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Belle Plaine river contest


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anyone know the exact date of the belle plaine river contest this year?

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Originally Posted By: 4wanderingeyes
Aug 8th-9th

Actually its the 7th-8th.

I believe you are correct

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Its that weekend, I knew that much wink

The best weekend to stay far away from the MN river. Too many idiots out there that weekend. Some of the dumbest things I have ever seen out there always occur that weekend.

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Originally Posted By: 4wanderingeyes
Its that weekend, I knew that much wink

The best weekend to stay far away from the MN river. Too many idiots out there that weekend. Some of the dumbest things I have ever seen out there always occur that weekend.

I agree, I still fish it! However I do it form shore. I watched three guys beach their boats on a sand bar going full speed... one group ended up leaving their boat, hiking back to the access, going to get dry clothes and came back in the morning to free their boat. I'm assuming alcohol was involved in the scenario.

Also saw someone who left their "herbs" out over night when we got the big down pour. In the morning they were drying the "herbs" over their fire. There was a stranger aroma in the air....

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I think its in November this year....well, they could still drink beer, spit, throw kegs and eat beans grin

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I tend to fish as far away as possible that weekend as Have also seen a lot of strange things that weekend

one year the DNR was floating down check peole out after dark they checked us and was talking withj them and a crew like 6 guys ina 14ft boat that were obvisously intoxicated goes by and the only light they had was a minni mag flashlight the C.O.S said we got work to do gotta go. They pulled the boat over and issued a ticket and made them walk back to town which was about 4 or 5 miles and you could here them guy stumbling thru the woods for quite awhile.

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I gotta admit, it would be fun to do a ride along that night.

Last year we spoke with a couple CO's and they were all dressed in Camo going stealth style.

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I gotta admit, it would be fun to do a ride along that night.

Last year we spoke with a couple CO's and they were all dressed in Camo going stealth style.

I am pretty sure they gave a lot of tickets for unattended lines. So many lines were left out over night it was ridiculous!

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I know a few of the locals around BP got nailed with the unattended lines/ special permit

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Wow this BP contest sounds like it's hurting the sport more than anything...I will definitely pass on this one. I would get sick to my stomach to see all the trophy Flatheads go belly up in their holding tanks. Pretty sure I saw a video of how messed up it was a few years back. Fairly disturbing.

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On the other side of things, if we can get more of us people at the contest, we can teach some of these people the correct way to handle these fish. You would be surprised at the amount of people that think these cats are just a rough fish and catch and throw them in the ditch some where.

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The DNR needs to have tougher regs on these fish. If they took a look at the catfish & river forums, they would see why they need tougher regs. Regulations similar to what they have in place for Muskies would be a big help. Not trying to bash the DNR, just stating that they could speed up the process on helping preserve the fishery.

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Believe it or not, MN ranks up there with some of the best (strict) Catfish regs in the US.

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I know what the regs are, just saying it would be better for the fishery if they modeled them after the muskies. People can eat the channels and leave the flats to grow.

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It's all about education. I will admit, I looked at Catfish as a junk fish that destroyed river systems. I just figured the people that fished for them were crazy for wanting to catch such a thing. After learning so much about Flatheads over the past year everything has completely changed. I will do my part in spreading the word out on how important it is to treat them like you would a Muskie or Walleye. I have talked to quite a few people that I have fished with and lots of people have emailed my lately and I make sure to tell people that although I do catch 30-40 lb Flatheads, I do treat them with respect.

Changing the regulations to maybe only one Flathead Catfish would help and/or a length slot (maybe 18"-28" or something) would do wonders teamed up with added support and enforcement by the DNR.

As to what to do to help with the BP contest, I do not really know what any one of us could really do but attend and talk to people and see what goes on. I plan on going as a spectator to the weigh in's to see for myself what goes on.

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I recommend many of us catfishermen to go to the contest and lead by example, rather then avoiding the contest. I will be fishing in the area, I will be at the local landings, and at the weigh in. I will not be a registered contestant though. I will have my camera at hand, and if I see stuff, I will capture the moment.

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I have seen and been crazy at the contests, I have also learned. It was the contest that got me back into cat-fishing. I will be participating and hope to see responsible sports man. I take the boat out then fish from shore.

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Words of caution! I have learned in the past, between 3-6 pm, some of the people that attend the contest like to drink and get rowdy.

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Let's hope people will actually clean up after themselves. Behind the care of the fish my biggest gripe would be all the trash left behind at these contests.

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The day after last years contest, I picked up 2 big bags of garbage from the Blakley area.

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I have been checked 2 times this year, and both times they had jet boats.

I have never seen them. Where did you run into them?

Did they have the low pro?

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No, Thor has a small 15 or 16ft jon with tunnel hull/jet. He's been spending lot's of time down there this year which is nice to see.

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