The Outdoors

By Scott Rall, Outdoors Columnist

It is sure starting to feel good outside. Temperatures in my neck of the woods this weekend are going to be in the high 60’s. Makes me want to go fishing. The Minnesota opener is scheduled for May 10.

Time to double check to make sure the boat registration is up-to-date and that the motor starts without issue. I find it perplexing how you can put your stuff away for the winter and without one single person touching it, there is almost always something that will fail to cooperate when you let the boat see the light of day after a 4 -5 month long uninterrupted nap.

There is nothing like a great day on the water. My part of the state in SW Minnesota has a number of different lakes to choose from. All of them are stocked with walleyes on average about once every three years. The current daily limit is six walleyes per day with no minimum size limit. A keeper walleye to me is one that that is 15 inches or longer. The possession limit is also six walleyes. This means that, in order to keep to the letter of the law, if you catch six today you will need to eat those before you can go catch six more. I believe that this rule is broken almost all of the time by almost everyone.

In my mind the possession limit at six is used to add fuel to the fire after you have been caught with an overlimit in the boat. Once you are caught breaking the daily possession limit, they might very well check your freezer and add fines to the total. How many fish does one person really need?

I think anyone who has 40 walleyes in the freezer at home is a game hog and should be fined.

There is a proposed walleye limit change making its way through the legislature this session. Whether it passes or not is a different subject, but the movement afoot is to reduce the daily limit to four fish per person per day. I really don’t have an issue with this because 90% of the fish I catch I release anyway. What I do have an issue with is why the rule is being proposed in the first place. If our fisheries are in need of a reduced harvest, then this change should happen. But is this change necessary? The only way to answer this question is to ask the biology professionals who oversee and manage our lakes.

If the experts say the reduction is required to maintain a quality fishery, then I support it. If the change is being made for a social reason or just because some politician thinks it should be changed then I oppose the limit reduction. Decisions regarding wildlife and fisheries management should be made by wildlife professionals.

We have far too many politicians who think just because one of their constituents is very vocal and thinks it should happen, they write a bill to make that person happy in the hopes of getting re-elected. Re-election is the worst reason of all to change a game or fish regulation. From what I have been able to research this change is not being proposed for a scientific reason.

We need to give a pause before we jump on this bandwagon and change the limit. On the bright side, the reduction in the daily limit would make it harder for the game hogs stocking the freezer of the whole neighborhood. There is one kind of poacher that really grinds my axe. They are the “double dippers.” These are individuals, not sportsman or women who will catch a limit, take them home and then head back out for another limit.

When a lake turns on, it is not hard for four people to catch 24 fish and then drop them off and return to catch 24 more. The worst example I have heard of was six people who double dipped for three days in a row. That total number of harvested/killed fish was 216. I called the Turn in Poachers Line on these folks, and they still never got prosecuted. The fish got spread out over lots of different freezers and the conservation officer was unable to make a case against them. Reducing the limit to four fish per day would have reduced the kill to 144. Still a gross violation, but unfortunately it happens more often than you might think.

Fish fries are a great thing and are certainly an important part of any fishing outing. Daily limits are designed to protect fisheries. We need to be vigilant when it comes to poaching. When we see it, do the right thing and report it. The Turn in Poachers hotline is 1-800-652-9093. If you only fish a few days a year, it’s tempting to stretch the rules.

Let’s make the 2024 fishing season one where we can all benefit in an amount that respects the resource. See you on the water.

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If you have any questions, reach out to me at scottarall@gmail.com.