Hard to believe they don't have to have any I.D on them
Packrats idea seems to make a lot of common sense. With all the resources available to our politicians , and all of the regulations that we are all subject to, its hard to believe that in today's world that anyone could set a net who is legally fishing ,and not have some type of identification on it specifying just who's net it is. I would have thought, that it would already be mandatory to have the name on the nets , date set and on and on. Seems like a no brain er to me .
Getting back to my original question, just what punishment was doled out to the guys they caught this winter using the illegal nets for several years, are they currently in jail, awaiting trial or what
3 mo neting=everyone on bay!
The illegal nets took as many fish in the short 2-3 months that every angler combined on the bay takes in an entire season! Including ice!COMBINED! I was told that statistic by a member of the DNR at a GLFS meeting.I think it is time for emergency action and stop all netting[big/little bay] for at least 2yrs!
Make a little sense out of all this
Quote:
Originally Posted by
fishmaster
Don't get me wrong guys, I'm not saying the netting hasn't made an impact, but I am saying that there are alot of other things that are also impacting the amount of fish being caught over the past few years and I think ol' mother nature is the biggest reason--It's nice to see water levels up---hope I didn't just jinx it!!!!! I also think that the no planting over the past few years also has had an impact as well.
And it's not like netting is a new thing, it's been going on for along time, I think the only way we can get it changed is through our fearless leaders at the state level----good luck with that!!!
I guess the numbers just throw me off some, for the life of me I just can't(as I've said before) believe that the dnr wouldn't have doen something sooner if that many fish were being taken and sold, have any local establishments been busted for selling illegal fish?? any of the fish houses?? they keep saying that all ofthe fish out on the market is what led them to these guys, why weren't the middle men or sellers or buyers busted??? so many things just don't make sense to me---hopefully it'll all come out in the end.
I think the justice system leaves a bit to be desired, and we all know this. Whether we accept how it runs is another thing. Last time I checked I thought we are all Americans and should be treated equally, right. I mean isn't that what were told by the government and the media, everybody equal... Those guys who were caught illegally netting should be subject to the exact same rules we all are. After all its 2009 last time I checked. not 1840. Its common knowledge that treaty rights are abused to be more than "substanance fishing" so lets quit pretending shall we?
As far as the change and or decline in fishing success, I would think a lot of pieces make up the puzzle. First of all one guy mentioned that because of no walleye stocking the last coupleof years that has affected it. Fact is those fish which were not stocked would be undersized at this time anyway ,and fact is a lot of undersized fish are being caught, according to my guests reports anyway.
Second we all know that, like Chris said , fishing is fishing and year to year it will change no doubt. Thats just nature
Third because of the way the zebras have cleared up the water , along with the gobies, Ruffe's etc. etc. the aquatic enviroment is, and will continue to change,maybe not for the best, who knows. It seems like some fish are more prolific these days, in spite of the changing enviroment.
Fourth, years ago , as in 39 or 40, we used to catch nice sized Northerns in the Bay, anytime we tried. When you look at these posts for example , it always amazes me to see pictures of dead fish all the time. A 28 inch Northern was never a prize in my book but youll see them on a hanging board along with a limit of smaller Walleyes. The point is, that all the fish kept, and it seems to be the accepted norm, also has a impact on the fishery. I see it at my place regularly , although we try to keep guys educated about catch and release !
So I think it's a combination of a lot of things which put a good deal of pressure on the resource from all sides. It always will go through fluctuations, and actually we are in uncharted territory with all the exotics.
It's ultimatley up to us to do whatever we can to protect it, the best we can, as we are the ones who are out on the water, don't you think ?