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After having a conversation with a old classmate of mine I had a feeling of disgust from him telling me all the fish he harvests and kills, this and numerous other events make me feel that the awareness of catch and release isn't as great as it needs to be. Does anyone else feel this way? I'm strongly thinking of getting something started to help this cause.
I think if it's done the right way, it can be a good thing to make people aware of how catch & release can be beneficial to many fisheries and fish species, especially the top-tier predator fish. But if it isn't done the right way, people will feel you are shoving your views down their throats. I think that is the reason for the growing divide among c&r guys, and those who harvest. I have heard some people will kill bass on a lake where they have bass tourneys and leave them float just to tick the bass guys guys off. I know they are different species and much more prevalent than muskies, but I know a couple of the musky lakes I fish, I have had many times bass and walleye guys come up as I was releasing a fish and tell me to kill all the muskies, so their preffered fish will thrive. I dont think you can do much about this type of angler, except hope they don't catch too many skis. Just my 2 cents.
I wish anglers like that were more educated and understand that the musky don't eat everything that swims, and other anglers that think that you have to keep everything just to show off what they caught. IMO I think it's ignorant to act like that, killing fish just to get under other peoples skin, just doesn't make sense to me.
Used to be that a lot of trophies ended up getting carted around to show off and then eventually just pitched. Some guys still have the I caught it so I can can do whatever I want with it mentality. Some will keep everything they catch just because. I got chewed out 20 years ago for releasing walleyes at Tionesta by a bunch in a boat that had not caught anything. I've watched guys keep smallmouth out of season and claim they were walleyes when questioned. No matter how much it pains many, there will always be guys who tick us off just as C and R ticks them off or musky in their "bass lake" annoy them. Personally, I think it is a lot better than it used to be. Digital cameras are a trophies best friend.
Maybe I'm just hearing about it more but between news papers and the internet and word of mouth it seems like there are a lot of 50" muskies or bigger being kept this year. Maybe it's because I'm not the one catching them but I hope this trend slows fast and not because there just aren't any 50's left.
Can someone explain to me why anyone would keep a 50+ musky? What do you do with it?? Yes I understand you can mount it but with reproduction mounts why would you? How is a mount better than a great picture?
Much positive awareness and gains have been made over the past 25 years toward enlightening public opinion on and promoting catch and release in muskie fishing. Most of this is due to the efforts of Muskies Inc.
Muskies Inc. and other independent muskie clubs have brought about a wholesale change in muskie fishing in that time, bringing the sport from where it was is the past with almost all "legals" kept to near 100% catch and release today. This is of course fantastic, a spectacular success story.
Unfortunately this has been not as widespread as it could be. Most of the efforts of Muskies Inc. has been centered in the upper mid west and is also where most muskie clubs are located. That's great but there has been a void in the east. There are some exceptions which deserve no small amount of recognition such as the Ohio Husky Musky Club, the Niagara Musky Association, now defunct Chautauqua Musky Hunters and some others. What the east has lacked is an overall organisation such as has been enjoyed and managed in the upper mid west with most local clubs affiliated with Muskies Inc. to promote a wider reaching regional organization.
While it is certainly true that muskie fishing takes a back seat on the whole in the east as compared to other species such as bass, walleye and the salmonids there is certainly no shortage of dedicated die hard muskie fanatics here in the east. We need to band together and join ranks following the example of our mid west bretheren and affiliate the existing clubs, and perhaps start a few new ones (Chautauqua Musky Hunters may in fact soon be resurrected) under the banner of an eastern muskie alliance. It could be called just that, "Eastern Muskie Alliance", "Muskies East" or something similar.
We have in the east some of the best, if not THE best muskie waters anywhere, albeit fewer in number than other areas which need to be managed better than they currently are. There remains still to this day a large segment of the general angling public here still stuck in the old ways of catch and keep, no earthly idea what a "quick strike rig" is, etc. and many many muskies being kept. It took an enormous amount of effort by a large cadre of highly dedicated folks to get things turned around in the upper mid west but we can certainly do the same here. No excuse not to.
Just my 2 cents.
This might be the turn around in 50+" musky news I'm looking for:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_745159.html