DNR proposal not favored at meeting

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

Nov. 5, 1998

By Devlyn Brooks

Chan Cotton wasn't a popular guy at the Bemidji Public Library Wednesday evening.

He was the only one of about 40 people who attended a Department of Natural Resources forum who was in favor of an experimental proposal to make Cass Lake a total catch-and-release lake for muskellunge.

The rest of the assembly was vehemently opposed to the proposal for a variety of reasons.

The proposal, according to Dennis Johnson, a DNR assistant area manager for Beltrami and Cass counties, would make Cass Lake completely catch and release concerning muskies from March 1999 to March 2011 in an effort to establish it as a trophy fish lake.

The experiment, the first total catch-and-release proposal on any lake in the state, would work well on Cass for a variety of reasons the DNR contends.

The lake has a native population with a history of producing large fish, an ample supply of the most desirable forage species and diverse, quality habitats.

In addition, the lake and the fish's population size are large enough to provide quality fishing to a large number of anglers, and the lake is seeing increased fishing pressure of the muskie -- meaning this would be an opportune time to experiment.

"The idea would be to maintain and improve the high quality fishery in Cass Lake, and enhance its reputation as one of the premier muskellunge fisheries in the state," Gary Barnard, a DNR area fisheries manager in Bemidji, stated in a recent news release.

However, the majority attending the DNR's forum had a variety of reasons why they disagree with the DNR's reasoning.

• First, they argue the proposal is favoring the wants of a minority of anglers -- those who fish for muskie -- over the majority of anglers who fish for pan fish.

• Second, they say the majority of tourists, who come to fish Cass Lake aren't coming for a rare chance to land a muskie, but for the opportunity to catch pan fish and then eat them. Those sporting anglers who travel here to fish only muskies are a small portion of all the tourists who fish, they added.

• Third, they say the sport anglers do not live in the region, and so it shouldn't be implemented for their benefit alone.

• Fourth, they contend that muskie aren't a good species to catch and release anyway because a high rate of large muskies released die.

• Fifth, they say that contrary to what the DNR says, the muskie is a predator that eats pan fish and does ruin fishing on a lake. Left unchecked, in Cass, they could ruin the fishing there.

• And sixth, maybe more than anything, they are afraid what other lakes or other varieties of fish the regulations may extend to in the future. For example, they point to the 10-year-old-plus ban on spearing muskies on Cass Lake that started as a proposed experiment. The plan was reinstated last year after its first review period of 10 years.

"It's ridiculous. That would be like having a buck hunting season where we go out and shoot them with a stun gun. Then take a picture of them and let them go," Bemidji resident Dave Stevens said of the proposal. "How many deer licenses would you sell? Why are we going to protect one fish, just to protect somebody's fantasy."

And Stevens' sentiment was widespread at the forum, with many of those attending sporting an even more hostile attitude toward an agency they feel has too much regulatory power already.

"You want to do this for what ... 10 percent of the population?" asked Lake Kitchi resident Frank Zentek, who moved to the region five years ago from Chicago explicitly for the Northwoods life.

"I say if it is a good muskie lake, and Cass Lake is a good one, leave it alone," he said. "A majority of people that come here come for fish they eat (anyway)."

Another popular notion among the discontented Wednesday was that rich sport anglers from the Twin Cities are driving the DNR's proposal, much like they did during the spearing debate a decade a decade ago.

"The big bucks from the Cities (are the incentive)," Stevens said. "I know (attending the forum) won't do any good anyway. The DNR will do what they want."

But, despite the number of those opposing the experiment at the forum, the DNR's Johnson says that phone calls preceding it have averaged about half for and half against.

So, those like Cotton might not be as far off base as they seem.

"I've been a muskie fisher since 1973. It's about time Minnesota does something for trophy fishing. We've hit the point where trophy fishing is about to be a thing of the past," he said. "Why not give it a try on one lake. But I'm sure I'm a rare breed up here."

The DNR had a second hearing on the proposal scheduled for today in St. Paul, and written or telephone comments will be accepted until Nov. 15.

The address is: DNR Area Fisheries Office, 2114 Bemidji Ave., Bemidji, MN 56601 or call (218) 755-2974.