Oh Yes...We've Got Fish!

There is no question that a huge majority of residents and visitors to Minnesota each year love to fish. Fishing is one of the primary magnets that “hooks” people into and around the state.
In recent years, anglers in Minnesota have shown concerns for various restrictions placed on fishing limits…slot limits in particular…on some Minnesota waters. To those concerns I can simply say, as an avid fisherman myself, “limits” are a medicine that becomes necessary at times to promote a healthy fishery. I am not a marine biologist, but I certainly respect the expertise of these individuals in caring for Minnesota waters. I know I am over-simplifying the subject, but any of us who fish Minnesota waters have seen the increased pressure many lakes and rivers in the state have been under in recent years. For this reason and others, I am willing to accept necessary limits that will make a fishery healthier and more productive in the future. I also practice “catch and release” most of the time I am on the water and enjoy the excitement of the hunt as much as the catch.
There is another fishing related concern I hear from other anglers from time to time. That concern has to do with how much pressure is put on Minnesota waters by fishing tournaments each year.
The DNR limits the size and frequency of tournaments on lakes smaller than 55,000 acres.

By limiting the number of contests held on any lake on a monthly basis, the Minnesota DNR is addressing the concerns of lake users that fishing tournaments may disturb their fishing, swimming, boating and other water recreation.  For the most part, the tournament program has resulted in fewer complaints over the last several years because tournament organizers distributed tournaments over a number of lakes rather than focusing on a select few.
So you see, there is a method to what we lay-people may perceive at times as madness in keeping Minnesota waters healthy and productive.
 

We’ve probably all seen photographs from 50 or 60 years ago depicting a half dozen anglers posing with 75 or more walleyes or northerns or muskies that they caught on a single outing in Minnesota. Fifty years ago the fishing pressure on Minnesota waters was probably half of what it is today. So, those types of “stringers” are part of history.

But, that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy Minnesota’s number one past-time…fishing.

We can! We simply need to preserve the resources that we have and help them grow.
 

Remember, in Minnesota the fishn's always great. It’s the catch'n we’ve got to work on!
Then we can work on the "release" part.

Posted by: cjjohnso on September 08, 2009 at 2:27 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Tags: catch and release, fishing, minnesota