Pool 4 personal bests

I posted a reply to Pats personal best post, and did not mean any disrespect to the guy that cought the fish. I do want everyone to know that is is illegal to catch a fish and transport it like I see many do on this site, and then release it. Here is a quote from the MN fishing rules “Any fish that is caught and will not be utilized must be immediately
returned alive back into the water”. I am glad to see the fish are released however, and congratulations to who ever catches these big females.
You also need to see my point of view, I still concidered pool 4 my home water even though I now live a few miles away, I was born and raised on pool 4 and have fished it all 42 years of my life, all I ask is to give this fabulous fishery some respect and not pull the spawning fish from their spawning areas and transport them just to take a picture, these fish do not need any undo stress. Be prepared, bring a camera, scale, and ruler. If a person wants to keep a big fish to mount that is their right, they can also take some pictures and have a replica made.

There are only a few on this site that know me, and they know that I am not jealous, or mean any disrespect to anyone, I just care about this fishery.
Good luck this year.

Taking the time to post what you did shows much!

Your concern is with the fish and you are right that they need to be respected. I am sure there would be someone who had a camera in a nearby boat that would have taken a pic also.

the camera is the 2nd thing i grab after the fishing pole and is almsot as important

I don’t know, but maybe the rules are different on Border waters. Maybe they can transport fish.

How,s that work on C&R tourny,s??

Barry,

I think this is an excellent topic worthy of discussion. You bring up some good points. I admire your concern for the fishery.

On the legal side. You quoted the Mn regulation. Meaning licensed anglers from Mn need to abide by those when different from the border state. Not sure about Pat. But 2 other anglers with P4 personal bests photos are licensed in Wi. Not subject to the Mn regs.

I went out to the Wi DNR site and tried to look up a similar reg. I did not find it. I did find one line of regulation that is similar, but not exactly the same. This is from the “It is illegal” section of the regs:

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• to sort fish. Any fish you take into possession which you do not release immediately is part of your daily bag limit even if it is released later.

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The “Even if it is released later” part seems to imply that it is perfectly legal to release a fish in possession. As long as you have not hit your limit. Basically no culling. And culling is illegal on border waters. So, in both of those pictures I have to assume neither angler was also holding a limit.

PS – I do not claim to be an expert on Wi regs. If I’m getting this totally wrong, please jump in and correct me. Again, great topic to discuss. If this is something that needs to be changed or clarified legally, I’m all for it! Take the same situation with 2 guys licensed in Mn on a Mn dock, well, may be a problem…..

On the tourney question. Once the tourney director has a DNR permit to run a C&R tourney, it’s all legal and trump general fishing law.

-J.

I also believe that it only makes sense to return a spawning fish right away. Video studies show walleyes do not maintain their orientation in a live well thus get bounced around which can damage their swelled up ovaries.
If you really care,…release her right away after your picture!!

I agree. The big females should be released as soon as possible!! Bring a camera and take lots of pictured!!! Why put undo stress on a female possibly carrying tens of thousands of eggs?

Jon,
Thanks for the reply, and clarification on Wisconsin regs.
I should have known the two states would not have the same regulations on a shared body of water. I just wanted to bring some clarification to this issue of transporting and the health of the fish. Remember, there really isn’t any secret spots on that stretch of river, just people being at the right spot, at the right time, and doing something the fish want at that moment, hopefully every thing comes together and you can land it.
Thanks all I’ll get off my soapbox.

I agree that transport for pictures should be avoided. I can tell you one thing, it isn’t GOOD to transport a fish you intend to release … it doesn’t do the fish any favors. I couldn’t care less about what the regulations say.

John

I have seen them go back, I have seen them go on the wall. I have also seen them floating dead. I guess all are possible depending on the people handling the fish and the techniques used to catch them.

I’d have to say a large fish caught pitching a bait this time of year, traveling or spending a few hours in a live well may (notice I said may) have a better chance of surviving than a fish that is deep hooked on a live bait rig, played for a long period of time before landing, held out of the water for several minutes of photo’s and measurements and then returned to the water breathless.

I guess my point is there are many people who still respect the resource and are careful. I’m sure Pat, myself and many others are also quite careful when handling large fish.

I’m not sure how many people are aware of the boat loads of fish that leave this fishery every spring and fall. Ever wonder how man potential personal bests never make 20+”?

Good fishing – see you on the river soon.

Mike

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“Any fish that is caught and will not be utilized must be immediately
returned alive back into the water”.

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I don’t have time to follow up on this right now… but I was talking to one of the rule makers a few years ago and the were working on changing the wording. The reason was that some people thought if they caught two fish they couldn’t release them. The example they gave was a fisherman that needed 4 fish for a meal, only caught one should be able to release the fish at the end of the day (not immediately released and transported). I’ve never had a need to follow up on this…and as I’ve said many times before “we shouldn’t need laws to do what’s right”.

However, in my armchair biologist thinking, a 10 pounder released at another location is much better than one released in hot grease. I don’t have any data to back that up though.

Almost forgot….when I catch my state record flathead and I’m by myself…I’m going to be finding someone to take the photo for me. Not an easy task for me in the dark! It’s tough taking a picture and almost impossible to take a framable photo when your alone.

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Almost forgot….when I catch my state record flathead and I’m by myself…I’m going to be finding someone to take the photo for me. Not an easy task for me in the dark! It’s tough taking a picture and almost impossible to take a framable photo when your alone.

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Exactly what i was thinking Brian…also things like this make it why many people do not post photos as much anymore. The thread always gets high jacked about something that is wrong. Annual spring thing it seems….

BrianK: When you catch that record fish you can call me. I’ll show up and take your picture.

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However, in my armchair biologist thinking, a 10 pounder released at another location is much better than one released in hot grease. I don’t have any data to back that up though.

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Definitely a true statement, and I agree. However, that’s like saying you’d rather have someone cut off a couple of your fingers than your whole arm. It’s true, but in reality, you don’t want them to cut your fingers off, either.

I think this is a good topic and I am also not trying to offend anyone. However, if there are multiple people in the boat (i.e. someone else to take pictures), why carry the fish around in the livewell before releasing it? I guess I have a more difficult time understanding that than understanding an angler wanting to keep the fish for a mount.

If you know your going to release the fish, being in a “secret” spot, to me, is no excuse. It’s extremely easy to take a picture of a fish w/out showing any “secrets”. Then, take a couple more for yourself w/ the scenery and don’t post them online. You can do all that in well under a minute, and get the fish back in the water.

Just my opinion…

I always kind of looked at it as a break for the fish. You fight them until they are tired enough to be brought into the boat, then you throw them back into the raging current. Kind of like running a marathon then have to run 20 miles home when you are done. I guess I never looked at it as a bad thing!! As long as a guy has the respect to put the fish back in the water be it at the spot of catch or at the docks at the resort I am fine with it.

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Exactly what i was thinking Brian…also things like this make it why many people do not post photos as much anymore. The thread always gets high jacked about something that is wrong. Annual spring thing it seems….

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That was what got me all cheesed off yesterday. I respect your opinions and encourage you to voice them often (I sure do). I also admire and share your concern for pool 4 as a fishery, but there is a time and a place for everything. Hijacking a guys post to blasting him even before you know what the heck you are talking about is crap in my book. Im glad you started this thread so we could discuss somewhere other that on Pat’s thread.

Josh-get back to work. Been awhile how is life treating you?