The Release Over 20 Movement
Until November of 2020, I wasn’t a social media person. Fishing is something I am passionate about: teaching people to fish, introducing people to fishing, getting them out on the water. Fishing conservation goes right along with that. So, when I was setting up my Instagram account, I was sure to give a follow to all my favorite companies. Eye Strike Fishing is one of those companies. These jig heads are simply awesome. When I saw the grassroots movement of “Release Over 20,” it was an immediate follow.
Release Over 20 is a program for recreational anglers to release all speckled trout and southern flounder more than 20 inches in length. Depending on where you’re fishing, establishing an upper slot, or for states like Texas where an upper slot already exists, would be lowering it for the species.
History
Release Over 20 started with David Fladd, an Eye Stike Fishing partner, who inquired with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources about implementing an upper slot on the species. He was immediately shut down, being told that the laws related to natural resources are controlled by the State Legislature, not the Department of Natural Resources.
Leading by example, and refusing to take no for an answer, Fladd turned to social media and fishing forums as a way to spread his message that he would release any trout over 20 inches in length. People were inspired by his posts and started doing the same. Slowly and surely the movement spread.
A man named Joe Neely heard Fladd on the Eastern Current podcast with Judson Brock. Neely happens to be from the CCA North Carolina, and he was so inspired by Fladd’s efforts that his organization is now a proud Partner of the program.
Why Release Big Trout?
- Most trout over 20 inches in length are female.
- Egg production on larger trout increases exponentially. For example, an 11-inch trout releases around 3 million eggs a year, and a 20-inch trout releases approximately 20 million eggs annually.
- Trout over 20 inches are approximately four years old and are survivors. A 20-inch trout is very rare. It’s estimated that if you start out with 1,000 trout at year 0, only 8 trout will remain at year 4. Imagine how rare a 28-inch trout is?
- It’s important to pass on survivor genes in these big fish. How did they survive to the size they are? Are they able to withstand cold snaps? Do they grow bigger and faster than the others?
(Source – Releasefrom20.com)
In a Release Over 20 livestream on Instagram in early January, Fladd went over the catch-and-release numbers for the month of December, as well as the year end numbers. In December alone, 503 speckled trout were reported to be caught and released. After breaking down the top 10 anglers for the month, which required at least nine entries to break the top 10, he uncovered the data by state which you’ll find below. For the year 2020, 1,439 speckled trout were entered on the website. If you do the math and take 1,439 fish, with an estimated 20 million eggs per year annually, the program has preserved 28.8 billion eggs of survivor gene fish.
| State | Fish Caught |
|---|---|
|
Georgia |
|
|
Alabama |
2 |
|
Lousisiana |
3 |
|
Maryland |
3 |
|
Mississippi |
10 |
|
Flordia |
26 |
|
Texas |
51 |
|
South Carolina |
62 |
|
North Carolina |
63 |
|
Virginia |
283 |
Getting Involved
Getting involved is easy. Catching a speckled trout or southern flounder over twenty inches can be the hard part. If you do, take a photo of the fish and release it back into the water. Then head over to releaseover20.com, fill out the short form, upload the photo, and you’re done.
If you submit your fish, you will have the option to be sent free decals if you want. If you are a repeat submitter, helmet decals are sent out at the end of the month to help save on postage. You will also be entered in the monthly contest, which has some great prizes from sponsors. Follow @releaseover20 on Instagram, and if you use the hashtag #releaseover20 you’ll get a repost. Find the group on Facebook under the same name.
Help spread the word of a great program, which in turn helps each and every one of us that are fishing these waters. We all want to catch bigger fish. That can’t happen if we don’t preserve the resource. There is a built-in urge to compete within each and every one of us. This puts a scorecard to the individual states. Virginia currently has the X on their back.
“I’m Jeremy Hancock, and I release over 20.”
Based out of Austin, Jeremy has been fishing for 30+ years. Originally from Southwestern Pennsylvania, growing up fishing small creeks and lakes with family, moved onto to fly fishing the Colorado River outside of Granby, Colorado. Now being in Texas, the gulf coast has captured his attention and where he enjoys spending his time on the weekends. Articles range from product reviews, comparisons, catch and cooks, personal learning lessons, fishing journals, and more.