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ShutUpNFish -> RE: Weekend reports? (5/19/2008 7:20:22 PM)
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Wow that May 3rd fish looks as if it had been dead for quite awhile.
I agree totally Dealinsteel. However, the point I was trying to make is that I really don't think a 50" trophy rule on any of our lakes is necessary, especially by itself. Nor do I think the rule will help produce bigger and better quality fish. ALL of the other management efforts that you mention certainly would IMO. In other words, exclusively pushing for such a regulation alone, would be a waste of time. It may actually hurt. If it would be an addition to a list of efforts to better improve the muskie fishery, I might be in favor. Heres why I think so.....
Who constitutes a trophy fish anyway? A 50" ski may certainly be a trophy fish to you and I, but may not be to somebody else. And is it right to try to educate those people that it is? A muskie does not reach it's breeding potential until it reaches it's mid 30s and are in their prime in their 40s, so why can't any muskie over 40" be a trophy to someone? I have caught some fish in the forties that I considered more impressive than some fifties I have caught. As long as we continue to concentrate most efforts to support C&R, educate young anglers to the sport on proper handling techniques, and continued support of stocking/habitat enhancements etc... the trophies will take care of themselves as they have. Years ago, you very rarely heard of 30, 40 or 50 pound fish being caught in the area with the exception of Pymy when it was managed and renouned one of the top muskie fisheries in the world along with Chautauqua. The same went to 40+ and 50+ inch fish. Now days, you see many 30+ pounders, some 40+ pounders and the ocassional 50 pounder, you also see many more 40+ and 50+ inch muskies being caught. Why? C&R. I have also seen the pressure on our local lakes skyrocket in recent years. I certainly do not condemn anglers from taking up the sport, but it has effected the fishing and thats why I'd like to see more seminars and information on how to properly/effectively handle these fish allowing them a higher percentage of survival after being caught. You don't know how many times I've seen guys boat fish, usually netting them, and the fish lay in the bottom of the boat for 10 minutes or more. And 99% the time its not a 50" fish. Its usually in the 30s and 40s. Moraine, for example, has a good many of fish right now, it also has a good many anglers fishing for them. I'd be willing to bet a very high percentage of those fish aren't being removed from the lake either, so what good will a 50" limit do? Same goes for Pymy. Theres a lot of pressure on these muskie out there, so i think we need to properly manage ALL of our lakes that contain muskie potential, and thats many. Not just manage a few so that the muskie fisherman have more options rather than pouring most of the pressure on just a few lakes and thats another thing that this new regulation proposal may do. You make Moraine a trophy lake, and you'll have muskie fishermen from all over the country here with all the hype. I know I'm beginning to ramble on here, but you see, there are more important things regarding the sport that we need to concentrate our efforts on is all I'm saying. And I'm not saying that I'm am right and you are worng here, I'm just not totally sure that its the right thing to do and a lot of thought needs to go into it before making such a change. Many efforts have been made in the last 10 to 15 years to make the sport what it is today, I'd hate to see anything jeopordize those positive changes. It may not, but we just need to be careful as to what we ask for.
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