Wisconsin State Journal: Sport fishing v. Derbies
Derbies Anathema To Sport Fishing
Wisconsin State Journal :: OPINION :: A10
Saturday, September 2, 2006
JIM DOHERTY
Years ago, whenever my son and I got up early at our family cabin near Lac du Flambeau to go musky fishing, we usually had the 140-acre lake to ourselves.
We didn't care if we caught anything. The point was to enjoy a beautiful Northern morning together.
The other day when Jimmy and his son rowed out to try their luck, they counted nearly 20 motorboats on the water. As they watched, one boater reeled in a fish, held it over his head and whooped. Then he cranked up his motor and showed his catch to a friend. Finally, after several moments had gone by, he released the fish by throwing it high into the air. The fish landed on its side with a splash and the boater resumed casting.
Welcome to the boorish world of the Musky Derby, a contest to see who can catch the biggest fish.
You may think competition is the antithesis of fishing, but each summer in Wisconsin dozens if not hundreds of derbies are held on lakes large and small. Some focus on muskies, others on bass or walleyes. Most charge a nominal entrance fee, but some contestants paid $500 this summer for the privilege of participating in a well-known annual event on the Minoqua lake chain.
No true sportsmen I know would be caught dead in these obscene spectacles.
The point is not angling, about which Izaak Walton wrote, "God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation." The point is profit and promotion for the gear shops and other organizers, and bragging rights for the winners, not to mention thousands of dollars in cash prizes and other loot -- boats, motors, trailers, rods, reels, you name it.
Derbies are orgies of materialism that, one Department of Natural Resources official told me recently, "bring out the worst in fishermen." Boy, do they ever.
On derby days, public landings are so plugged with gigantic boats and motors that non-contestants are denied access. Not that they'd enjoy the scene if they could get on the lake.
Typically derby boats tear around chopping weeds, silting up the water and disturbing residents and other fishermen with their noise, turbulence and bad manners. Some contestants have been caught sneaking in large fish caught on other lakes to improve their chances of winning.
Many of the lunkers landed during musky derbies are brutally mishandled and languish in boat live wells for hours. At the end of the day, they're penned up on or near shore for gawkers and TV cameramen before being released.
"Muskies are big," says one DNR fisheries biologist, "but they're too fragile to survive that kind of mauling."
Presently the DNR's role is limited to issuing permits. Wardens have little supervisory control.
Perhaps goaded into action by the belated recognition that these unregulated brawls are not doing Vacationland's image much good, the Wisconsin Legislature is now considering a measure that, if passed, will give the DNR some of the tools it needs to eliminate the worst abuses.
That's better than nothing, of course, but it boils down to regulating a perversion that should not be tolerated at all.
I've got another idea: Let's ban derbies altogether. They're an affront to genuine sport fishing and an embarrassment to the state.
Wisconsin State Journal :: OPINION :: A10
Saturday, September 2, 2006
JIM DOHERTY
Years ago, whenever my son and I got up early at our family cabin near Lac du Flambeau to go musky fishing, we usually had the 140-acre lake to ourselves.
We didn't care if we caught anything. The point was to enjoy a beautiful Northern morning together.
The other day when Jimmy and his son rowed out to try their luck, they counted nearly 20 motorboats on the water. As they watched, one boater reeled in a fish, held it over his head and whooped. Then he cranked up his motor and showed his catch to a friend. Finally, after several moments had gone by, he released the fish by throwing it high into the air. The fish landed on its side with a splash and the boater resumed casting.
Welcome to the boorish world of the Musky Derby, a contest to see who can catch the biggest fish.
You may think competition is the antithesis of fishing, but each summer in Wisconsin dozens if not hundreds of derbies are held on lakes large and small. Some focus on muskies, others on bass or walleyes. Most charge a nominal entrance fee, but some contestants paid $500 this summer for the privilege of participating in a well-known annual event on the Minoqua lake chain.
No true sportsmen I know would be caught dead in these obscene spectacles.
The point is not angling, about which Izaak Walton wrote, "God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation." The point is profit and promotion for the gear shops and other organizers, and bragging rights for the winners, not to mention thousands of dollars in cash prizes and other loot -- boats, motors, trailers, rods, reels, you name it.
Derbies are orgies of materialism that, one Department of Natural Resources official told me recently, "bring out the worst in fishermen." Boy, do they ever.
On derby days, public landings are so plugged with gigantic boats and motors that non-contestants are denied access. Not that they'd enjoy the scene if they could get on the lake.
Typically derby boats tear around chopping weeds, silting up the water and disturbing residents and other fishermen with their noise, turbulence and bad manners. Some contestants have been caught sneaking in large fish caught on other lakes to improve their chances of winning.
Many of the lunkers landed during musky derbies are brutally mishandled and languish in boat live wells for hours. At the end of the day, they're penned up on or near shore for gawkers and TV cameramen before being released.
"Muskies are big," says one DNR fisheries biologist, "but they're too fragile to survive that kind of mauling."
Presently the DNR's role is limited to issuing permits. Wardens have little supervisory control.
Perhaps goaded into action by the belated recognition that these unregulated brawls are not doing Vacationland's image much good, the Wisconsin Legislature is now considering a measure that, if passed, will give the DNR some of the tools it needs to eliminate the worst abuses.
That's better than nothing, of course, but it boils down to regulating a perversion that should not be tolerated at all.
I've got another idea: Let's ban derbies altogether. They're an affront to genuine sport fishing and an embarrassment to the state.
posted by Mark Haag at 5:54 PM
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