North Platte WU
Newsletter Editors
7 p.m. Oct. 6
at Game and Fish Building
The Lowrance Pro Team Walleye Circuit had it's Princecraft Boats Championship Sept. 8,9,10 at Lake Oahe, Spring Creek Resort in South Dakota. Our own Rick Walter and Bruce Brugger finished in 8th place which got them a check for $3780.00 and member Harold Mason and partner Rick Swim of Spring View, NE managed a 17th place finish which netted them a check for $1620.00.
The Team of the Year final standings showed Rick Walter and Bruce Brugger finishing 2nd, John Green and Joe Johnson grabbed 5th, and Tom Brown and dad Virgil Brown with a 11th place finish.
Nice job guys.
Billy Brenton has the new dates and new information for the 2006 Lowrance Pro Team Walleye Circuit on his webpage: www.westernwalleye.com. Highlights are some new waters, new payouts and lower entry fees.
The Northeast Wyoming Walleye Association had it's Fall Tournament at Keyhole Reservoir on Sat. Sept. 24th and Harold Mason and Rick Swim placed 4th and cashed another check. Member Rob Davis and son Colten fished the tournament with less than stellar results. On Sunday Colten caught the fish shown on pg 2 which helped ease the pain of the tournament.
We have a picture of the life jackets the club donated to the Natrona County Fire Department on our website: www.npwalleyes.com. I would have published the picture in the newsletter but because of the colors of the life jackets it didn't reproduce well in black and white. Lots of good information on our site for those with internet access.
Fishing Reports-Tips-& tricks
Fishing reports are that Glendo is going great now with vertical jigging with spoons. Hopkins, Kastmasters, and Buckshot spoons seem to be the preferred bait. It seems the area of best bite is a bit more of a need to know type information, but if I was going down I would try across from the Reno boat Launch. Glendo is starting to fill up so that may throw off the bite in some areas. I hope to give it a go next week if my trailer modifications go well. This has been a year where I put more gas in my lawn mowers than I have my boat. I need to have a big finish if I hope to beat last years walleye harvest.
Not much is known for Boysen or Pathfinder. As the water cools the fishing should be picking up at all area lakes.
Bait fish issues
One of the functions of this club is to coordinate with, and lobby the Wyoming Game and Fish Department/Commission. I believe that one issue that needs to be addressed is in regard to the use, transport, production and sale of live bait fish (minnows). As most are aware, stringent regulations have been enacted in an effort to keep unwanted species out of our states river systems such as the stickleback.
I believe these regulations have backfired for several reasons. 1) The regulations are so stringent that the cost of minnows, when you can get them, is far more than what people are paying in neighboring states. We have all heard about our neighbors to the east and south bringing there own minnows into the state because ours prices are so high and minnows are sometimes difficult to get. Some local anglers have been prone to bend the rules a bit. 2) Finding suitable places to raise certified minnows is cost and labor prohibitive especially when conforming to the regulations. 3) Wild minnows can only be trapped and used in certain areas. Once minnows have been purchased they can only be used for 10 days then they must be disposed of, even if they are certified. 4) The chances of getting caught using "unauthorized" minnows are minimal because G&F simply doesn't have the manpower to affectively enforce their regulations over large areas.
Since the enactment of these regulations, the stickleback has appeared in most of the Missouri River tributaries and is now probably residing in all. The enactment of stringent regulations has not deterred the introduction or transport of unwanted fish. To the contrary, the regulations have had the opposite effect. If these unwanted fish are not in a specific stretch of water, they soon will be.
I too, am concerned about unwanted baitfish appearing where they shouldn't be, but I think there is a better, more effective way, that doesn't put all the inconvenience/hardship on those that pay the bill, the fishermen.
1) Start from scratch, strike the current minnow restrictions from the regulations.
2) Simply make possession of unwanted bait fish unlawful. (This puts the responsibility on the trapper, producer, seller and customer, to see that bait fish are free of undesirable fish. Actually, the final and most important level of responsibility rests with the customer. If he/she would just inspect the minnows before using them the problem could be solved.
3) How does the average fisherman identify good minnows from bad? That is where NPWU and other fishing organizations could play an important role. EDUCATION! We could work with Game and Fish, offer physical and monetary assistance, and saturate the fishing community with information.
I suggest that NPWU (and other fishing organizations) sit down with the Wyoming Game and Fish, and make an attempt to find better solutions to deter the use of unwanted bait fish while, at the same time, make things a little better for the fishermen who use live bait. -- Bruce Parker
Walleye Supreme
Preheat oven to 350¡F. Place fish in shallow baking pan; place diced onion and cheese evenly on fish. Mix sour cream and soup in a bowl and spoon onto fish. Bake in preheated oven 30 to 35 minutes. Serves 4.
*Ideal fillets should be approximately 3/4-inch thick.
Some things to ponder....
"Organized crime in America takes in over forty billion dollars a year and spends very little on office supplies." - Woody Allen
"The fact that no one understands you doesn't make you an artist." - Unknown
"My formula for success is rise early, work late, and strike oil." - J. Paul Getty
One last cast....
One recent Sunday, a young boy arrived to his Sunday school class late. His teacher knew that the boy was usually very prompt and asked him if anything was wrong. The boy replied no, that he was going to go fishing, but that his dad told him that he needed to go to church instead. The teacher was very impressed and asked the boy if his father had explained to him why it was more important to go to church rather than to go fishing.
To which the boy replied, "Yes, ma'am, he did. My dad said that he didn't have enough bait for both of us."
wyowalleyenewsletter@hotmail.com
Tight Lines -- Woody and Bruce