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Posts: 75
Location: ft wayne, IN | Great news! I spoke with Steve @ YE OLDE tackle here in Webster who is one of the co-owners--spent good part of an hour today chit chatting w/ him. He has agreed to remove the non catch & release photos from the wall of death and place them in a book of death--old pics, etc. He requests that we supply him with a small poster of catch n release instuctions. Could anyone point me in the right direction in finding/making such a poster? Once in place he has agreed to promote CPR and correct hold techniques, etc. I have agreed to help educate the owners in this regard. I will make copies of pertinent recent articles, etc for the store. Once the owners are educated then perhaps they can educate the rookie fishermen in that regard as well. It would be immensly helpful for everyone who enters their store to support this philosophy and promote the same in a kind way. Being primarily bass fisherman, the owners felt this philosophy would go over well with the serious bass guys too. Many of us have been working on this for a long time with the store owners and I'm very pleased to finally see them cooperate for the betterment of their fishery and therefore themselves and their business. Oh, and then I hit the lake and had a near 50 follow up right off the bat, popped a 46.5 on a sucker, 40 (10th fig 8 at boatside after dark in the shadows), and a 35 while pulling in my sucker lines 15 mins later--all within 3 hours! CPR_CPR_CPR (or maybe just C & R keeping the fish in the water the entire time like I did today!!!!
JK |
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Posts: 1335
Location: Chicago, Beverly | Was in there saturday night right before closing, not a single "death type pic" to be seen... all pics appeared to be in boats... |
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| As I said I would drop into Ye Old Tackle Shop and discuss the wall of death with them. He told me almost all fish pictured were caught and released, and he mentioned in years past certainly the locals kept and killed most fish. However, today a very small percentage of locals still kill fish. Same story in WI, still a long way to go but look how far things have come in terms of change! 
Very happy Ye Old had some lures I was looking for as well, and I couldn't believe the size of some of the sucker they had (huge and more appropriate for Canadian waters than Indiana waters)  |
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Posts: 561
Location: Monee, Illinois | Great Job!! |
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Posts: 578
Location: Sheboygan Falls, WI | As Pete and Esox Dude said, my wife Kristy at Nelson's Choice Bait & Tackle in Rhinelander (it is actually her shop, just my last name) is right there with Smokey's, Rollie and Helens, Guides Choice and others when it comes to catch and release. Yes, I have kept a 38 1/2 pounder back in 1990, but that has been it. I am looking for a big 50"+ to have a painting done of; the big one I kept was 49 1/2" long, oh so close to 50".
Kristy is in the process of having a poster done up with the stores name on it for released fish. All photos on the web site, with the exception of the Lake Michigan trip, have photos of released fish. If she has an idea that someone is newer to musky fishing, she tries talks to them about catch and release. She does it in a way to not offend people, but yet stress the importance of it. One thing to remember about dealing with bait shops, never overlook or assume that the people there do not know what they are talking about; particularly women. If you get a chance to talk with Patricia Strutz at Guides Choice or Kristy at Nelson's, you will see what I am talking about.
I am blessed to work for a company where I am able to travel Wisconsin and visit many tackle shops, including Guides Choice and Rollie and Helens; among many, many others. It is always interesting to get others perspective on different topics, but most are of the same mindset and thoughts. If a shop has ideas and beliefs that are different from yours or the majority, my suggestion is to not go in and just blast them. Present your position in a positive way and tell them how it can benefit them. The biggest way to turn someone off and have them totally against you is to buck them hard and tear into them. What do they say, kill them with kindness? It will go a long way and solidify your relationship with them.
Chuck |
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Posts: 32930
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Pete Stoltman and Chuck,
Well said, sirs. |
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