Lindy Rig hooking mortality!!

I hear ya Big G!!

Sorry RD has it down pat. Lindy Rigging is not cool! I can see having to use it in 1972 when all you had was a old green Fish Lo Kator but with todays electronics and mapping software if you cannot find fish and not get them in the boat without a Lindy Rig or if you cannot judge when to set the hook you might as well go back to the kids pond behind the One Stop. Sure this is going to set some people off and I don’t care. If you are a full time Lindy Riggin guy REPENT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks to all contributing to this conversation. One thing I enjoy about mediums such as IDO is there need not be political generated responses or comments, rather a group of educated anglers that have vested interests can discuss TOUCHY subjects. I guess it is pretty simple to see why we need governmental bodies to make decisions for us. I dont’ propose in a democratic world we all will whole heartedly agree on anything. Heck this is still America, and that’s not the American way. What I do suggest is that it is healthy for the future progression of a sport that rests on the shoulders of an ample fish supply reproducing to be carefully managed. I believe on many levels Self management to an extent is vital. Here on Rainy lake we encompass 220,000 acres of water. I think it is safe to assume a handfull of CO’s will be able to manage a finite resource with cooperation of concerned anglers like ourselves. In a day and age of further rules and regulations it can be difficult to swallow anything more. Especially when it is what we know and do. Trust me I grew up working lindy rigs. I grew up fishing Mille lacs too for the record. I’m probably not so far removed as some might think from different lakes and different bites….. Back in the day as Mr Fellegy discussed EVERYONE fished Jigs ONLY, and over the years progressed to predominately fishing lindy rigs……Hmnnnn?? Here on Rainy Lake I would say I’m probably in the vast minority working jigs with customers……Very common belief is you can only catch fish with Lindy rigs in the heat of the summer, so it is not just in central Minnesota. I’d say it would be easier for me to have customers of all skill levels to soak live bait and feed line. It is on the surface a much much simpler concept for anglers to grasp. In conclusion to our discussion I’ll say this. There are numerous impacts on the future of our sport good and bad. I believe kids involvement is vital for the future as one day they will be making key decisions concerning the sport. I believe injecting the passion for angling may deem vital, and accept my role in helping that happen. I believe self management and Pro-active movements with errors on the side of caution will be much more productive than reactive management that takes costs years of recovery time for many popular fishing destinations. I understand the complexity of lake/fish management, and hope the big lake/small lake specialists are gathering the proper data to continue to properly manage our fisheries. With that being said I also understand the complexity of waters that have tribal netting removing precious spawning fish from the waters. Anyone who knows me knows my feeling towards that, and hope someday there can be a buy out pound for pound on alloted fish. In simple mind it seems if for argument purposes if we are alloting 150,000 lbs of fish to be netted and sold we should request what the top dollar is that these fish are being sold for?? THEN Double it, and write the check!! I believe it all boils down to economics. I also believe that paying to preserve fish already grown and in a fishery would be money much better invested than hoping to grow a fingerling to 10lbs. I’d like to see the odds of that?? In no way am I going to get into a netting discussion as I don’t have the energy for that right now!! LOL!! But seems from a logical standpoint that it might be a working solution?? I guess maybe it is only about the tradition and the event, but in my mind in todays economy it at least for “some part” is about MONEY. Assuming so…… I’ll chip in my money to buy back some precious big fish that continue to drop eggs in a natural enviorment the good old fashioned way!! There!! LOL!!

Now lets go fishing!!

I agree with that Lindy rigs kill MANY fish as do split shot rigs and bobbers IF you use regular hooks and take too long to set the hook. I have sometimes tried live bait on Lindy Rigs with circle hooks. Every fish I caught except one was hooked in corner of mouth.

It will be impossible to regulate a ban on Lindy rigs (and split shot rigs can be just as bad). It would be much easier to ban all live bait. Many lakes have such a rule and it is easier to enforce than banning a specific technique. But I would not want to be the one trying to pass such a regulation on Rainy!

I think the best bet to end most of the gut hooked fish is to strongly encourage the use of circle hooks whenever live bait is used. Looking at a circle hook you would swear you could never hook a fish on one, but they work very well when used correctly. You can feed line if you want, but do NOT set the hook – just start to reel in when you think the fish has taken the hook. It is amazing how the hook wiggles its way into the corner of a fish’s mouth with a medium steady reeling in of line (NO jerking!).

In my opinion, fishing live bait with regular hooks results in a hundred times more gut hooked fish than any other technique. Some studies have shown that the vast majority of gut hooked fish die when the hook is left in the fish. About a third die when the hook is skillfully removed immediately. Still unacceptable in my book unless you are going to eat the fish.

Yes, other techniques kill fish too but nowhere near the damage live bait can cause.