AIM Revised Schedule for 2020

[Sluggo]

In Migrator Man's defense, it was a nicely worded question that Denny could have answered. Denny could just have said something like "there are currently no depth restrictions".

 

[ndskeeter]

Yes maybe he could have however you and I both know that anything Denny would have said would have gotten a response and Denny doesn't have the time or need to be arguing on a forum over releasing fish. That question if for nothing more than to stir the pot as everyone has different opinions.

 

[Sluggo]

Yes maybe he could have however you and I both know that anything Denny would have said would have gotten a response and Denny doesn't have the time or need to be arguing on a forum over releasing fish. That question if for nothing more than to stir the pot as everyone has different opinions.

I'm sure you are correct but I did learn something new today...…..barotrauma.

 

[Fisherman25]

Still waiting on an answer to my question. Maybe I’ll ask some of these sponsors instead....

Do you bitch about bad sex too? Seriously, such a non issue, why waste your thoughts? You might as well focus on....say figuring a way to catch fish or something useful. The fact is, the Game and fish say the utilization rate on Sak is below 20%. That means 80+% die of old age. Not to mention I see weekend anglers fishing in 30+ foot all the time and pitching tons of fish back in the water. That's ok?

Also, it's not like 100% of fish let go in ideal conditions survive anyways. This time of year with warm water, the number goes down more. Right now, you can't go out in the hook or that entire section of the lake and not catch a bunch of dinks. Are we all suppose to keep our first 5 ten inch fish and go home?

Good lord people.....I see garbage laying all over the lake and campsites. I hear of vandalism and theft in campsites and at ramps. There's WAY more important shit to worry about. Pop a Xanax and move on....

 

[Migrator Man]

Are you talking about your statement above about releasing fish caught deeper than 30ft? If that's your concern then you should probably sit at the boat ramp all summer and give people launching your advice. If you take your time it's irrelevant and this applies to everybody, not just guys that fish tournaments. If this was such an issue you would see dead fish floating all over the lake in July and August however that's just not the case. In my opinion you're just stirring the pot looking to get into an argument with that question/statement.

Are these professional tournament anglers supposed to be the representatives for our sport? I think it is worth discussing. You are right this applies to everyone who fishes and maybe the tournament anglers should set an example for group.

I don’t have a problem with tournaments when it doesn’t hurt the fishery, but I just think releasing fish to die is wasteful. Catch and kill for any fish caught deeper than 35’ would be ethical in my opinion.

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Yes maybe he could have however you and I both know that anything Denny would have said would have gotten a response and Denny doesn't have the time or need to be arguing on a forum over releasing fish. That question if for nothing more than to stir the pot as everyone has different opinions.

Their sponsors support these events and market their products to all of us. I think it is reasonable to ask the question on fishing ethics.

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Do you bitch about bad sex too? Seriously, such a non issue, why waste your thoughts? You might as well focus on....say figuring a way to catch fish or something useful. The fact is, the Game and fish say the utilization rate on Sak is below 20%. That means 80+% die of old age. Not to mention I see weekend anglers fishing in 30+ foot all the time and pitching tons of fish back in the water. That's ok?

Also, it's not like 100% of fish let go in ideal conditions survive anyways. This time of year with warm water, the number goes down more. Right now, you can't go out in the hook or that entire section of the lake and not catch a bunch of dinks. Are we all suppose to keep our first 5 ten inch fish and go home?

Good lord people.....I see garbage laying all over the lake and campsites. I hear of vandalism and theft in campsites and at ramps. There's WAY more important shit to worry about. Pop a Xanax and move on....

I don’t complain about sex but then again don’t ask my wife that same question.....

If this is a non issue then why does the game and fish issue announcements on this situation every summer? Yes it doesn’t affect Lake Sak at this time with the high walleye populations, but some of us remember when fishing wasn’t so easy that anyone could go out and catch a limit so this could be damaging in the future. This could also affect other fisheries with struggling numbers.

We are talking about what is ethical and what is legal. I’m not saying you should keep a limit of dinks, but if you are releasing 14-17” fish to die because they are not big enough to show off at the cleaning station then you need to re-evaluate your life! You legally can catch and release hundreds of walleyes from deep depths, but you have to admit it is a waste if most of them die?

 

[Fisherman25]

Are these professional tournament anglers supposed to be the representatives for our sport? I think it is worth discussing. You are right this applies to everyone who fishes and maybe the tournament anglers should set an example for group.

I don’t have a problem with tournaments when it doesn’t hurt the fishery, but I just think releasing fish to die is wasteful. Catch and kill for any fish caught deeper than 35’ would be ethical in my opinion.

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Their sponsors support these events and market their products to all of us. I think it is reasonable to ask the question on fishing ethics.

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I don’t complain about sex but then again don’t ask my wife that same question.....

If this is a non issue then why does the game and fish issue announcements on this situation every summer? Yes it doesn’t affect Lake Sak at this time with the high walleye populations, but some of us remember when fishing wasn’t so easy that anyone could go out and catch a limit so this could be damaging in the future. This could also affect other fisheries with struggling numbers.

We are talking about what is ethical and what is legal. I’m not saying you should keep a limit of dinks, but if you are releasing 14-17” fish to die because they are not big enough to show off at the cleaning station then you need to re-evaluate your life! You legally can catch and release hundreds of walleyes from deep depths, but you have to admit it is a waste if most of them die?

Trust me, I remember the days of tough fishing. The G&F bring it up because other states have an issue in lakes where you have a body of water that's small and bumper boats every weekend slaying fish deep. They also bring it up because people bitch about it, so they have to address it. What pisses me off, is that tournament anglers get the brunt of the beating. Last weekend there was 71 teams fishing that tourney. Maybe 20 teams were fishing over 30 foot. When you're fishing that depth, it's not slaughter fest like what's going on around the humps in 5-20 foot. Most of the time, you're lucky to boat 5-10 fish a day. You're looking for quality.

But those 20-28 inch fish are more important for the lake than the 10-15 inchers being caught by regular angler right? Instant gratification.....everyone wants their 10 pounder today right? Those 14 inchers will be 20 inches in two years. And they get thrown in the water like sun sun seeds.

The few fish I personally release in deep water per year is peanuts. I don't like to fish those depths either, and I will eat a big fish if I think it's done for. To sit here and hold tourney anglers to different standards than the rest is ridiculous. Until there's a solution for it, it'll happen at some level, but I don't think it's that big of an issue. How the heck are you going to enforce a rule to fish in less than 30 foot of water? And just for tourneys? When you come up with a solution let us all know.

 

[eyexer]

Modern day electronics is killing far more fish than releasing deep water fish will ever do. If you want to protect fish numbers reduce daily limit numbers or outlaw these high tech fish locators. Flashers only

 

[Davey Crockett]

Why not take these tournaments to another level and have a few good men that fully know how to use a fillet knife and donate the fish for fish frys at community fundraisers . If you can't beat them, Join them.

 

[Davey Crockett]

Is there so much Gov control and legal red tape over us that we can't legally do this ? Same with butchering locally grown beef for resale. I'd take local beef over a USDA stamped carcass that was most likely raised in shit pen

 

[Twitch]

Why not take these tournaments to another level and have a few good men that fully know how to use a fillet knife and donate the fish for fish frys at community fundraisers . If you can't beat them, Join them.

The problem with that is these same characters whining about AIM release tourneys are whimpering about the Governor’s Cup who does just what you explained. I’m only 40 years old but in that time, in which I’ve fished Lake Sakakawea most of my life, I’ve come to the conclusion that the lake goes in swings. No matter what fisherman do Mother Nature runs the show. When we get a few years of high water levels and spawning habitat is great for prey and predator alike we experience fishing like we are now. When inevitably the water gets turned off and the bait drys up so does the fishing but rest assured it returns to glory eventually. Been that way all my life. Also my whole life I’ve listened to the same whining. That I can’t explain..... I want tournaments stopped. I want slot limits. Waaaa waaa just go fishing

 

[SDMF]

Do you bitch about bad sex too?

I bet sex in 35' of water takes some up-front logistical planning. You need a dive balloon, 2-40' snorkels or a couple of SCUBA tanks for sure. Then there's the cold..............

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No matter what fisherman do Mother Nature runs the show. When we get a few years of high water levels and spawning habitat is great for prey and predator alike we experience fishing like we are now. When inevitably the water gets turned off and the bait drys up so does the fishing but rest assured it returns to glory eventually.

I'm 46, Sak has been REALLY low at least 2x in my life and both times I heard:

"We're screwed, that lake will never fill again in our lifetime"

And, in both cases 1-2 very snowy winters had folks worrying about downstream flooding rather than "will it ever fill again".