<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>basseyes wrote:</div>
Joe,
Do you support 2 lines ice fishing, even with all the advantages of technology? And if so, what’s the difference in your mind?
Be forewarned, that’s a loaded question.
Fair question. Only thing I can say is I know how many fish come to my boat and how many come threw the ice.
When it’s prime time on a summer day I can side scan 5 spots in minutes, then get on the best number of fish and pound em. Through the ice all I can do is guess and wait.
During the summer one could compare it to a calculated sniper attack and in the winter it’s more like playing the lottery. Again this is just my opinion.
Some of it’s regionally related and agree, a lot of it’s opinion based.
One of my favorite lakes to fish, the crappies stack up in the basins late summer and stay there till late winter.
There’s maybe a few boats fishing those areas from late summer till the ice forms. Guys know the fish are there, but fishing pressure is way less on open water, and 2 lines would have no impact at all on open water.
Come ice that’s safe enough to drive atv’s, utv’s or sleds and those areas are so stacked full of fishing pressure for 3 months it’s mind boggling. There’s days you can’t fish 2 lines because the action is non stop. Now granted this is for crappies mainly. But the pressure the fish have through the ice far exceeds open water, yet 2 lines are not only allowed, but can’t be a mute point to the volume of pressure when it’s basically doubled because of having the option of 2 lines.
Point being, pressure is more important to a resource factually based vs opinion bases. My opinion it is hard to regulate pressure through regulations, other than limits. But limits cannot regulate angling hours of pressure and hooking morality on deep basin’s, where people are catching and releasing fish from 30+ fow.
2 lines are still allowed, pressure far surpasses open water, yet people are acclimated to the use of 2 lines, in an ethical quandary of deep basin fishing, releasing fish that we all know their air bladders are bursting and that fish is dead going down the hole.
There’s lots of tentacles to the 2 line debate.
For me personally, I support 2 lines for both open water and over the ice. Yet see the ethical dilemmas for both.
In Oklahoma fishing, saw guys totally utilizing multiple lines, like 6 or 8 per person. At first I thought it was insanity. But it’s what they are acclimated to regionally for regulations.
If there’s factually based science behind it being detrimental to the resource, I’m fine staying at the status quo. But if it’s more over just a traditionally based regulation, holding onto socially acceptance, I cringe a bit.
The border waters get fished extremely hard and still allow 2 lines.
Have used 2 lines where legal and it’s a nice option to have. But most guys wouldn’t be using 2 lines every day, all day if it were legal. It would just be a nice option to have.
Imo the GPS and mapping software, combined with all the electronics and underwater cameras have hit the resource way harder than 2 lines ever could in most instances.
Totally respect and understand your concerns and opinions with 2 lines. I have the same concerns with basin fishing vulnerable fish through the ice, with the ability to camp on those areas by large groups of anglers, in comfortable, heated houses decked to the nines for extended periods of time.
