Northern pike regulations to change on 15 lakes

[Scott M]

MN DNR News

(Released September 26, 2011)

Fifteen lakes in Minnesota will be posted soon with signs that indicate the current northern pike special regulation will end Tuesday, Nov. 1.

This change is the result of a new state law that limits the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to no more than 100 northern pike special or experimental regulation lakes and only allows for length-based rules.

“Currently, we are at 115 lakes with length-based regulations,” said Al Stevens, fishing regulations coordinator for the DNR. “To comply with the new law, we are dropping regulations on 15 lakes where fisheries biologists believe the regulation is least likely to achieve its management goal or is a smaller lake connected to a larger lake that also has a special northern pike regulation.”

The 15 lakes with special length-based regulations that will be dropped are Campbell in Beltrami County; Cotton and Big Floyd in Becker County; Louise in Cass County; Latoka in Douglas County; Caribou in St. Louis County; Scrapper, Haskell, Rice and Schoolhouse in Itasca County; North Branch Kawishiwi River, which is part of the Garden Lake chain, in Lake County; Ogechie in Mille Lacs County; Long and Crooked in Stearns County; and Little Sauk in Todd County.

These lakes will revert to the standard statewide northern pike regulation – a three-fish limit with no more than one greater than 30 inches in possession. These changes are being done temporarily through an expedited rulemaking process to get them in effect by Nov. 1, as the law requires. Stevens said the DNR will also post the lakes this fall and hold local informational meetings in January 2012 before making the changes permanent. Meeting times and locations will be announced in early January.

Because the law enacted this summer also narrowed the definition of allowable special or experimental designated lakes for northern pike to those with length limits, regulations on an additional 17 lakes with catch-and-release or reduced bag limits will also be dropped from special or experimental regulations. The status of these lakes will be addressed through other DNR rule-making authorities in the months ahead.

During the past 20 years, the DNR has introduced many special and experimental regulations to improve the average size of fish and thereby improve fishing quality. For northern pike, special regulations typically require anglers to immediately release fish in a specified size range, often 24 to 36 inches, and limit the harvest of fish larger than the size range to one fish.

[goblueM]

ugh, that went through? i don't think I can put into words how angry it makes me to see an arbitrary cap on lakes with special regulations tailored to improve fishing

[OnAFly]

Can we now pass a law that ties politicians hands from doing their jobs?...oh, wait...

How could anyone actually think that not letting the DNR manage lakes is a good thing?

[smnduck]

Spear fishing lobby. They and the politicians they lobbied think they know more about managing the lakes than the DNR. Thats not a bash, it's staight up what happened.

[pushbutton]

Don't know many of these lakes, but for the three i do, it looks like they did a god job of which would get sacrificed. Also do not know the specific details on how it got through into a law, but we can only hope that more time will show a clearer trend of empirical data that will give support to regulations like this. The politicians do like their studies and reports, since reason and common sense often can be challenging for them. Oh well, battle lost.....but the law can always be changed back!

[wahoo]

I'd be interested in opinions on a slot for Pike. There is another thread that had a lot of comment on raising limits for eyes. I, for example, don't shoot me, like the slot at Vermillion, unless it has changed, other than there is not a lot of reason to kill a fish over 37 inches.

Pike are great, better than eyes, to eat. But a 24 inch or smaller satisfies that craving.

[pushbutton]

I'd be interested in opinions on a slot for Pike. There is another thread that had a lot of comment on raising limits for eyes. I, for example, don't shoot me, like the slot at Vermillion, unless it has changed, other than there is not a lot of reason to kill a fish over 37 inches.

Pike are great, better than eyes, to eat. But a 24 inch or smaller satisfies that craving.

I personally agree with with you, in that I hate to see large fish harvested no matter the species, no matter the method, and also have no problem finding enough meat from the smaller members of each species. As for a pike specific slot, probably something similar to what exists, I am assuming the DNR's biologist did not just randomly make it up. The upper end of the slot was perhaps more political though, in order to allow people to put a trophy on the wall.

Unfortunately, the topic, when involving pike, usually degenerates into a spearing vs anti spearing fiasco. It is too bad, and hopefully this thread does not. As mentioned before,in another thread, I am not anti spearing and could care less if they opened up spearing to any fish, as long as there were regulations/slots/seasons put on it. The role of large fish of all species are beneficial to the lakes and should be protected. Human nature has shown that restraint is a difficult attribute to exercise for some, and therefore, external measures need to be adopted for the improvement and preservation of our fisheries.

[RK]

Actually, they don't. Frankly, some of the legislators involved in this legislation are profoundly anti-DNR, and anti-science. When the DNR (on the occasions where their testimony was even allowed) starts talking facts and research, they tune out. If it doesn't agree with their ideology on an issue, it's of no value. In politics, science is of pretty limited merit.

Which, for me, is why managing a public resource in this manner is such a tragedy.

Go ahead - flame away. I'm past caring.

[Nick Kuhn]

There's no money in science...

[Jameson]

...usually degenerates into a spearing vs anti spearing fiasco...

Yep.

The spearfisherman are tired of being stepped on and are now fighting back. It's funny scary how all the 'science' keeps saying that the only way to help the fish population is to continue to reduce spearing opportunities. As soon as we see some regulations that only affect anglers negatively, much like spearing bans directly effect spearfisherman negatively, than maybe we could have a real discussion.

For what it's worth, I'm all for some slot lakes, but lets not define it by number of lakes, try acreage. It'd be a fairer representation. I'm all for stocking muskies in every lake in MN, but lets not just continually stock lakes where Mother Nature doesn't provide natural reproduction. I'm all for changing the one over 30 rule to one over 26. Let's make it so each fisherman can only harvest one 35"+ pike per year. If we are going to have lakes where spearing is not allowed, than lets have some lakes where only spearing is allowed. If some species are not allowed to be harvested by spear, than make those species not allowed to be harvested by hook and line....

Hook and liners have started this, and are still winning most of the battles. They'll probably win the war, too. But the spearfisherman aren't gonna go down without fighting.

[john skarie]

So how does not allowing a spearer or an angler to keep a fish in a slot not affect them both negatively??

That is so unlogical I don't even know where to start.

Every person who has the choice of how to fish on any given day. Angle, spear, tip-ups etc.

All I know is the pike on Big and Little Floyd have increased in size dramatically since the special regs started. I live on that lake and I know of more fish over 35" caught in the last 3 years than in the previous 30.

Thanks to all those people who now are putting progressive regs that actually work out the door.

Gotta love ignorance and self-centeredness.

JS

[Nick Kuhn]

The way to help pike is to limit harvest: period. Spearing is a harvest sport, there's no way around it. Any regulation that helps pike will hamper your sport. Look, big pike are an endangered fish in Minnesota, and there is a large backing for getting more big pike in the state. However, this is a step backwards for that goal. What's been done is replacing an inconvenience with an in-opportunity. The sacrifice the hook and line anglers were requesting of the spear fisherman was identical to the sacrifice they were making themselves. In order to have big pike there will need to be sacrifices. What on earth could be a more reasonable request of the hook and line anglers be for the spear fisherman?

[solbes]

Grrr, not good news. Arbitrarily capping the number of slot lakes makes no sense. Obviously there is no scientific basis for having 100 lakes have special regs.

I am not opposed to looking at the data after 10 years and evaluating effectiveness. If they did that, and these 15 lakes showed little or no gains, I'm fine with eliminating the regulation on those bodies of water.

The problem is that we have a cap of 100 (for now), so no other lakes can be considered for special regs. I'm sure the DNR has learned from their 8 years of data which type of forage and habitat could lead to a larger pike population given protection from anglers. But apparently the legislators know best on that issue, so no other lakes could be considered.

I've fished a few lakes on the special regs, and often you do see a far improved size structure over lakes with no length restrictions. I just hope these lakes I visit STAY on that list.

[OnAFly]

I understand spearers not wanting their sport to go away, but do you really think that this is the right way to manage lakes, with arbitrary numbers?

Is there a way we can find out who these people were who voted for this?

[smnduck]

The spearers have shown on this site how they misuse the resource. Check out the spear pics on this site. 38" pb then the same guy posts another one 39" pb and so on. Thats the problem. Most fisherman will release big pike. Most spearers take big pike. Thats straight up. Why else would you want to remove the length regs? Oh ......so you can spear the big pike.

[Jameson]

So how does not allowing a spearer or an angler to keep a fish in a slot not affect them both negatively??...

Way to twist my words. Re-read my post without your head up your own ignorance and self-center and maybe you'll see.

[Jameson]

...The sacrifice the hook and line anglers were requesting of the spear fisherman was identical to the sacrifice they were making themselves....

Think merkman on this one. The laws for the two are not the same.

[Jameson]

There's no money in science...

and there is more money in angling than spearfishing: period. Their is more than one way to limit pike harvest. Slots are not the only way. We could eliminate hook and line harvest of pike to start.

[Esox_Magnum]

quote]

Think merkman on this one. The laws for the two are not the same.

[cjac]

So how does not allowing a spearer or an angler to keep a fish in a slot not affect them both negatively??..

Way to twist my words. Re-read my post without your head up your own ignorance and self-center and maybe you'll see.

So if I decide to spear this winter am I not affected the same way? I'm a "so called" angler, how is it different? Same rules apply.....just as if you decide as a spearer to "hook & line" fish in the open water season.

BTW: Congrats on the triple post, the "pure hat trick" is difficult to pull off these days. Well done...

[john skarie]

Twist your words?

I think not.

The law applies to everyone.

Nobody was born with the limitation to only spear or angle for the rest of thier lives.

Regulations are there for the good of the resource, not for the conveniece of people who want to do what they want to wherever they want to.

The regulations are to reduce the killing of large pike. If you choose to spear than you are limited to killing only.

That is your choice to use that method.

There are other methods to use, we all have the same choices to make.

There are areas where you can only hunt with a shotgun and some where you can only use a bow.

I guess the deer hunters should lobby to make rifle season everywhere becasue it's unfair??

JS

[smnduck]

Well said.

[jeffreyd]

"During the past 20 years, the DNR has introduced many special and experimental regulations to improve the average size of fish and thereby improve fishing quality. For northern pike, special regulations typically require anglers to immediately release fish in a specified size range, often 24 to 36 inches, and limit the harvest of fish larger than the size range to one fish."

I think this sums up the ability to spear vs angle for pike. you release fish on specified lakes whereas spearing limits the amount of release.

[mrklean]

where is Merk?

[Jameson]

...I guess the deer hunters should lobby to make rifle season everywhere becasue it's unfair??

JS

No. They should do that, because it's been shown that slugs carry farther after a ricochet than lighter rifle bullets.

Start educating yourself. Don't believe everything that has been passed down from bar stool to bar stool.