Bash Duckj here

[DUCKJ]

This post is for anyone that feels the need to bash someone who keeps some fish to eat or feels that someone is keeping to many fish. There are some people out there who think that keeping fish is hard on the fish population and I agree to an extent. BUT, keeping fish to eat is something I like to do 6 maby 8 time a year. Crappies in the spring 3 maby 4 limits, Walleyes 3 maby 4 times a year. To me this isnt that much concidering the amount I fish. Yes im a guide. Does that meen that I shouldnt keep any fish??? Why not? Its my right isnt it. Am I keeping to many?? I dont think so. Do I push for catch and release? Yes I do. Do I let clients keep fish? NO, because I am a Musky Guide. Do I get mad if someone keeps a leagl Musky? NO, it is there right. Do I get all up in there grill about it? NO, because its there right. So why is it that there are some people out there that get on someone that keeps some fish just because they think its wrong? Do I brake the fishing laws? NO, not on purpose anyways(culling). I love to fish and wouldnt do anything to take the chance at loosing my right to do so. Not because im a guide, because I LOVE to fish. The outdoors is my second home. Just ask my wife.

So if anyone wants to continue to bash me, tell me what im doing is wrong, or for any other reason. Please do it here so the fishing report posts dont get filled up with this junk.

Thank You

Duckj

Musky Guide

[Buck12]

I wouldn't bash you for keeping a limit of fish as a matter of a fact I support any fisherperson that elects to keep a limit of fish within the guidelines of state regulations. If anyone wants to bash a fellow fisherperson for keeping their rightful limit they ought to have their head examined. If you're concerned about the size of fish taken, contact the DNR, attend a round table meeting, or keep your comments to yourself. Personally, I would like to have been as fortunate as Duck, and been able to get into a mess of crappies. So far I have been unable to get on the lake, but the thought of fresh crappies on the grill have me drooling. Guess I'd beter get out this weekend and hopefully, I will be able to satisfy my hunger. Oh, and by the way, if I catch a limit and my wife catches a limit and my grandson catches a limit they will all be going home. I will even share some with the in-laws(80's) who don't get the opportunity to fish, but man do they love to eat them. Now it looks like they'll be bashing me too. Duck, don't let the self-righteous comments by some stop you from posting your reports.

[ozzie]

I liked his report but I think people saw that he stated he took his limit 3-4 times in 5 days and stated the laws about limits and possesion limit.......he could have eaten all those fish who knows but I guess next time just don't inform the public that you kept any fish!! Makes things alot easier oh and when you catcha nice fish and state a size better put it next to a tape measure otherwise they will second guess your catch also!!! Good Luck and keep with the reports.......

[Hopper]

Im confused by the post. Im guesisng Duck said that he kept some nice crappies, and it sent off a chain of events. If Duck did this within the rules of the State of MN, then KUDOS to him. If he broke any laws, then shame on him.

My personal opinion is that i try to keep the medium size crappies(9-11inches) and throw the big ones back(over 12 inches). The only reason i do this is because i fish the same lakes every spring. There are no slot limits on any of the panfish lakes i fish. Has anyone ever heard of panfish slot limits?

Maybe the DNR should look at having a 13inch protected slot on some lakes. I do know im going to Red Lake next weekend, and every crappie i catch will go in the livewell. Im sure they will all be over 13 inches. Should i throw them back? This goes against my own philosphy. I dont know what to do about that.

Sorry for not Bashing anyone, i think conversation about the use of our resources is always a good thing.

[JP Z]

Shame on you for keeping fish..............just like I do because we both have that right based on the fact we both pay for a MN license.........good job keeping those slot fish in line man. (not soo much a bash here either)

[DUCKJ]

I did keep 3 limits in a 6 day peroid. For the most part I hate freezing fish so we eat them the day I catch them. My brother, 2 brother inlaws an one of my brother inlaws dad each took a limit also. So between 5 people we took 7 limits. I dont think thats out of line at all. Its not like im filling my freezer full for later.

Thanks guys! Wonder where all the bashers went. They had lots to say in the other post?????

Duck

[JP Z]

Because it wasn't about bashing there, now bashing is what they are supposed to do here so they might just post their reports. No worries dude, depends on the lake but a limit of 10"ers or so (didn't see the original post) shouldn't bother the lake.....or if it would I'm sure you wouldn't be keeping the fish....since you're livelyhood is fishing even if these weren't Muskies.

[musky999]

All I was trying to say is that the size of the fish you were keeping just is not good for Gull Lake, I don't care about the limits, I'm just promoting selective harvest with panfish, because it gets forgotten about.

Thanks,

Musky

[JP Z]

Thanks for the input Muskie999, like I said I didn't actually catch the original. And I agree, but each lake has their own sizing that they can handle.......would people keep a 15 out of Gull without batting an eye.....hopefully not....but on Red? I would think they would be more prone to.....just depends on the water, and what it can support. And I would like to see slot limits on gills.....it would help with the number of Frito Lays on Gull.

[DUCKJ]

Out of the 7 limits we kept maby 10 to 15 were over 1 1/4 lb. I did keep the two 2 lbers to put on the wall. Not to often do you get one of those but 2 in the same day. Yes, I know they were females and they probably should have been put back for there eggs. But I dont think it will hurt Gull at all. Ton of crappies in that lake. Smaller lakes I would have put em back. Went out yesterday and boated close to 40 fish and didnt keep a one. Not on Gull. Lets just say lake X. hehe Ill be out all weekend with some budddy's. Will we keep any fish? Probably not. More drinking then fishing goes on on this weekend. Point being, If I choose to keep fish its my right to do so nomatter what the size of the crappie. Till there is a slot limit im doind nothing wrong but people like to think that because they would do something that everyone else should do the same even though they have the law saying its OK to do it. You have yur opinion, I have mine, he has his and so on. Is one opinion right or wrong?? The only thing I know is the I obayed the law. Yet everyone is saying I did something wrong. How? How did I do something wrong? Maby in yur, his or her opinion. Not in mine nor the laws.

jpz, we put some monster bulls in the boat on gull last week. Couldnt beleave the size of those fish.

ALL OF THEM RELEASED.

Duck

[Hopper]

After researching some posts, Im thinking the culling comment made some people mad. Does someone want to explain what culling means?

What does the PWT or FLW do? If they release the fish, is that culling?

Looking for insight.

[JP Z]

what the tournaments do is pretty much culling......what tournament anglers do is culling...unless of course the specific tournament is a No Cull allowed tourney.

Duck, Nice to hear.....and I was actually thinking Craps as well.....mind was stuck on Gills. Pannies in general need a bit more respect I think...but hey just my opinion.

[ozzie]

culling is sorting of the fish as you catch them......catch a 10" and throw back the 9" you caught earlier..........Hey DuckJ or JPZ or anyone for that matter hit up the White Fish Chain for craps and gills...just wondering if they are shallow or on the deeper side stageing to go shallow?? Thanks.....

[CaptainMusky]

Quote:

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culling is sorting of the fish as you catch them......catch a 10" and throw back the 9" you caught earlier

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Your definition of culling is accurate, the difference is when tournaments are held they must follow the rules of that lake and/or state. Since culling is illegal in MN, it would not be allowed in tournaments.

DuckJ, I am happy you created a meaningful post like this. No one will ever know what you said since you deleted your original posts. IMO the only one hiding is you since you took all of your comments out.

Is it your right to keep the fish? absolutely. I would NEVER dispute it. Just because you can, does not mean you should, that is all I was trying to get across. I commented that being a guide, right or wrong, public holds you to a higher standard simply because you should be demonstrating ethical behavior mainly because of the amount of time you spend on the water as compared to others. My point is that guides can put a ton of pressure on lakes because they live on the water and based on how vulnerable these fish are during this timeframe the results could be devastating.

Some people call it jealousy because you caught fish, I don't see it that way at all. Maybe I wrongly made the leap that you were a guide and that you were going out there day after day and bringing home limits of fish for your family and clients and for that I apologize, but I still stand by my comments.

BTW, nice bio, I thought I was reading a personals ad. LOL

[DUCKJ]

Havnt been out there so I cant say for sure. I have been on lakes where the water is in the low 60's and they have been shallow(5ft or less) and other lakes still in the 50's and have been deeper(7 to 10 ft)in cabage staging. Check the water temps and you can get a good idea of what yur looking at for depth.

Good luck to ya

Here is my post in the crappie report post.

was out Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun

Wed, got my limit in 45 min. Biggest being 2 lbs and the smallest being 3/4 lb

Thur, Took a little longer about 1 1/2 hr to get my limit.

Biggest being 1 1/2 lb and smallest being 3/4 lb. I did cull to get this size limit.

Fri, tok wife and kids out and boated a ton of fish. All were catch and released.

Sat, took brother inlaw and his dad out and was done in 2 hrs.(What I didnt put in 1st post was that they were the only ones that kept there limits)

Sun, Took out brother and brother inlaw and boated and kept 29.

Thats pretty close to what the first post said.

Duck

[Meat-Run]

DuckJ,

You have to admit that is a funny statement.

"I thought I was reading a personals ad. LOL"

Now lets all move along, nothing to see here...keep moving yes move along...thank you!!!

[DUCKJ]

Thanks meat-run,

Didnt want anyone to think I was hiding behind my screen name or running from the bashers. Somone said that I took off that I was a guide. Just gave a little more info about myself.

Ill never run nor hide anything!!!!!!!!!!!

Whats funny is that there are some who changed there Bio as well.

[CaptainMusky]

Quote:

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Whats funny is that there are some who changed there Bio as well.

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Since the Bios were important to you I thought I would update mine. Consider it my little way to pay homage to you, since it was so important.

BTW, DuckJ I have nothing against you personally. I just took issue with some of your comments. Like I said, it was wrong of me to make an assumption like I did. I didn't want you to feel bad or anything. I am sure you are a great person.

[JP Z]

See, that's what this is about.....the love....good ol' fashion Man-love.....

Also, haven't hit whitefish so I can't help on that one. (only been in the boat once this year)

[Meat-Run]

Quote:

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Thanks meat-run,

Didnt want anyone to think I was hiding behind my screen name or running from the bashers. Somone said that I took off that I was a guide. Just gave a little more info about myself.

Ill never run nor hide anything!!!!!!!!!!!

Whats funny is that there are some who changed there Bio as well.

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Can't accuse you of being a coward...

[fishroger]

I'm getting all teary eyed reading this post, sniff, sniff

[fish500]

I'll bash Duckj. It's illegal to cull fish, and it's irresponsible for a guide to not know this. Everybody who fishes should know the laws, but especially a proffesional.

On the other hand, is it any better to go out and disturb hundreds of highly susceptible crappies by catching and releasing them? Everytime one of those big crappies gets hooked it's in a fight for it's life, and this is during a time of year when they're already spending lots of energy spawning. Once they're landed, they're held by the jaw and twisted around to look at and take pictures of. Protective slime gets removed. There's also a good chance of infection or even death from the hook wound. I would say that the person that catches and releases large numbers of fish might do just as much or more damage than the fisherman who catches his limit and goes home.

Personally, if I want some crappies to eat, I just go out and try to catch some. I then take them home and eat them. I don't feel the need to impose a slot limit on myself (they're just crappies). If someone else wants to impose slot limits on themselves more power to them, but don't jump all over those who don't. I do everything within the law, and I don't feel bad about it at all.

Personally, my favorite size to eat is a pound to a pound and a half, but I'll gladly eat the smaller ones too. One or two fish of this size is a meal for an adult. I'm sure many people will strongly disagree with eating a 14 inch crappie, but remember, there is a reason they call them panfish.

Duckj made a mistake with the culling, but congratulations to him on the two pounders. I've never caught one that big.

[DUCKJ]

Thanks for the bash Fish500,

You are right, I should have known that culling was illegal but I didnt. I dont read the rule and regs page for page. Do other people do it? Oh im sure they do wether they know its illegal or not. Is it right to do it? Not by the law. I think they put it in there do to the people that go from lake to lake culling up and that is WRONG and I woulld never do that. The reason I do not read the pan fish part is that im a Musky guide and trust me, I keep a keen eye on all the laws that involve Musky. As for the proffesional part of yur post. Im far from a Pro, But thank you. Irresponsible?? I cant say that I am. Lazy would be more like it. Hate reading that dang book. Very few changes so yur reading the same thing year after year. Plus I got people on here that will tell me im doing something illegal if I am. HEHE

As for catch and release. Are you saying that if yur not planning on keeping any fish its wrong to go fishing? Well I better start keeping all the Muskies I catch then! NOT!!!!! Come on, Think about what yur saying. Just about all the guides I know suport catch and release. Is that wrong. NO!!!! Do I practice catch and release? OH heck ya! And I will for ever. I love to fish and fishing is what I love. If im not suposed to Catch and keep and im not suposed to catch and release what else is there. Site fish?

Every time you wet a line you have a chance to catch a fish. Every time you catch a fish you have a chance of killing it in one way or another. 95% or higher, the fish you release are going to live. Yes there is a small chance that they will die. Thats fishing.

Duck

[CaptainMusky]

Quote:

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On the other hand, is it any better to go out and disturb hundreds of highly susceptible crappies by catching and releasing them? Everytime one of those big crappies gets hooked it's in a fight for it's life, and this is during a time of year when they're already spending lots of energy spawning. Once they're landed, they're held by the jaw and twisted around to look at and take pictures of. Protective slime gets removed. There's also a good chance of infection or even death from the hook wound. I would say that the person that catches and releases large numbers of fish might do just as much or more damage than the fisherman who catches his limit and goes home.

I don't feel the need to impose a slot limit on myself (they're just crappies). If someone else wants to impose slot limits on themselves more power to them, but don't jump all over those who don't. I do everything within the law, and I don't feel bad about it at all.

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I suppose we should just quit fishing altogether. You pose a good argument, one the greenies would love to see sportsmen quibble about.

I disagree with your comment about "just crappies". That is the wrong mentality to have, no offense. It is easy to overharvest these fish because of their vulnerability. Sure there are likely more crappies in most lakes than walleyes, but I doubt anyone would agree that walleyes are as easy to catch, putting them as vulnerable. Why do you suppose it is such an accomplishment to catch a 2 pound crappie? How many 1# bluegills do you catch? Sure the numbers are few, but these are fish that are very susceptible to overharvest and I have seen it on many lakes I used to frequent. There would be people lining the shorelines leaving with buckets of fish like this. Guess, what? The lake was essetially dead for nearly 10 years after that. Did they have the right to take those fish? Sure! But what did they do to the lake because of this? Threw it completely out of balance. Do whatever you want, but I will do my part to try and keep the future around for my kids to enjoy. I know I won't change the world, but I am OK with that.

[Big_Cahuna]

Gents. I appreciate the semantic's, philosophies, overall opinions and the splitting of hairs a thousand different ways and a need for a spell checker but I'm about musky fishing. I'll take a couple pound crappie while I'm at it! Anyone know where to do this or someone that knows where to do this? If you do email me at [email protected]

thanks for taking a second from defending your positions! :>)

[JP Z]

If you read the part on culling it seems legal to cull at times (Once a daily or possession limit of fish has been reached, no culling or live-well sorting is allowed)

This to me reads that you can cull up until you hit your limit.

[Meat-Run]

jpz,

yes you can cull up TO YOUR LIMIT. I asked this question a year ago with the DNR the night before the KA walleye classic on Bemidji and his exact words were we can't enforce the culling because we can't search your live wells. NOW don't ridicule me but that's what he said. I might be in the regs but somethings in the regs are not ENFORCEABLE (I could be wrong).

Another example is the reflectors on the fish houses. Legally they need to be on your house but legally they can't ticket you for not having them, go figure!?

mr

[JP Z]

But even though they can't enforce....the text I gave was copied exactly out of the regs......meaning to me you can cull up until you get your limit.....and it is LEGAL and no need to be enforceable.....but I got you man....

[tengauge]

My 2 cents,

If you want to throw back a 10 inch crappie in your livewell for a big female that's your own decision legal or illegal. Fact of the matter is it hurts the fishery. People do it all the time and i don't know why, I've seen guys that have had nine inch crappies laying on the ice for 10 minutes and throw them back for a bigger one they just caught. Now ya just killed 2 fish instead of 1. Fry up a pan full of 9 inchers and a pan full of 14 inchers and set the fillets out and see which ones disapear faster. My point is Made!!!!!!!!! Throw back the big females because they are the future!!!!!!!!

[Meat-Run]

jpz yes were on the same page too...

later,

mr