Pokegama needs our help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Shawn Kellett]

I swear to God that this issue is like putting my 2 year old down for "ni-ni". Every time you thing it's put to bed he gets up and walks around the house. This is an article that ran in the Grand Rapids paper the other day. Right now the DNR is contemplating the hold of stocking muskies. Please CALL and give them your support! A call is worth 10 emails in their eyes. If you live in the district please call the Sen in the message as well.

A response is being drafted as we speak.

Does Pokegama need stocked muskies?

Published: Wednesday, October 1, 2008 3:07 PM CDT

Editor:

Did you know the DNR plans to stock Pokegama Lake (Itasca County)with muskies starting this fall?

Did you know the DNR plans to stock close to 2000 fingerlings every other year through the year 2016? Did you know the DNR chose Gull Lake and Pokegama Lake and the people of Brainerd opposed it and got the DNR to stop their stocking plans?

A couple of summers ago the DNR could be found on Pokegama giving anglers a poll on if they were in favor or against stocking muskie in the lake. I have been told that the results of this poll were that “most” anglers were against it. It confuses me that the DNR can spend that many man hours and money and still push the issue through. After a couple of years of keeping their plans quiet they now make it public

knowledge last minute. Pokegama Lake is one of the most fantastic multi specie lakes in Minnesota and for the past several years it has been part of the accelerated stocking plan for walleye. Over the past few years we have seen this fishery start to produce trophy walleye, true jumbo perch,

giant pike, monster smallmouth and largemouth to name a few.

By introducing that many predators into a single body of water don ’t you think something is going to change? In the past muskie were stocked in several lakes in our area that had strong walleye and perch populations. Today these lakes have no perch or walleye and the muskie are gone also. I understand that Mother Nature is not an exact science but that is why musky stocking in Pokegama Lake needs to have a long range case study done by a neutral party. Not information provided by certain organizations.

After speaking with many anglers, guides, lake shore owners, local business owners, neighbors, the vast majority of people in Grand Rapids are unaware of the DNR's intentions in our home lake. If you want to have a voice in this, please contact the DNR commissioner and our local senator.

It is very important that we, the people, voice our opinion on this issue.

Tom Saxhaug, [email protected] (651) 2964136

Mark Holsten, [email protected] (651) 2595555

[MUSKY18]

Shawn:

What is the number of the DNR to call?

[JRedig]

Shawn:

What is the number of the DNR to call?

Read the last line of his post...

[BigGrassBass]

Some people will just never get it! I mean, look at all the other big lakes with Muskies. (Leach, Mille, Winne, to name a few) They are all top priority Walleye lakes as well.

THE TWO SPECIES CAN CO-EXIST AND DO JUST FINE!!!

[MUSKY18]

Thanks J--------had a brain cramp and didn't process the information correctly!

[cjac]

No worries!

Here's the number you all will want to call:

Mark Holsten, [email protected] (651)-259-5555

Please call and post on here so guys like Shawn Kellett will see the level of interest and concern that's here on FM. also, I'd like to be able to send Mark a link to this post showing how many people from FM alone called.

Your help is appreciated.

[Scott M]

Wow, that letter to the editor is riddled with inaccuracy and has absolutely nothing to back it up.

You never heard anything about proposals to stock muskies in Pokie? Since when has it been a last minute decision?...You're right buddy, they are just trying to sneak that one by ya...Read a newspaper much, or do you just use it as a sounding board when you decide to fight at the last minute?

Quote:

In the past muskie were stocked in several lakes in our area that had strong walleye and perch populations. Today these lakes have no perch or walleye and the muskie are gone also.

Glad you could list a lake name there as evidence....

Quote:

After speaking with many anglers, guides, lake shore owners, local business owners, neighbors, the vast majority of people in Grand Rapids are unaware of the DNR's intentions in our home lake.

If you live under a rock maybe. It was nice of this guy to poll the entire city by the way.

[propster]

I will call tomorrow

[tweedlap]

If Pokey has run out of walleyes and perch; it has bigger issues than the stocking of muskies.

As a previous post stated: has the authur, of the article, ever heard of Mille Lacs, Leech or Winnie?

Please stock them.

tweed

[Muskiefool]

Thank You Shawn, this is a huge issue with very little time as these fish were slated to be stocked in the next 2 weeks, all that more public input will do is waste money at the DNR and in our pockets and delay it one more year, honestly these fish could have been stocked in Oct 2006 if not for 3 out of 17 that previously said they would support the groups majority decision if the DNR could show the effects on stocking have not damaged any of the stocked lakes, which the DNR did, and they said they wanted more study's.

Thanks to all that call the Muskies need our help

[Huey]

I'm making the call to support muskie stocking tomorrow morning.

MuskieFool- What "3" out of what "17" are you referring to?

[Bassman55]

Wow I don't even fish muskies and that article makes me mad.

[DHanson]

I just called. I got directed to Ed's voicemail, but I did leave a message. Thanks Shawn for all that you do!

[Sorgy]

Keep on calling guy's. Thanks Shawn for the heads up. I called earlier as posted on another site.

Steve

Ed will have one heck of a lot of messages to sort thru. Hopefully he won't just delete them all.

[pinkfloyd4ever]

Same here, called and got voice mail. That is a nice area up there, a few more stocked lakes would do that economy well. I also directed to the HSOforum and muskie forum. Now I am e-mailing both guys also.

[Shack]

Just called and left a very nice message stating I support stocking of skies in Pokegema.

Mark was gone so I had to leave a voice mail! It only took like 30 seconds.

[pinkfloyd4ever]

I was going to take it a step further and reply to the original editor, I went to their HSOforum and lo and behold a response as follows that I cut and am pasting, but you can see at that newspapers HSOforum, it is called the herald-review, do a search for grandrapids MN newspapers, taht is how I found it

Decision to stock muskies based on sound science, extensive public input Guest commentary

By Chris Kavanaugh

Published: Saturday, October 4, 2008 3:06 PM CDT

DNR Area Fisheries Supervisor

In response to Mr. Green's letter to the editor, Oct. 1, the DNR does plan to stock muskies in Pokegama starting this fall and there was considerable public process prior to the decision being made. Muskie stocking in Pokegama has been discussed since 2000 and the final decision was based on sound biological principles and extensive public input.

[cjac]

Thanks for posting and calling to all.

Just because its the weekend is not an excuse not to call, I think it would be a positive statement come Monday morning for the DNR representatives like Mark and Ed to have many messages waiting.

[Tippman]

Just called and left my message...

[troyfideldy]

I live a few minutes from pokegama and support the stocking of muskies into the lake. Grand Rapids needs more options for muskie fishing. Muskies should only help Pokegama's fishery. I am going to make the call after this post.

[AWH]

I left Mark a message this afternoon. Hopefully it takes him all day on Monday to listen to his voice mail! Let's keep the calls coming. It'll not only help out on the Pokegama issue, but future matters as well.

Aaron

[JRedig]

Called tonight.

[Shawn Kellett]

Thanks for the kudo's guys. Don't forget to give John Underhill (muskiefool) his props as well. He's the one that brought it to my attention that things may be hosed up.

Keep giving feedback!!!!!!!