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MN River Fishing Tourney(summer)


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Does anybody know when the mn river tournament will be, either this spring or summer? info would be much appreciated!

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Does anybody know when the mn river tournament will be, either this spring or summer? info would be much appreciated!
Tourney for what specie confused
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Yeah, Nothing on the Tourney Forum either, maybe it will come up later.

Good Idea though for a tourney.

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its a catfish tourney but its only on a certain part of the river, from new ulm to judson maybe? not sure but its only on a certain stretch i know that

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  • 1 month later...

the one the bobber shop puts on goes from New Ulm to St. Peter im almost positive, haven't entered it in a few years so not too sure on the dates.. i want to say its in July or August?

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Hey guys I have a question on location. Honestly I've heard of New Ulm, St. Peter, and Belle Plaine, but I'm not positive on where any of them are? I'd love to do a tourney on the river, just wondering if it's worth the drive! lol

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The 3 big ones are in Mankato, Belle Plaine, and Franklin.

From everything I’ve heard, the guys that fish these have a great time doing it.

Part of the problem though is that they are not highly regulated, which is fine when there is little or nothing to gain, but when there is a large chunk of money involved things tend to take a downward spiral. Even if the winners are the most honest guys in the world and follow the rules to a T, there will always be speculation about tying up a fish, keeping a fish in a tank, using illegal bait, or using set lines or multiple lines.

Bottom line is that the biggest fish wins the contest, but there always seems to be a controversy, and to me that isn’t much fun.

A very well run Flathead tourney would be hard to pull off and I know the guys that run these try their best.

I know we have a couple of past winners that post here. Elwood won the Frankin tourney last year. Maybe he has a little more insight for you.

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Yeah they are a blast!! i haven't fished the one in mankato for about 2 years now.. the date it falls on is very close to my birthday so im usually up north for that.. But yeah, im sure their could be some crooked folks out on the river tying up a trophy flathead or something along those lines. it would be near impossible to find out if someone was, let alone who they are!

For the most part though, its a pretty fun time and well worth it!

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I would sure hope that nobody would have to cheat.

If there is money involved, people will cheat.

Remember the guy in Wisconsin who won the pickup by sneaking a northern pike hiding in his jacket into an ice fishing contest. He got caught.

Problem with these "contests" on the river, how do you catch the cheaters? The rules are so loose, boundaries nearly unrestricted, and there is just no control whatsoever over the event. From a competitive point of view, its a joke, there is no competition as the playing field isn't fair. Whoever bends the rules the most wins. Not my kind of contest.

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i was told by one of the hosts of the contest that the playing field "is fair" that I have the same opertunity to cheat as they do crazy

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Originally Posted By: MinnesnowtaWild
I would sure hope that nobody would have to cheat.

If there is money involved, people will cheat.

Remember the guy in Wisconsin who won the pickup by sneaking a northern pike hiding in his jacket into an ice fishing contest. He got caught.

Problem with these "contests" on the river, how do you catch the cheaters? The rules are so loose, boundaries nearly unrestricted, and there is just no control whatsoever over the event. From a competitive point of view, its a joke, there is no competition as the playing field isn't fair. Whoever bends the rules the most wins. Not my kind of contest.

I am not sure if I believe that he was cheating. From what I heard it was all speculation and wasn't it only a 2 lb fish? Who would sneak a 2 lb Northern into a contest thinking it would be a winner?

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I am not sure if I believe that he was cheating. From what I heard it was all speculation and wasn't it only a 2 lb fish? Who would sneak a 2 lb Northern into a contest thinking it would be a winner?

A 2lb. Northern is usually what wins ice fishing contests. wink

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Originally Posted By: MinnesnowtaWild
I am not sure if I believe that he was cheating. From what I heard it was all speculation and wasn't it only a 2 lb fish? Who would sneak a 2 lb Northern into a contest thinking it would be a winner?

A 2lb. Northern is usually what wins ice fishing contests. wink

Exactly. Plus, a 2 lb northern is much easier to sneak in, fits right in a coat sleeve. A big one would be prett hard to hide.

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i was told by one of the hosts of the contest that the playing field "is fair" that I have the same opertunity to cheat as they do crazy

Problem is everyone's idea of "opportunity to cheat" is different, so it isn't "fair". While I may think 1 extra rod is "fair", someone else may think keeping 2 40lb+ flatheads in a tank at home is fair.

I'm sorry, until they can truely "level the playing field", these contests are a joke and a disgrace to the fishery.

We've been through this before and I will not support them. Talk to the DNR about how many citations get issued on "contest" nights, its not funny.

Gut check time guys... Ethics, its not what you do when someone is looking, its what you do when no one is looking.

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Originally Posted By: MinnesnowtaWild
I am not sure if I believe that he was cheating. From what I heard it was all speculation and wasn't it only a 2 lb fish? Who would sneak a 2 lb Northern into a contest thinking it would be a winner?

A 2lb. Northern is usually what wins ice fishing contests. wink

Sorry I was unaware of that.

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I wonder if "cheating" would be prevalent if the contest was set up as a fund raiser or charity event toward the local fishery or other issues at hand that needs funding???? This might make people think twice about cheating if there is no personal prize.?.?.? Just a thought...

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I wonder if "cheating" would be prevalent if the contest was set up as a fund raiser or charity event toward the local fishery or other issues at hand that needs funding???? This might make people think twice about cheating if there is no personal prize.?.?.? Just a thought...

It would probably eliminate the cheating entirely.

Hanson is partially correct in his assessment of these contests. Until they are taken to the next level in the way they are managed, you will see the same things over and over. Our biggest gripe isn't about cheating so much as its about how the fish are managed during the contest from the time they are boated till the time they are released. (if they survive)

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I wonder if "cheating" would be prevalent if the contest was set up as a fund raiser or charity event toward the local fishery or other issues at hand that needs funding????

I like the way you are thinking!

Like Larry mentioned, there are a number of different issues that arrise when discussing these contests.

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IMO I don't think there's as much cheating as people think there is in these Tournaments.

I think the Big issue is the handling of the fish which we know is not good or where it needs to be. EDIT "what larry said"

Anyway what the heck are you guys doing indoors today... They're snapping on the River bigtime. Heading out for round 2 here shortly!

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Anyway what the heck are you guys doing indoors today... They're snapping on the River bigtime. Heading out for round 2 here shortly!

Figures. I'm in Cancun trying to think that being on the beach and drinking coronas is "paradise"....all the while, ignoring the feeling in my stomach that with the high temps this weekend the river is turning on like a tween watching a jonas brothers concert.... (south park reference for those who missed it last week)

Well, vacation around my house has been few and far between lately, so I'll take advantage of that now and hit the river later. Good luck to everyone who ventures out this weekend, looks like it should be a good one!

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I would be curious to see some statistics on numbers of violations, and the nature of the incidents in relation to these contests. If there are as many incidents as mentioned above.......

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Something so destructive to a resource I enjoy so much is an event that isn't going to be getting my support.

The amount of garbage left behind is amazing.

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Iam with rushing on this one. Been to a few waighins, and it would make you sick to see how a lot of the big flats are brought in, in the trunk of a car, laying in the back of a pickup or stuffed in a dry gunney sack. There skin and eyes covered in sand and mud bearly alive. There waighed and then dump into a holding tank that has an air pump that belongs in a 20 gal aquarium, the water is straight from the tap and the temp is around 40-50, when the river is 70+. And for what??? a few bucks and a little trophy. It jusk makes me sick to see all of the big fish belly up in the holding tanks. It's not just cats, its the walleye along with the bass. for my two cents, fishing contests should be outlawed.

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I agree totally with dragon and rushing 5 or 6 years ago got in the belle plaine tourney and i have never seen so many flatheads belly up . im done with tourneys also fishing for fun and just being outdoors is enough payback for me .

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Of the tourneys I have been to, they should be shut down. This has been brought up in here the last few years, but maybe this year if we all contact the DNR, and let them know exactly how we feel, maybe we can get these contests closed down, or at the very least, get a new format going for them.

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