Guys targetting walleyes out of season

This youtube vid is from a few weeks ago. Obviously it’s out of season and it’s this year since they were using a bait that’s new this spring.

I’m not watching the whole thing but if that is recently and from the Croix they are poaching and the video should be sent to DNR so hopefully they get busted. Too many morons think catch and release is same as out of season. It’s not. It’s called poaching. Its against the law and they are illegally taking advantage of law abiding citizens resources. It happens every year on the croix when selfish
Fu$*S cheat to fish. I’ve never seen anyone stupid enough to video and post it before!
The water is not patrolled this time of year. Its up to sportsmen to police that section of water.

I agree, turn them in now. I would also like to report that the same thing occasionally goes on at the Hastings dam and south on the inland stretch from Prescott to Lock and Dam 2. Hopefully someone takes care of this…

I mean honestly they didn’t take any so no harm no foul in my book. There’s other fish that are not closed that they could be targeting but catching walleyes. Whooped doo! I catch a ton of huge bass while they’re closed while crappie fishing. Am I supposed to put my gear away and head home then! Lol plenty of other worse things to get worked up about

WTF!!!!???
And on top of it they drag them across the rocks???

Let me start off by saying I haven’t watched the video yet.

The way I understand it is that it is not poaching. The DNR calls it either disturbing a species out of season.

It is definetly immoral and illegal. I doubt whether catch and release has a significant impact on these fish since they were caught in such cold water.

The bigger problem is the actual poachers that will keep all they can get. Go big or go home I guess.

Not big a whip to do or not a big problem? Posting crup like this on youtube encourages others to do the same. Obvious they were on the Croix if you watch close enough and if you skip towards the end it shows they know what their doing is wrong.
Down playing this is absurd and again encourages others.
To each his own I guess, I just dont understand it.

Wow.
The problem I have is that who’s to say this is the only time they have been down there catching these fish. How do we know this isn’t going on more often. And who knows maybe they went back at night and started keeping them. And with a video like this and the way people are this could get a ton more people doing the same thing down there. If it’s closed its closed. Let the fish be.

I can’t believe they are dragging fish against those rocks. they’re beating the hell out of those fish which may be weak as they are getting ready to spawn.

I fish in a lake that is catch and release pike and bass in the spring. We use a big rubberized net with the flat bottom, it’s very easy on the fish and we go barbless.

The biggest problem here is anyone who doesn’t report it.

…and yes I did.

You yanks and your “seasons”..

There is also a lot of snagging that happens down there.

So where does it say in the video that they were on the stcroix and it was filmed after March 1st

It was filmed at the warm water discharge and there was never open water like that on mar 1. Quite obvious to anyone that knows the area.

FYI-

Lots of emails and messages coming my way about this video.

It’s been reported to the DNR (plenty of times) by members here.
We won’t delete it from IDO as it’s hosted on YouTube and there’s no real point in deleting it.

katmando wrote:

I mean honestly they didn’t take any so no harm no foul in my book. There’s other fish that are not closed that they could be targeting but catching walleyes. Whooped doo! I catch a ton of huge bass while they’re closed while crappie fishing. Am I supposed to put my gear away and head home then! Lol plenty of other worse things to get worked up about

Katmanpoacher

suzuki wrote:

Katmanpoacher

LOL

Katmanpoacher? Ha! Yeah that’s me alright……. would hate to have you guys be the judge the jury and the executioner. Everyone’s guilty!

Interesting. Video now “Private”. Saw it yesterday before the idiots found out they are in trouble and turned the video private. They were using what look like a 3″-4″ crank. What were they fishing for sunnies? Poachers…

Mmm, spring walleyes are the most delicious.

Shadow Raps.

There were some that downloaded the video. Making it private is little of no value any longer.

This conversation is concerning to me. Us multi species people get tagged quite often as poachers, some just don’t get a thrill from early spring cats, or suckers, and I’m sorry but you are going to fish where there’s walleyes, and smallies, and everything else. How many have caught walleyes on cut bait? Ball of worms? It happens more than you think for those of us who fish them often. What about tying up 3way with mini cranks for staging crappies, or stepping up to 1/8oz jigs in high water for river crappies.

The original video I didn’t watch, and from comments seems well justified, but let’s not demonize everyone throwing a line in the water when season closes for the “popular” fish.

It is that time of year again for the Annual “Fishing Out of Season” post. The good thing is it means the opener isn’t too far away.

nhamm wrote:

The original video I didn’t watch, and from comments seems well justified, but let’s not demonize everyone throwing a line in the water when season closes for the “popular” fish.

It’s one thing to throw a line in the water with the intent to catch crappies and end up getting a walleye. It’s another thing to go with the intent strictly being to catch walleye out of season. They are clearly walleye fishing in the video. I’ve had days where I’ve gone perch fishing and caught bluegills, gone walleye fishing and caught perch, gone northern fishing and caught walleye. But their intent is clearly to catch walleye in the video.

nhamm wrote:

This conversation is concerning to me. Us multi species people get tagged quite often as poachers, some just don’t get a thrill from early spring cats, or suckers, and I’m sorry but you are going to fish where there’s walleyes, and smallies, and everything else. How many have caught walleyes on cut bait? Ball of worms? It happens more than you think for those of us who fish them often. What about tying up 3way with mini cranks for staging crappies, or stepping up to 1/8oz jigs in high water for river crappies.

The original video I didn’t watch, and from comments seems well justified, but let’s not demonize everyone throwing a line in the water when season closes for the “popular” fish.

They were using 3″ shadow raps not dough balls. What the heck do you think they were fishing for? Walleyes…

Ya but if they are planning on returning the fish to the water (which they did) why drag them across all those rocks. They really gave those likely pregnant fish a real beating. You could fish with waders and a landing net if you were concerned at all for the fish. Just a thought.

If anyone has a link to the video (the original was taken down), I’d like to see it. Thanks.

If you continue to catch a certain fish in a location and you expect to catch another you are targeting them therefore illegal. Although many times legit I am so sick of the “I’m fishing crappies” excuse on the Croix.

I agree Mike. That video was bad. Clearly Shadow Raps as that was the title of the Youtube video and clearly on the Croix. New bridge pilings visible in background as well as some of the telltale power line towers.

“If” people want to fish “crappies” or other currently open game fish on the Croix right now, no problem. Catching a protected game fish by accident and immediately returning it to the water, no problem. But catching walleye over and over and over using 4+” rapalas, there’s was no doubt this was illegal.

Hopefully the DNR takes it seriously and puts someone on patrol down there. There were even a few fish that I did not see returned to the water. And as mentioned above, there was a moment in the video where the guys toned it down as someone else came by and they knew they had to keep it under wraps.

That was a bad video and I hope some justice comes from it.

ET

My intent was that many walleye baits are quite effective for other species. 15″ crappie came out of river last fall on a flicker shad, pulled a lot of 12″+ crappies as well on an 1/8oz jig with a 2.5″ ripple minnow. True the tail gets eaten off half the time with no hookups but when a fish does connect its bigger. Plus you need a bigger profile with a heavier jighead to get it down where you want while slowing it down as much as possible in cool water.
Smashed the carp, sheepshead, and buffalo on similar setup different area with a 1/4oz jig and 3.5″ paddle tail late fall. You bet I’d want to try that again this spring, cold water low flow good vis. Similar conditions produce similar results, at least worth a shot.
It just sucks when I walk down to my spots when attempting such feats I have this nervousness like I’m doing something wrong. Knowing very well I could get ticketed very easily.

I get it though, you can’t have everybody doing what I do BC their intent would be different. Just stuck between a rock and a hard place.