tolle141 - 3/19/2019 9:29 PM

biggest problem with MN stocking right now is hatchery capacity. until the hatchery capacity is increased, we're not going to hit state plans for stocking

M Ruff - 3/21/2019 9:31 PM

Am forwarding an e-mail from a friend who keeps close tabs on the politics that are relative. These are his thoughts/opinions.
Too Bad Frank Scheider Sr. isn't still with us!! May he rest in peace.

? Hi Everyone,
By now, many of you have heard that there is a bill moving through the Capitol that would create a mandatory $10 license or stamp for muskie anglers (Persell, Heintzemen HF2145). It's been stated that this would be a way to get an actual count of muskie anglers in Minnesota, and to create more funding for the program.
This idea has been discussed repeatedly within the MMPA and at the DNR pike and muskie workshops for as many years as I've been involved in muskie management. On the surface it sounds like a good idea. Both of those stated goals would be a very good thing, and I really don't think the average muskie angler would disagree with putting a few more dollars into the program. But it's much more complicated than that...

Before I get into the reasons, I think it's worth pointing out that the muskie stocking program is not the great financial drain that it is so often portrayed to be. Sure, an individual muskie costs significantly more to stock than an individual fish of another species. But the number of muskies stocked in MN is miniscule by comparison.
According to DNR data handed out to the pike/muskie work group, from 2005 through 2016 muskie stocking cost 8% of the total fish stocking expenditures in Minnesota!
The muskie program is not running short of funding and is not detracting from funds that would otherwise be used to stock more walleyes.

So, one significant problem with a muskie license would be the overlap in anglers and techniques for other fish. We all know that there are times and places where very small lures catch very large muskies. But there are also a lot of anglers out there fishing for bass and northern pike. Some of them use some pretty big lures. And some of them catch quite a few muskies. So who decides what's intentional or accidental? How do we define what someone is fishing for? Does everyone fishing on a muskie lake need a muskie license? It might not seem like a big deal to those of us who fish all the time, and who target muskies, but what about the average casual angler who just wants to go throw a few lures around- how are they going to feel about muskies when they're forced to buy a license for a fish they're not trying to catch?

So, acceptance and enforcement would be a problem, but here's the real meat of the issue...

This Legislation was not brought forth by anyone involved in muskie fishing and it wasn't asked for by the DNR. It is a Trojan Horse.
It seems like it could be a good thing, but it would only open the door for more legislation attacking the entire muskie program. Don't forget that we have key Legislators looking for any angle they can find to destroy muskie fishing in Minnesota.
If this bill were to pass, the next thing would be legislation limiting the muskie program to be funded ONLY by the money from the muskie license. And no existing program would continue to function solely on the revenue from its specific license or stamp.
After that, we can expect another attempt to lower the muskie size limit. And then, we'll see Senator Ingebrigtsen state that a dead fish is a dead fish, regardless of how it was harvested, so if anglers can buy a license that allows them to keep a muskie then spearers should be able to buy one too! And anyone who doesn't believe that is his ultimate goal hasn't been paying attention!

Dave Majkrzak recently testified in favor of the muskie license bill.
That should really tell you all you need to know.

It proves 100% beyond any doubt that this is hostile legislation with hidden intentions. There is a plan in place to use a muskie license to sabotage the muskie program.

Opinion is that:
Dave Majkrzak is one of the most zealous, outspoken anti-muskie advocate in Minnesota, doesn't care at all about muskies, doesn't care about other species of fish either, or healthy lakes, or habitat. doesn't even fish. So we believe he wouldn't drive 4 hours to the Capitol to support a bill that doesn't somehow work to his advantage
For those that don't know, Dave appears to be the one who's created/built up the entire Ottertail County muskie "problem" by using his ample time and money to influence local lawmakers and government entities. He's worked his way into various COLA positions and used it as a platform to spread muskie lies statewide.

Majkrzak has connections to the Gull Lake lake association through his COLA position. He's found anti-muskie followers there. That's where Representative Heintzemen comes in. It's his district. We haven't seen Heintzemen take an active role in the past, but he is anti-muskie, and I guarantee Senator Ingebrigten is waiting in the weeds on this.
Majkrzak has connections at the Capitol through Jeff Forrester (Lobbysist), and his anti public-access/pro lake-privatization organization.
And finally, do not forget that Senator Ingebrigtsen is the Chair of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Finance Committee.... does anybody really think he's going to let that money do anything good for the muskie fishery?!

Don't be fooled.
These are the people pushing/supporting this muskie license bill. And as long as people like these are trying to destroy the muskie program we can never support legislation like this.

At the same time, Senator Ingebrigtsen has introduced a phony fish hatchery bill, which is all smoke and mirrors. It reads like it's supposed to be doing something to improve hatcheries and increase walleye production, even though it proposes doing that by having people who've never even been to a hatchery, much less know how to operate one, apparently deciding how they could/should be run more efficiently. But the part of it he's really after is where he gets to reassess what stocking programs are important for Minnesota. The entire thing is nothing more than the Senator building himself a committee, creating himself a new Chair position, so that he can take control of fish stocking in Minnesota.

Put these things together and what we have is the foundation for the destruction of Minnesota's muskie fishery built on one Senator's personal vendetta and one wealthy nonresident's efforts to spread muskie hatred statewide so he can privatize "his" lake in Ottertail county.

So there it is- Welcome to the 2019 Legislative session.