If slots were proven to keep over-limit 'sconnies in 'sconnieland, you may be able to convert me to the dark side. Ha ha
Because you don't stock a lake that produces more then it can handle on its own.I have always wondered the same thing. At least put a few in by beaver bay. Evidently the shad must of worrked
Ok Dean think if you say 10 to 12 walleyes per female make it to big enough size. Of we could protect the females until they spawn think of how many more we could have. All of these fish coming up are trying to get up to spawn but are not being able too.
It's hard to beat the meat!#$%^&>Devils lake could be chucked full of 30 inch walleyes but instead it is full if 16 inchers due to it being the midwest meat factory.
maybe a lottery for fishing the river. unless you use a bow then you can get a license over the counter ;:;roflI think they need to limit the number of fisher people on the river. Every place I go there are twenty boats. I cant get to where I want to go cause there is always someone fishing my spots. I give them dirty looks and shake my head at them but they don't move. When I do find a good spot all by myself there are no fish in it. Then there is a constant stream of people flying up and down the river rocking my boat with their waves. All I want is a peaceful day on the river.
Someone explain to me this "trophy fishery" some of you keep asking for? I caught a 13lb eye last year, and some over 8 every year....I think my opinion of a trophy fishery must be different because I think it has always been a trophy walleye fishery.
What do some of you honestly think the results of a slot in ND would be?
when was the last time the Missouri needed to be stocked?
More and more people practice a personal "slot" in their boat every year it seems. Some days I keep bigger fish, most days I don't. I don't knife many over 23" I can tell you that. If we reversed time about 30+ plus years you would have seen a lot more bigger fish knifed because a personal slot was rare. Most guys just cut up what they caught. There was no internet shaming or even much for cleaning station shaming in those days. I don't know anybody that wants to pillage a system or keep a bunch of big fish to destroy the fishery. The folks that usually don't have a personal slot are the folks that rarely fish. Those folks really only go out when the fishing is stupid easy and catch their fish. When fishing success subsides they don't fish. The guys that fish a lot are usually the ones that get upset when they see some novice so happy he is almost peeing himself because he caught a bigger limit of fish. He probably does that very rarely. The guy that fishes a lot, that can catch fish in most conditions catches hundreds if not thousands of fish every year and keeps way more fish over time. These guys need to take a look in the mirror and wonder who has more impact on fish numbers.
I don't envy the G&F's job on this. You have to manage for the masses when the people in the masses want different things.
Then I suggest they go up to the big windy in July and tell us how many fish they catch then. That's thing guys like to ignore about trophy Fisheries is that they tend to suck for catching numbers. Don't expect to go to the Columbia River and catch 60 fish a day. In most cases you have either allot of small to mid sized fish or just a few giants. Oahe is one of the few lakes i know of that could support both numbers and trophys if we could ever get the bait fish to stabilize. Mind you if we ever do that then I can guarantee fishing will become a factor because we'll have lines of boats coming from Minnesota Wisconsin and Illinois stretching for miles.What they want is something along the lines of Winnipeg. Fish a handful of days a year to catch a 10 lb.+ fish. The big fish are there, they take more time is what they don't like.
Fix it for yah:;:howdyThe Missouri is a boom or bust system. I really see no reason for a slot. I have yet to see fishermen being the reason for the bust. Devils lake on the other hand I could see benefiting from lower limits but not slots. I also do think pressure has increased on the Missouri and Devils. I have fished the river since being a young lady. Seems to be more people out there now.