What is a Pay Lake and How it Impacts Catfishing

[@bigdave6194]

A "pay lake" in my area is a farmer who has a pond he stocks...usually channels...and he feeds them to eating size. You go and catch them and pay by the pound to eat them. Im perfectly ok with that. The idea of removing large fish from their natural environment and putting into pay lakes is the same as a canned hunt. Im a fisherman and a hunter. Lifelong. And both of these practices angers me to no end.

[@bigden31]

Exactly. I'll never understand the fun in silly paylake tournaments. It's tantamount to fishing in a giant aquarium. Literally shooting fish in a barrel.

[@chriscostlow4210]

Love having the comments enabled. Feels like a mutual relationship where each party values the others. There's gonna be some negative people but that's their problem.

[@appalachianfishing8548]

I do love the fact you are open minded and try to look at all aspects of whatever you may be talking about . Keep it up Dieter you truely are one of a kind. This sport needs more guys like you in it. You will make a difference

[@bradbex9051]

There is a bunch of paylakes around me in central Indiana. They are taking them out of our local rivers and the Ohio river. Its a terrible thing going on.

[@andrewcochran7642]

Big impact on Kentucky section of Ohio river commercial fish sells blue n flats almost exclusive to paylake

[@unbalancedredneck5778]

I agree completely. It gets harder every year to catch any large catfish from the Ohio river. They are ruining a natural restore purely for profit.

[@sjfarish]

So glad you touched on this again Dieter...

[@jamesstrauss4233]

My concern still falls with over harvesting. I'm on a few pages and it's quite sickening that some people will keep literally everything. One guy loaded a trailer of various sizes of flatheads.. not to mention a lot of people don't even know how to hold a fish properly without harming it.

[@denttech8447]

Paylakes start young angler's too.

[@clearlyepic9958]

Listened to this on the podcast Dieter… but I’ll leave a thumbs up here to help you out! Great info buddy!

[@ericflowers2146]

I've released a few 5 to 15 lb cats in my buddies smaller pond. Hopefully they'll grow bigger instead of dieing

[@skintchanel18]

Depends how big Your friend pond is ?

[@hustlemeninc]

I guess it depends on where you are. I know of one in Texas owned by some young boys who have begun to transition into a full time job for them. They have more than a few ponds. Again I think it just depends where you are.

[@carybruton7284]

Great job Dieter. Can not wait for cool weather to get back on Wylie see you there brother

[@larryking606]

Hope you have a A Great Day !

[@acarter4173]

I fished a paylake for the first time this weekend, that's after 40 years of rivers, lakes, creeks, and oceans. I can say that it's only easy fishing for experienced people who know what they are doing. That said, over-harvest is a problem. I see both sides of this, and feel like a compromise is the only way to mitigate it. After years of dragging their feet, KDFWR finally tightened harvest regulations on the Ohio River.

[@benhouke8318]

There is a paylake near me closing because the owner can't handle the protesting from real fishermen and women. It is a huge win for our big fish waters.

[@cindytrussell1225]

When you don’t have a boat or permission to fish in private water your only other option is a pay lake. If there is someone that is doing illegal stocking and just for money then they need to be held accountable.

[@redfrofishing65]

@@cindytrussell1225 it's the spirit of the pursuit. Paylaking just gets rid of that. I go out often. I've caught several small fish in public waters. It's when you get that one biggun that makes you feel rewarded. Everybody can fish there. But you managed to catch the big one

[@xSteve1983x]

@@cindytrussell1225 huh? You think your only options to fish are if you have a boat or if you have a private lake? I’m a bank fishermen and there are lots of public access locations on public lakes around here. If my only option was a paylake, I’d probably quit fishing. It’s a disgusting business.

[@benhouke8318]

@@cindytrussell1225 Are u located in the States?

[@cindytrussell1225]

@@benhouke8318 my husband is the one making these comments. He was using my account

[@whiskerdreams7146]

I am fishing a carp tournament Saturday night in Dobson,$250 intry fee,$600 hourly payout..

[@haroldcale4767]

Living in Ky I like fishing at payS lakes for relaxing and fishng too. Now they pay you for fishing by bigest fish caought and tag fish. So bank fishing at my age is good for me. thanks for posting v's .

[@oscaraldaiz9628]

I understand the issue and I think just as in life there are good and bad people, there are good pay lakes and bad pay lakes. I do agree that there should not be selling of wild caught big fish to these ponds, but farm raised is a another way of getting people out to fish. There have been a lot of kids whose love of fishing as an adult comes from having a great fishing experience at a pay lake. Thanks for the discussion.

[@hensleyshobbies-doug7761]

Yeah man, I agree with that!

[@basicfishing1013]

The issue here is harvesting fish from public waters and then stocking private pay lakes for profit. There are plenty of fee fishing lakes that people can fish that are stocked with farm raised fish which are regulated by the the Department of Agriculture. These types of lakes are great because they are being stocked with a regulated, farm raised fish. This is a very good industry for fish farmers to safely raise and stock the fish while making an honest living.

[@hensleyshobbies-doug7761]

These paylakes, a lot of them, especially the well known ones or whatever, like you said Dieter they keep putting more and more fish and big fish in these lakes, which are actually a glorified farm pond, or ponds, and they keep putting a lot of fish in there, some of them are going to die because of overcrowding, especially when the damn lake ( farm ponds) isn’t very big. I used to fish a few different paylakes around Ky. and Ohio, but I kinda wised up on them, I’ve sit at these different paylakes, not mentioning any names, but I’ve been there quite a few times when a fish hauling truck comes in, and some of those trucks will have a load of big fish, which is somewhat alright because those are usually commercial fisheries or something like that, those places usually have their own holding ponds, which holds different fish and different size fish until they get an order come in, then some has a truck to go get fish from a live fish market or whatever, there used to be one of those down at land between the lakes and you can go there and pick your own fish out. Then on the other hand I’ve watched guys, just everyday fisherman, regular joes, come into a paylake and they generally have some kind of live well in the back of their truck or something, you’ll see them go to the bait house, of the paylake, and directly they’ll come back out with the owner of said paylake, they’ll in the fellars live well or the fellars will pull a big fish out of there, and it’s usually a big Flathead, anyways they all work out some kind of deal and then the paylake will turn that big fish loose in their lake or one of their lakes, depending on how many lakes ( ponds) they have on their place. That’s what gets me right there, because these fellars have caught that big fish usually from a local river, sometimes maybe a reservoir, most of the time it’s a local river or a big creek, what they ain’t realizing is their hurting that rivers, or creeks, reservoir, whatever’s resource, you’re hurting future fishing of one of those places, wherever you caught that big fish. You keep pulling big fish out of your river or whatever and won’t be long the fishing ain’t gonna be no good in there, or it won’t be no good for future fisher”people”! Wouldn’t you like to see your son , grandson or whoever go down to your “river “ or reservoir “ when they grow up and catch trophy catfish?!? Plus not only that but those big fish are the main breeders, at least in my mind they are! Geez! I could go on and on but I believe you get the idea, right! Anyways, good one Dieter!

[@p-citysmittycatfishing7160]

Interesting info Dieter. My area doesn’t have paylakes (that I know of). Hope people do what’s right for their area.

[@blitzhunts]

id much rather fish for trophy fish somewhere like the james river, tennessee river, etc, but where im from we do not have any blue catfish within a 3 hour drive radius aside from pay lakes. theres 3 around me here and ive fished all of them, one of them is a terrible place that doesnt have oxygen, their blue cats die every time they get stocked in. flatheads and channels live yearly in there unless gut hooked or dropped. quit going there. the other place is a farm that has 4 ponds, family ran and they rarely ever stock fish, but they are very well maintained and have lots of blue catfish. whether you actually catch any just depends if they are willing to eat. the other place has one pond, its oxygenated pretty well and the fish live year around because there is shad and other baitfish they can thrive on. now, for me i have no issue with people taking fish out of public waters as long as its from areas that are not going to hurt anything. just depends where they get them from. and they dont always die. of course any fish in the wild is gonna die eventually no matter where its at. these guys who sling these catfish up on their shoulder and get their slime all over them are actually killing that fish 99% of the time. any real trophy im keeping it on the ground for a pic, river or pay lake doesnt matter i want the fish to live.

[@rickyreed48]

I follow you sir and love your ideas. How do you get your lighting to look 👀 so good and what size is your sign

[@FishinwithThaChad]

Very good info. There is places you can see video and pics of what happens to these fish. Dumpsters full, or thrown over the hillside. It's sad to see that many don't last very long.

[@jeffwerth2707]

I guess depends on where the fish came from - private hatchery or public water but state stocked. Regarding harvest I hope someone looks at the pond and food and O2 - can the fish survive the summer? Rather see on the dinner plate vs. turtle food

[@roadhazard2002]

I fish pay lake's around Dayton OH mainly because the public fishing spots are mainly for people with boats (can't afford one of those), very little bank access and when there is it's elbow to elbow. We are trying to find access points for some of the rivers around here. I agree it needs to be regulated by using data like size and numbers, as you said is sizes remains the same and estimated numbers stays the same then no harm is really being done. Of course some of the fish will die but they die in the wild as well and because the pay lake's are 'catch and release"doesn't mean people do it (Rainbow lakes owner here catches people all the time trying to keep them). BTW both lake's I go to have air systems and see maybe see one dead floating (worst pay lake around here is (Gratis OH) "Catfisherman's Paradise" always dead floating fish and they supposedly use chemicals to encourage fish to bite).

[@gunfisher4661]

Rainbow lakes used to have quite a few 100+ lb. catfish in there for a fact maybe not today but used to be the place to go.

[@roadhazard2002]

@@gunfisher4661 I been going there for a few years now. He mainly only stocks the lake next to the bait house now. 30-40lbs about the biggest I seen come out of there now. Still a good place to go I think they need to put some money into the big lake in the back though.

[@gunfisher4661]

@@roadhazard2002 The two lakes by the bait shop used to be best fishing, I`ve seen as many as 4 - 100 lb being put in at once in the past

[@marcsmith1413]

I live in Cincinnati and I agree bank fishing on the river for those of us that can't afford a boat or don't have a sponsor to give us a boat it's hard to find bank access to fish so state parks and paylakes are a way for us to do what we love and that's to FISH. I hate this war between people who like to fish matter where it's at fishing is fishing and if that's what we love doing why bash the place that gives us the opportunity to do it. I'm from Alabama but live in Cincinnati now and I go to paylakes state parks and fish the river when I can find access to do it from the bank which is not an easy thing to do. This narrative some of these people are creating is ridiculous. It's like they're jealous because they got a boat and can fish in a river but mad because a person can go to a paylake and catch a bigger fish than they've ever caught. The shit is crazy to me and I don't get it. I grew up fishing in the TN River and it was poisoned for a long time but the problem was corrected but I won't eat a fish out of any river because of that. I also don't eat fish out of paylakes because I practice catch and release. I do eat crappie bluegill and white bass out of paylakes and state parks but I'm very selective on the ones I keep to eat. My thing is I've learned how to fish in all waters from paylakes to the ocean and I've taught my kids and grandchildren to fish on paylakes because they are safe but it helps get them to love fishing and that's what it's about to me. This fisherman in fisherman war is stupid as hell and I wish it will end or at least have all the river fishing people talk about how fucked up the rivers are nowadays instead of just attacking paylakes

[@kensmith8997]

Thanks, Dieter for the information, well said and put together! You've brought up some good points.

[@glennevitt5250]

Yes you are so right about that South Carolina I read it last year

[@allenbelcher5133]

Great info! Thanks. Alabama needs some limits...the only one we have is a one over 34 inch limit! No limit on any catfish under 34 inches!

[@LARRYCAL]

Oklahoma has 15 total in blue and channel’s combined and only 1 over 30inches

[@andybaker5466]

I hope wild Bill Paylaker is watching this!

[@blueridgeoutdoorsman_007]

There’s tons of pay lakes in Western North Carolina, and almost every weekend carp fishermen line up the banks. And keep everything they catch, putting them in water tanks in the back of their pickups

[@EastTexasAnglerJordan]

i know here in tx people can sell a carp for up to $30 for gar bait.

[@fishin-impossible2992]

Dang good Info Deiter. I remember years ago when you went to bat for NC and helped get the 32" rule implemented. And um glad SC has signed this new rule. What i dont see is if anybody has been caught keeping any oversized fish in NC . Another thing the Bow Fishing has seemed to have gotten out of hand im pretty sure they are very seldom checked and i know they kill everything they can . I hear they have even been on Monticello lately. How can they be monitored.

[@toddwalley6437]

At one tiime i worked at trophy catfish lakes. If you would like some inside info dieter let me know.

[@ikelee2973]

Best bait to consistently catch them on

[@cooterduke3605]

never heard of this. My idea of a pay lake(pond) was a place you fished and paid per pounds of fish you caught. It cost more if they clean the fish for you. Only know of one in my area and it's a rip-off. You can go 5 minutes away and fish for free at a real lake. The situation you're describing does bring up questions, but like you said it needs to be on a case by case situation. It's a lot like those canned hunts in South Texas and those place make big money. Criminals are always looking for a way to beat/game the system. Our laws/enforcement are always playing catch up.

[@egschreib4795]

I appreciate these videos and what you do. Thank you!

[@JArtMiller]

Very interesting topic that I wasn't aware of. You made your points very well and took a very objective look at this. I have a lot of experience with changing laws from my Fire Marshal days in Virginia and it's a tough, no-holds-barred process with MANY trips to the State Capitol. It takes more than just a good idea. You have to have facts, and as you mentioned lobbyists. Those are the two keys to success.

[@deanhogan3078]

The paylake near my house is completely farm raised cats plus you can keep what you catch $18 a entry. I like the way they run this one ⁹⁹% of the rest can screw balls

[@AKoperator59]

I live were few pay lakes are really nice stock by hatchery is a convenience for people that dont have luxury of more natural fishing environments without traveling ,each state has it's own rules and regulations . Good and bad in everything .

[@larryking606]

Good Morning Sir !

[@beachbum1523]

I see this as a case where sound arguments can be made on both sides. Personally, the idea of paying to fish in a mud hole for unfed shovel head cats caught in a river with oftentimes questionable water quality isn't for me. By the same token, pay lake fishing does provide some people, and particularly elderly people and children, an opportunity to catch a monster cat when they otherwise might not be able catch one. Here in Texas, most lakes and rivers seem to have plentiful catfish populations. Seems to me that the key to sound management isn't so much found in stopping trot liners from taking the monster cats out, but rather by increasing the supplies of forage for existing populations so that more cats can grow to become monster cats. Not everyone has a boat, and every year, more lakeside/riverside property falls into the hands of developers. The result is there are fewer places for bank fishermen to fish. And in today's "all about me" self-centered society, too many boat owners and jet ski operators take much of the pleasure out of boating through their reckless, and sometimes illegal conduct on the water. Then, there are the "lakeside/riverside Karens" who illegally harass people for fishing within what they arbitrarily decide is too close of a proximity to their docks. Then, there's the issue of drought. Many lakes here in Texas are so low that you can't even launch a boat. In the San Antonio metro area, we have two lakes that offer great fishing, but because of the coal-fired power plant, mercury levels in the lake waters are too high for me to want to eat anything caught in them. So, pay lakes do serve a purpose. Personally, I miss the days of spending a nice, quiet weekend camped out by a lake, and fishing from my little 12' aluminum v-hull with my trusty old Evinrude 18hp engine gently gliding me along the water. Sadly, over the past 30-40 years, it's become increasingly difficult to find a nice, quiet lake anywhere close to where I live. Suburban sprawl, the roar of loud, obnoxious, overpowered boats, and stereos blasting on the weekends take the words nice and quiet out of the picture. If we had any decent pay lakes that raised their own fish and carefully monitored their water quality anywhere close to where I live, I'd be inclined to give pay lake fishing a try.

[@benw2569]

Yep here in Charlotte NC the developers has pushed the bank fisherman out.

[@ikelee2973]

Paylakes near me have shad and are 10 feet deep with structure some spots hit 15 feet so there not starving

[@stephengainey3640]

I’ve seen it first hand in West Virginia. We really don’t have decent catfishing in any lakes here, only channels. Pay lakes meanwhile have flourished. Unfortunately bigger catfish in the river are dwindling down too.

[@chriswalls5831]

Dang think If you have pay lake they should make all the ppl that fish it you catch certain weight and big ones should be catch n release that will preserve the big catfish

[@stephengainey3640]

@@chriswalls5831 Usually the lifespans of big catfish once put in such small ponds dwindles. That’s a huge issue with me, but I’ve also heard people sell big catfish from the rivers to pay lakes. I fished them when I was younger and they promote bad habits like snagging fish. Usually the people I know that fish pay lakes do it for money, they really have no respect for the fish themselves. I’ve always said I’ll catch a 30 pounder from the river over a 50 pounder from a pay lake any day.

[@ikelee2973]

The population in Wv near you is isolated from any fish that come to paylakes your public waters aren’t being commercially fished so that’s not the reason your big fish are gone maybe you suck at fishing

[@stephengainey3640]

@@ikelee2973 You catch a 40+ lb flathead-blue from the river, people sell those to pay lakes. Or pay lake owners catch them and transport them to their pay lakes. So yeah it does take nice fish from the river system into a pay lake. Obviously it’s not on a commercial scale, but it does impact population. Clearly there’s still big catfish in the Ohio river. But yeah I also suck. So just a perfect storm really.

[@tnfishingadventures4901]

I agree 100 percent South Carolina should be per boat and they also need to put a limit on the Tennessee river other than the 34 inch limit

[@kennycampbelljr5896]

Zetts fishing lakes Inwood WV. I've won a lot of tournaments there. They have 128 pound flathead and big blue cats. They're also a fish hatchery and sell fish to private people and to VA DWR and WV DWR. Zetts stocks weekly. You're allowed 6 fish under 30 inches. Any place that is catch release only is usually overpopulated with small fish and very few if any trophy fish.

[@joshwatson1703]

So you have to fish for hemmed in fish because you cant catch wild ones. Paylakes are for kids and disabled people.

[@kevinadcock8306]

Fish the pay lakes! But bring your livewell and take them back to the river or lake and release them! can’t steal something that was stolen to begin with

[@bigolbeal]

I fish pay lake called Robinsons and old one called catfish country here in north Carolina

[@ajstidham7296]

Some people sneak out trophy fish from pay ponds to eat I know a few people that done it before I'm against it but I fish pay ponds it's great for kids but I see what you're talking about I understand they need to be a limited amount that can leave that lake for private ponds

[@AlchlcSmnThrwr]

A harvested fish is a harvested fish. You literally stated this fact. Crying because someone harvested a fish and moved it to a private or pay location is just nonsense. You just did a whole video complaining about something you admittedly know little about. And I wouldn't have commented had you not stated why this is a necessity and said "science" was needed, and then turned and said you need anglers to ban together to outlaw it. There are a few different styles of "pay lakes", and they all function in a different capacity to a different group of anglers. Each of them have no greater impact than guide fishing. Honestly, less. In fact, I will argue and easily prove that pay lakes add to the awareness in the sport of angling and alleviate stress on lakes and rivers. A few examples; - they teach catch and release and limits through POLICY and PRIVATELY MONITORED REGULATION - they teach responsible angling and provide community angling events that bring people together - they establish sturdy fish populations - they REDUCE TRAFFIC on LARGER waterways and tributaries where accidents can happen due to inexperience - they reduce fishing pressure on rivers and lakes where new anglers may be tempted to fish over limit or harvest larger fish for trophy rather than c&r - they provide a local fishery to people who may not have access to a lake or river - they provide money for people who may not be bright enough to do much else but tie a string to a stick and wait for a fish to get hungry Most "stocked" pay lakes are stocked by fish hatcheries. You made a broad but shadowed accusation like they are filled with fish from local rivers and lakes fished by these private fish-traffickers. The instances you reference are a niche, and arguably just as beneficial to you. Some people do harvest and sell privately, fish taken from local tributaries. Those larger fish being taken does not harm you. It aids you. For every monster removed from a lake, a dozen more fish now have the potential to reach a larger size to compete for that spot. And that monster is not dead or gone. Instead it is in a new location with some personal space and the opportunity to remain alive producing offspring in the new fishery(private lake). Most of this sounds like a bunch of women who are upset because they bought new dresses for the ball and just found out afterwards that you could have Netflixed and chilled at a pay lake. Basically, you spend a lifetime and a personal fortune chasing your PB and you mad cause Johnny Skunkwater can pay $20 and blow your PB away with some dumb luck at a pay lake. Meanwhile you feel jaded because somehow you believe they took that fish from your fishery and put it in a cage for others to enjoy at will, and you can't catch it no more. Meanwhile overlooking the 300 new fish in the 5lb range that will make it over the hump and grow to the 10 lb range this season and further because there weren't those 60lbers eating all of them last winter. My suggestion? Start fishing these pay lakes and see how well you do hooking one of these SUPER-AWARE pay-lake monsters. lol (Stressed over-caught fed fish make for difficult hookups unless you unlock the lake and figure the fish out. You ain't about that kinda "empty" time sitting on bank, skipper.) So... keep fishing your fisheries the way you fish them, using your tools and equipment and find a way to get your new PB from the places you know fish live. And stop getting them braids in a knot worrying about the PB you didn't catch that someone harvested. Because God could have taken that fish a number of ways and you would have never MISSED that FISH. If people are HARVESTING fish ILLEGALLY, REPORT IT. But, if you're just mad cause somebody is catching big fish and taking them, that is just some spoiled-ass self-entitled nonsense. Be bigger than that. This is how people grow to hate people they don't know through misinformation, a lack of understanding, and just a lack of effort to simply evaluate the situation. The men and women privately selling these fish are making money off the weight of the fish the same as you. They just release it elsewhere. Go to a pay lake that is in OPERATION and show me dead fish all over. Show me 30-80lbers floating belly up. (You may see stocker fish that do not acclimate, or die from shock here and there. They tend to be in the carp and cats 1-7lb range after a stock. This is normal. I have been to many lakes all over this nation and yet to find an established pay lake that was depleted and full stock kill. Nearly every floater in which you will find is dead due to stress from inexperienced anglers, or stress from conditions or established fish populations. Something that happens EVERYWHERE and more so at a pay lake due to size and traffic.) 90% of this video is speculation, poor misinformation, and attacking a group of anglers and people you don't know or care to know anything about based on you feeling like you're losing bites.

[@marcsmith1413]

Well said

[@jlaiabw]

Haven't fished at a pay lake in over 30 years. I use to fish at Croce's fishing lake in travelers rest SC. They use to restock one a month. But there use to be 100 s of people fishing in a week and a lot of fish we're taking out by fisherman. They didn't buy them for individual they bought them from a stocking company that stock a lot of places all over the united states'. Now I don't know about recently. Also I fish to put food in my table. I don't fish for sport. I don't support fishing for sport but if that is someone thing then that is their business. Now if I ever catch trophy catfish I do release them. But haven't caught any of them in over 30 years.

[@benhouke8318]

It's more often then once a year. Sometimes monthly.

[@leightonhoward345]

Great educational video, Dieter!!!

[@randyminch4529]

I prefer the podcast on KZbin 👍👍👍

[@melissabreedlove8211]

We have a pay lake near my house and I know that they add fish once a month.. I totally agree that the fish are dying in those lakes.. but with that said.. while I ABSOLUTELY ONLY fish and release.. I go so far that I literally refuse to eat anything out of the water period.. (my personal choice) but I have seen soooo many ppl take stringers full of cats out of the pay lake near me.. now that’s one lake not all of them.

[@ikelee2973]

I know a paylake where they breed and get bigger in so it’s crazy to think they die

[@ncfishhub5439]

There’s a trophy catfish lake In Dallas nc called Robinson catfish lake

[@mr.alonzofairley5476]

Pay lakes are good to fish if they keep them well stocked and are farmed catfish and stop charging so much to fish there. As well as being a convient place to fish if you're not close to a river because, there's a long drive involved

[@mitchellhelms7238]

Pay lakes don't bother me but I understand the controversy about it it is a tough way for trophy fish to die

[@jeffnekuza3679]

Carp fishing is the fishing version of Pigeon shoots for hunters in the cash aspect. I'm guessing non fishers can participate via a Calcutta system. And yes it usually over 50k that changes hands

[@pedrocruz4710]

Mr. Melhorn, thank you for this eye opener!

[@brettelliott3308]

Do you have any advice or heard a group thats got started to help crack down on vehicle break ins at ramps in your area. I live in upstate SC and every lake from Hartwell, Russell, Clarks Hill even Keowee law inforcement is close to non exesistent to stopping criminals from breaking in vehicles

[@LARRYCAL]

Now the thieves know where to go. Unless that’s the point a sting? 😉

[@jeff19554]

do fish die in rivers?

[@DieterMelhorn]

Well Jeff, no animal lives forever. With that said, it’s only under extreme and rare conditions that fish die from lack of oxygen or starvation.

[@marcsmith1413]

​@@DieterMelhornthey die from pollution and from invasive species taking over the natural habitat and states not regulating the waters of rivers

[@HuffysGuideService]

So with the new laws for catfish how can they take that many big fish? Seems to me like that will help???

[@MikeStokesFishing76]

It is illegal in the state of Virginia to capture a fish in transported and release it into another Waterway so how did these 20 and 30 lb Catfish get in these pay lakes there's no 30 lb catfish in a hatchery

[@outdoors4387]

Make a video on the monster rod made by monster rod holders

[@ronniekotler9265]

Great video

[@mmec2000]

Not sure why fish laws are so much different than game laws. You can’t sell wild game, but can sell wild fish. Doesn’t seem right.

[@telly115ify]

Dieter not all fish are caught and sold that way , I know in Arkansas you have to have a commercial license to sell your catch and most pay lakes buy from fisheries for the bulk of there stock.

[@juniormcdaniel6791]

I don't see any thing wrong with pay lake.s I think it's good for elderly people who can't get down to the rivers or special little children who has big dreams on to catching a trophy cat IAM all for it and I am all for River and lakes fishing

[@EmberMcLain23]

I fish and work at a place called zets fish farm in inwood West Virginia

[@woodyhullender8415]

I really enjoyed this one. It has opened my eyes. Thanks alot Dierter

[@appalachianfishing8548]

I disagree with the way alot of paylakes are ran now. I have heard there are some that aren't bad. Some are catch and realse only and only stock every couple yrs. Some keep the oxygen levels up. That I can see some people have trouble getting to lakes or at least good fishing areas. I hope that it turns into something good instead of just a way to make money. I really and truely believe paylakes could be a good thing. I think there should be licenses and fees to run one. also I think a fishing license should be required . And some of the money allotted to the protecting , and improving our fisheries. We all do need to stand up for our rights as fisherman. Fishing is a very overlooked right in my opinion. I have never been to a paylakes probably never will

[@donaldhensley1625]

I do paylakes and river but I do believe those big cats belong in the river

[@randallrogers6608]

Don't like the practice of pulling fish from natural resources and taking them for you to have to pay to catch them. That just destroys the idea of conservation and catch release.. Dieter I'm glad you are shedding light on this practice.

[@marcsmith1413]

If you but a fishing license you're paying to pull the fish out of the water to catch it smh

[@catfishing9185]

Good Morning

[@dennisfulford3961]

Good morning !

[@gucciwilliams8323]

This is the guy that fishing dave guy was makin fun of lol

[@alexwalker9878]

It boils down to what's gamefish and what not

[@ZacMacFishing]

No pay lakes in West Texas. I don’t like them either.

[@eddiegross3679]

Awesome

[@HuffysGuideService]

Good content here

[@andrewcochran7642]

They definitely die n paylake most fish don’t last a month

[@telly115ify]

They definitely die in nature

[@EzraBerryJrBrock]

No boat fishing would be best that would save a lot more fishs

[@briantaylor314]

Again. Why do I pay for a license that supposedly helps to protect my waterways and then allow people to take thousands of pounds of fish a year out of it to put in their private business. Specifically the ohio river.

[@marcsmith1413]

What about the commercial fishing that goes on in the same waters I live in Ohio as well and pay for a fishing license as well why don't you have that same energy for protection of the waters on the Ohio River like you shaming paylakes. Make it make sense to me because I don't get it. Seems to me people are worried about the wrong things instead of the thing they're arguing about and that's the rivers. What about those waters since you fish them so you not care about them or do you care more about a paylake that you don't fish in🤔

[@jeff19554]

the guys that complain about pay lakes make no sense. if the state stocks your rivers and lakes????? what's the difference?

[@DieterMelhorn]

Most lakes and river are not an stocked by the state. Under normal harvest restrictions, catfish are a self sustaining resource.

[@marcsmith1413]

​@@DieterMelhornrivers are not stocked but state parks where I'm from do get stocked different times of the year

[@shawnshepherd6708]

They become buzzard bait the same as when you catch them out of deep water in the river and don't burp them yeah sure they swim away and come back up few miles down the river should that mean we should ban fishing all together?

[@keithl2110]

Without the sale of hunting and fishing licenses there would be no funds for wildlife research and conservation. If that was very common at all there would be 0 big fish as they would all get caught then go belly up in the first year or two.

[@tylerpreston7939]

Paylakes are huge where I live. I know of atleast 10 not far from me and some of them have multiple 100 pb fish in them. It effects the public waters big time.

[@philparrish6914]

I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum as I do not approve of sportfishing. I catch fish to feed my family and not to just photograph and release to tell everyone, "Looky here what I done ketched".

[@jeremynewhouse6530]

I don’t know what the answer is but I do know I don’t like it, if you wanna eat the fish then eat it. Please for the love of god don’t put that fish in a mud hole for the rest of its life. Of course they are gonna die when their only food has a hook on it and the water quality is terrible. Instead of spending all that money to fish a pay lake find a trophy guide to put you on the fish in their natural habitat.

[@junkfarm1174]

My local paylake has 1000lbs of shiners delivered once a month to keep the catfish fed. I’ve been there in multiple occasions when they have them delivered and dumped in the water

[@whiskerdreams7146]

I joined the ACA to protect the species, I am not interested in tournaments..

[@Dunlap-uj5zl]

👍

[@RegulatorsClanPS3]

ok so im from cincinnati ohio ive fished many of these lakes alot do die i was younger and had no info then now i dont support them anymore there is alot of these lakes here it is out of hand really they keep everything they catch now there is a law here they can only take certain amount of bigger fish a day not sure the exact measurement on the ohio river but i see alot of fish being stocked in these lakes every year ive seen the dead fish ive seen them with sores all over and skinny its a big profit , you pay 20 dollars for 12 hours not sure it has changed i've have not gone in over 12 -15 years but i see this first hand and there are people on youtube who promote these lakes and on social media like facebook.

[@marcsmith1413]

If you haven't been in 12-15 years how do you know how they are now. I live in Cincinnati as well and fish in paylakes state parks and the rivers and see dead fish in all of them not just paylakes.

[@RegulatorsClanPS3]

@@marcsmith1413 more die in the paylakes my friend its not going to magically just change i still have friends who fish them and do you notice the amount stocked every year hmmm i wonder why so many added every year think about it its common sense dont be dumb lol

[@wheresmybobber]

Dieter Melhorn: “so guys, for new regulations to be put in place, we should really have to prove our case and do research, studies, etc. to prove commercial fishing/paylakes have negatively impacted our waters. Crying and whining without evidence just because we don’t like it isn’t enough.” Dieter Melhorn 2 minutes later: “so guys, disregard everything I just said, gather up a group of your biggest whiners and complainers that have connections to people with deep pockets/political insiders and we get whatever we want! It’s that easy!” Got it. You should run for office in your state, you’ll fit right in.

[@wheresmybobber]

Not to mention, Dieter Melhorn also tries to cast a negative light on paylakes for running tournaments and people winning money for catching fish, then tries to use river tournament weights as justification that a fishery is going downhill lmao I thought winning money off fishing was bad?

[@daniel71416]

Pay lakes in Cincinnati need to be shut down there taking all the big blues and flatheads out by Ohio River

[@marcsmith1413]

Most of the big blues and flatheads are sick from the river itself and shouldn't even be in the river. I live in Cincinnati so tell me what research you did and how long you did it to post this statement. I fish the river as well so don't use just paylakes as an answer because if you fish the Ohio River you should know better

[@lindajones1592]

It's common sense people...open your eyes! These pay lake fish are dying! If these pay lakes are catch and release then why would they often be in demand for more fish?

[@scottwilkins1591]

Tournaments and people who care more about sponsors or being Facebook famous are the lowest of low the catfish community has to offer. These idiots care about making sure they show off that fancy rod or boat for those so called sponsors who sit back and do nothing about paylakes and just rack in the money lol.

[@donniecarrico1028]

It's just not ethical to put a trophy fish in a small body of water

[@christopheralicea9167]

That's messing up the records

[@jeff19554]

so 30,000 bass boat with a fish finder is a sportsman? but a person that goes to a pay lake???? is a ass?? if you are against pay lakes those of you with boats? quit using them. those of you with depth finders? stop. because your just as bad. what is the limit in your state? for catfish or carp? so if i go to a river??? and take my limit if any? whether ieat them at all? if you have a problem with pay lakes go to your goverment officials. i've caught fish at pay lakes with tags that were over 7 years

[@HIWASSEEJAY]

Yeah and putting 30# plus catfish in a truck tool box with a bilge pump and homemade spray bar circulating unoxygenated piss warm surface water. Then driving them around 8n a boat for 6 hours till weigh in, handling them and throwing them back in the lake. Surely that doesn't kill any fish. Maybe all the tournaments that are happening on these lakes are impacting the big fish. Where's the highly opinionated, speculative and uneducated informative pod cast on that issue?

[@davidharless3752]

algorithm

[@andrewcochran7642]

It’s bull----

[@aaronswaimmarried7447]

Any thing population cad be distoryied with out conservation and preservation those pay lakes want huge catfish Wich are the big breeders big females with out them ?

[@timmyshere100]

i find that those who do not want paylakes ,all have acess to a boat and the physical ability to trailer and launch a boat. when you are boatless or are unable to load and trailer and even get in and out of a boat safely will you still cuss those who also fish?? paylakes where they stock only farm raised fish o.k. or not??? do a study on taged fish in the paylake and see how long these fish acutally live. if they live longer than you think and are thriving well in a paylake that is a catch and release only lake then let the peopole fish and let the people who run paylakes enjoy themselves without your nose in there business!!! again how many complainers have the good luch of owning a boat??? if those who fish from a boat were all fishing from the banks of the river there would porobably be more big catfish living in the river system if that is the big concern of all those better catfishermen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@fishin-impossible2992]

I think the big issue with pay lakes is they were taking the trophy fish out of Public waters. I myself do not and will not ever support that.

[@BirdOnCats]

Your logic sucks. If we go by your logic as gospel...then I think it's only fair that we should stop charging folks for public fishing licenses. You know...since the waters and fisheries we pay to use are being emptied to fill private lakes that charge $$$ and are designed for gambling. That's a double-dip and 100% bullshit. I can't afford a boat, so I got a kayak instead. I also fish from the bank. I do pretty damn good too. The excuses from you and others like you, help to ruin this country. You can't see past your own goddamn nose.

[@fishin-impossible2992]

Ive been at a boat ramp early in the morning and watched a guy in a john boat with the bottom full of catfish and carp just guess but over 200 fish with 15 plus fish over #20 . He told me he was taking them to sell at a Pay Lake in Shelby nc . and ever offered me his number in case i caught any big fish that I may want to sell. To me that is Raping our waters and Raping Sportsman who Fish these public waters.

[@joshuahart5852]

I don't have a boat.. And can not sand the pay lakes and all the wannabe Catfishermen that fish them

[@jeff19554]

the aca is fool of it