information and over $750 worth of damages done to my motor. I was running approx. 65 mph, in the middle of the main river channel (30+ ft) when I hit this particular gill net.

I am not saying that all commercial fishing should be banned from the Chick, in fact I believe that commercial fishing (when done legally/correctly) can be beneficial to a lake's overall health. I do believe, however, that move clear and concise regulations would be very helpful for the anglers, commercial fishermen, and recreational boaters. Having the proper knowledge of where and how commercial fisherman run their gill nets would help minimize interactions between the two. Even as much as us boaters hate hitting gill nets, I am quite sure this pain is felt on a equal level by the commercial fisherman whose net is getting hit. Economically, it is in both parties best interest to avoid each other as much as possible. I do think that we can all agree, that at least in high traffic areas (main river/creek channels), that boaters should not have to worry about hitting a barely submerged gill net.
 

finbully

Active member
I used to fish quite a bit in Mexico. There is a solid gill netting industry there targeting tilapia. The netters gear is marked better there than much of what I have seen here. Gill netters need to step up to the plate and mark their nets rules or not. It is just common sense and if a net is marked there is a lot less potential for the netters gear to become damaged, inadvertently or on purpose when some of us hit them by accident and cut the net to shreads. Come on netters step up your game!
 

jb366

Member
blueheron - 12/19/2018 9:11 AM

When the Asian carp gets into the Chick, we all might be begging the netters to put out their nets.
They'll stop netting when they get here unless they make it worthwhile for them to catch the carp. They won't want to pull up a net with a 100 carp in it and no gamefish
 
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