America regarding the flaw in the use of creel surveys titled “How Many Casts…How many Anglers?” which I encourage all of you to read. The bottom line is that creel surveys do not offer verifiable results when it comes to Musky, especially with the current low harvest rates…bar talk is a better assessment of Musky success on the water. Mr. Simonson also refers to information obtained from Muskies, Inc. regarding the definition of what constitutes a “Trophy” Musky. He is relying on the opinions of an organization that has encouraged its members to abandon the concept of a trophy Musky as an angler’s personal best and replace it with the unrealistic application of a 50” Musky as a trophy. His opinion paper goes on to indicate that a Musky that is 50” is at least 17 years old. Think about it…that musky has had to avoid predation by other Musky or Northern Pike, avoid injury through boating encounters, avoid water born disease, avoid capture and if captured, survive the release process. Regardless of the classification of a body of water as a trophy water, the likelihood of encountering a 50” musky by the average Musky angler is slim at best…especially when you consider that most Musky anglers have jobs and family responsibilities that limit their time on the water. The glaring flaw in the "Good News" in Mr. Simonson’s opinion paper concerns the apparent lack of concern for the health of the forage base when harvest rates are driven artificially low through the unrealistic size limits that have been advocated by the
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