Question which may spark an interesting conversation. Looking at One Stop’s pictures in the Rainy Lake forum.
I didn’t see any fish in those pics that most of us would consider trophy caliber fish. Do you think with all the CPR of today’s sportsman that the fisheries are actually better now days than back then? Same thing with my grandparent’s pictures.
It seems to me there are more big fish caught and bigger deer shot these days than back in “the good old days”.
I’m not seeing the fish pics. 
For some fish like muskies and bass that have really been adopted by the C&R and tourney crowds, definately yes. In my opinion, the better eating fish like walleyes, pike, and crappies have suffered over the decades…..
There are certainly exceptions, but it seems to me that “the good old days” yielded a lot more limits and stringers of fish (especially considering the relatively ‘crude’ tactics of long ago) a long time ago. Aside from certain exceptions, I think that statewide, fisheries of ‘edible’ species are in a tougher spot, producing less huge fish than years and years ago…..especially panfish.
T
Quote:
I’m not seeing the fish pics.
More full stringers, yes. Of course a lot of us keep enough for a meal now days, not enough to fill the freezer.
More trophy class fish, I’m not so sure. I know my dad and grandpa wouldn’t think twice about eating a 5# walleye where most of us would never consider it. A dead 5#er will never get to 10#.
Crappies and Gills. No question. They’ve been all but decimated over the years.
I don’t think this is something you can make a blanket statement assessing today’s fisheries. It is very specific to each body of water you are talking about.
I think a lot of fisheries are in better shape today than from when I was a kid. Mille lacs is one. Walleyes across the state seem to be in good shape. Good availbilty and size.
Panfish seem to be in much worse shape than 30 years ago. Terrible size. For most I think finding 8″ metro crappies and sunnies is a real challenge.
I think many of the bigger lakes have led the charge trying to preserve a healthy population of fish. Slot restrictions coupled with angler education has made significant impacts on fisheries. I believe many smaller fisheries haven’t been able to withstand heavy fishing pressure. I believe smaller fisheries are crying for proper management. Rainy Lake (boasting 220,000 acres) which I’m most familiar with has without a doubt became much stronger than in say in the 80’s. I only hope the big fisheries biologists remain on top of the critical balance between baitfish and predators. Big predator fish eat LOTS of baitfish. I didn’t fish in the Good Ole Days, but do know we average 20+ walleyes over 20 inches per day in the open waters season. Limits of 4lb+ fish would be commonplace in our boat without slot restrictions.
I’d argue keeping average to small fish (Selective Harvest) to eat is better than CPR for a fishery.
Panfish are a good example of why even with CPR, some species can suffer. Everyone keeps the big ones. Even a lot of guys who think they are being good by the fishery by not keeping a limit, even though they could. For some, the little ones are too much work to clean or don’t have enough meat. By doing that the younger classes get over populated and stunted, while the ‘trophy’ older generations get depleted.
Must be winter. I am preaching selective harvest again.
Quote:
I’d argue keeping average to small fish (Selective Harvest) to eat is better than CPR for a fishery.
Panfish are a good example of why even with CPR, some species can suffer. Everyone keeps the big ones. Even a lot of guys who think they are being good by the fishery by not keeping a limit, even though they could. For some, the little ones are too much work to clean or don’t have enough meat. By doing that the younger classes get over populated and stunted, while the ‘trophy’ older generations get depleted.
Must be winter. I am preaching selective harvest again.
The lake my parents live on in Northern MN is like that. It’s stocked full of 4″-7″ gills. If we do a turkey or something like that. We’ll throw the scraps in the lake. Looks like piranha in there. It’s cleaned in minutes. Those poor little buggers have eaten the lake empty. Of course that’s great for the pesky bugs. Not good for the lake’s ecology.
The DNR should poison the lake and start over.
I can definately see the impact educational movements towards CPR & Selective Harvest have yielded in the gamefish category. That or I’m developing into fishing demi-god and I know that’s not the case.
I still see to many people on the river or coming off the river that shove too many breed stock panfish in livewells. Panfishing is comprised of a slightly larger circle of folks and some of the participants aren’t as tuned to the importance of CPR and selective harvest practices ~ or they tend to believe the unwritten rules don’t apply to them because they fish so little throughout the course of a year. It doesn’t help matters these fish are a little easier to target and catch. There is some work to do in the panfish category in my neck of the woods.
The industrial pollution is not nearly as bad as it used to be. I remember big rafts of nasty foam coming down the Wisconsin river when I was a kid roughly 30 years ago. You almost never see that now. I think the polution getting better has made the fish better. Now if we can just get that mercury out of the system.
Here are some photos of my Grandma and Grandpa from the 50’s to 70’s. If there is one thing my grandpa loved, it was a trout shore lunch.
Great pics 
the last one is the best 
I totally agree! The last one rocks! 
I’d agree, the targeted species, Bass, Walleye, Musky , all are more abundant and have BIG fish representing… panfish, again depleted. I would have to think between a fisherperson taking his limits and with all the BIG fish being CPR’d, that has to affect the panfish forage base and predatory killing as well. Norhtern I would say has not changed much on the lakes I target them, from when I was a kid… A 8 pounder was a big one… and on area lakes, it still is to me …??? Maybe I don’t know how to catch big ones 
(minus my trips to Canada) 
big G
The problem with a lot of stunted and little sunfish, it usually either leads to small predatory fish because of all the forage. That sounds a little counter intuitive until you think that if there is a lot of forage for younger generations, there is nothing to naturally thin out the younger smaller classes of fish because there is plenty to eat. But I think more often than not it leads to bigger old populations, because when they are young they are eaten by the small sunfish and then they compete with them for food until they get bigger. That means not many make it to be big fish, but when they do, they have plenty of prey.
But to me it seems most lakes if there are smaller populations, but big trophy fish including sunnies, then there is a balance that leads to bigger, less abundant predators like bass, pike and walleye.
Makes a big difference on the lake and the species. If you CPR and the predator to bait fish is off then you end up with all kinds of outcomes. Do what feels right to you. But overall the fishery is better than before. Of course what do you mean by better off? 
I think today’s anglers have a better ethic when it comes to what they keep. I also feel that from a technological standpoint anglers today have a much bigger edge over what the past had. There has been a whole pile of studies that in the end have put better information at our hands and then we have the tools to use the information to our advantage.
Who, 50 years ago, would have concieved seeing a jig being danced around in forty feet of water and having that same jig glowing an eerie red or blue. I don’t see the fish as having evolved any to make them more catchable, but I do see the human mind at work in catching more and better fish. I honestly feel that 50 years ago people took what they got for the day and were happy to have it. Today people spend hours and some serious $$$$ to make that same day even better catch-wise.
Quote:
Quote:
I’m not seeing the fish pics.
Pictures on One Stop’s Facebook
Loved pic 57, the stringer of bullheads!
Quote:
I like that the DNR has started making special regs for some bodies of water to protect the special fishery that exists. They have even started doing it with exceptional bluegill and crappie lakes by only allowing people to keep 2-4 fish.
Me to…
__________________
watch movies online for free
Back then I use to just fish stupid and catch fish. Now, I have to be a lot smarter and more aware of special regs. I have to compete against others who have way better equipment and electronics. The table fare fish I try to catch are smaller and more scarce.
Personally, I think the mercury more than anything has toughened up the fish and allowed them to grow to trophy size.
I think fishing is better without a doubt. Pan fish being the exception. When was the last time you had a bucket full of jumbo Lake Perch? Sunfish and crappie have also suffered. At least part of the reason for that is we fish the beds when they are breeding and take out the large breeding fish.
Catfish, sturgeon, no question fishing is great. Catch and release has completely changed fishing from when I was kid in the 50’s. We kept everything we caught back then because it put meat on the table. We also had less available time to fish and no electronics. The drag on your reel was your thumb. Pollution was so bad in the Mississippi River you hardly wanted to put your hand in the water. Fish below the refinery tasted like they had been dipped in kerosene.
Things are lots better now. They can and probably will improve. What a great thought.
At nearly a mighty 32 years old, I can’t really say for sure, honestly I think Ice fishing is the hardest single thing on lakes, I mean you’d never see 5,000+ people fishing Mille lacs on open water on any given day, I’m sure there is on many of winter days, let alone metro lakes that get several hundred ice houses.
Seen Al Linder talking at GM one day, he says fishing now is better than ever, before maybe he’d see a 5# smaller a year, now it’s nothing to see them several times a season.
I also think a larger portion of people see fishing as a recreation and not near as much about table fair, and that and the conservation ideas will take many, many years to change the attitude of people.
Sure there’s a long way to go yet, but I think we’re going in the right direction.
If one would really want to see proof that fishing is getting better, no need to look any further than the mighty mississippi here in St.paul, 30 years ago it was a smelly stink hole with really poor fishing. You could also look at the Great Lakes rebounding.
Quote:
If one would really want to see proof that fishing is getting better, no need to look any further than the mighty mississippi here in St.paul, 30 years ago it was a smelly stink hole with really poor fishing. You could also look at the Great Lakes rebounding.
That’s partly what prompted this conversation. I seem to see so many huge fish that are caught, CPRed and not even weighted (Jon Jordan’s Pool 2 post for example).
Then I think back to when I was a kid, knowing how excited everyone got when a 5# walleye or 10# pike came to the net.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
