# DNR harvesting fish



## Whitetail_hunter (Mar 14, 2012)

"Why cant i harvest 10 salmon anywere i see fit below the boardman weir"

First off this is what i said the key word being anywere not anyway. I did not endorse snagging but wouldnt be opposed to letting people do that to get rid of some of these fish the DNR cant handle if they are losing money selling these fish. Which if we werent talking about a government agency i would find highly unplausable. There is now way it costs too much money to pay a few guys to sit at a weir 2 months out of the year. 1 guy a day at platte and nobody ever at the little manistee is my count even if the salmon were sold really cheap money should be getting made and we should be told were it is going. Maybe mark will fill us in if he can. I do appreciatte his replys and am not trying to shoot the messenger.

Also I too am glad the salmon seem to be doing good but that doesnt change anything.


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## FishMichv2 (Oct 18, 2004)

Whitetail_hunter said:


> "Why cant i harvest 10 salmon anywere i see fit below the boardman weir"
> 
> First off this is what i said the key word being anywere not anyway. I did not endorse snagging but wouldnt be opposed to letting people do that to get rid of some of these fish the DNR cant handle if they are losing money selling these fish. Which if we werent talking about a government agency i would find highly unplausable. There is now way it costs too much money to pay a few guys to sit at a weir 2 months out of the year. 1 guy a day at platte and nobody ever at the little manistee is my count even if the salmon were sold really cheap money should be getting made and we should be told were it is going. Maybe mark will fill us in if he can. I do appreciatte his replys and am not trying to shoot the messenger.
> 
> Also I too am glad the salmon seem to be doing good but that doesnt change anything.


Don't endorse snagging but wouldn't be opposed to it. What does that even mean?

The dnr does a hell of a good job managing one of the best fisheries in the world and we have it pretty good. A fishery that has people pushing and pulling them in every direction. Money, local government, State government, politics, science, genetics, tourism...all off which has to be balanced. We have this great fishery because it is well managed, go out and enjoy it.


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## Whitetail_hunter (Mar 14, 2012)

"Don't endorse snagging but wouldn't be opposed to it. What does that even mean?"

Its means i dont endorse snagging as that is illegal but if the law changed i would not have a problem with it. Im not saying i would like lead weights and trebles to be back in action but i wouldnt care if it were legal to keep a fish you accidentally tail grabbed with your 10 foot leader. Of course only on streams that have surplus fish. The dnr has no problem shutting things down on short notice why not open things up too. 

Anyways this thread isnt about mine or your ethics we all know snagging is illegal so lets save that debate for another thread, maybe you could make one if you chose i would gladly discuss it their. I will go out and enjoy the fishery as i have many times and i hope you do too. So lets try and stay on subject here. If you are not interested in these questions your free to not click on this thread, I for one am curious and want to know.


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## Whitetail_hunter (Mar 14, 2012)

"Don't endorse snagging but wouldn't be opposed to it. What does that even mean?"

Its means i dont endorse snagging as that is illegal but if the law changed i would not have a problem with it. Im not saying i would like lead weights and trebles to be back in action but i wouldnt care if it were legal to keep a fish you accidentally tail grabbed with your 10 foot leader. Of course only on streams that have surplus fish. The dnr has no problem shutting things down on short notice why not open things up too. 

Anyways this thread isnt about mine or your ethics we all know snagging is illegal so lets save that debate for another thread, maybe you could make one if you chose i would gladly discuss it their. I will go out and enjoy the fishery as i have many times and i hope you do too. So lets try and stay on subject here. If you are not interested in these questions your free to not click on this thread, I for one am curious and want to know.


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## mbirdsley (Jan 12, 2012)

My issue is, I get the DNR makes money off of the fish. This probably has to happen to continue the stocking program but, we as sportsmen benefit from that. 

What I don't get is how a homeowner association can limit how many fish can pass through a river. It would just seem if you don't want dead fish in your lake than you shouldn't buy a lake house within the path of a migratory species going up stream to do its thing. On a river/ lake that is connected to a Great Lake.


Oh btw I answered my own question about natural reproduction earlier in the thread. I can remember as a kid launching costumers boats on big platte at the public launch. I remember looking down into the water and it was full of salmon smolts about 4-5 inches long.


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## toto (Feb 16, 2000)

The basic problem is these lake front owners want the lake to be a giant swimming pool. This issue was a lot deeper than just dying fish you'll just to trust me on this. It basically boiled down to how much phosphorus was getting into the lake, which created weed growth. These owners blamed it all on the hatchery. The problem was these same owners had a study done, which they paid to see where this phosphorus came from, when it was discovered that only somewhere around 20% came from the hatchery, it creates a problem for the owners as they now couldn't blame the DNR so much, therefore the setup we have today. Has these guys had their way we probably wouldn't have any coho planted in the Platte at all.


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## mbirdsley (Jan 12, 2012)

Oh I know how the lake people are. Had to deal with them a lot while working for grandpa selling and installing docks and hoists on crystal, platte, and every other lake up there. The lake residents fought the new DNR launch on crystal tooth and nail. That is why it was put on that drop off east of railway pt. 

I want to find out more about this. I need to talk to Ed McCintosh ( I butchered his last name even though, I've known him for 25 years). He is all about this sort of stuff. He was very active in the platte river assoc.


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## toto (Feb 16, 2000)

Yes he was. If you talk to him ask him about an update on a boat launch into Platte bay that feds promised like 25 years ago.


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## M. Tonello (Sep 20, 2002)

For those that have further questions on the financials of it, you'll have to speak with Ed Eisch directly. To this point I have not been involved in the negotiations or financials of the weirs at all, so give Ed a call if you're looking for more info. (231) 922-6056.


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## Jay Wesley (Mar 2, 2009)

Platte was dredged yesterday by DNR.


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## bigdoedown (May 29, 2009)

yes really after the netting regs and the backdoor antics of mr. Dexter, and our lack of deer management in this state... Sorry if the truth hurts....


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## Whitetail_hunter (Mar 14, 2012)

Looks like the dnr passed some more fish good job. Got some more ho's myself 1 in the pic isnt mine. Thanks again mark i will be giving ed a call.

Edit: called ed no answer i left a message and will be waiting for the call back.


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## Whitetail_hunter (Mar 14, 2012)

For the record i didnt mention the name of the river in my op but others felt the need and you could tell today. Good luck guys i dont mind crowds move on over im coming in. :lol:

Now i dont really care just saying it wasnt me. Good luck everyone smash those ho's before the boys truck them off to the store.


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## TK81 (Mar 28, 2009)

Whitetail_hunter said:


> For the record i didnt mention the name of the river in my op but others felt the need and you could tell today. Good luck guys i dont mind crowds move on over im coming in. :lol:
> 
> Now i dont really care just saying it wasnt me. Good luck everyone smash those ho's before the boys truck them off to the store.


First, I would like to say congratulations on some great eats and the intense rush of battling these fish on light tackle. I just can't get that excited about dredging these fish in on the trolling rods we use in the big lake. Keep up the good work!

As for your assertion that you didn't mention the river...your OP was plenty descriptive.



Whitetail_hunter said:


> I was at a weir today and i watched as the dnr harvested right around 5000 salmon. By harvested is dont mean eggs i mean fish, i watched as they counted and tossed them in totes and loaded them on to trucks. I asked what they harvested them for and got a vauge answer at first that "bait shops were buying them" ?? I assumed they meant the eggs so i asked again what they did with the actual fish and was told the were "sold for human consumption". Which is what i figured they were doing seems how these were chrome cohos.


I immediately knew where you were, and if I were to wager a guess, so did 90% of the regulars and 75% of the lurkers. Taking these fish before they get sold commercially is awesome, but your post will guarantee a&&holes to elbows for a week or so. There ain't squat for fishable water there...unless you are just raking the pods that are cruising by. Maybe we could get a CO or 2 up there to enforce the hook restrictions.

For selfish reasons, I wish this river was an unmentionable. Nothing like driving a couple hours and having no holes to fish because 500 of your closest social media friends got there first.


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## Whitetail_hunter (Mar 14, 2012)

TK81 i agree that anyone with some sense would know what river it was but that isnt a reason to name it, which i didnt and i dont really care. Dont worry there was almost a fight there today although one participant didnt accept the challenge. Theres really not a ton of fish below the weir atm most were passed or harvested.What about my post is going to draw more people after 10 people named the river.?

Lastly are you hating on my yellow rod? :lol: that rod is 10+ years old and has caught steel hos kangs and everything in between. Hell of a deal for $13 why didnt you say hi.


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## FishMichv2 (Oct 18, 2004)

TK81 said:


> First, I would like to say congratulations on some great eats and the intense rush of battling these fish on light tackle. I just can't get that excited about dredging these fish in on the trolling rods we use in the big lake. Keep up the good work!
> 
> As for your assertion that you didn't mention the river...your OP was plenty descriptive.
> 
> ...


If there are 5000+ fish below that weir then the people will be stacked up no matter what happens on the internet. If the salmon are there then the people are there. That being said, I never would have shared that video here but I figured everyone knew exactly what river it was from the OP.


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## TK81 (Mar 28, 2009)

Whitetail_hunter said:


> TK81 i agree that anyone with some sense would know what river it was but that isnt a reason to name it, which i didnt and i dont really care. Dont worry there was almost a fight there today although one participant didnt accept the challenge. Theres really not a ton of fish below the weir atm most were passed or harvested.What about my post is going to draw more people after 10 people named the river.?
> 
> Lastly are you hating on my yellow rod? :lol: that rod is 10+ years old and has caught steel hos kangs and everything in between. Hell of a deal for $13 why didnt you say hi.


I don't hate anything about you or your yellow rod. If you get to the hole first, it's yours. It's just the rest of the internet army I'm not so fond of. 

One thing though...if you really are using one of those yellow clubs...might I suggest a nice 8 wt or a medium action 8 ft spinning rod. Soooooooo much more fun. Your post was just the spark that ignited the rest of the posts. No skin off my back currently, as I am buried in work and head for Japan on Sunday. Catch a couple for me!


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## Whitetail_hunter (Mar 14, 2012)

TK81 said:


> I don't hate anything about you or your yellow rod. If you get to the hole first, it's yours. It's just the rest of the internet army I'm not so fond of.
> 
> One thing though...if you really are using one of those yellow clubs...might I suggest a nice 8 wt or a medium action 8 ft spinning rod. Soooooooo much more fun. Your post was just the spark that ignited the rest of the posts. No skin off my back currently, as I am buried in work and head for Japan on Sunday. Catch a couple for me!


No biggie and i was just messing with ya about my yellow rod. Although that is whay i use. I will buy a fly rod soon im balling on a budget at the moment. Was thinking about taking my ultra lite down, might try that tomorrow.


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## TK81 (Mar 28, 2009)

Whitetail_hunter said:


> No biggie and i was just messing with ya about my yellow rod. Although that is whay i use. I will buy a fly rod soon im balling on a budget at the moment. Was thinking about taking my ultra lite down, might try that tomorrow.


Just so you know, I did break free from the office last Friday for a few hours on a river to the south. I got my a&& handed to me a couple times with my 8 wt. Still fun for a minute.


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## FishFace23 (Sep 2, 2008)

Shoeman said:


> Anyone remember Tempotech?


ABSOLUTELY.....That whole deal with MDNR was terrible. But that is MHO


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## CaptnPea (Oct 2, 2012)

Best rod out there is pink.


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## mbirdsley (Jan 12, 2012)

toto said:


> Yes he was. If you talk to him ask him about an update on a boat launch into Platte bay that feds promised like 25 years ago.


my brother has talked to him a bit about that as he allows us to use his slip at Betsie bay marina. Quote in his words "it's all about that damn bird". The township has money set aside for yearly dredging but, they have to dump the sand on the beach. I am assuming the launch up grades have somthing to do with that. The hang up is " that dam bird"[/QUOTE]


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## mbirdsley (Jan 12, 2012)

.


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## JAA (Oct 6, 2004)

You have to Remember the Capital Just came back from Recess They Smoke Them Up for the Senators, To snack on while working hard at getting nothing Done!!!!!


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## Slimits (Jun 30, 2014)

Did u catch any fish yesterday? Fished platte bay and it was absoutely dead


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## toto (Feb 16, 2000)

I just went to the weir and there has to be 10,000 fish sitting waiting to go where ever they are going to go. I've seen a lot of fish there before but not like that.


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## midwestfisherman (Apr 19, 2001)

Whitetail_hunter said:


> Thanks mark i appreciate the response but i still have one issue. Why have 5000 been harvested with only 3000 passed? thats ****ed. Lets the 20k pass for the the hatchery and the fisherman BEFORE harvesting. There no way you will pass 20k when you harvest almost twice as many as are passed.


Armchair fisheries biologist?! I'm sure they know what they're doing.


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## Slimits (Jun 30, 2014)

Just curious, if they dont want a bunch of natural repo in the platte, why plant so many up there? Seems like it would be just easier to plant more in the manistee or pm where people dont care about dying fish.

Are the fish that are passed through catchable? I thought you couldnt fish above the weir?


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## fishfray (Jul 30, 2013)

The passed fish are catchable in the strech between the two wiers but your timing has to be spot on because they swim right to the second wier Very fast


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## Huntingguy23 (Jul 9, 2013)

I don't know enough specifics yet to argue one side or the other but i do know the priority of the leadership of the DNR Should be to provide recreational opportunities to the sportsman of Michigan first and to provide additional recreational opportunities when possible second and the financial benefit of the contractors last..... from afar it certainly does not look good ... thanks OP for the heads up


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## Huntingguy23 (Jul 9, 2013)

Still trying to catch up here ..... so all these coho are planted in a river where there is a limit that guarantees there is an excess that has to be manually harvested so much so that the taxpayer has to pay to have them removed? You have to be joking ..... there are TONS of other rivers that would kill for more plants that have plenty of public access and would not complain about salmon die offs .... who is running this show ?


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## MoJoRisin' (Jan 30, 2004)

not 100% sure but I believe there have been a few yrs when there was not enough of a return to take anything out at the lower weir and passed just enough to get the eggs they need.....if I am wrong educate me please.


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## Huntingguy23 (Jul 9, 2013)

I guess the "rub" is the difference in opinion on what to do when there is a surplus of fresh silver coho in the system . ...that unless i missed something... the recent license change and increase made it an all species license forcing people to contribute to the struggling salmon planting structured even if they never fished for salmon. Many people do not have an expensive boat that is needed to fish the lake for salmon .... but when the salmon show up literally at their feet and easy and inexpensive to catch we pay someone to harvest them and insure they make money instead. ..... gotta be a better way


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## Trout King (May 1, 2002)

Huntingguy23 said:


> I guess the "rub" is the difference in opinion on what to do when there is a surplus of fresh silver coho in the system . ...that unless i missed something... the recent license change and increase made it an all species license forcing people to contribute to the struggling salmon planting structured even if they never fished for salmon. Many people do not have an expensive boat that is needed to fish the lake for salmon .... but when the salmon show up literally at their feet and easy and inexpensive to catch we pay someone to harvest them and insure they make money instead. ..... gotta be a better way


Hey you can buy like 1.5 perch dinners at a restaurant for the price of a fishing license. Personally, I'd be fine if they wanted $100 per resident license if the money goes where it should. Our license dollars do a lot more than plant salmon.


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## Huntingguy23 (Jul 9, 2013)

Talked to Ed with the DNR today , and am left with the opinion that the licensed anglers are getting screwed. When asked about the 5000 fresh coho that were taken out of the system at the weir he responded "you gotta keep the contractor happy" he left it open to interpretation but i got a pretty good idea what that means. The state does not get any pecuniary reward , it is basically a trade for the contractors manpower to remove the fish . He also stated removal of the 5000 coho did not effect fishing on that river at all . And we agreed to disagree on that. .... with that standard it sure would be difficult to get a conviction on any game violations in general without a confession.


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## FishMichv2 (Oct 18, 2004)

Huntingguy23 said:


> Talked to Ed with the DNR today , and am left with the opinion that the licensed anglers are getting screwed. When asked about the 5000 fresh coho that were taken out of the system at the weir he responded "you gotta keep the contractor happy" he left it open to interpretation but i got a pretty good idea what that means. The state does not get any pecuniary reward , it is basically a trade for the contractors manpower to remove the fish . He also stated removal of the 5000 coho did not effect fishing on that river at all . And we agreed to disagree on that. .... with that standard it sure would be difficult to get a conviction on any game violations in general without a confession.


The removal of those fish did nothing to affect the fishing on that river. I live on it and can guarantee it. Do you realize how much goes into managing this stuff even down to the genetics of the fish? Do you fish the Platte? Where could you have fished that those 5000 would have been accessible? They would all be at the hatchery in unfishable water a day after they were let through the lower weir. I guess they could have held all 12 to 15000 at the lower weir so anglers could pile up in that short stretch of river until the fish died of oxygen depletion.


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## toto (Feb 16, 2000)

I don't think there is one easy answer it could be combo of all these things. I, for one, would love to see it the way it was 20 years ago. Back then the river was closed to fishing from labor day until November 1st, but I'm sure I'm in the minority there.


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## fishfray (Jul 30, 2013)

FishMichv2 said:


> The removal of those fish did nothing to affect the fishing on that river. I live on it and can guarantee it. Do you realize how much goes into managing this stuff even down to the genetics of the fish? Do you fish the Platte? Where could you have fished that those 5000 would have been accessible? They would all be at the hatchery in unfishable water a day after they were let through the lower weir. I guess they could have held all 12 to 15000 at the lower weir so anglers could pile up in that short stretch of river until the fish died of oxygen depletion.


This is not an attack on your stance, your stance is right. But I personally DO enjoy fishing for these cohos in the upper river, right after they pass them through the lower wier. However I think the way the dnr does this at random makes it hard for the majority of people to target them. If you aren't on the upper river within 48 hours of the release, youre pretty much out of luck. Maybe if they passed fish on a more regular schedule, they would be more accessible.


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## Slimits (Jun 30, 2014)

I thought they used to hang out in loon lake and were catchable. Is that not the case anymore?


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## Huntingguy23 (Jul 9, 2013)

FishMichv2 said:


> The removal of those fish did nothing to affect the fishing on that river. I live on it and can guarantee it. Do you realize how much goes into managing this stuff even down to the genetics of the fish? Do you fish the Platte? Where could you have fished that those 5000 would have been accessible? They would all be at the hatchery in unfishable water a day after they were let through the lower weir. I guess they could have held all 12 to 15000 at the lower weir so anglers could pile up in that short stretch of river until the fish died of oxygen depletion.


 your math is off.... it was said that 5k were harvested and 3k was passed but why let the facts get in your way ...
In your exaggerated hypothetical scenario , yes i would rather those 5,000 fresh coho be left for tha anglers that paid for them be allowed the recreational opportunity to catch them instead of an outside company taking them away in totes to make a proffit . Even if all those fish did die at least the nutrients they have been removing from Lk Michigan for years would be released back from which they came instead of being gone forever


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## FishMichv2 (Oct 18, 2004)

Huntingguy23 said:


> Thought you said people shouldn't have an opinion where they don't fish . When is the last time you fished Huron ? Tons of business owners in Oscoda Harbor Beach and Harrisville would beg to differ with you as to whether Or not it is ruined....... So thats how you get past it? It wasn't ruined intentionally? And yes in the opinion of many knowledgeable people it is ruined ... and will never fully recover


I grew up fishing Huron during the days when every little creek was spilling over with fish. I watched the rivers run dry of fish and baitshops/charters/stores close. Those buisness owners benefited from an invasive species that was meant to control another invasive species. What was happening back then was not sustainable and the lake is in pretty decent shape now all things considered. It was mismanaged but it's not like there was any blueprint to go off of and clearly they are learning from mistakes. There is really no ecological situation that is comparable to what the dnr are trying to manage.


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## wilsonm (Dec 28, 2010)

Huntingguy23 said:


> Yes we are paying them ..... i will call ed and try to get the question answered as to the hourly rate they are billing the dnr ... any guesses ? Remember it is for manpower to remove surplus fish ... wouldn't think it would require a college degree .... something unpaid interns could do or something that could be done as a high school field trip


The company is also responsible for security at the weirs, removal of all of the non-edible kings and coho's at the weirs, helping at the egg-takes, They also have to pay for forklifts, trucks, processing and disposal facilities and workers there. All this in a 2 month period where each year there is no predictability in the salmon runs. Most business people would find this a risky venture. If you put out bids for the contract and said you couldn't have any good quality coho, only the fish fit for pet food or landfill from the weirs, do you think any sensible business person would commit to that contract? Put your business plan together and put a bid in when the contract is up. I'm sure some kids from a high school field trip to do this. While it might sound like a fleecing when you don't know the facts behind it or think it through from a business perspective. When you dig into the economics of it, you'll realize it isn't a high profit business.


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## Jay Wesley (Mar 2, 2009)

Has it been mentioned that this company picks up fish guts at several communities along the coast that don't have fish grinders?


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## Huntingguy23 (Jul 9, 2013)

Sounds like you may be a quarter century my junior ..... you have alot yet to live and learn but acknowledging the DNR mismanaged Lake Huron is a start… And shows you are capable of learning ...... i have neither the time nor inclination to debate you on this any longer .... i both literally and figuratively have bigger fish to fry ... i will leave you with this ... what if 40 years from now two fisherman are agreeing that DNR mismanaged the surplus fish on the Platte river ? ....see you on the river


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## Huntingguy23 (Jul 9, 2013)

Jay Wesley said:


> Has it been mentioned that this company picks up fish guts at several communities along the coast that don't have fish grinders?


Jay - why can't these fish be planted in a location where they are welcomed and appreciated and provide unlimited recreational opportunities and fulfill their destiny as originally intended when they were brought here from the pacific northwest? They were not brought here to leave in a plastic tote. It appears the DNR has taken an asset and treated it as a liability


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## -Axiom- (Jul 24, 2010)

Huntingguy23 said:


> Jay - why can't these fish be planted in a location where they are welcomed and appreciated and provide unlimited recreational opportunities and fulfill their destiny as originally intended when they were brought here from the pacific northwest? They were not brought here to leave in a plastic tote. It appears the DNR has taken an asset and treated it as a liability


Why don't we just get rid of the Pacific salmon, they have done what they were supposed to do.

Atlantics are much better.


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## GRUNDY (Jun 18, 2005)

Anyone else notice the deep hole being dug? LOL


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