Don't forget catch and release

[Guest]

Just got back from a few days on Leech and was once again shocked to see absolutly every fish go in the basket. I have fished Leech for over 30 years and have seen amazing changes in the number of people using the resource - two boats on every cabbage bed, bass shallows getting pounded, perch that are no longer jumbo, lakeshore developement, etc. I hate to say it, but it is such a resort driven lake that filling the freezer seems paramount and if I see a boat from Illinois or Indiana with a fish basket hanging over the side, chances are there isn't much catch and release going on there. Remember, it's a finite resource and we have many generations to come.

[Guest]

Amen to your comments. We are very fortunate not to have slot limits on Leech. This can only be maintained if ALL anglers use some common sense and ethics. It's great for the locl economy to have non-residents visit and utilize the resource, but they have to know that the lake is not an unlimited fish market. If you want to fill the freezer go to the grocery store. If you want to come back in the future for <BR>another quality experience please practice some conservation now.

[musky hunter]

I'd rather catch fish than clean fish. It's really nice to get tired by putting in a long day of fishing. Then I secure my stuff and crash, knowing I caught fish and had fun. It's not all that fun cleaning fish. We need to keep preaching CPR! <P>Culture change takes time. I tell others that I usually release fish. I won't criticize another angler who has a legal limit. But I'll take opportunities to talk up the benefits of CPR. We'll get more converts, especially if we can get more anlglers to talk up CPR!<P>

[Guest]

R<P><p>[This message has been edited by Crestliner2 (edited 10-10-2001).]

[Guest]

Crestliner, your point is well taken. Thanks for your individual efforts. As with most stereotypes, they are born from experience and my personal experience has been that there is less likely to be catch and release from a larger percentage of nonresidents than residents. Glad to hear that you, and many others, are an exception. I have a difficult time understanding, however, the relationship between local economic benefit and the quality of the resource. Yes, more tourist dollars means better personal incomes but not necessarily better fishing.

[Guest]

I am Illinois resident who has gone to Leech for 2 weeks each year for 15 years. We put a possession limit of fish in the freezer each year. The problem is not the keeping of legal limits. It is the increasing number of fisherman, attracted to the lake each year by local promotion. If they are worried about the fish, perhaps the locals should practice release of tourist bucks instead of blaming the fisherman from Illinois and Indiana they work so hard to attract?