57" Muskie speared in WI.....ouch

[JP Z]

http://www.pressgazettenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070429/GPG0204/704290660/1233

Gordon Allen, left, and Jerome LaBarge, both members of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Chippewa, are shown with a 56 3/4-inch, spawned-out musky speared April 22 by LaBarge on a lake in the Lac du Flambeau Reservation west of Minocqua. It may be the largest musky ever taken in Vilas or Oneida counties by spear or hook and line. The fish was weighed on 2 scales, registering 54 pounds on one, 52 1/2 pounds on the other. People familiar with muskies said the fish, if taken prior to spawning, would have approached 60 pounds

[CommonSense Guy]

I bet it tasted great!

[fishuhalik]

don't even get me started....

[10,000 Casts]

Wow, what sportsmen they are... They must be so proud of being able o walk right up next to a fish on a spawning bed and put a spear into her. Sad

I am sure that its not their first speared Muskie and it won't be their last.

They probably did eat it too, or at least I hope they did so it wasn't a total waste. Its kind of like the guy that caught the world record bass down south, he took it home and fed his starving family of 8.

It's a different world out there.

John

[MuskieMojoTackle]

Quote:

---

Wow, what sportsmen they are... They must be so proud of being able o walk right up next to a fish on a spawning bed and put a spear into her. Sad

I am sure that its not their first speared Muskie and it won't be their last.

They probably did eat it too, or at least I hope they did so it wasn't a total waste. Its kind of like the guy that caught the world record bass down south, he took it home and fed his starving family of 8.

It's a different world out there.

John

---

Not much to say about this other than I wish the fish were still alive.

It is their legal right to spear that fish. We may not agree with it, but it is their right.

[JP Z]

That's what I was thinking. Didn't want to post this at first, but figured we would all be civilized. And hopefully they speared it feed their starving families.........and not "just because."

[10,000 Casts]

Quote:

---

It is their legal right to spear that fish. We may not agree with it, but it is their right.

---

I agree

However, what gets me is the picture got put into the Green Bay Newspaper. I think that it was in pretty poor taste to do so.

To me it is kind of like putting a deer into a pen and shooting it at close range and bragging about it.

It would be my right to do so... but that doesn't make it right. I just hope that it didn't go to waste.

John

[MuskieMojoTackle]

However, what gets me is the picture got put into the Green Bay Newspaper. I think that it was in pretty poor taste to do so.

**Why is that in poor taste? If somebody caught that fish on hook and line and kept it there would have been a pic in the paper too. Two guys obtained a trophy muskie by a method well within the law. Not really up to the newspaper to decide what muskie fisherman do and dont want to see.

[Meat-Run]

uh oh, here we go again...

bashing somebodies rights

[Black_Bay]

To me it's kind of like someone hitting a Boone and Crocket buck with a car and showing it off like it was some great accomplishment.

[minnesotamusky]

DUMB %$#@ER'S.......THERE'S A COUPLE OF REAL SPORTSMEN.......WHAT A WASTE.

[10,000 Casts]

When I say that it is in poor taste, I am talking about the Society of Professional Journalists code of ethics.

In the code of ethics it basically states that if a photo is going to affect alot of people adversly, then they should not use the photo.

"Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance."- SPJ

"Be sensitive when seeking or using interviews or photographs of those affected by tragedy or grief." - SPJ

(I know that it is a fish but some people have stong feelings about the topic.)

In this situation I think that it could have been reported differently. That is just my oppinion.

[andrew chadwick]

please excuse me while I go vomit.

[fishin58]

I feel the same way when people show off there speared Northerns, what a waste of a beautiful fish. That is one thing I dont understand about FM, I have seen a guys pics of some crappies (in his kitchen) get pounded because it wasn't a CPR photo, How is a speared northern any different? I don't think she will be swimming again.

[andrew chadwick]

I think exactly the same.

[Johnny_Da_Der]

It's legal to spear muskie in WI??? You can't be serious. Ohhhh, Wisconsin.....is there anything you can't spear in that state? Can you spear people?

I am with 99% of everyone else on this thread.... it may be legal, but it's still a shame.

I saw a couple months ago, a picture of a guy laying next to the 6 foot sturgeon he speared in WI. Another shame.

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/Oddities/070215/K02159AU.html

I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

[ScubaSteve]

What a waste of a good fight.

[Early Riser]

Regarding the current situation and regulations on legal spearing:

In WI you can legally spear sturgeon during a special season on a few lakes. There is a quota managed by the state DNR.

In WI you cannot spear muskies or walleye during the winter or spring unless you are a Band member enrolled in an Indian tribe.

In WI there are very limited winter northern spearing opportunities for state residents. I believe it can occur only on a few Lake Superior tributaries.

In Michigan you can legally spear muskies in the winter on several lakes. Northern spearing is open in the winter statewide.

In Montana you can legally spear just about anything I believe. I know they have a winter season, not sure about other times of the year.

North Dakota just opened a winter northern spearing season a few years ago. I am not sure about other fish you can legally spear there. I do know that residents of MN cannot spear there because of the reciprocity issues.

In MN the northern spearing season runs from December 1 to the end of the third weekend in Feb. You can also legally spear whitefish, catfish and all rough fish during that season.

In Hawaii, where we used to live for a few years and spear fish with a speargun, you can spear just about anything anytime with the exception of turtles, lobsters and humuhumunukunukuappuaa (the state fish). Native Hawaiians are excluded from above regulations. I believe there is a very limited harvest of turtles allowed for native people.

It's not that people absolutely need the food these days, rather much like non-native "sportsmen" and women, the activities we all do are more like behavior habits or traditions that are stongly reinforced by the memories and feelings of connection to culture, the past, people, the creator, etc, that we all seem get from the outdoors.

I don't think there is really much to say about what other people do legally unless you happen to be talking about your feelings within a homogeneous group of like minded people who can then take that energy and productively mobilize towards a cause. Groups like the Minnesota Darkhouse and Angling Association and Muskies Inc are both solid organizations that do just that.

[MJBo]

Quote:

---

uh oh, here we go again...

bashing somebodies rights

---

Its our right to bash other peoples rights. So quit bashing my right to bash their rights......

[10,000 Casts]

A guy wrote:

"Just read the Wisconsin Outdoor News last night and pretty much came unglued when I read the article about Jerome LeBarge spearing a 57" - 54lb muskie supposedly from the Lac du Flamdeau reservation.

He killed it on April 22nd. To make matters worse, he indicated he speared a 53" - 45lb tiger muskie 4 nights before. The article also indicates this guy was involved in the "Big Carr walleye incident" last year and lost his off reservation spearing privelages for 1 year. There are questions whether these fish were really taken on the reservation or off. Both bait shops that weighed and measured the fish asked that their names not be used for the story. I sure wish there was something the average Joe could do to prevent this from happening. You should see the picture of this hawg of a fish."

Can anyone find the article in Wisconsin outdoor news?

[CommonSense Guy]

It's legal for some people. Just like MN

[dogs]

That muskie will probaly end up in a bar or most likely a casino mounted. This is the fellows claim to fame. The more you bash him and the more people are outraged the happier his type will be. I know of a person such as this who speared a large muskie @ 20 years ago legally as a native. You would see him spearing along side a bridge of an interstate highway on a friday all summer after that. He was just trying to keep the contovery going by PO the "cabin people" coming up.

[perchking]

Dont even get me started on this post, I live about 35 minutes away from Minocqua and fish that area often and we deal with this each and every year. We have 4 tribes within 45 minutes and they RAPE the spawning walleyes and what ever they can get their hands on. I am sure my post is going to get deleted but oh well I need to vent. If they go out in their birch bark canoes and spear under a full moon I wouldn’t have an issue but to use a 10 million candle power light and shock the area or toss a sane over a whole area where eyes are spawning... That is one reason I will NEVER go to a Casino in the Midwest...That is probably one of the biggest reason's I am a Republican. Oh-Oh I really made alot of people mad now. Why do you think Doyle is Pro Native Americans rights, OH yeah he gets MILLION of dollars of contribution from them each year. I dont have an issue with Native American's but I do have an issue with the law makers that give them the rights to do what they do.

[minnesotamusky]

I agree with you perchking, 100%. All these stupid right's they claim to have, need to be taken away. I read a article in last weeks Outdoor News that really [PoorWordUsage]ed me off. The state of Minnesota pays the tribes a boat load of money NOT to net walleyes on certain lakes. What a waste of money.

[Jackpine Rob]

Looks like most of you guys need to get out fishing.