Pullings fins off Muskies

[carlcmc]

I saw one of my patietnts today at Mayo. He was asking me about ice fishing (I talk fishing alot with my patients). After rambling on for awhile he began to talk.

He said his brother-in-law was fishing here in central Minnesota where he has an ice fishing house. They caught a muskie through the ice. At this point I asked him if he was sure because it would be more likely to catch a pike. He said the guy was confident it was muskie and was around 30-35 inches. They were fishing for perch. Evidently he and the guys there said they wouldn't catch any more perch with a muskie being around and used his pliers to "pull out his fins".

I really didn't know what to say in response to that. His wife hushed him up and said "well didn't he say not to say anything to anyone about that".

BROTHER! What (Contact US Regarding This Word).

[Random guy]

Sounds like it might have been time for some "tests" to be run on your patient. Maybe pull his fins off.

It's sad that the mentality about pike and musky still tends to be all bad and that they eat all the fish in the lake. I have heard about guys cutting off the heads, slitting the bellies or feeding musky to the barn cats. Hopefully as research and knowledge continues to advance we will hear less about the musky murders.

[Cooter]

I prefer to carve their eyeballs out rather than pulling fins - although doing both might be the most effective method

[Bushwacker]

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I prefer to carve their eyeballs out rather than pulling fins - although doing both might be the most effective method

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Muskies are such efficient predators that they can still survive and flourish without any eyesight

I live about a 30 miles from Lake Miltona near Alexandria and there is constant rumors and accusations about people slitting gills of muskies or even beating them to death. It would be nice if along with all informational DNR signs about muskies at accesses, if they could post a sign about actual muskie feeding habits and their actual diets. Too many people think that just because they can't catch a walleye in same place that they did 5 years ago, it must be the muskies' fault

[Random guy]

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[ Too many people think that just because they can't catch a walleye in same place that they did 5 years ago, it must be the muskies' fault

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Leech, Winnie, Mille Lacs, LOTW, Vermillion and many smaller ponds all have awesome walleye fishing and...MUSKIES. That gets em thinking.

[Cooter]

Picture this: hitting a well known walleye spot and proceeding to catch walleyes, cut their tails off and release em. Of course you'd have to explain to the walleye anglers that you are just 'feeding' the muskies so they can grow bigger. Wouldn't that go over well.

[Redwalleye]

True! I cleaned a 16 inch eye with two muskies inside! no seriously I didnt though haha. dont you wish people like that hear the knock on the door followed by "Conservation officer" right when they got their pliers in their hands. As the great Napolean Dynamite once said " iiiiidoit."

[Random guy]

I tried to convice a MC of a catch and release walleye tourney to run the release boat out to the cabbage flats and let em go. They didn't see the humor in it.