Should DNR extend walleye fishing, now that ice is better?

My daughters lemonade stand is struggling this past week with the cold Im sure she would except some of your guys hard earned tax dollars.

big_g wrote:

The government doesn’t bail anyone out, taxpayers do. I am one and I would not have a problem extending the Walleye season to March 6, the day houses have to be off. It literally costs nothing or minimal tax dollars to do this. This gives one more weekend for heavier resort traffic and possible cabin rentals.

Yes, the walleye season should be changed to match the shelter removal date. But this should be always not just this year. Heck, on Lake of the Woods the walleye season runs this year till April 14th which is 2 weeks later than the shelter removal date…..

JEREMY wrote:

My daughters lemonade stand is struggling this past week with the cold Im sure she would except some of your guys hard earned tax dollars.

Have her switch to hot chocolate, or cold beer (picture 5000 guys standing on ice at a tourney drawing bundled up drinking cold ones ) sounds like she needs some business training.

OG Net_Man wrote:

Yes, the walleye season should be changed to match the shelter removal date.

The other caveat here too is when your angling license expires.

Walleye season ends on inland waters Feb 26.
Your 2023 angling license ends on Feb 29.
Houses off in the southern half by March 6.

Seems like they could just put all of these on the same date for simplicity.

Gim, you are onto something too. The way the licenses expire is totally dumb. First of all, our boats expire in December. Snowmobiles in Summer. Who does this? Then we have a license that isnt valid for a year from purchase? Come on! I dont care if it isnt valid for the entire season, but it should be valid from date of purchase which is what most surrounding states do I believe.

big_g wrote:

Have her switch to hot chocolate, or cold beer

She would have a hard time selling cold beers cause I know her dad and he/I would drink them all.

What about the guys that depend on plowing snow in the winter to make it? Can we make it snow as well? Business of any type is complex and not guaranteed. Interest rates and inflation are hitting boat manufacturers, should we eliminate sales tax on boats to help them out? We can’t just knee jerk react to fix one situation. What if it rains on deer opener? Do we extend the season for the few of us that haven’t spent $5000 on a covered stand?

mnmarlin wrote:

What about the guys that depend on plowing snow in the winter to make it? Can we make it snow as well? Business of any type is complex and not guaranteed. Interest rates and inflation are hitting boat manufacturers, should we eliminate sales tax on boats to help them out? We can’t just knee jerk react to fix one situation. What if it rains on deer opener? Do we extend the season for the few of us that haven’t spent $5000 on a covered stand?

id suggest getting paid for the season not the job. Win some you lose some when it comes to that.

mnmarlin wrote:

What about the guys that depend on plowing snow in the winter to make it? Can we make it snow as well? Business of any type is complex and not guaranteed. Interest rates and inflation are hitting boat manufacturers, should we eliminate sales tax on boats to help them out? We can’t just knee jerk react to fix one situation. What if it rains on deer opener? Do we extend the season for the few of us that haven’t spent $5000 on a covered stand?

Silly examples.

And why are they silly? Valid points. Win some lose some when you own your own business. A good business owner would put together a good business model that would have contingency plans for situations that arise that are out of their control.

Ripjiggen wrote:

Silly examples.

X2

“Duh Queen” sent me an email on a DNR study about the impact of a later walleye season closure.

I’ll see if I can find it and post it.

How did we get to government bail outs? Extending the season doesn’t cost taxpayers anything.

3rdtryguy wrote:

How did we get to government bail outs? Extending the season doesn’t cost taxpayers anything.

If you believe that I have some ocean front property in AZ. Nothing is ever free. Have you forgotten about the Free lunch for kids?

How did this turn into a govt bail out thread?

Should the season be extended regardless of what happens with the ice should be the question.

What are our neighbors doing?

North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa all have continuous walleye seasons.

Wisconsin is first Sunday in March but if you look at the regs the majority of the water is continuous for walleye.

Manitoba has divisions. Southern division is like 3 April this year and NW goes until end of April.

MN=Nanny State

Hey wrote:

MN=Nanny State

MN walleye ice anglers, the children.

Ive read this whole thread. Man, So many differing opinions. Heres my take. Leave it alone. Close the season on the normal date, Try again next year. Thread after thread about the coveted walleyes. Expand your horizons.

There 10,000 lakes. With other species. Spend whatever time we have leftover ice chasing perch, crappies, and bluegill. Or if you really need to have a fish fry and want a bunch of fish, and want to support a small community, head on down to the fairmont chain of lakes and fill a few five gallon pails of yellow bass. They are great table fare and invasive.

I plow snow, I would like a bail out. Nah just kidding. 88% of my contracts are flat rate, and 12% per push. Good this year, last year not so much. I used to try to be 50-50, but flat rate for me is the better risk, and I try to talk people into that. Low snow I make money. Lots of snow I still make money, just not as much. Bad thing with a resort, I don’t know if they can structure their seasonal rental lots to include fishouse pull out whether they go out or not.

mnmarlin wrote:

What about the guys that depend on plowing snow in the winter to make it? Can we make it snow as well? Business of any type is complex and not guaranteed. Interest rates and inflation are hitting boat manufacturers, should we eliminate sales tax on boats to help them out? We can’t just knee jerk react to fix one situation. What if it rains on deer opener? Do we extend the season for the few of us that haven’t spent $5000 on a covered stand?

just the walleye season???of pike and bass too????

i feel for the businesses that depend on the snow and ice, but IMO……..NO…….leave it as is.

Sure the the 6 of you that are fishing pike and bass are welcome to join. I doubt it would hurt anything. I don’t think the bait shops are going to stock up more hot dogs for ya though.
I mean how many more snot rockets can you actually stab that time of year anyway.

Well… I’ve stabbed a grand total of 1 so far

Ripjiggen wrote:

Sure the the 6 of you that are fishing pike and bass are welcome to join.

Do people actually target bass in the winter? I mean you occasionally see a photo of one caught on a tip up by accident, but I honestly don’t know a single person who sets out onto the ice with the intent of chasing bass.

“I’m heading to the lily pads to pop a frog” said no one in January.

gim wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Ripjiggen wrote:</div>
Sure the the 6 of you that are fishing <em class=”ido-tag-em”>pike and <em class=”ido-tag-em”>bass are welcome to join.

Do people actually target bass in the winter? I mean you occasionally see a photo of one caught on a tip up by accident, but I honestly don’t know a single person who sets out onto the ice with the intent of chasing bass.

“I’m heading to the lily pads to pop a frog” said no one in January.

I chase bass all winter long locally. And I do really well.

Bearcat89 wrote:

I chase bass all winter long locally.

Well there’s one I guess. 1 of the 6

Leave it as it is.  Fishing has still been achievable.   The ice for foot travel has been safe for weeks in a lot of areas.  There are other means of transportation other than driving to your favorite spot.  And maybe you can’t fish in that normal spot or favorite lake this year.    But so many have become so accustomed to using wheel houses that they can’t fish any more without them. It does not mean there is no fishing.  It just means one has to adapt to how or where you are going to fish. 

This season sucks for anyone in the winter sporting or any business that depends on snow and ice.   I know that MANY resorts depend on vehicle travel for part of their income.  Up north they are charging  $10-30/vehicle.  How much snow are they plowing this year?   Years like last year when we actually had snow they had a LOT more overhead cost in keeping roads open.   This year it is almost a cash cow for those who are able to allow vehicles.  This should off-set some of the cabin rental losses.
I feel bad for any business suffering a bad year.   Good years and bad years happen in nearly every business.  If they have a good year they should be budgeting for a bad year.   Grab your portables and go fishing!!!  

Upper 30s, 40 and even 50 degree temps in the forecast. Is there even going to be fishable ice by the end of the season?