On
Thursday night the 19th, we had our annual start up meeting at Billy’s.
The turnout was sparser than I expected, but I appreciate the discussion we had
from the guys that were there. From what I was told that night, we have at
least 10, maybe 11 teams this year. I’d appreciate hearing from those of you
that were in it last year that aren’t going to be this year. I need to set the
payouts for the year prior to our first outing, so the sooner the better. Also,
if anyone is thinking of joining this year, please have them contact me quickly
as well.
We
discussed quite a few things that I’ll get into, but most of the discussion
revolved around what to do about the new state-wide Pike regulation. After
kicking around some ideas, here is what the rules will look like for the slimers
this year. First off, thanks to a heads-up phone call from Dustyn, because these new
rules will NOT apply to Rabbit and Woman lakes. Those two lakes already have special
regulations regarding Pike, and the state-wide regulations do not trump those;
so, the same rules as before will prevail. In those two lakes, all Pike from
24-36 inches must be released, so get yourself a bump board, and take a
picture. BTW, no more tape measures or rulers will be accepted for measuring
fish and taking a picture. They have to be on a bump board, or they won’t count.
The possession limit is three per person (so four per boat is just fine) with
only one over 36 inches. That takes care of Rabbit and Woman. As for the rest
of the lakes, here goes:
New State Reg:
All Pike between 22 & 26 inches must be immediately released. Two over 26
may be kept. Limit of 10 Pike under 22 inches is ENCOURAGED.
2018
Pike Rules:
· All Pike between
22 & 26 inches will be photographed on a bump board (not a gunnel side
ruler or tape measure…no exceptions) and released.
· There will be no
minimum on Pike. Up to 20 Pike per boat under 22 inches can be kept and 1/2
point will be awarded for each fish. (If all you have are fish under 22 inches,
then four of them will receive 1 point each, thus creating a fill for the night…all
others will receive ½ point) No measuring will be necessary, but all Pike must
be counted and removed from the lake in order to receive the allotted points.
(Putting them in a bucket [with ice] rather than your live well may be a wise
choice) After all Pike have been counted, the half point will be rounded up for
an even score. Example: If someone has 4 ½ points (9 fish) that don’t count towards
the fill, they will be rounded up to 5 points for the night.
· If you choose
not to remove the fish, Pike under 22 inches will still be counted, but only 1
point per fish up to the “fill” amount of 4 will be counted. In other words,
the old rules apply if you choose not to take the fish home.
This
new rule will also affect big fish points for the night. We will not use a
photograph for determining big fish; only measured fish will be eligible, so it
is possible that a Pike just under 22 inches could take the big fish pot. It’s
also possible, that a Bass or Walleye could be big fish for the night. Either
way, it’s going to be an interesting year. If for some reason we don’t like it,
we’ll fix it next year, but for this year, them are the rules for Pike and big
fish.
Next
item up for discussion was the schedule and the lakes we are fishing. We
decided to keep Woman Lake this year, so we’ll be fishing the same lakes that
we did last year. We also decided to push the schedule back a week since there
will probably still be ice on the lakes opening weekend. Here is the schedule
for 2018:
May
31st Gull 6:00-9:30 Zorbaz Landing
June
7th Pelican 6:00-9:30 Stewart’s Bay Landing
June
14th Edward 6:00-9:30
June
28th Roosevelt 6:00-9:30
July
19th Whitefish 6:00-9:30 Lower
Hay Lake Landing
August
2nd Woman 6:00-9:15
August
16th Rabbit 6:00-9:00
August
30th N Long 5:30-8:30
Sept
6th Rice 4:00-8:00
Sept
13th Whitefish 4:00-8:00 West
Shore Drive Landing
That’s
the schedule. I decided to throw in some make up dates if needed as well:
June
21st 6:00-9:30 (Gull,
Pelican or Edward)
July
26th 6:00-9:30 (Whitefish,
or Pelican or Edward if 2 out of the first 3 were X’d)
August
9th 6:00-9:00 (Woman)
August
23rd 6:00-9:00 (Rabbit)
Sept
20th 4:00-7:30 (N Long,
Rice or Whitefish)
That’s
it for now. More to come at a later date so stay tuned.
Brad
PS: I've checked the schedules that I can find thus far, and we don't have any conflicts with other leagues.
