Fishing season

[Dbumb]

Do you think the state or drn will open the season earlier this year because its so warm

[Ltffish]

Since the new regs have come out I highly doubt it. You can always get out and fish some Crappies and Sunfish.

[ozzie]

not a chance...........

[SkunkedAgain]

Sooooo....the DNR has seasons to prevent fishermen from decimating fish during spawn. Many years ice-out comes late and we "get" to fish during or immediately post-spawn. In a year when the fish get a fighting chance to reproduce and carry on, you think that the DNR would change things so that we can pull more of them out of the lakes? As Ozzie said, not a chance.

IMO early ice-outs mean that fish populations will be better in years to come because not as many get caught during spawn/post-spawn.

[Northlander]

NOPE! It would be foolish if they did.

[leechlake]

South Dakota, season never closes and they have taken us over as a better walleye state, in general. So I'd think letting fish spawn in private doesn't have that much to do with baby walleyes being produced.

To answer the question though...less than not a chance.

[mrklean]

no way

[RumRiverRat]

It is always fishing Season on Pool 2,3,4,5 etc......

[TurnUpTheFishing]

South Dakota, season never closes and they have taken us over as a better walleye state, in general. So I'd think letting fish spawn in private doesn't have that much to do with baby walleyes being produced.

To answer the question though...less than not a chance.

Their lakes see a fraction of the pressure MN lakes get.

[pushbutton]

So what about pool 4 or the Rainy? Thats when they get hammered the most.

[knoppers]

South Dakota, season never closes and they have taken us over as a better walleye state, in general. So I'd think letting fish spawn in private doesn't have that much to do with baby walleyes being produced.

To answer the question though...less than not a chance.

if the season never closed, we wouldn't have the fishing opener, its like a holiday, special occasion to get together with friends and have a good time.

[creepworm]

Their lakes see a fraction of the pressure MN lakes get.

Um, unless the fraction is 1/1 that is not a true statement. Go to the landings of Waubay or Bitter or Oahe some time. They see intense pressure, especially in the spring while the season is closed in Mn. Many MN license plates at the landings which greatly increases the pressure here on our better bodies of water in SD. The known fish producing large bodies of water in SD see at least as much pressure as the known fish producing large bodies of water in MN.

[Knoc]

Took over as wall eye state? SD has like 20 lakes. Im sure they go on percentages, so if thats how they want to hold the "title", then let them. Have fun driving hours looking for lakes too.

[leechlake]

I'm going to start another thread on this so I don't hijack this one.

[traveler]

South Dakota, season never closes and they have taken us over as a better walleye state, in general. So I'd think letting fish spawn in private doesn't have that much to do with baby walleyes being produced.

To answer the question though...less than not a chance.

Ah...nothing like a good belly laugh first thing in the morning!! SD will be a better walleye state than MN when they dig....oh, I dunno...another 9,999 lakes or so???

Do they have some good fisheries in SD? For sure! I have a friend who is a warden over there and a few of us head over once a year to get into some of the fishing, and it's very good. But to even begin to compare it to MN as a walleye state....thats a joke:)

[rundrave]

Took over as wall eye state? SD has like 20 lakes. Im sure they go on percentages, so if thats how they want to hold the "title", then let them. Have fun driving hours looking for lakes too.

If your only looking at South Dakota from just a lake aspect, your overlooking perhaps one of, if not the best walleye fisheries in the midwest and its not a lake.....

I am not going say one state is better than the other, because they each have their OWN pros and cons.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Um, unless the fraction is 1/1 that is not a true statement. Go to the landings of Waubay or Bitter or Oahe some time. They see intense pressure, especially in the spring while the season is closed in Mn. Many MN license plates at the landings which greatly increases the pressure here on our better bodies of water in SD. The known fish producing large bodies of water in SD see at least as much pressure as the known fish producing large bodies of water in MN.

Well lets look at some actual numbers...

These figures are just resident annual angling numbers but I think they convey my point well.

SD, in 2010 they sold about 58,000 individual angling licenses.

MN, hasn't sold less than 400,000 individual angling licenses since 2003.

Which lakes do you suppose see the most pressure?

[creepworm]

Lets look at the rest of the numbers

Minnesota has 11,842 lakes for 400,000 anglers

South Dakota has 799 lakes for 58,000 anglers

Do the math and you will come up with

Minnesota has 33.8 anglers per lake

South Dakota has 77.6 anglers per lake

Do I believe the lakes in SD are pressured twice as much? No. It is probably about the same, maybe slightly less but there not being any pressure is not the reason they allow year-round fishing.

Disclaimer: I use wikianswers for the info on number of lakes. Not the most reliable source but is close enough in the numbers to show that there is at least some pressure on SD lakes.

[LMITOUT]

South Dakota, season never closes and they have taken us over as a better walleye state, in general. So I'd think letting fish spawn in private doesn't have that much to do with baby walleyes being produced.

+1

The MN "opener" is purely a revenue maker. Nothing else.

[LMITOUT]

Ah...nothing like a good belly laugh first thing in the morning!! SD will be a better walleye state than MN when they dig....oh, I dunno...another 9,999 lakes or so???

Quality over quantity.

[LMITOUT]

if the season never closed, we wouldn't have the fishing opener, its like a holiday, special occasion to get together with friends and have a good time.

Pick a date then.

If you still want to have your "holiday" then make it two weeks prior to the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend as it is now, and the rest of us will be fishing on days like today instead of sitting on our hands for the next two months for no good reason other than that the resorts don't want to open until May.

[Down Deep]

The opener has a whole lot more riding on it rather than us going fishing. It has big economic impact for outdoor gear stores, bait shops, resorts, boat dealers, etc. Each business has already made their plans focusing on the May 12 opening date.

[itchmesir]

Ah...nothing like a good belly laugh first thing in the morning!! SD will be a better walleye state than MN when they dig....oh, I dunno...another 9,999 lakes or so???

Do they have some good fisheries in SD? For sure! I have a friend who is a warden over there and a few of us head over once a year to get into some of the fishing, and it's very good. But to even begin to compare it to MN as a walleye state....thats a joke:)

the DNR only actively manages somewhere around 1300 lakes..

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Lets look at the rest of the numbers

Minnesota has 11,842 lakes for 400,000 anglers

South Dakota has 799 lakes for 58,000 anglers

Do the math and you will come up with

Minnesota has 33.8 anglers per lake

South Dakota has 77.6 anglers per lake

Do I believe the lakes in SD are pressured twice as much? No. It is probably about the same, maybe slightly less but there not being any pressure is not the reason they allow year-round fishing.

Is that really "the rest of the numbers"?

Reality we have close to a 500,000 Individual angling licenses sold now, and thats just res. individual not Non-res, Combo, sports, 24 hour, et al. Which adds up to over a Million sold. I have no idea about SD's numbers, and really dont care to look into anymore as all this boils down to is someones opinion.

Reality is MN has some amazing fish as Im sure SD does too. Good job to both the DNRs for making it happen.

[fasternu]

Nochance the DNR will move the opener. Think about all of the people with campground/hotel/resort reservations for the opener. I'd be very angry to have these reservations and then have it moved!

I have lived in both Minnesota and South Dakota, don't even compare the two, it isn't close. The biggest walleye I caught there in SD was 17 inches, and it was fairly common to not catch a whole lot of anything other than perch. They have some good lakes, as was pointed out (Oahe, Waubay, Thompson, Poinsett are a few), but it is nothing like Minnesota. I have about 100 lakes within 20 miles I could easily fish and catch walleyes, but when I was living in South Dakota, that number was somewhere around 4 that I could fish and maybe catch a walleye.

As fas as looking at angler numbers, remember that a huge portion of those anglers fish Oahe regularly, so averages are thrown off considerably.