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Posts: 194
| There has been some lengthy discussions about single hook swallow rigs, lately. Some folks seem to think education only is the best way. I tend to think that'll be all we have for quite some years in WI due to the whole beurocracy(sp?) we are forced to deal with in getting laws passed. How do you folks propose to educate people beyond what has been done already? How would you reccomend approaching someone with a swallow rig? Etc. Walk up and hand them a quick set rig and teach them how to use it? Ideas anyone? |
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Posts: 1294
Location: Stevens Point, Wi. | Start at bait shops, with posters and hand outs. Studies and results of motality should be included so Joe lunchbucket has some factual info to make an informed decision. I doubt that bait shops would have any issues promoting this, but funding is another issue. |
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Posts: 189
Location: Barrington, Il | It needs to start at the local level. Baits shops and guides are a good place to start,but local newspapers need to get involved, also. There are still many fisherman that don't read musky magazines or go on the internet to further their fishing education and don't care to. But I bet these guys and gals read the paper. For example, the outdoor editor for the Vilas Co. news is more concerned with walleyes than muskies and has consistently written against any progressive rule changes that would benefit musky anglers. Unfortunatly, his views help shape and mirror the prevailing attitude in Northern Wisconsin. |
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Posts: 8865
| Don't mean to state the obvious here, but the bait stores will pull them off the shelves voluntarily if they just aren't selling.
If I didn't know any different and I went to buy a single hook rig, what would it take for me to change my mind?
Probably nothing more than someone saying "hey, this rig here works a lot better, and those things kill a lot of fish..."
As for how to educate people? Be knowledgable. If the opportunity arises, explain to someone that the DNR studied the single hook swallow rigs and found them to kill most of the fish they hooked on them.
I don't believe anyone who fishes for muskies actually wants to kill them. A lot of them have no idea that just because it swam away doesn't mean it didn't swim away and die.
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Posts: 1106
Location: Muskegon Michigan | The best way to educate is to tell the truth. Any hook rig swallowed will kill fish. Write your D.N.R. Ask them to add quick setting methods in the booklets that go along with licenses. This is needed for all species of fish especilly Brook Trout and Pike. Tip ups kill thousands of sub legal Pike every year. How about the guys who smoke a cigarette while a Brookie swallows a worm . More guys every year are answering the call and telling people who are gut hooking fish the truth about what they are doing. Soon the old school gut hookers will all be dead and thier practice will die with them. Teach your own kids and your brothers kids and thier friends. Thats where you get it done. Teach that its more important to hook a fish properly than to kill one you dont want to eat or is too small. Every guy I have talked to has listened. Some told me they would try quick setting. Others are greedy and dont want to take a chance on losing the Brookie that has been eating the worm for 5 minutes. Laws banning hook types/demonizing hook types are all wrong. Fish can swallow any type of hook and circle hooks can kill as well. The truth in this matter is there are guys who use large single barbless hooks and quick set them. They are causing less damage than any treble hooks and passing a law banning this hook would be slapping the faces of the most conservation minded guys fishing Muskies today. Bottom Line you can not legislate stupidity but you can educate a stupid person. I found a dead Musky two weeks ago on Murray Lake in Michigan. It was 34 inches long. Its jaws were pinned shut by a small treble hook from a small artificial lure. Make no mistake , single hooks do not kill fish . All hooks kill fish if left behind. Kingfisher |
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Posts: 194
| Thanks for the responses. It seems there are some ?? year-old Single hook sucker rigs available in town. I have also run across guys who fish from shore with them and other single hook variations. The store in question, I haven't talked to that guy, yet. Anyone have any suggestions of the most tactful/successful methods of approaching this guy about these rigs? or the guys on shore? The guys on shore were fishing small bluegills on a single hook and didn't appear to even be using a leader. They were also quite intoxicated and beligerent about it when I approached them. I guess some people don't care. I don't think the message was heard. I also found a dead muskie washed ashore a few days earlier. Fish went 42-3" I couldn't tell what killed it. Unfortunate, but DNR has a cleithrum coming from that fish, at least, so it wasn't a total waste. My hands stunk all day, though. Yuck!  |
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Posts: 1106
Location: Muskegon Michigan | SWorral said that there are instructionS on some of the packaging that tells the purchaser to let the Musky swallow the bait. Those instructions should be taken off the packaging . Take a single hook rig and instead of hooking the big single thru the lip stick it under the dorsel fin and hang the sucker from a big float. Now you have the single hook in a quick set position. file the barb off and you are single and barbless. Hit the fish as soon as it takes the bobber under. Wala single hook quick strike rig???? Its a no brainer if you ask me . I use a treble hook because they hook up better in fact my wife and I released unharmed a 45 incher last night that we took using a twin hook rig that I made. worked great with both hooks in the top jaw. There are guys however that know how to hook fish with barbless single hooks in a "quick set" that do less damage than my trebles do. These guys are the real conservationists because they do far less damage then anyone using treble hooks. Single hooks are far easier to remove than most trebles. The bottom line is that we all need to teach people to not let fish swallow baits of any kind. I used to kill a lot of small Brook Trout before I wised up and started setting the hook as soon as I felt the take. Yea I lost a few more but was able release unharmed every small one after that. This just improved the fishery by returning the smaller ones back to the stream. Guys who miss fish quick setting single hooks dont care if they miss a few because they know when they do hook one the damage to the fish is minimal. So lets all work to educate the young guys and girls coming up to use good quick setting tecniques when fishing with live bait be it worms,minnows and Big suckers. Kingfisher |
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Swallow Rig Education