season

[Guest]

BDR,

When we saw these guys poaching, we asked them if they realized what they were doing and we proceeded to gently inform them that they were breaking the law.

We were met with the usual childish replies and told to MYOB. So we called the DNR from the boat. The CO came about 45 minutes later and proceeded to check these guys, found they had 4 Female fish on their stringer.

Instead of citing these guys, he made them release the fish and let them go. I asked the CO why he didn't cite these guys and he basically said that they are locals and that he didn't want to cause hard feelings because he has to live in the same town as them, etc. The same goes for the Gill-netters and why they get away with poaching too.

This is our world and we have to live with it!

Very un-cool...

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Chells

[curt quesnell]

Chells,

I grew up between Big Stone and Traverse
35 years ago. There was gill netting, spearing, pitchforking and poaching of all
kinds going on then too. The Dads of the
violators did it in their day and their Dads
did the same thing.

There are other, larger reasons for the up and down on those two great bodies of water.

But how bout those White Bass!!!!!!!!!!

Curt Quesnell

[Guest]

Hi Curt,

It's fun to get the White Bass occasionally in Traverse--I'm not keen on their taste though--the blood line in the center of the fillet needs to be cut out and then they're okay.

I've got some good friend's from Wheaton, (Grohs boys) and we spend a ton of time in the area.

It's hard to see the big Females going over the spillway to become fitch-fork fodder. By law, these fish are considered "Open-Game" and can be taken in any manner.

I realize the locals have done their thing around there for a hundred years--I'm the last guy to judge anyone taking game for a family meal, much less a hard working farmer--it just frosts my tail to see things like I described above happen right before your eyes.

Cheers!

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Chells

[wh1stler]

I probably shouldn't do this, but.....

I'm not saying the DNR is right....or wrong. Or that a particular person is wrong....or right.

I do find it interesting when people come up with theories based on their own world experience, ask others for input, more or less ignore it("that is a pretty lame arguement"), and then get bent out of shape about it. (I'm not saying that's what's happening here. It just seemed dangerously close though.)

I am not necessarily talking about a particular person here. This is more of a general statement about web forums. I would hate for this thread to degenerate into something like a character assassination.

Personally, I think it is a good idea to close the season during the spawn. Walleye's get hammered so hard in Minnesota anyway. The DRN estimates that in all of Minnesota there are some 16 million adult walleyes and there are at least 2 million people who go fishing. That is less than 8 adult walleyes per person.

Sunfish and crappies? People complain like crazy about how small they have gotten. Perhaps it would be a good idea to begin a dialogue about closing the season during spawning.

In general scientific game management tends to restrict our access to game when it is most vulnerable. We don't hunt ducks during the molt. We don't hunt deer when they are yarded up. We don't hunt pheasants during the bitter cold of winter.

That is not to say that people would tend to shoot more than their limit. But that it would be easier to get your limit. Limits have a built in fudge factor--not everybody is going to get their limit every time they went out. If we allowed access to deer hunting while deer are yarded up, our success rates would skyrocket and not as many people would be allowed to hunt.

This is a similar situation to the motorized decoys. If motorized decoys make it easier (and this is not known yet) to shoot a limit and more people are shooting a limit of ducks, we will quickly over-harvest the resource. One option would be then to cut the limit. Another would be to issue a certain number of tags per year (i.e. you can shoot 10 ducks this year). Or you can outlaw the "method" that makes harvesting animals so more effective.

To be honest, I am suprised that we are allowed to use vexilars for ice fishing. I would estimate that a skilled vexilar user will outfish most non-vexilar fisherman 5 to 1.

Anyway, back to the open/closed season. Slab and others, perhaps slot limits would be effective during the spawning period. However, it has only been in the last few years that they have really come into vogue in Minnesota. And in the last few years the DNR has had so many funding issues that I doubt they have the money to launch the necessary studies and prepare the environmental reports so as to change the way things are being done.

I mean the system is not totally broken, we have a pretty good walleye and northern fishery in Minnesota. And you know what they say about when it ain't broke.

Wh1stler

[This message has been edited by wh1stler (edited 02-04-2003).]

[the squirrel]

Chells, If what you said really happened that way there should be a new job opening in that county! Just because a guy is a local makes him above the law Whaaaaat!? The response is i know these guys and i dont want any trouble. Im sorry guys but we pay these people DNR(Game Wardens) to do there job and then i hear this. I hope i am not the only one that feels this way? Let me know if this is blown out of proportion a little bit!!!

[icehousebob]

Slabberknocker, My entry was an inside joke on myself but I apologize if it offended you. I was raised south of Big Stone and still hunt and fish often there with relatives. The joke involves some of us "experienced" fishermen trying to help a beginner and having him outfish us with gear we loaned him. We stopped afterwards and a waitress guessed badly on my age. You really had to be there. Some of my brothers and friends moniter the sight and are not the type to forget my embarrassing incidents. Again, I'm sorry if you were offended.
Curt, I agree with you about the poaching. 40 years ago, I remember people looking at fish and game the way we look at groceries. One neighbor's favorite fish getter was a rifle. He had a .410 pistol for yeararound road ditch pheasants. And lots of people at the time saw nothing wrong with it. Hopefully, the next generation will show the wildlife more respect.

[Poutmaster]

Have you ever seen the walleyes come in to spawn? It is quite obvious why the season would be suspended during this time. Thousands of walleyes can be seen stacked on top of each other in a foot or two of water. If you have never seen this phenomenon, I suggest you take a look this spring. It will make the suspended season make a lot of sense to you. Same thing goes with pike in creeks.

PS The Pout season is open all year, what more could you ask for?!!!

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Love them 'Pout!

[Guest]

We don't need closed seasons, we need slot limits and possession limits.

If the "meat-guys" can't see the damage they do to a limited resource then we need to mandate harvest restrictions.

There are people in Traverse County who place Gill Nets in the Mustinka each spring (on their property) to net spawning Northerns and Walleyes and they just don't care that this is illegal.

I've witnessed guys catching an keeping big Female Walleys in this area from the mouth of the river, the game warden came out and only made them toss the fish back. This was after these fish had been put on a stringer for an hour!

This was a prosecutable offense, and the guys doing the keeping sneered at us for making them aware of their infraction! The CO showed up and let them off! Seems he knew these guys and was reluctant to Cite his neighbors.

Traverse used to be a Walleye Mecca, now it's almost as bad as Big Stone, if not worse.

Sorry for the rant, but until we have consistant enforcement and better laws we'll continue to see a depletion of these resources.

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Chells

[BDR]

Chells I would hope that you reported those netting illeagly! TIP is a great program that we all should use in these instances.

[Pig_sticka]

i have a few good spots for spawning walleyes and i am glad the season is shut down. the lakes would really hurt if you let people take these fish out. i even got to see a 15#+ walleye in the wild. just an amazing site. what is the state record? if it is only in the top teens it really might have beat it.

[Guest]

Squirrl,

Yes, it happened that way.

I've learned, however, that even though this sort of thing should be grounds for dismissal it's not my job to see it happen.

I did my part as a Sportsman and reported an infraction. It was then the burden of the CO to complete his duty and he failed.

I chose to not take his decision to let these guys 'Walk" personally--he had his reasons and he has to deal with them himself.

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Chells

[slabberknocker]

Icehousebob,
Thanks for clearing the air hopefully no hard feelings.

Slab

[icehousebob]

Slabberknocker, You sound like good folk. Peace and good fishing.

[engfish]

I have fished SD for several years now, and it is hard to come back to Minnesota and fish with only two lines during the winter. I also don't understand the closed season for three months here in Minnesota. They could reduce limits (like SD is doing this winter on Waubay); I'd even settle for catch and release for most of the time.
That's why I'll be heading to SD the weekend of March 7th to fish walleyes!

[Pig_sticka]

poutmaster i definitely agree with your statement. i have seen all the runs up the creeks and they are amazing. i will check it out every year for my whole life now. i got to see some monster, monster walleyes. most of those were almost twice as big as any bait store mount. just seeing it gives you goosebumps, because it is such an awesome sight. i even saw a few people fishing em with nets and i should have called the dnr(they didn't seem like they knew anything about seasons). this year i will call and report em.

[united jigsticker]

Having an official "season" may be good for the economic aspect of the outdoorsmen's service providers, but it isn't the main reason.

It is to protect the spawning and reproduction of Game fish.

The point is true enough that Crappies and Bluegills are as well easy pickins during the spawn period but a few points come to mind here.

Walleye populations and reproduction is often times quite lower then that of panfish, also relating to the reason for lower daily and possession limits.

There is an offset of angling pressure on panfish due to there average spawning time corralating with the opening of gamefish season.

If the season was targeting in benefit of the businesses surrounding the sport then they wouldn't push the season opener back in late ice-out years.

Just my ideas on the topic.

[This message has been edited by united jigsticker (edited 02-08-2003).]