May 9th report

[JimL]

I am glad someone brought attention to the fact that locals also keep fish that would be better released. As an out of town vacationer that practices strict catch and release it gets tiring to always see the vacationers that support the local economy getting blamed for keeping fish.

[Mark Benson]

I am glad someone brought attention to the fact that locals also keep fish that would be better released. As an out of town vacationer that practices strict catch and release it gets tiring to always see the vacationers that support the local economy getting blamed for keeping fish.

JimL:

The unfortunate part is that selective harvest/CPR is a tough one to get going. I will echo your comments in that it is locals and even though they are not local, a large portion of the downstate populace that drives and hour or two and does the same... In general the group of people that care about trying to keep fish populations and their size structure up are small in number.

It seems like the fishing is never as "good as it used to be" even though our bass, musky and most panfish populations are doing very well or in some cases better than ever!!!

It always seems to come back to the Natives spearing issues... And while I don't condone it in its totality, its not the only problem that is at cause for our walleye population decline. Other issues along with spearing are improved electronics, less stocking monies from the WDNR, larger populations of fish that depredate on the fry/fingerlings released, etc.

Many other things weigh in such as the "I paid lots of money and I'm getting everything I can back" or "The Natives can so I will too" or...

Well folks, two wrongs don't make a right and if we care to have fish populations & decent size structure survive, we all need to be practicing selective harvest. My .02 cent for now. Good luck fishing, enjoy the entire day, relax, enjoy the Northwoods and be safe while you are visiting!!!

Mark

[vegas492]

I was Rob's customer on Monday of the opener. I hired Rob to show me a new lake or two around our cabin in Conover. His report is no exaggeration to our success in the boat. I had a blast, my father had a blast and my wife had a good time as well. Not only did we learn some new water, we also learned a new technique which was greatly appreciated.

Rob, if you check this thread, I want you to know that my wife and I went back to some of that water and did quite well. We even got into a mess of larger fish that were a blast to catch (and release). Thanks a ton for showing me the lake(s) and making our experience very enjoyable.