Maybe Some Traditions Should Pass?

May is a time of hope and renewal for me. It brings the re-awakening of my garden, good weather for grilling on the patio and we can’t forget the annual opening of fishing! I have many fond memories of my family heading out in varied weather conditions on the hunt for walleyes. Sadly, this year, I won’t be able to keep up the traditional pilgrimage to my parent’s lake home for freshly caught shore lunch delights. It appears that other fishing traditions may be at risk this year too. On May 6, Dennis Anderson wrote a piece in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about the potential demise of live bait in Minnesota http://bit.ly/1jeIF.

A shortage of Golden Shiners – a popular minnow used by walleye fishermen is in short supply and bait dealers are beginning to agitate for importing them from Arkansas. There are concerns about importing unwelcome invasive species along with the shiners which may stand in the way of this proposal. Given that three-spined sticklebacks, gobies and other unwelcome fish were introduced into Minnesota lakes via bait buckets combined with the well known destructive impact of other invasive species like Asian Carp in our rivers; preventing the addition of new species is important. Ron Payer, DNR Fisheries Section Chief elaborates on some of the history and concerns of bait importation here, http://bit.ly/ocfxM.

So what about artificial baits? I remember well my first fishing opener experience with Crappie Nibbles by Berkley. My father and I set out one chilly overcast opener to troll for walleyes. My preference that day was crappies, but I had a reel newly wound with Fireline, just in case I snagged something bigger. I was impressed with the performance of those tiny smelly baits. We had a good catch that morning and I’ve continued to use the Nibbles ever since. While my preference is to use live bait like night crawlers for pan fishing, they too are an invasive species which destroys wildflowers and other plants near our lakes where folks have disposed of them improperly. For more information on night crawlers: http://bit.ly/11f91L.

So which way should we go? I’ll leave it to the experts to decide, but if it protects our lakes and woodlands to use artificial baits, I know I’ll choose one of the great artificial options over live bait next time because the tradition of pursuing our native Minnesota fish is important to me.

By Katy Olson
May 11, 2009