Phil Durocher Quotations

The potential for carp fishing is considerable. We need to be prepared in Texas if the sport takes off.

Yes I am concerned about the message we may be giving out. This has come up several times before and we have denied it all three times. It is a little bit opposed to the direction we want to go with catfish.

Somebody could pay you to let them display the fish. That's what happened with Ethel.

If a guy catches a fish in a public lake, that's his fish. He can't sell it, but he can take it and release it in his own private lake.

We are looking at that. There is certainly no simple way when you look at the time line. This regulation expires in August 2007. We are going to have to do something because we will have to come to the commission in January. The regulation doesn't come into effect until September.

I understand the commissions' philosophy of creating opportunity, but you are not going to get recreational opportunity. You are already getting that. What you are going to get is harvest opportunity. The people that are out there already have recreational opportunity.

The whole state is open to bow fishermen and they harvest lots of fish. Our big concern is the message we're sending to catfish fishermen. We're de-valuing that animal to them.

Sometimes, when there's a parade forming, you have to be able to see that and get in line.

They must be seeing them or they wouldn't be asking for (the new rules).

It's something that's easy to do. Carp are everywhere. You don't need a boat, and there's some kind of body of water like Town Lake in or around just about every city in Texas. Maybe there's some potential there, especially for families.

That is the most valuable animal we have. That is the focus of selective harvest. You want to focus the harvest where the greatest surplus is, and that is almost never in the largest fish.

It kind of goes against our philosophy. I think we may be opening up a can of worms.

They indicated at the meeting they would. We would like to get a list of their members to have contacts. It would seem like it would be to their advantage to work with us.

I don't know if there is any new data that will make us change our minds or not. My staff is very concerned about this and where it might lead.