August 3, 2007 - TOP STORIES
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New fishing tourney fees roil waters
Pheasant harvest increases for second consecutive year
Major advancement for disabled sportsmen
A life-changing event for everyone involved
New fishing tourney fees roil waters
Spread of tournaments has stoked questions about the sport’s possible strain on fisheries
By Brian Bakst, Associated Press Writer
ST. PAUL (AP) – As director of the Minnetonka Classic Bass Tournament, Larry Krohn loves handing the big checks to the people who reel in the biggest fish. Last month’s prize pool was over $30,000, including the $9,400 snagged by the top-catching twosome.
Krohn’s mood sours at the thought of another check he’ll have to cut before his next event: a new $400 fee to the Department of Natural Resources for a tournament permit. He’s already paying a smaller fee from the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District, the city’s bill for park use and the insurance policy required by the local sheriff’s department.
“After 15 years of running this, my level of frustration is mounting every year,’’ Krohn said. “Every year it gets worse and worse in terms of the things you have to do. It’s going to be enough of a hassle for some tournament directors that they aren’t going to do it.’’
This week, Minnesota’s DNR begins imposing the highest fees in the nation on fishing tournament organizers. They’ll range from $120 to $1,000 depending on the number of participants and whether fish are taken offsite to be weighed – costs almost certain to be passed along to anglers via larger entrance fees. The permits had been free.
Agency officials say they merely want to recover the cost of issuing event permits, pegged at $108,000 annually. But the move upsets competitive anglers, some of whom see the fees as an assault on their pastime and worry they will be the final straw for small tournaments struggling to stay afloat.
It’s a debate that’s come to neighboring Wisconsin, too. Officials there are refining a proposed tournament fee schedule after one sank last year amid concerns it was excessive. Andrew Fayram, a fisheries policy analyst at Wisconsin DNR, expects the next plan to split regulatory costs between competitive anglers and contest organizers.
Beneath the fee fight is a deeper dispute over water use.
The spread of tournaments – traced by some to competitive fishing’s increasing TV presence – has stoked questions about the sport’s possible strain on fisheries; organizers say they follow catch-and-release practices and that tournaments don’t increase fish mortality. There’s also tension over lake access and waterway traffic because the events can draw dozens of boats.
Vern Wagner, who has been active in Minnesota tournament fishing for two decades, wonders if the fees are a covert attempt to discourage contests.
“If this was 30 guys in canoes there wouldn’t be a problem. It’s the fact that a bass boat cost $35,000 so accordingly somehow we’re economically profiting,’’ Wagner said. “It’s a perception that it’s a bunch of rich guys going out on the lake and somehow exploiting the resource.’’
Terry Peltier, a member of a DNR citizen panel that recommended the fees, denies trying to curb tournaments.
But if fewer tournaments is the result, Duluth angler Dave Zentner is all for it. He views fishing as a recreational escape and is bothered by corporate sponsorships attached to many tournaments.
“I still want to puke when I look at an outdoor channel and see guys grabbing a fish out of a tank and running it across a stage like they’ve just won the Boston Marathon,’’ said Zentner, a former national president of the Izaak Walton League of America. “It just turns me off.”
The Minnesota DNR issues roughly 600 tournament permits per year. Broadly speaking, the agency requires permits when there are 30 or more entrants for open-water contests and above 150 when iced over.
Al Stevens, a fisheries program consultant for the agency, said permits help the department manage where tournaments are held and make sure popular lakes don’t get overused. The cost of processing permit applications and compiling after-event reports grew more than six-fold in the last decade. The citizen panel recommended a fee to replace dollars currently drawn from a fund fed by regular fishing license fees.
Under the new system, it will cost tournament organizers $120 for an ice-fishing permit; $400 for open-water events with more than 100 people and an onsite fish weigh-in; $500 for mid-sized contests where fish are taken offsite; and $1,000 for tournaments with 100 or more entrants and an offsite weighing.
Stevens said Minnesota’s rates are unrivaled. For instance, Vermont charges a flat $50 fee and Washington, New Mexico and South Carolina are in the $25 range. Many other states charge no fees.
Mickey Goetting, Minnesota B.A.S.S. Federation conservation director, said the fees will be especially cumbersome to groups that put on multiple-tournament leagues. The federation would have rather seen the DNR establish a “tournament stamp’’ that anglers could buy at a nominal fee with their license that would get them into any event.
Stevens has concerns of his own.
He’s betting some organizers will limit the size of their fields to avoid having to get a permit and others will just try to fly under the radar.
“I’m afraid of the backlash,’’ he said. “That’s just bad for fish management. When we lose sight of how many tournaments there are and where they’re at it could lead to more conflicts at lakes. That’s not what we want.’’
For a complete summary of the tournament regulations, call the DNR Information Center at (651) 296-6157 or toll-free at 1-888-MINNDNR (646-6367), or view the summary and a tournament application on the DNR Web site at www.mndnr.gov
New tournament fishing fees
By The Associated Press
Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources has established new fees for organizers of fishing tournaments in cases where a permit is required. Permits were formerly free.
The fee schedule that takes effect Aug. 1:
• $120 for an ice fishing contest with more than 150 participants.
• $120 for an open water contest with fewer than 100 participants and an onsite weigh-in.
• $400 for an open water contest with more than 100 participants and an onsite weigh-in.
• $500 for an open water contest with fewer than 100 participants and an offsite weigh-in.
• $1,000 for an open water contest with more than 100 participants and an offsite weigh-in.
Pheasant harvest increases for second consecutive year
129,500 hunters, the most since 2003, took to the field last fall
DNR News
Reported harvests from last fall by Minnesota pheasant hunters were the highest since 1964, according to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
The harvest of 588,000 pheasants marked an increase of 3,000 birds from the previous season and was well above the 10-year average of 401,000. DNR wildlife managers credit abundant habitat, excellent nesting conditions and hunters’ continued support for programs to expand and enhance the state’s grasslands.
“We’re very pleased with the success that Minnesota’s pheasant hunters enjoyed this past season,” said Dave Schad, DNR Fish and Wildlife Division director. “Much of the credit goes to hunters and conservation organizations who have supported federal farm programs that benefit grassland habitat as well as support for federal and state habitat acquisition programs.”
An estimated 129,500 pheasant hunters, the most since 2003, took to the field last fall, bagging an average of 4.9 birds each, according to the DNR report, based on a mail survey to 6,000 hunters who purchased a small game licenses in 2006-2007.
“Our estimated per-hunter harvest declined slightly from the 5.3 birds hunters bagged in 2005-2006,” said Bill Penning, DNR farmland wildlife program leader. “That could be explained by the increase in hunters in the field, however.”
One key to increased pheasant populations is abundant grassland habitat, Penning said. Within the state’s pheasant range, protected grasslands account for about 6 percent of the landscape, the highest number since the mid 1990s. Farm programs make up the largest portion of protected grasslands in the state roughly 1,000,000 acres in the pheasant range. About 610,000 acres of grassland habitat are protected in wildlife management areas and waterfowl production areas in the pheasant range.
Habitat and weather are the two factors that most affect pheasant populations, Kurt Haroldson, Minnesota DNR pheasant research biologist, noted. “There’s nothing we can do about the weather, but there is a lot that can – and should – be done to improve habitat conditions. Thanks in large part to continuous support form hunters and organized conservation groups like Pheasants Forever, Minnesota’s grassland habitat has been in pretty good shape in recent years, however we must remain vigilant, as the current Farm Bill is set to expire in 2007.”
“If Minnesota is to avoid a drastic decline in pheasant and other farmland wildlife populations, hunters, landowners, wildlife watchers and conservations must make the case for farm programs,” Penning said. “CRP, RIM and CREP have provided great benefits for those who enjoy upland bird hunting in the agricultural regions of the state.”
The DNR has accelerated acquisition of wildlife management and public hunting areas and is working through the Farm Bill Assistance Program to expand the habitat base by marketing farm bill conservation programs to landowners, in partnership with Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), Pheasants Forever, and county Soil and Water Conservation Districts. In recent years there has also been increased emphasis on grassland-wetland complexes through the “Working Lands Initiative” with BWSR, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and many other private conservation and agricultural organization partners.
Major advancement for disabled sportsmen
Each year, over 700,000 people suffer a stroke in the United States. In many cases, the result is paralyzation of one side of the body with the accompanying loss of arm function. This type of permanent disability can be a devastating turn of events, especially for someone who has been an active hunter and shotgun enthusiast most of their life.
Recently, a cardiologist made a request of Dave Baskin, manager of the National Rifle Association’s Disabled Shooting Services Department. The physician had heard of the adaptive hunting and shooting sports equipment that Baskin had designed, and wanted to know if Dave would consider designing a shotgun for one of his patients. It seems that the sportsman had suffered a major stroke, which ended the shotgun shooting, hunting and outdoor socializing, that had been a big part of his life. Baskin agreed to take up the challenge.
Dave adheres to as unique theory of adaptive equipment design, which believes that all alterations should be a simple as possible and work to encourage maximum participation on the part of the disabled sportsman. The more effort a person with a disability is able to put into an activity, the greater satisfaction they will derive from it.
Given the parameters of one arm gun operation, Baskin recognized that a single control center would have to be established in order to cover all of the primary and secondary movements required in safely shooting a shotgun. Dave designed a control center in an additional pistol grip, which he located according to the shooter’s reach, on the fore-end of the shotgun. The new pistol grip contains remote trigger and safety mechanisms, while providing the shooter complete directional control of the gun, along with the ability to regulate the amount of shoulder pressure necessary to fire a good shot. Another important feature of the design is that it allows the single arm shotgunner the same positioning options and range of motion as a two arm sportsman.
The basic fundamentals inherent in this design can also be applied to a rifle. Technical advancements, such as this adaptive shotgun, are the key to keeping a large segment of our population involved in the nation’s traditional outdoor sports and recreation activities.
The prototype was crafted by veteran gunsmith Rich Woodward, of the Bass Pro Shops’ staff. Woodward’s finished product not only embodied all of Baskin’s adaptations, but also remained aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
It has been Dave’s custom to not patent any of his adaptive designs, instead choosing to donate them to the public domain, so that they may benefit as many disabled sportsmen as possible.
For more information on adaptive hunting and shooting sports equipment, call NRA Disabled Shooting Services at 703-267-1495.
For photo, see the August 3, 2007 issue of Outdoors Weekly!
A life-changing event for everyone involved
Fifth annual Brainerd Lakes Fishing Has No Boundaries event promises plenty of fish, food, fun and friendliness
BRAINERD, Minn. - For the past four years, volunteers for the Brainerd Lakes Chapter of Fishing Has No Boundaries (FHNB) have provided lots of fish, food, fun and friendliness for everyone involved with the annual fishing event.
Now in its fifth year, the event promises to do more of the same for upwards of 120 participants with physical and developmental disabilities. Headquartered at the Confidence Learning Center, this year everything kicks off on Friday, August 24 with the main fishing event on Saturday, August 25.
Throughout the weekend, over 250 volunteers, including many local fishing guides and area celebrities, work together to create a fishing experience loaded with fun memories.
“The outpouring of support from the Brainerd Lakes community is tremendous and our participants have such a great time thanks to everybody’s generosity,” said Scott Roesner, chairman of the chapter.
Last year, 110 participants spent a day of fishing on Gull and Sylvan Lakes with volunteer boat captains including folks like walleye professional Perry Good, fishing guide and personality Walleye Dan Eigen, Lindy Little Joe President Ted Takasaki and many others.
“It’s a great event and I wouldn’t miss it for the world – I know that everybody I talk to who has gotten involved as a volunteer over the years can’t wait to come back and help out again because they help create so many lasting memories,” said Walleye Dan Eigen.
With a projected 120 participants fishing in the event this year, a lot of volunteers and boat captains are still needed to make for a successful day. The need is especially high for boat captains with pontoons.
Being a boat captain is not as complicated as it might seem. One does not need to be a master angler or even a particularly good angler. Local experts are more than happy to point out some tremendous locations and presentations for putting boat captains on fish for the sake of their participants. Many just tell a handful of boat captains to meet them on the location and provide on-the-water coaching.
When all else fails, the easiest pattern in August for catching fish is to pull up to any random weedline and toss over a worm on a bobber. “The point of the day is about getting on the water and having fun – the fishing is a big part of that but nobody has ever walked away disappointed because they didn’t catch a ton of fish,” Roesner said.
The event has been a life-changing experience for many participants and volunteers over the years and Roesner said it’s been an absolute honor to be a part of it.
“We’ve been told by family members and attendants of our participants that they don’t remember the last time they saw so many smiles – others have told us they mark the day on the calendar and count down the days until our event,” he said.
Volunteers and boat captains are also greatly impacted as is evidenced by how many return.
The Brainerd Lakes FHNB event began four years ago with 35 participants. That number grew to 58 three years ago, 94 anglers two years ago and 110 last year. The number of volunteers has skyrocketed over the years as well and there’s always a need for more.
More than a day of fishing
The event is more than just a day of fishing, it’s about a weekend of enjoying the outdoors. It’s also not a fishing contest, although some participants enjoy challenging each other for the most fish caught or the biggest fish caught.
Keeping it a true “event,” the weekend begins Friday, August 24 with a seminar hosted by the Minnesota DNR’s MinnAqua program followed by boat rides on Camp Confidence’s glass-bottom boat, the S.S. Michael. The day wraps up with a big dinner, games and live entertainment.
Fishing begins Saturday, August 25 once everybody enjoys breakfast together. The excitement level is high at breakfast and after a quick group photograph, everybody heads out to the waters of Gull or Sylvan Lakes. Around noon, participants and their boat captain head in to grab a bite to eat. Anglers on Sylvan Lake enjoy a shore lunch picnic back at Camp Confidence while those on Gull partake in lunch compliments of Zorbaz, Ernie’s and Bar Harbor.
Once everybody has returned to camp they enjoy a fish dinner together and then it’s time for fish stories and awards. The event concludes with a campfire and entertainment.
“You have to experience the fish stories after dinner to really see how meaningful this day is for our participants as well as our volunteers – the smiles are all around you and it makes all the time and energy worth it in those moments,” said Roesner.
People interested in volunteering or contributing in other ways should contact Bob Slaybaugh at 218-828-2344.
Nisswa Area fishing guide Hank Ebert is coordinating boat captains and can be contacted at 218-963-3492.
Any other inquiries or questions should be directed to Ron Hustvedt at 651-335-2385.
More details can be found at: www.BrainerdLakesFHNB.org
e-Mail: FHNB@mn.rr.com
The Farm Bill, sponsored by Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus member and chairman of the House Agriculture Committee Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), is one of the most important pieces of conservation legislation, helping to sustain America's rural economy and improve fish and wildlife habitats.
Last week the legislation passed out of the U.S. House by a vote of 231-191. NSSF joined with conservation partners, such as Ducks Unlimited, to urge passage of the pro-conservation bill.
“This Farm Bill is extraordinarily important to industry,” said NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane.
“By keeping in place conservation programs that are vital to wildlife habitat, hunting opportunities around the country will improve. We are pleased that the House passed this pro-hunting legislation.”
The bill now heads to the Senate Agriculture Committee.
© 2007 Outdoors Weekly Corporation