I have to wonder if the CO that gave my cat fishing friend a warning ticket for having a bullhead 1/4″ too long so many years ago realizes what he started.
Nice job on explaining the problem and the answer Steve!
You guys have one heck of a spokesman for your group. It was explained well and you should be well on your way to getting this approved. I know nothing moves fast when the state and the DNR is involved but it looks like your getting your voice heard by the people that make the decisions. Good job Steve and Brian.
Heck, even a walleye guy can get onboard with this. 
Nice job Colonel 
Thanks, to all of you who have been working so hard on these issues
Thank you steve!!!
No disrespect to the fellow in the video but there’s something a little sick and sad and depressing about a grown man, who is harming absolutely no one and simply wants to catch a few fish, pleading to his rulers to be “allowed” to be free. This is the face of our free nation. Pleading for scraps of special favors from the O’ benevolent masters in government who may respond with “yea” or “nay” or simple ambivalence at their whim. This is not the face of freedom. This is the face of slavery and any free man should recognize it as such.
How would you propose going about changing this regulation, or any regulation then?
Anyone who has fished with Steve would enjoy his company. He’s always showing you things he’s learned and how he does things. I’ve learned a nifty way to cut bullheads up for cutbait. I’ve learned about drifting for cats. I’ve learned where to look during high flow/high water. I could go on and on.
The way he delivers his speeches is with authority and conviction, but it is not in a way that puts people off.
Steve, along with Brian and many others have really done a lot for catfishing in Minnesota.
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How would you propose going about changing this regulation, or any regulation then?
DFresh, I enjoy fishing immensely but I don’t feel any need or desire to control your fishing activities. Do you feel the need to control me? I hope not. It would be immoral for me to pull up to you on the river with a gun and start rummaging through your live well to see how many and what kind of fish you’ve caught. That would violate your freedom. If i’ts immoral for me then it’s also immoral for me to pay or vote for someone else to do it. What makes government immune to moral responsibility?
That’s not what I meant. Your previous post sounded like you were bashing Steve for going about this the way he is and that your personal ‘morality’ trumps the law.
These guys are trying to change the regulations by working within the system, and I see nothing wrong with that. From what you posted, it sounds like you are saying that you will just do what you feel is right, the law be damned. This is fine until you run into a CO who disagrees.
If I read it the wrong way, I apologize. 
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No disrespect to the fellow in the video but there’s something a little sick and sad and depressing about a grown man, who is harming absolutely no one and simply wants to catch a few fish, pleading to his rulers to be “allowed” to be free. This is the face of our free nation. Pleading for scraps of special favors from the O’ benevolent masters in government who may respond with “yea” or “nay” or simple ambivalence at their whim. This is not the face of freedom. This is the face of slavery and any free man should recognize it as such.
I get what your saying.
That’s why i’m glad there are good men like Brian, Steve, Darren, and others who have been itching to get their foot in the door at these meeting. Their patience i applaud. You should have seen the grin on my face when i realized FINALLY cast nets are being discussed!
It is frusterating how we nearly need to beg for common sense laws with bait. Again, just glad there a few good men that fish the same waters, for the same fish as I do, and they have a voice in the DNR.
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That’s not what I meant. Your previous post sounded like you were bashing Steve for going about this the way he is and that your personal ‘morality’ trumps the law.
These guys are trying to change the regulations by working within the system, and I see nothing wrong with that. From what you posted, it sounds like you are saying that you will just do what you feel is right, the law be damned. This is fine until you run into a CO who disagrees.
If I read it the wrong way, I apologize.
No need for apologies and I’m definitely not bashing Steve. He’s doing what he’s forced to do: plead for permission to be free. And I don’t advocate ignoring the law any more than i’d advocate antagonizing a wild grizzly. I have a wife and children and I’m not going down in a hail of gunfire over a fish. You obey the men with guns up to a point. What I’m saying is what we all seem to recognize as freedom is nothing of the sort.
Thanks Steve!
Snap, do you think there should be possession limits on fish?
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What I’m saying is what we all seem to recognize as freedom is nothing of the sort.
I get your picture Snap. Ever thought about running for office?
I’ve told this story a number of times and it fits here as well.
7-9 years ago my daughter was complaining about the speed limits being too slow. Finally getting tired of her complaining and nicely told her to do something about it instead of just sitting here complaining. Go write or call you representative, that’s what they are for.
She walked away a bit miffed.
Two weeks later my friend received a warning ticket for a slightly too large bullhead in his tank. This was after the CO was tutored on the bullhead minnow laws. (my point here is >no one cares about bullheads<) So I was telling my wife about this as my daughter listened. You can see this coming.
She tossed my words back at me. “Go do something about it instead of complaining!”
Maybe your post about what freedom is (or isn’t) might inspire someone to do something about it.
In the mean time Darren, Steve, myself and others will partner with the DNR to change a few of these laws will working within the parameters of “the system”.
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Snap, do you think there should be possession limits on fish?
The straight, short answer is no.
The long answer is I love fishing and if I couldn’t do it i’d likely go insane. I’m not very good at it and don’t catch many fish and keep an even less. I don’t advocate that people waste resources. But I don’t believe in using violence to control how many fish you or anyone else should catch. If someone needs fish to feed themselves or their family or to earn a living, that trumps my pastime enjoyment by far.
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I get your picture Snap. Ever thought about running for office?
Thank you for understanding my point of view at least. Most people don’t get that far.
As for running for office: To me that’s like saying the solution to organized crime is to join the mafia. Other than in self defense, I don’t have any desire to impose my ideas on anyone at the point of a gun. Every law on the books, from seat belt laws, to having official fishing papers; they are all backed by the ultimate threat of death. This is a hard thing for most people to swallow but it’s absolutely true. If you resit a law long enough and hard enough, any law no matter how trivial, you will eventually be killed. I don’t want to be any part of that nonsense.
Ever thought of starting your own country? 
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Ever thought of starting your own country?
I’d love to. In fact I own a good piece of land right here in the Motherland of MN. Do you think we can convince those who wish to control us to leave us alone?
I’m going to go down to the basement and measure all the bullheads I have left over from last summer just to make sure I don’t get killed for having bullheads over the legal size limit. I’ve been feeding them since August and they may have grown a bit.
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Ever thought of starting your own country?
I’d love to. In fact I own a good piece of land right here in the Motherland of MN. Do you think we can convince those who wish to control us to leave us alone?
Sorta worked for the Native Americans…sorta.
If they are over 10 inchs Goat, watch out for the men in black. 
But back to the normal programing.
Steve is a great “mouth piece” (can I say that Steve?) and researcher. All the guys put in a ‘ell of a lot of their own time into figuring out how we can work together to accomplish goals.
Although the cast net law isn’t a reality there’s other laws that have been changed and it’s truly a win win for the cat anglers and the DNR.
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…snip… I don’t get killed for having bullheads over the legal size limit. …snip…
Ha! But here’s a good example. Bullheads to death in 20 not so easy steps:
1. Fish with a 10.5 inch bullhead
2. Get caught and issued ticket
3. Resist bullhead law by ignoring ticket
4. Get letter in mail from government saying pay up or show yourself in court
5. Resist bullhead law by ignoring the letter
6. Repeat steps 4-5 until step 7 occurs
7. Armed men show up at your door asking you come with them peacefully
8. Resit the bullhead law by ignoring the armed men
9. Armed men still insist
10. Repeat 8-9 until step 11. occurs
11. Armed men assault you
12. Resist the bullhead law by physically defending yourself, your family, and your home from the armed men
13. Get beaten and tazed by the armed men
14. Resist the bullhead law, the beatings and tazings and struggle to survive by beating back the armed men
15. Additional armed men arrive with more, bigger, and better weapons
16. Repeat step 15 until step 17 occurs
17. An overwhelming number of heavily armed men assault your home using battering rams, flash bangs, smoke grenades
18. Resist bullhead law by shooting as many of the aggressors as humanly possible
19. Armored vehicles and tanks arrive at your home and proceed to burn your house down with you in it
20. Resist the bullhead law by dying
<——–currently wearing tinfoil hat.
Well,anyway… I’d just like to thank people like Steve and BK for all of their work and personal time they have spent trying to make fishing regulations in Minnesota more reasonable. It’s nice that you guys are reminding them occasionally that there are other fish in Minnesota other than walleyes, bass and muskies.
For some reason this thread took a weird turn when Snap started adding his personal thoughts on freedom. For the record, I was not begging anything from anybody at the Roundtable. I was at the Roundtable as a citizen volunteer of the MN DNR who has been made to feel included as a part their organization.
I have to take Snap to task because I want him and everybody else to know how much I appreciate our Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. I have been a member of the MN DNR sponsored Catfish Work Group for 3 years. The Work Group was formed to seek the counsel and advice of MN sportsman on critical issues we as catfish anglers had with the Department of Natural Resources. They were seeking input from citizen anglers regarding their management practices, policies and rules and regulations. Since day one I have been made to feel like a valued customer of the MN DNR and I have felt that they were actively seeking my personal input on how they could improve their practices and policies to meet our issues.
In our very first year of work as the Catfish Work Group the DNR took our advice and worked with us to compromise on restrictive bait harvest regulations and ultimately this lead to a new bait harvest regulation that allowed us to harvest bait from infested waters. This was huge to us catfish anglers. This change happened at the same time that AIS issues were the most critical issues facing the DNR. They listened to us and took our advice and sought out the compromises needed for us to harvest bait from infested water while at the same time still protecting the environment to meet AIS threats.
Since being a citizen member of the Catfish Work Group I have met many dedicated DNR personnel whose professionalism and pride made me proud to be a volunteer and a fully included member of the organization. To a person every single member of the MN DNR I have met has been a true professional and represented the state of Minnesota and the Department of Natural Resources well.
This effort that we are working right now to be able to harvest shad as bait with a cast net on our river systems is something near and dear to all of us catfish and sturgeon anglers. It is not a done deal but the DNR leadership is listening to us and will give our proposal due consideration. They will review our proposal through their professional staff agencies to insure it is in everyone’s best interest to allow this to happen. I am confident they will do a professional job and when the decision is made, which ever way it goes, it will be the best decision for the State of Minnesota.
The system does work – I for one will be satisfied however this turns out. We need to be patient and let the professionals do their jobs and accept the outcome whichever way it goes.
One more thing I wanted to add to this thread. This is how I think the Cast Net Issue will play out over the next few months or maybe longer:
When we left the Roundtable the cast net issue was on the table and we had positive support from within the DNR to consider legislative change to make it legal to use cast nets on the Mississippi, St Croix and Minnesota rivers. This doesn’t mean it is a done deal but at least the decision makers want to hear more and to give the issue due consideration. It needs a lot more work and we will continue to chase down any questions asked to help get this done.
For this to happen in the short term the issue needs legislative language work to get it included in the DNR Fish and Game Bill. The MN DNR would get this legislative proposal submitted to the Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee (EENR) in the House of Representatives and to the Environment and Natural Resources Committee in the Senate. Last time a Catfish Work Group issue was worked it was worked as part of the Omnibus Environmental Bill which is used to clean up and update current rules and regulations. We are hoping that is the course the cast nets issue will follow – it is quicker and cleaner.
We need patience and support as this process is worked through the MN DNR and eventually through the legislature. Hopefully it passes and those of us that have wanted access to Gizzard Shad for bait will finally see that happen.
And that ^ fellow cat fishermen is why Steve does what he does.
Totally agree.
I hope you guys get it all worked out. I really can’t see any reason why cast netting bait should be illegal, but I’m sure some politition can come up with an angle to abuse that priviledge. And it sounds to me like Steve and Brian are doing what is needed to get it done. Keep up the good work and your cat fishing will get better and better.
Good luck guys…Ken
Looks like you cattin’ guys are in good hands!!
Kudo’s for the hard work guys.
I still find it funny that it is OK to seine (unless they changed that last year too), but not to cast a net.
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