Tying up Walleyes

There is a Facebook page called Walleye Mafia LLC. The creator of the page has pointed out a group of guides in WI That has been tying up large Walleyes and leaving them in a hole. Apparently they wait until they have a certain number of fish and then take promo pictures and create the illusion that all the fish were caught during the course of one outing thus increasing their guide business.

Some of the guides have admitted to the practice. it has gotten pretty ugly to say the least. Sponsers have gotten involved and the word slander is starting to get thrown around.

It is legal apparently and the guy that brought it up is trying to get the laws changed.

Has anyone else been following this at all? What are your thoughts of leaving a ten pound Walleye tied up in a hole for days on end for the purposes mentioned?

If this is happening, are they thinking about what’s best for the fish or are they thinking about what’s best for themselves?

I vote for the fish.

The thread got nuked on another site I visit before I could read it. To be truthful anytime money is involved nothing surprises me. Karma is a wonderful thing and those that deserve bad Karma usually end up getting it.

The Woods and Waters show from the area with the regular Sturgeon Bay guide a couple weeks back…. many posted that the fish pulled up was about as dead as could be. No head shakes coming up, just dead weight. Not a tail kick, gill flair, nothing once on the ice… That original thread and facebook thread had a lot of ugly stuff on it. Ever since the guide business took off in that area for whitefish, there has been a lot of “ugly” postings on different sites.

I’ve been following it pretty closely…. I believe Troy said they were leaving them tied up as long as 3 weeks. How else can they have a photo shoot with 60+lbs of walleye? (Lake Erie excluded)

Joel VandeKrol wrote:

I’ve been following it pretty closely…. I believe Troy said they were leaving them tied up as long as 3 weeks. How else can they have a photo shoot with 60+lbs of walleye? (Lake Erie excluded)

It’s pretty wild. I’m a bit surprised by the amount of folks defending the “fish wranglers”
This practice may have given the team some nice exposure but I feel that running anything unethicly will destroy any chance of long term success. It comes out in the open almost every time. Shortcuts to success don’t exist.

The only solution is to change the law.

The debate on the ethics of this could rage on forever with no practical result other than a lot of burned up internet bandwidth.

Just another case where the law could never have foreseen the way this practice is being used or how widespread it apparently has become. So time to change the law.

IMO there are quite a number of these situations brewing where the law just could not foresee the current situation.

Grouse

I have been following it, there are quit a few post on it. I just find it funny that you can’t leave your tip-ups unattended overnight, but you can do this. You can’t leave an ice shack out on the ice overnight unless you have your name/address on it, but you can do this. As other have repeatedly stated, it is time for a rule/law change.

It just sounds wrong. Make it illegal.

suzuki wrote:

It just sounds wrong. Make it illegal.

…Now that sums it up plain and simple.!.. Wonder how long it will take to Make It Illegal.? …rrr

What ? How can that be legal, I hope they all get exposed, what a bunch of crap

How can they tie up a fish for 3 weeks and have it legal? I thought that you had to take possession of the fish or immediately return it to the water. Some how this can’t be legal or if it is how come you can’t release a fish after you have put it in your livewell?

I will not give examples, But their has been information given, That includes many different waters in many states.. Guess the practice has been used by many guides and product producers for advertisement for along time. Info is just coming out.. I will not post any other info. Im not the person that got direct info.. So Im just saying..

https://m.facebook.com/walleyemafiallc/photos/a.206338546242728.1073741828.206109996265583/321257114750870/

suzuki wrote:

It just sounds wrong. Make it illegal.

river rat randy wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>suzuki wrote:</div>
It just sounds wrong. Make it illegal.

…Now that sums it up plain and simple.!.. Wonder how long it will take to Make It Illegal.? …rrr

Therein lies the problem, how long? Certain wheels move slowly.

Wait… this is legal now?

Not on my watch.

There is a guide business out of Alma that use to do that. They use to keep them in livewells for multiple big fish pictures and they even use to keep them in their bait tanks in their store.

To me, it’s sad that there even needs to be a law against this. In my opinion, a true sportsman would never do this. A walleye that doesn’t get to eat for days or weeks is a dead or dying walleye for sure.

ajaikens31 wrote:

To me, it’s sad that there even needs to be a law against this. In my opinion, a true sportsman would never do this. A walleye that doesn’t get to eat for days or weeks is a dead or dying walleye for sure.

X2 very sad. Unethical, immoral and downright sleazy.

I don’t give a rat’s arse!
Shun Them and don’t show them the time of day towards any site or following that they have!

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Denny O wrote:

I don’t give a rat’s arse!
Shun Them and don’t show them the time of day towards any site or following that they have!

Them!!

Why are we referring to the them as “a guide service“? Name names, if I ever decide to us a guide service on the waters in Wisconsin and/or Minnesota I sure has hell don’t want to be using the guys that are involved in this practice. Disgusting.

shamus wrote:

Why are we referring to the them as “a guide service“? Name names, if I ever decide to us a guide service on the waters in Wisconsin and/or Minnesota I sure has hell don’t want to be using the guys that are involved in this practice. Disgusting.

I would be cautious with stating names at this point. I don’t believe in it, and i think there is a very unethical abuse of a resource when these fish are abused in this manor.
BUT who has witnessed this? Can you prove they did it? Are you posting a name on hearsay?
I also question the “make a law”. Again, be careful in what you ask for. I agree having a fish tied up and unattended for multiple days is not ethical. However, what about the guy that goes up to a resort or his/her cabin and has a fish basket or crate at the end of his dock. Puts fish in there over the coarse of a day and intends to clean them that night. Leaves for a couple hours and the game warden happens to come by and take a peek. Did the guy really do anything wrong???But a lw to cover one mis-hap can have crappy circumstances when applied across the playing field for all. Or how about the guy that puts a fish in the livewell to get pictures later that day or to keep the fish healthy while getting his camera out? We just need to make sure we don’t turn everyone into a criminal

Yeah I see your point. Hopefully it all comes out and we know the facts, but since it isn’t against the law I doubt we ever will.

False advertisement. Setting a bar to high to meet. Cheating. If you have to save up your fish to show off, you are nobody in my book. It is an elite thing to have a stringer of 10lb walleyes and most people can’t come close to doing that unless you go to erie and that is why it commands respect when it is actually done. If you have to short cut it you haven’t achieved anything and have impressed no one.

If that’s legal is it also legal for anyone to take those fish if you find them?

Gregg Pfeifer wrote:

If that’s legal is it also legal for anyone to take those fish if you find them?

Not even sure why that would be of interest.

Chuck Melcher wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Gregg Pfeifer wrote:</div>
If that’s legal is it also legal for anyone to take those fish if you find them?

Not even sure why that would be of interest.

CPR, easy lunch… I can think of lots of reasons someone would take those fish if they found them unattended.

Tying up “walleyes” ?
OK, this 50 Shades of Grey stuff is gettin’ outta hand

What a joke, if you did it and it is legal and you are not ashamed, admit. If you are ashamed, deny and threaten people that expose you…… which comes back top my first thoughts…. “What a joke”