"Stupid" question?

[toalake]

We were recently at a resort that used to hold a weekly fishing contest. They discontinued the contest because one of their regular customers said that when the fish were brought in, weighed & released that they would die because "trophy" fish are very territorial...being released into the lake at the resort was well out of their territory by a mile or more. News to me! I know lunkers have their territory...but to die because they are out of it?! Comments invited.

Going down to Praire Lake by Pelican Rapids Sunday for a lark. Never fished it...any suggestions?

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[Dano2]

Never fished it, but last winter a guy in wal-mart told me he was killen the crappies out there around the north west side. Didn't know him, so dont know how true it was.
let us know

[toalake]

Geez, Dano! Thanks for nothing! Seriously, I appreciate your response. Any tip on a new lake always helps. If we hit anything worth mentioning I will surely let you know!

[Cicada]

What do you want to catch? I've heard the walleyes will hit along the deep weed edges on the east side of the lake about half way up the map. Beetle Spins and a leech are supposed to do the trick. Stop in the bait shop in Pelican to find out what color you should have. Those guys are pretty friendly and will give you good info. Brenna knows his stuff and the little strawberry blond gal is helpful and has a great smile. Don't forget, you're there for fishing. Northerns are everywhere. If your lure hits water, it's got a chance to get bit. Cast along any of the edges of rushes with anything big. Lots of bass. Try around the north end of the lake where the Pelican River enters the lake. The south east shore has some good weed beds and the south half of the west shore can be great. The only place I've caught crappies this time of year is north of the long bar that extends out into the lake from the west shore. Slip bobber four feet down on the edge of the weeds. The times this has worked for me was always windy. Not an overly complicated lake. You can hit most of the spots in the morning and hit the better ones later in the day. Always a chance for a real big fish in spite of the pressure it gets.
Good luck, hope this helps. Please post your report after the weekend. LIke to know if this site is of any help to anyone.

[This message has been edited by Cicada (edited 07-16-2004).]

[beaverlakeman]

toa,

Sounds like these 2 posts dont understand what you asked?,, lol..

Anyways, I doubt very highly that a fish of any specie will die because it is placed in a different location on the same lake.
Every fish is territorial. specially when it comes time to spawn. If the guy was pissed cause he thinks fish are dieing due to being "repositioned" in the lake. I think he should reevaluate his thoughts and think more on the line of that the fish are being handled to much and going through a lot of stress. that will definately have a high percentage of the fish dieing.

Another thing to ponder is, Fish of all species travel alot, spawning walleyes might swim 5 miles a day looking for a spot to spend 2-3 weeks preparing for spawn.
Fish follow bait period. they dont have a set place they live all their lives.

answer to your question is NO, taking a fish from one spot and releasing it in a different spot on same lake, will not kill the fish. no way no how.

Have a good one...
keep your lines tight

[hawg_wobbler]

Beaverlakeman is right, releasing a fish in a different part of the lake will not kill a fish. The stress the fish goes through while sitting in the livewell is what kills them.

I think it should be called a delayed death well instead of a livewell...lol

[toalake]

Cicada...I thank you for your in depth response. (Are you trying to out-do Dick Beardsley?) Really, I appreciate all of the information on Prarie Lake fishing. The bad news is that we are not going to be able to make it down on Sunday as orginally planned. I have printed out your response and it will be into my fishing file. Really appreciate all of the info on Prairie!

Beaver & Hawg...You guys confirmed my suspicions! Have been doing a little searching on the internet also and the only "territorial" part I was able to come up with was during spawning time. Thanks for your feed back. I will pass it on to the resort in question.

Keep your hooks sharp and your barbs bent!

[Cicada]

Not trying to out-do him, but he does live accross the street. I used to fish Prairie a lot when I lived in Pelican Rapids.

[CASTnBLAST]

I cringe every time I hear of these little "big fish contests",think of all the quality fish they kill that may have been released,and for what? A $10 dollar gift certificate to a local business that'll probly never be redeemed.I fish bass tournaments and everything that can be done to release the fish unharmed is followed through but I'd bet a large percentage of the people entering this type of deal don't even have a livewell.Let them think whatever it takes to stop such stupid contests!

[toalake]

cast, you may well be correct in your response. I am 99% catch & release...haven't caught the wall hanger yet and did have a quality walleye meal a couple of years ago on the grill at the resort I was referring to. Yes, the resort tournaments may result in some fish lost, but I am now weeping more the lost resorts. My life style of staying a week or two at a family resort in Minnesota (my home state) is rapidly changing. Who wants to stay at Super 8 and trailer the boat for 15 miles or more when you could dock you boat and walk 15 feet to the dock and be ready to enjoy a day of fishing? (Darn, I forgot the net, we will be back in an hour!) I will not belittle the family resort that holds the fishing contests. Most of the fish that I have seen end up on the table, and they are not wall hangers by any means. Usually it's the young kids being introduced to fishing that enter the contests and by that recognition they keep their interest in fishing alive.

OK, I'm not for fishing contests, and I'm not really against them either. More fish are probably lost to the greedy angler than to a fishing contest.

Meanwhile, the tornado sires are sounding and I'm outa here!

[Dano2]

YA, them there sirens have been going off so much this summer that most people seem to hardley notice.
sirens going off, kids in the street continue playing, older kids (like me) out on their balconies and driveways, watching the sky, HEH!

[This message has been edited by Dano2 (edited 07-18-2004).]

[Smitty]

Amen Toalake. Resorts on the lakes are getting harder and harder to come by. We spend a week or 2 on Big Pine every year and it's amazing the number of resorts that have been bought and torn down to make way for Condos over the past 3-4 years. 75% of the fun is not having to load/trailer the boat every day, having the boys fishing off the dock while we're cooking lunch, sitting around at the resort at night and visiting, etc.. I'm afraid those things might all become activities for the wealthy soon..