Kingfisher06

I'll disagree. The idea that fish are public resources that are and can never be thought of or be in one's ownership once caught, is not only wrong, but a very scary notion. If I have several bags of frozen perch in my freezer that are stolen during the course of a burglary and that's all they take, can't I call the police to have someone arrested? Sk8man believes any profit from these public resources belongs to the public. Hey all you charter fisherman on here, no more profit, it all goes to the state, every dollar forked over by clientele according to Sk8man. Unless of course you agree to strict catch and release charters where folks can no longer bring home a meal. Wow, this guy is my worst nightmare. He is all of our worst nightmares, but that's unfair to speak on behalf of folks, maybe some charters believe this too, maybe some folks worship Trotsky other than Sk8man. Yes, indoctrinated Sk8man. Appealing to the State to create more cumbersome laws to solve hurt feelings of the weak and impinge upon others traditional means of making money is the teachings of giving the state more power over the people, rather than letting a fair market situate itself naturally. These kids are in a teaching situation, they are vulnerable. It's a dangerous and un-American notion. The only vexing issue I see is envy. These hook and line guys who make a buck are really good at what they do. They are locals who put their time in, have been figuring out the lake for ages through familial tradition and make an easy scapegoat for why the confident jerk can't fill his pal. They claim it's over fished and the sellers are depleting the fishery, therefor they can't catch. There is not one single ounce of scientific evidence from DEC surveys that this tradition is hurting perch populations in the eastern basin of Lake O. Instead of jumping to the conclusion that selling perch will solve perceived problems, how about the teacher promote the children to survey fisherman about selling perch. Would perch fisherman stay home if they couldn't sell them? Would perch fisherman continue to fish at the same rate? How does selling perch affect their living? I am not a selfish person. I am just scared of people like you Sk8man. You round up folks and gang up on individual liberty through the hammer of the State. You are relentless and will use the innocence of youth to promote an agenda that is just emotional and baseless.

I thought it was an interesting dynamic to watch a small scale, rather uninhabited example of free market economics play out during the ice fishing season in Chaumont. You could see perch prices rise and fall in accordance to supply. You could see slot limits dictated by the buyer vary with demand and supply. I very much enjoyed selling my perch and taking that cash to the restaurant next door and buying a fresh basket of fried perch and some beers after a long day on the ice. Heck, on the some of the better days it'd pay for my gas, bait, dinner and put a few bucks in my pocket for the next trip. I enjoyed the competitive nature it instilled in folks; tight lips about hot spots, keeping their keyboards silent on the internet and overall sense of accomplishment when they succeeded over others. Most importantly, it was a real reason to protect the resource.There weren't many dead serious, everyday fisherman trying to make enough to pay the bills, but you knew who they were: Carpenters out of work for the winter, local agricultural folks, and old timers. Guys who'd rather sell perch, maintain a tradition, and are too humble to feel entitled to a NYS unemployment welfare check. It's a lack of free market principles, individual responsibility and its replacement with State sponsored crony capitalism that degrades our resources. Why not a lesson on one of the last little sweet vestiges of a free market system, rather than indoctrinating children into the problem?

Walleye opens first Saturday in may. I think the walleye get better as may goes on if things don't warm up quick, but the earlier the better for browns close in.