It’s a nice idea, but I doubt it will do much. And who knows if there would be any unintended consequences, but they couldn’t be any worse than the initial introduction of channel cats.
I personally don’t think it would do much because I don’t think even with liberalized limits that there will be enough people keeping them to eat. I could be wrong though. And you can only fertilize the garden so much.
The Bowfishers on MN would love the chance to help out.
It’s been brought up several times.
I still don’t see them being able to make much of an impact. How many guys is that? How often would they go?
Yeah, but it makes people FEEL BETTER 
If thinning them out makes for a larger average size then count me in…But i agree with others, the harvest isn’t going to skyrocket
I do want to get over there this spring and fish for a weekend.
What’s a bit humorous about this is the small pike population problems.
I haven’t been following it too closely, but there are some that would like to take away bag limits on pike 24 inches or less. Keep as many as you can without waste to increase the size of the pike populations.
From what I’ve heard in these discussions, the limit doesn’t really matter. It would only put a small dent (if that) in the hammer handles population anyway.
my family has a cabin up by the sand lake bowstring chain up in Itasca county. you can take 9 pike under 22 inches I believe and from what the locals tell me it does seem to show some improvement. needs to be done long term in my opinion.
besides…pug told me you don’t know crap about fish with scales anyway! 
Finally! Pug told you the truth!!
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From what I’ve heard in these discussions, the limit doesn’t really matter. It would only put a small dent (if that) in the hammer handles population anyway.
I’d think it would depend on the body of water. Some lakes would benefit greatly, while others would see no change.
If cats were considered a delicacy up here and sought after as much as walleye, then I’d say it would be very effective. The rub being that, if that were true, then no one would be fighting for liberal bag limits on the horseshoe cats.
The title of another thread gave me a thought. Maybe they should introduce cormorants to the chain. Cormorants and zebra mussels.
You’re working on a grant aren’t you. 
Yes, I need to pay off my back taxes.
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The title of another thread gave me a thought. Maybe they should introduce cormorants to the chain. Cormorants and zebra mussels.
There are already cormys there. There is a whole row of trees on east lake that has been killed from them. 5 or 6 years ago there was one tree that they killed, then every year there are 3 or 4 more. Now the whole row is dead. Does make for some good bass laydowns though.
I hope they get rid of a lot of cats! The resort I go to has seen a huge change when the boom of catfish arrived. It used to be all fisherman targeting walleye, bass, and panfish. Then the cats came and they stopped going and the resort saw a loss of business. Then people found out how good of a party lake it is and now for the week we are there, there might be 3 or 4 of us that fish. The rest just drive around the lake tubing and skiing.
When I first started going up there, every saturday and sunday the lakes would be filled with pontoons and fishing boats out fishing, rarely a boat pulling a tube would go by. Now once they stopped fishing there since all you catch is catfish, we cannot even fish on the Sat or Sun we are there. Solid tubers and jetskis going around in circles.
This will be the last year we go up there unless something changes. We are the last of the big group that used to stay that week, and this may be the end for us. $2000 to stay a week, and fish mon-tues-weds-thurs-fri morning. and catch mostly catfish. Not worth it anymore.
I hope for the sake of the resorts and local economy, that the lake will see a big increase of catfisherman and partyers to keep them in business.
Hey now! When we go up there we ‘toon the chain every day. 
I lived in Richmond for 21 years growing up. that type of activity has always been there.
The nice thing is they have a lot of wake zones and plenty of places to duck away from people.
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I lived in Richmond for 21 years growing up. that type of activity has always been there.
They must have taken the week off for the first 8 years we went up there then. When we first started going up there, the 22 launch would have 7 or 8 fishing boat trailers (lund) in it on sunday morning. Now its packed to the brim with jetski and those half v bottom half ‘toon boat trailers.
If you saw a tuber go by, it was grandpa taking the kids for a spin in the ‘toon, and it went around 3 or 4 times then back to the house.
The week we are up there, there are professional ski boats going around pulling boarders and skiers.. that has always been there???
The main lakes are solid rollers from saturday morning until 5pm sunday. We can fish sunday morning from daybreak until about 6am, then there are too many jetskis going around to hold the boat in any productive area. Sunday from 5pm to dark is fishable, but the lake is so stirred up that it rarely is very productive. Buy tuesday the lake is calm enough to fish all day and catch fish.
I guess you could anchor out there and ride the waves to catch fish, but that is not my idea of a vacation.
When 5, 6, 7 years ago the only gas pump on the lake would see a boat an hour or maybe 2 during the weekends then maybe 1 or 2 boats a day during the week on a good day. Now there is a line for the pump all day on sat/sun and a boat every 20 minutes during the week. Good for the resort I guess, making some money.
I must have missed something, because I can never remember the lakes being like that back in the early 2000’s… and neither can my family.
Couple this with the catfish and you have a chain of lakes going from fishing to watersports and recreation. The addition of musky was a good idea to try and bring some anglers back.
IMO (and it doesn’t mean much coming from a guy so far away) but it seems like the chain is turning into st. clouds version of ‘tonka.
I grew up literally a stones throw away from that access and I agree with you about the fishing boats. we use to fish all along there. fact is back then there where no such things as jet skies but really, tell me of a lake nowadays that has any amount of surface water that doesn’t have skiers, tubers and wet jets. the new generation just plain and simple do more rec then fishing. that week you say you are up there and the pro boarders, skiers I know down the road they have an organization that does this and they do go to different lakes, maybe they picked the same week you hit! that sucks.
but I got an idea……..why don’t your family take a limit ofthose kitties home with ya!!
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IMO (and it doesn’t mean much coming from a guy so far away) but it seems like the chain is turning into st. clouds version of ‘tonka.
Then I need to find their version of Big Island! Show me your….
Maybe I already did find it. The sand bar on Knaus.
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IMO (and it doesn’t mean much coming from a guy so far away) but it seems like the chain is turning into st. clouds version of ‘tonka.
Only on the holiday weekends, I have a cabin on the chain and the only time I choose to keep my boat on the lift is 4th of July weekend. That’s when the “Have no clue what they are doing” boaters come out of the woodwork, but I’d venture to guess it’s the same on any popular lake that weekend.. I will say the Water Sherriff does a decent job of keeping things under control, especially when other boaters see them pull people over for BUI or wakezone violations..
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the pro boarders, skiers I know down the road they have an organization that does this and they do go to different lakes, maybe they picked the same week you hit! that sucks.
Sounds like union to me…
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the pro boarders, skiers I know down the road they have an organization that does this and they do go to different lakes, maybe they picked the same week you hit! that sucks.
Sounds like union to me…
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