stringer photo?

I have been following this site for some time and I thought I needed to add my two cents. I saw the pictures and read the Everts report from 2/27 and couldn’t help notice that some of those fish look a little big for the fry pan. I know that these guys are within their legal limits by keeping all of these nice fish, and it is their own prerogative to keep their limit everytime they go out, however, after having spent many years fishing pool 4, it saddens me to see limits such as these being taken home on such a consistent basis. I can see taking a wall hanger, but how many three to four pounders does a person need to make a meal? How about keeping the one to two pounders for the fish fry and putting the bigger ones back so they can spawn and help renew this natural resource for future generations? I would be interested in hearing other opinions from readers of this site.

Welcome to this great site. Your topic does get discussed on a regular basis. If you get a chance , try the search engine and you will find plenty of opinions both ways. Just last week we reviewed the topic of fishing in the dreaded “Scour Hole”.
Dino

You said it… “I know that these guys are within their legal limits by keeping all of these nice fish, and it is their own prerogative to keep their limit .”

I do agree, there’s no worldly reason to keep limit after limit of fish of any size. After looking at that photo, most of those fish are 2 lbers, but we can never be sure of the circumstances behind a photo. Maybe they were planning a big fish fry with family? Who knows. All we can do is educate people through this site to release what you can’t use immediately. Also, so few people actually understand the limit laws… when I get the chance to talk to some real regulars on the water, the guys that I know keep limits 3 – 4 times a week, after I’m well into a polite conversation with them I’ll ask them how they can possibly eat 20 – 30 fish a week. Usually they respond with “well, I’ve got a bunch in the freezer.” When you follow-up with “buddy, you’re WAY over your legal possession limit and if you get tagged somehow, you won’t be fishing for awhile” you’ll usually get a “you’re kidding!” Very few casual anglers know that they are NOT entitled to a limit EVERY day.

Keep educating. One person at a time. People’s attitudes and practices are changing noticeably. Understand that the worst way to change a person’s thinking is to attack them for their practices…. and never forget a good fish meal is a wonderful part of the sport we all enjoy and I’d hate to see people get so up-tight about keeping a few fish that people stop fishing altogether.

Excellent topic. Should be some good replies.

Have to agree with education being best tool. I didn’t realize about the problem with catching fish from deep water until I started reading FTR. Our Schwanns man was just here and was talking to him about fishing. He fishes the river a lot and said he had never heard anything about it. Said he was done fishing real deep. One more down.

Pleasant conversation can certainly go a long way! Hats of to all that do so!

James, how can I follow such an affluent and extremely well written response like yours? Question? Is there anything you suck at? Just kidding buddy! I just wanted to compliment your input here!

I was noticing in the photo that there wasn’t a great difference between most of the fish. The far left was much fatter but if you look at the length, it didn’t appear more than 4″ longer than the shortest fish. Judging by length, I stacked it up to being one of those photo injustices, making a 19er look like a trophy. Even so, follow your heart but remember to protect the resource and our futures.

I was about 3′ from these guys when Steve snapped the photo. The largest walleye on the far left might have made 21″ on a good day. About 3.25 – 3.50 Lbs. The rest went in the 1.25 – 2.50 Lb range. The largest sauger MIGHT have taped 19″ had a deep cycle battery been set on it for awhile.

Not a single 4 Lb fish in the bunch… but a good photo can really throw off your perspective if you’re not comparing the size of the fish to other known objects… like hand or wrist size of the angler holding the fish compared to the fish in the photo. Lots of guys out there catching 6 Lb’er that are really 4 Lbers and I’ve seen some 10 Lb fish headed for the wall that didn’t hit 7 Lbs. Most guys just aren’t used to boating fish that size frequently enough to get a good handle on judging size with any accuracy. If you’ve never caught an “on the scale” 8 Lb fish and you rarely catch anything over 4 Lbs, a 6.5 Lber will throw your perspective off. Result? Instant 8 Lber. Plus adrenalin and enthusiasm have alot to do with this too…lol

But what if they had all been 4 Lb fish? Well… all you can do is walk away until the disgust subsides, and believe me, my blood pressure goes wild when I see things like that, and come back and try to strike up a conversation that might lead to an opening that might result in a positive exchange. The last thing you want to do is come off so strongly that people end up keeping fish to “spite” you for your comments.

Amen! Last wk end we had a fish fry,there were 5 people eating.we kept 8 fish the size would be what millacs new slot is .That much at that size 1/12 fish left over, fish sandwich for lunch on mon. Point is it dosent take that many fish.I think of it like this , feel like eating fish sounds like I better go fishin

Welcome loo, to FTR. James pretty much summarized my thoughts, we don’t really know the situation on a keep stringer. hopefully it’s not very often. I can see people who travel a long way to get here, and am sure most of them say, If I’m going to spent that kind of money, I’m taking some fish home. again the regs say a possession limit and daily limit is 6 fish. Technically if a licence holder has 6 in the freezer, then they aren’t even supposed to be walleye/sauger fishing. We local fisherman do get possesive, they aren’t ours, but ours to wisely enjoy and protect. Jack..

Another point to be made is, where are these people coming from to catch these fish. If they are coming from the south or central part of the states that border the Miss., then they might feel that they are keeping excellent eating fish!!! I come down from a more northerly direction and after keeping several guys limits the first trip down, I know that that will not happen again. For the number of fish caught, it is just not worth killing something if the taste is just not there. I agree that at times there are fisherman that want might want to provide a family fish fry (a one time experience) and they might become labeled as fish mongers. They are just trying to fulfill expectations from family and friends. There are those that will try to keep everything that they can and there is really nothing you can do, short of making a notation with your warden friends when they do. Hopefully we can make everyone’s fishing expectations fulfilled. And when that happens, can I sell you a piece of land next to a bridge?

Mark Benson

James hit it on the head regarding possession limits. For years I thought the possession limit was the maximum number you could have in your possession while traveling. For example, coming back from a weekend of fishing on the river. My brother-in-law’s dad always had a freezer full of Walleye as did my uncle and I doubt they ever realized this was against the law.

Keep the resource healthy is a very good attitude. James brought up an excellent point, I here anglers saying all the time that they have to keep their freezers full. Best eating fresh 15 to 18 inchers.
Don

I think that most of us agree that each bunch of fisherman has their own needs, ideas, and standards. We should not be so quick to judge. If some of us are throwing back more of our catch, so much the better. As long as the fish people are keeping are within all the regulations they have every right to do so. Remember that the man that goes fishin’ once or twice a year paid just as much for his licence as the fellow that goes four times a week. There will always be “pigs” in every sport but just because a man keeps a legal limit of fish does not make him one .

i under stand your frustration.i do not keep big fish but i do like to eat crappie,white bass and gills.i also like eyes but never keep any over three lbs.i was up at pool 8 last year and we caught a mess of white bass.we kept alot but we were with in are limits.we got alot of dirty looks from being out of state.but i spent alot of money (gas,motel out to eat) and where i come from fishing is not that good.i only can make the trip once a year so i keep fish to eat,if i lived closer i would keep some for dinner and release the rest.i do respect the river and do not abuse it.

i have a question for all the quides on this site. walleye, bass, muskey, trout, anyone and everyone that gets paid $$ to take someone else fishing. when you take a client out fishing, do you let him/them keep whatever they want as long as it’s legal?? or do you try and persued them to realese any big ones and keep only a few??

lets say that someone catches a 27″ walleye, or a 19″ rainbow, or a 35″ musky, and they want to keep it. they have no intention to mount the fish, they just want to eat it. what do you say to them? or don’t you say anything? if its within the legal regualtions will you just keep your mouth shut knowing that they paid money to catch a fish like this, and they can keep whatever they want?

Jake, the guides on this site I have fished with have boat rules and they tell you those up front. For example, some say no walleye bigger than 20 stays in the boat (if you tell them you want eaters). I believe they will all let you keep a wall hanger if one is caught and you want to mount it. They are very up front with the client and the rules are known ahead of time so there is nothing to debate later.

Down here on pool 5 most of the regulars have a self imposed max of 20″ I don’t know if that is is the biologicly sensible cut off but they sure eat better and its easy to remember. You might think that if someone only fishes a few times a year it doesn’t hurt to take a couple bigger fish but if everyone who fishes takes a couple it adds up fast.

I think people enjoy taking fish home to eat after a fishing trip, when I bring my friends to the river they want to be able to bring fish home and enjoy a meal with there family, plus while we are on the river it is great to take a break and have a shore lunch and suck a few brews, taking some fish home for the family that you caught is fun also, most people understand what size fish to keep, in all reality eaters are called such because of taste, bigger fish do not taste good, have a camera in the boat, then when you nail some nice ones it easy to snap a picture, I fished all up and down the river and Red Wing easily has a size/quantity/quality advantage over any other pool thus when guys come in naturally they will keep fish a little bigger than elswhwere, it comes with the territory so to speak. I think as part of a learning curve of becoming a complete fisherman at times we keep fish we shouldn’t, then we realise its better to put spawners back, and keep smaller fish. I think if there were issues with over harvest on the river you would notice it, and the DNR would enact size/slot limits. Close the season like elswhere. Well I have had my 2 cents. Hope it makes a little sense

Jake, as LundgEYE said, that conversation takes place usually before or as my boat motors out in the morning. People are usually very responsible, and respond well to the guides “Limits”. They are usually eager to please the guide, and follow the “Guidelines” of the boat. I have never had a person argue with me when the subject of “Should we keep it or not” came up. Or better yet, it has never come to an arguement. As James said, you try to educate, and teach people as much as you can. When you inform people that a 29″ fish can be a dozen years old, they feel pretty guilty about keeping it. Same with heavily egg laden saugers and walleye this time of year.. Most of the time, their common sense takes over, and any questionable fish go back. Now days, for most, a good digital picture for a screen save suffices. Good question.
Tuck

Thanks for the information, it is always interesting to get some other points of view on a subject.

Great points all. . . I harvest fish selectively – nothing is much more fun than a family gathering/fish fry after a successful trip. Even my sister and her family shows up and they don’t fish!

I’m sure this has been discussed elsewhere here in the past, but what do you guys think about legal in-season fish from the metro areas of the river? Minnesota River? Pool 2? Whould/do you eat them (because of health concerns)?

Pool 2 is set up as a year round catch and release fishery for walleye , sauger and bass. Northerns , panfish and other fish are not part of the C&R plan. The Minnesota , downstream from the Mendota bridge to the confluence , is part of Pool 2. I do not think I would eat them even if I could. Even though the river is cleaner than I have seen it in my life , I can get other lake fish for my consumption.

Loo, I just wanted to add that those fish aren’t as big as they look. They’re 18 inch fish (most of em). That’s about 2 lbs, maybe a little more. There was one 4 lb walleye in one of the pics. The rest were not over 20 inches. I’m not a professional photographer, but holding those fish out a little bit adds some size to them! Glad you pointed that out though. I don’t want to see stringers of 3-4 lb+ fish either.

I’ve had alot of mixed emotions in my lifetime but probably
the worst was last year when JJ and I won the Port Of Call
tournament. It was by DNR rules a “Catch and Kill” tournament.We came in with 5 walleye that weighed 32 lbs.
I am confident that I could have released the fish OK, but
the DNR said no. Happy to have won the tourney, but sad to
have to take those beauties home. We packed them on ice for the ride to Zumbrota, cleaned, wrapped, and froze them.
A couple of months later I took them along to Wyoming and gave them to some of my rancher friends( who don’t have access to such fine fish) and man did they go nuts over a
Minnesota walleye feed. That made me feel better for having
kept those fish.

wkw, i’m sure you’re aware of why the dnr requires a catch and kill tournament, but before everybody jumps on the dnr here……the reason they require a catch and kill tourney is because of water temps. I’m not sure of the exact water temp, but when it gets above a certain temp, the survival rate is very low. Therefore rather than have a ton of dead fish “wasted” floating around the release site, they require the catch/kill tourney. Many of these tournaments donate those fish to a good cause. Yes, it’s sad to see, but that’s the price of such a tournament.

You ever eat walleye at your favorite resturant?……Kinda look at that fillet on your plate and say “kinda small” for the price?….we’ll the reason for that is THOSE are the ones that taste AND eat the best!!!!!!!!! After 20 inches not only is the flesh become “mushy”…but the mercury and PCB’S are more prevalent as the fish is older and been exposed longer to the contaminants….and not to stir the pot TO much….but I’ll take a “River” fish over a lake fish Anyday….My reasoning is that in the river the flow is always taking the contaminants “down” stream….In the lakes they have no outlet and settle and build……?????????

Yes, Steve, I’m aware of why they do that and I’m not getting on the DNR. It was hot that day, but the good part was those Wyoming people enjoyed the fish like they were the good eating 20 inchers! Of course I had em sliced up abit to make ’em look smaller. ( It’s kind of hard to disguise a fillet that’s an inch thick and twenty inches long!0

A lot has already been said on this topic but the bottom line is that those of us that fish the river all the time for recreation while introducing friends and family to this tremendous resource need to set the same example that the professional guides do and set boat rules on what’s taken. I personnaly don’t keep fish for eating over 18″ any more and in many cases practice total catch and release. I will occasionally take a few for a meal. Those 15-18’s are tasty. Be a role model take a deep breath as James described above and talk to those guys you may befriend them and be able to change the way they look at their next catch.
Jeff Iverson

I agree big time that it has to do with how you were educated in catching the fish. When I was younger I was tought that any fish that is legal is in the boat except if they are over 22 inches. I respect the older brothers that took me out and had the patience to teach me that, but now my idea of it has changed. My mom usually hounds me for a batch of walleyes, or some locals that I usually give fish to for things that they have done to me, so now instead of the walleye and sauger combination, they end up getting a nice batch of crappies, and they are just as happy, It sure was nice to know that I could bring home my limit to show everyone that I knew what i was doing down to a pat, but now i would rather just be able to know that not only did i catch my limit, but the fish that WOULD have been my limit are now back in the water. Anybody that now goes out with me is tought that technique. That is why a camera is now always with me. I feel that people should take anyone out that wants to go out and teach them how to keep a fishery as great as we have going, and have them understand why it is done so that they follow in the same footsteps, as i know i have learned to catch a limit ever since I was 8, but finally at age 19 i understand that taking that limit home is not in the best interest as a whole. So please everyone if you ever have a chance to take out a newbie to the great sport of walleye fishing teach so they understand that taking that limit home isn’t what is best for the fishery.

Hey guys:

One of the things that I do when I fish a certain body of water is to examine the egg contents when I clean them. If a certain body of water tends to produce spawners at 17″ for example, then I have a self imposed slot limit between 15″ and 17″. It is important to me that every spawner I catch gets back in the water.

Some years ago I read that the fish biologists were sexing muskies by their anal vent shape. I thought that if that could be done with muskies, why not walleyes. The local biologist told me that unless the fish was milting or passing eggs that it is very difficult to sex walleye that way. He stated that they (DNR) tend to make those decisions based on length rather than vent shape. He stated that males that reached lengths greater than 20″ were rare. Now I am not sure what implications that has for the Big River, but I thought it interesting.

I also tend to fish the body of water a couple of times to see what kind of size the system will produce as well. Then in time I can make decisions as to what fish should go back as spawners before I make the decision to keep and eat. Contaminants are not my major concern, because I am not generally feeding children or potential moms.

Hope this lends to the selective harvest conversation. Once again, it seems that Steve and James were confortable with these guys, so we should be able to ease up on them. For those fisherman that you see that don’t live up to proper ethics in the boat call the DNR hotline!!!

Mark

it should be easy!!!!!!!anything with spawn goes back in the river!!!!!!!!