I haven’t seen the actual rules change, but Jeremy Coe was on the Anglers and Hunter Radio Show saying the field has been limited to a max of 50 boats and it’s now a two fish limit.
Since MN has a now cull law, is it allowed to catch a fish and keep up grading the first fish until the angler is happy with it, then keep releasing the second fish hoping to get a larger one.
You can tell I fish lots of tournies. 
Once a fish hits the live well it is yours. You can release all fish until you get another in the box.
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Once a fish hits the live well it is yours.
Thanks Cedar, that’s pretty much cut and dried. 
50 boat field seems very small for a “big time” tourney .. any reasoning for that??
using decoy bags and sinking them back down can be a must at keeping these fish alive as they will not last long in the live well…any rule where fish must be alive? ( in my opinion this is a must)
All that was said in the radio broadcast was that it (50 boats max) was part of the permit.
I think it’s safe to assume that the 50 boat max and the 2 fish limit were mandated by the DNR to ensure the fishery stays healthy….MY OPINION<<
The fish must be alive to be weighed in according to the rules that are posted now. (which haven’t been updated to reflect what Mr. Coe mentioned in the radio broadcast.) Now that I think about it, when I spoke with Jeremy last summer, he was pretty clear about making sure no fish died. So I’m confident that the live fish rule hasn’t changed.
I think with any tourney, protection of the fishery is first priority.
1. for the fishery
2. who wants to be a part of a tourny that kills flatheads?
My guess is they didn’t want to pay for the next permit up same as Grand Forks last year. Our “Big Time” King Kat last year only had 40 teams and 7 or 8 from out of town. We quickly found out that if they get 40+ teams they are happy with the outcome.
Coming from the land of Cats Incredible a big tournament is over 100.
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I think with any tourney, protection of the fishery is first priority.
1. for the fishery
2. who wants to be a part of a tourny that kills flatheads?
I sure hope so, but if i truely believed it was about protecting the fishery, the tournament wouldn’t happen in the first place. 
Count me out.
We could really protect the fishery and all fisheries if we just outlawed fishing. 
Transferring huge fish is my only concern. It’s not like a few eyes. Our bait buckets would work for that.
I know what your saying, I was just having fun with it.
I am curious what happens to these fish afterwards when released since we know each spring they travel back to the same area. I wonder if that some how stresses them out even more.
The DNR did some relocation of flats a while back. I don’t recall the particulars…. I think it was 12 fish and they were radio tracked pretty much back to the same areas they were taken from.
Maybe it was in the winter months(?)
Now I have to find that report.
After writing it I thought, well they make the journey all the time (or atleast once a year), so I can’t imagine it adds stress. They eat and rest along the way.
Seems like a whole lot of HOPE and not a lot of assurance.
I sincerly hope i’m overcritical on this one, but it sure seems like there are quite a few threads on multiple forums expressing some concern and the consensus is that all will be fine and someone will work out the details to a safe tournament.
Well, your concern is valid. I can’t imagine that they would want to risk a black eye and bad publicity, especially with Cabela’s name connected to it, that’s what I am banking on.
They run a top notch operation for the fish and the fishermen but they don’t know the rules of every state. what they need is a point person who knows the laws to help them out. We ran into this last year in GF. They assume southern rules apply until told otherwise.
Still waiting on the details, but I heard from a reliable source this tourney will have a two flat limit with only 1 being over 24″.
Although a person still needs to know what they’re doing it’s really opening up the 1st place to anyone.
Why allow 2 if only one can be over 24″? Someone could get robbed by that filler fish. What’s the best you could do with a 24″? 5#?
The MN DNR is more concerned about the fishery the an angler getting “robbed”…I’m guessing.
Yeah, 5 to 7 pounds.
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The MN DNR is more concerned about the fishery the an angler getting “robbed”…I’m guessing.
Yeah, 5 to 7 pounds.
What I am saying if that is the rules the DNR presents to you, then I would say ok, let’s make it a one fish tourney? Isn’t that how most the tourneys on the Minnesota are decided?
Good point.
Possibly hurting 1/2 the fish.
Whoops, need to correct myself because I couldn’t think of the word before. Kicker fish, not filler fish.
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