Rainy Report Feb 28- March 2nd *DELETED*

[Rainydaze]

Well witht that being said I guess it would be pretty tough in many peoples minds to feel bad about catching a few smallies. Especially knowing that those same Smallies may very well end up in a gill net. I better leave it at that.

[rainy dude]

I am saying that once the tourism lobby group introduced the "white paper on tourism" in 1980 stating the lobby group wanted control of Ontario's lakes the native groups said not a chance and we will show you where you fit in the big picture according to the natives. I was there when chief Willy stould up and said to the tourism group, back off or else.

So yes, I am telling you the time line from ideals. What you are witnessing now is the fruit of these idea's. A counter react to todays tourism values, that say they must close down all forest access roads for business. I call a big B.S. here. Tourism has fished the best lakes heavily for a profit, for longer than anybody on this board can remember.

Their greed will be felt for along time to come from the fallout. Get ready for more netting.

R_D

[superbee]

I agree, might as well have someone catching them and having fun.

[Rainydaze]

Well at least it is quite evident on your stance. Why won't you comment on the smallmouth issue, and mortality anymore? I'm guessing you are bright enough to realize the ridiculous mass killings that take place in nets, so how can you possibily preach about catch and release mortality? Thats crazy! Talking out of both sides of your mouth RD. Based upon your previous comment on the chief; I also think it is incredibly irresponsible if the netting is taking place to prove a point with the victim being the fishery. Seems not to jive with the belief system I've been sold on. Come on RD? I can't believe many people will follow that line of thinking.

[slotfish]

rdaze-

not jumping in here. but wanted to say that as i drove past your house tonight i began laughing (again) about the rock / metior story. great stuff.

[Rainydaze]

Hey Slot!

Yeah that is classic! I get a good laugh about that too!

[rainy dude]

Rainy daze,

Don't put words in my mouth! Don't change the facts. I do not like what is happening with netting at all. Quite contrary. I can not do anything about it. There is no commercial value for smallmouth bass. I hate to think what would happen if they targeted smallmouth anytime.

Both sides of my mouth eh! Scrambing for words because the the facts are too big to take. I don't like them too. But I sure as hell am not going to sugar coat them and say "fish with no regard to the resource because if you don't the next guy will".

Get a life!

R_D

[Rainydaze]

Seems to be a popular phrase. Well lets see. This is what I read from your post. "This came out when the tourist industry brought out their white paper that was the beginning of their desire to control the lakes and land off the black top. The native chiefs said they will restructure the allotment if this direction of alotted usage is pushed. Well, the tourism and even fake tourism pursued the idea and the now the fruit bares. Get ready for the fall-out about to happen."

I'm sorry but that surely seems as if you have implied that the sportfishing is to blame for subsequent netting as some sort of penalty or threat. How am I misunderstanding you your statements? Actually I do believe that you have the best interest of the fishery, but personally find your ripping on now several other sportfisherman misplaced aggression which should be taken out on the ones whom are truly placing the threat on the future.

[rainy dude]

You do not grasp what I said. The native groups blame the tourism lobby groups that have demanded access to the water be given over to them. ORGANIZED TOURISM groups demanded this, not sport fisherman. There is no correlation here. The natives reacted to retoric and followed through. We as fisherman are left in these two powerful lobby groups wake.

It is going to get far worse than we have it now.

I wish I had an answer to correct it. But I surely know that the attitude that you and fishmister have relayed to fish any way you please, because you can and will, will not help fish stocks at all. Think ethics man, what are YOU prepared to do, in damage, in terms of fish stocks, because you can!

Think about that for a second, before you respond to defend the "shoot them all and let God sort them out".

"Tread lightly and leave as few tracks as possible"

R_D

[Rainydaze]

I have never said fish anyway you please. I guess now your putting words in my mouth. Second off I have never personally targeted smallmouths summer or winter for that matter, and have NEVER kept 1. Smallies receive minimal pressure compared to the walleyes and crappies, and with all your research I'm assuming your aware of that. I just feel that attacking a guy for catching smallmouth in the winter by accident is unjustified when there are far more detrimental actions being taken in YOUR waters. I guess I would rather expose the biggest problem rather than bark about probably a non-issue. I would bet there aren't many fisherman who target smallmouth in the winter, or for that matter would even want to. For the record I catch and release most all the fish I catch. You honestly don't get it? Canadian waters are very tightly regulated. Turning almost into a catch and release body of water for Walleye. I don't fish the Canadian side of Rainy at all! Yet when I hear of a TOURIST fishing YOUR waters and getting Ripped on it rubs me wrong. I was a "TOURIST" most of my life, and now I live here on Rainy. Yet I Don't take ownership of the waters though. I guess I'll leave the Lake dictatorship to you. In my final comments on this issue why don't you make the connection between tourists and fisherman? Do you think tourists are just made up of bird watchers and berry pickers? FYI many tourists actually like to fish.

[rainy dude]

Tourist lobby groups that put the pressure on the government into fish stock alotment through tourism management areas that are baring fruit right now, is what I blame for the new netting situation. These are organized tourism operations. The reaction from the aboriginals is what we are seeing now. They thought this strategy well. The people that are going to loose the most in access, and free right away are sport fisherman. Resident and non-resident.

Can you grasp this!

Many tourists are some of my best friends and I have no resentment towards tourists. I'm one for aproximately seven weeks a year.

So quit, on this redirection would you!

Smallmouth are super vunerable in the winter.

Okay?

Use factors in your favor to control your catch and release mortality to a minimum. At least decide an ethical factor for yourself by being aware that hooked mortality happens and can be controlled. Find shallow fish, stay away from them when they spawn, leave them along when you find them in winter hibernation mode (smallmouth). Catch and keep when you have to fish deep.

"Tread lightly and leave no tracks".

R_D

[blackwater]

I agree with rainy dude, I don't think people should target wintering smallies in 30-40 feet of water; a lot of those fish will die from delayed mortality. Just because they "swim away with enthusiasm" doesn't mean they live. You'd be enthusiastic about getting back down to 40' too, if your internal organs were being crushed by your swim bladder. And staying on them and catching 100 fish isn't "by accident." You're right that (luckily) not many people are out there targeting the smallies....YET. But reports like the one that started this thread might get some people thinking about it. Maybe the best thing that will come out of this is some of the biologists will hear about it and do more to educate anglers. In Super Black's defense, I don't think he knew the damage he was doing. He was just having a good time catching nice fish.

And I don't think "I might as well kill them or they might end up in a net" is any excuse. Two wrongs don't make a right.

[PYROPAL]

How do you spell "cabin fever"? There is a guy on here who looks like he is typing angry! I am a tourist. If I put my depth finder through the ice and mark a lot of fish, guess what? I am going to want to find out what they are. If they are legal to keep, I "might" keep some. If I get too excited and bring it up too fast, I'll know because it won't go back down the hole. If my "right of way" is curtailed, then I won't go to there. I'm not going to know what is down that road that I'm told is closed. When I was young I caught all the big crappies from a spot, and never caught any there again, so I have learned it is possible to kill a spot. I also learned that carrying a heavy stringer 2 miles will pinch the nerves in your hand pretty good! I have held 2 #5 wallys, a 23# northern. a 3.75# smallie, a 5# largemouth, a few 15" crappies. When the originator of this thread posted the size of his crappie...that was the one picture I wanted to see! Congratulations! Some consider smallies an invasive non-native species, others a gift from god. If there were no smallies, no wallys, no lakers,no pike, no largemouths... we would be happily fishing for carp and sheepshead. We are fishermen! Not polititians or biologists. All we control is ourselves.

[PYROPAL]

Good point blackwater!! That would be a great show for Infisherman to do! Go out and hit them hard, then show the aftermath. Put the cameras down and show the the effect on the fish. Maybe even tag them! I have assumed that if they swam away they would be fine. Always more to learn.

[Rainydaze]

O.K. lets Condemn SuperBlack for catching the Smallies then, and I forgot that it is considered taboo to speak of netting! My Mistake! Unbelievable! Lots of fisherman are afraid to even speak of the fishing there doing in depths over 30 feet of water now! Your right two wrongs don't make a right either. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

[rainy dude]

Rainydaze,

You just do not get it! Nobody is condeming Superblack. He caught a hundred smallouth in the middle of winter not knowing you should leave them alone during this period. They are vunerable and the mortality rate is suspected to be very high then. Education is the key.

Talk all you want about the netting issue. I will give non-biased opinions towards this but hardly taboo. Believe it!

Catch and release fishing should be minimized when fishing deep. Fish to kill when deep or go figure out a shallow bite. Do you not think it's a coincidence that a deep water mortality study has been ongoing on the US side of Rainy Lake? Think about why they would do such a study.

As much as you try to change and redirect the disscussion it will not work. You have expressed your self well and we all know how you feel. Your ethics are different from a fisherman that truely cares about the resource. You obviously are not getting it at all and never will.

R_D

[Rainydaze]

NO actually you are wrong again. I'm probably more of an ethical fisherman than you are, just feel you can educate or get your point across in a less abrassive manner. For the record maybe you would like to read earlier posts in which I was talking about the shallow water bite in which I was experiencing.