An even better way would be to require a Musky tag on Wisconsin fishing licenses with the funds going directly to support the enhancement of Musky fisheries rather than into the general fund. Of course, the WDNR doesn't want to do that...they would have to justify and account for how the money was actually used. The survey that was used had no qualifying criterion regarding what makes an angler a Musky angler. For example, an angler would be considered a dedicated Musky angler when: He has tackle, rods, reels, and lures that are specifically designed for Musky fishing. He is a member of Muskies, Inc. He subscribes to Musky Hunter Magazine. He owns a net that could hold a 6 year old child. He fishes exclusively for Musky at least 4 weeks of the Muskie season. Without some realistic method to determine who was and who wasn’t a dedicated Musky angler, the 480,000 angler number has absolutely no merit. There is an article on Musky America titled "How Many Musky Anglers Are there Really?" that puts the number of dedicated Musky anglers in a more factual perspective. Mr. Simonson also alludes to the use of creel surveys to support the outlandish angler number. Typically, the WDNR relies upon creel surveys as an indicator of fishing pressure. Creel surveys, however, are NOT a very accurate assessment of fishing pressure or angler numbers. There is an article on Musky
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