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Posts: 398
Location: Selkirk, Manitoba | Good for the Eagle Lake groups to take the initiative.
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Posts: 1773
| Kudo's I hope they can make a difference. |
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| Good suggestions. The focus on the barbs on rubber baits such as dawgs and tubes interests me. Is that a big problem? |
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Posts: 398
Location: Selkirk, Manitoba | North of 8 - 5/3/2025 7:56 AM
Good suggestions. The focus on the barbs on rubber baits such as dawgs and tubes interests me. Is that a big problem?
Tubes have the trailing treble and when inhaled that will tend to be back towards the gills and thus a potential fish killer given difficulty extracting, bigger hole with a barb. Dawgs a bit less of an issue as far not compressible like a tube when hooked but are susceptible to swallowing as well. Barbless does penetrate deeper but overall far less handling side-by-side. I think focus on these baits given they are typical with fishing deeper and swallowing type bites that goes with that presentation. |
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| Angling Oracle - 5/3/2025 8:54 AM
North of 8 - 5/3/2025 7:56 AM
Good suggestions. The focus on the barbs on rubber baits such as dawgs and tubes interests me. Is that a big problem?
Tubes have the trailing treble and when inhaled that will tend to be back towards the gills and thus a potential fish killer given difficulty extracting, bigger hole with a barb. Dawgs a bit less of an issue as far not compressible like a tube when hooked but are susceptible to swallowing as well. Barbless does penetrate deeper but overall far less handling side-by-side. I think focus on these baits given they are typical with fishing deeper and swallowing type bites that goes with that presentation.
Never fished with tubes and the fish I have got on dawgs have been t-boned, so that was new to me. After thinking about this poster a little bit, I don't think they should try and push the "big net, hook cutters, etc" for folks that might have an incidental catch. Walleye fishermen are not always musky fans and suggesting they carry a couple hundred dollars' worth of extra equipment in case they catch a musky might not be real popular. |
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Posts: 398
Location: Selkirk, Manitoba | North of 8 - 5/3/2025 11:49 AM
Never fished with tubes and the fish I have got on dawgs have been t-boned, so that was new to me. After thinking about this poster a little bit, I don't think they should try and push the "big net, hook cutters, etc" for folks that might have an incidental catch. Walleye fishermen are not always musky fans and suggesting they carry a couple hundred dollars' worth of extra equipment in case they catch a musky might not be real popular.
I think well written and the don't use big motor, barb and other anglers bit essentially just sort of cover all the bases rather appearing to pick on one issue.
Other anglers using FFS for bass/walleye/lake trout deep are going to wind up tangling with probably more musky and pike than traditional jig/lindy/spinner rig types, so worthwhile having this additional info to try and prevent mortalities by at least suggesting having the proper tools.
I do think that it is unlikely going to sway the typical walleye folks you are thinking of to carry such gear, but overall the poster does put muskies on a pedestal as far as being something rare and fragile, which probably most folks wouldn't otherwise even think about. Keep in mind such posters are not for the folks you are thinking of, but perhaps children, wives where there is peer influence.
I had nothing to with this poster, but I think the top slogan and messaging quite good and focus-group worthy to see what folks think about it.
Edited by Angling Oracle 5/3/2025 12:55 PM
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Posts: 1773
| Eagle Lake is a destination lake for Muskie guys. While I accept that Walleye are fished and caught there I believe it's probably more with guides than somebody driving up to Eagle to Walleye fish. I'm totally in favor of the resorts and guides setting the tone. They are the ones with skin in the game moreso than some guy or group who may come up every 10 years or for a bucket list trip. |
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Posts: 1355
| Eagle has a history of this sort of thing. It was the resorts and other stakeholders who got the night fishing ban, to the consternation of many others. Turned out well, though. People didn't quit going there, and the fishery was better for it. |
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Posts: 1495
Location: Brighton CO. | I fished with one off duty guide who will not fish Bulldawgs because of deep hooking issues, speaking of hooks to me there doesn't seem to be as many choices of different hook types let lone barbless. I live in Denver area home of Eagle Claw hooks and go to the on site store there's not the selection they used to have. (I haven't been there in a couple of years) Last year I bought a box of 50 5/0 on E-bay at a good price this year none to be found and Musky Tackle Online have been back ordered for ever R&H has them in 5 packs but we pay thru the nose. |
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Posts: 2050
| Muskies don't engulf bulldawgs any worse than any other bait...any style of bait you can think of I've seen completely engulfed, the off duty guide should probably go hookless! ...just yesterday I had a 47 that completely engulfed a glide bait - I mean GONE - three quick snips with knipex behind the gill plate and she swam off strong...
Edited by IAJustin 5/4/2025 9:31 AM
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Posts: 1495
Location: Brighton CO. | Release gloves, Knipex multiple long nosed pliers hook outs, hook picks ECT, I throw my plastics with no worries. |
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Posts: 7065
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Like the poster, really wish they had been more careful about some of the wording. The gas motor part is a little wonky versus what the intent was.
AND, though some of you might have seen me fighting on Facebook, I think it's a great first step. Can't say I don't support the desires to protect the lake and the muskie fishery.
BUT....
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Posts: 7065
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | and the "BUT" is will those that put this forth actually ensure that they and those around them follow these guidelines.
The "musky community" is pretty bad already about calling each other out. If those asking others to change their behaviors do not emulate these behaviors, people will call them the out and this effort will look like the Haves (access to time on the water and the acquired knowledge there from) telling the rest of us what to do. |
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Posts: 99
| When I began fishing muskies in Wisconsin any form of motor trolling was prohibited on Class A muskie lakes. |
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Posts: 7065
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | R/T - 5/5/2025 10:55 AM
When I began fishing muskies in Wisconsin any form of motor trolling was prohibited on Class A muskie lakes.
When I began muskie fishing, J hook sucker fishing was "the way". There is clearly another way to do it without killing muskies. Just like with trolling. |
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Posts: 398
Location: Selkirk, Manitoba | Slamr - 5/5/2025 10:31 AM
and the "BUT" is will those that put this forth actually ensure that they and those around them follow these guidelines.
The "musky community" is pretty bad already about calling each other out. If those asking others to change their behaviors do not emulate these behaviors, people will call them the out and this effort will look like the Haves (access to time on the water and the acquired knowledge there from) telling the rest of us what to do.
Agree that needs some fine tuning given the intent of some of the things mentioned is obviously FFS directed for the most part but doing so by suggesting limitations on other gear. For example the "no use of gas motor" I think is directed at the FFS crowd that is doing high speed scanning or upstream scanning in current areas, rather than people trolling (without live imaging) or simply in a smaller boat puttering spot to spot.
The top slogan is very good and I think encompasses the overall intent. The peamble also does address your concerns with regards to the intent of the suggested practices.
The reality is that having a "traditional" way of fishing and having either actual regs or peer pressure-enforced conduct for a species is not something new in fishing or hunting. With muskies one can just look at catch and release as an example.
Edited by Angling Oracle 5/5/2025 11:29 AM
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Posts: 24
| I applaud the effort. Hopefully this fosters a greater attitude of conservation throughout. |
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| While peer pressure certainly played a role in catch and release, I think science also played a role. Back in the mid 70s some folks I knew started to practice catch and release. Their actions were based on valid studies of the life cycle of muskie and how old a female musky needed to be to successfully spawn. That had a big influence on my decision to do catch and release. Those same type of study helped push for higher size limits for those that did keep their catch. Today, when a non-musky guys asks why catch and release, that is what I talk to them about, not that musky guys won't approve of harvesting a fish. |
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Posts: 12
| Canada and a couple states are doing a pretty good job managing and promoting musky. I wish Michigan did as much. Things have changed a lot since the late 1980s, but more could and should be done, IMO. When I got started in this game the size limit was 30 inches and not many people would release a legal fish. One day I was fishing off the shore at little tiger musky lake in Ishpeming, it was in the late 80s. Another guy shows up and starts fishing offshore near me. He put live creek chubs on and tossed them out under bobbers then sat down and started drinking beer. A little later one of his bobbers went down and he drug about a 32-inch tiger up on shore. He then purposely broke the line off and literally kicked the fish further away from the water. I hated seeing that, but it wasn't any of my business and it was a legal fish. After a while the other fisherman put his stuff away and was getting into his vehicle when I reminded him not to forget his fish. He replied" I don't want that nasty thing, I just like killing the ugly things because the DNR planted them in here and now there's no more trout in this lake. Things have certainly changed a lot since that day, but that mentality still does exist here, sad but true. I couldn't let that fish go to waste, so I took it home and ate it. That's the only Musky I have ever eaten. |
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Posts: 8813
| How was it?
I STILL run into that down here. "Garbage fish, I kill every one I catch! We used to be able to get 30 crappies by noon for our Friday fish fry, now we're lucky to limit out if we fish all day! #*^@ muskies are eatin' all our fish!!" There was a time when I would have said "You dumb fat %^&ing D.B.! Probably ain't seen your own pecker in 15 years, and you think a fish that eats one other fish every 3 days is the problem? You know what you need? You need to stop shovin' crappies in 'yer pie hole and eat a %&^^in' SALAD!!"
Alas, I'm an old guy now, and such talk would be likely to get me an arse whoopin' so I just keep my mouth shut. Besides, my wife tells me I have anger issues and I should learn to be more tolerant. First time she mentioned it I said "I don't need to be more tolerant, stupid people need to F off! and I ain't got no %^&$ anger issues! Anger issues... I got your anger issues right here!..."
How does that song go? "That's right, the women are smarter."
Edited by esoxaddict 5/7/2025 7:02 PM
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| You know addict, sometimes Karma comes for folk like that. Many years ago, before the chain I am on got smaller panfish limits, saw two meat hogs ran into it. They rented a cabin across from where we had a seasonal cabin and every morning they headed out for some cribs and fished until they got limits of crappies. Then in the afternoon they went back for more.
On Thursday, I and my family went to the bar next to where they were staying for pizza. They came in and started complaining about how few fish they caught that day.
I didn't say anything but a couple of burly locals said "you go out every day and pound a couple of cribs for two limits, what the F*** did you expect?" Someone else said, 'just how big is the freezer in that little cabin?'. They looked like they didn't know whether to crap or go blind and beat a hasty retreat. Don't think they even finished their beers. |
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Posts: 1495
Location: Brighton CO. | There are a few waters by me that have been stocked with Tigers and nobody catches them for the most part every blue moon a Trout fishermen will catch it and it gets wacked. A couple times a year I'll fish for them and other times I'll fish them for Trout when I fish them for Trout I'll bring a large hook out, jaw spreader and my knipex just in case. And if I'm up North and I go Perch fishing I'll throw in my release kit too. |
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Posts: 7065
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | So what you guys are saying is that the real threat to muskie most waters is NOT muskie fisherman?
No way!
*fun tidbit: monster of a 32"er (it's IL, give us a break) caught on chicken livers and a single hook in a river near me. |
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Posts: 8813
| Canada has always been a bit ahead of the us when it comes to conservation. And from what I’ve seen and heard, tourist anglers adhere to those regulations. Surprisingly, most of the resistance and abuse comes from the locals. I don’t know of single musky harvested out of all the lodges I’m familiar with on Eagle in the nearly 20 years I’ve been fishing there. I worry more about poor handling by inexperienced anglers. Even the best and most experienced anglers kill more than any of us want to admit. |
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| Yes, when I stayed at Temple Bay Lodge last year, the lodge had signage that made it clear anyone bringing a musky back to the lodge would be asked to leave.
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Posts: 8813
| Can't say I really blame them. 54"ers are pretty few and far between, even for the guides and lodge owners who are out there every day of the season. I've only seen one in 20 years that I'd honestly say could have been legal. |
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