VT Fish and Wildlife Spoiled My Ice Fishing!

Think ice fishing in Vermont is as simple as grabbing some gear and bait and going? You’d certainly be wrong this year. Vermont Fish and Wildlife has enacted a rule that they hope to have the legislature approve as law this session. Certainly not something written for the average Vermonter.

It’s very confusing and leaves a person with nothing but questions. I was only able to glean several things from it myself. There is to be NO PERSONAL BAITFISH COLLECTION. Nothing like making people have to go buy bait, fishing used to be a poor mans sport. How can a minnow on the approved species list, caught in Lake Champlain, be bad for use as bait in Lake Champlain?

KEEP YOUR RECEIPT for your bait with you. But don’t forget that it’s only GOOD FOR 48 HOURS. No longer do you just have to remember your license, but lose or forget that receipt for your bait and you’re fined. Now you have to run to the baitshop and wait in line like everyone else in the morning. THE MINNOWS MUST BE DESTROYED WHEN YOU LEAVE THE ICE, no more bringing them home and using them tomorrow.

Fish and Wildlife is all up in arms about this new fish disease that they think might be coming, or might already be here. It seems more like a knee jerk reaction to me. If it’s here, it’s here, and there’s not much we can really do about it. Who will want to buy a license, go wait in line, and still be afraid they didn’t dot their i’s and cross their t’s. The department is likely to strong arm this into law by “educating” legislators on the issue, stand up to the propaganda.

For Positive Change Take Kids Fishing

Free fishing day is just around two months away. Fishing is such a worthwhile pasttime to introduce kids to. You've got the suspense element, never knowing what may bite your line. You've got the social part, chatting it up with others enjoying the same activity, You've got the thrill seeking element when the bobber dips under or you feel a tug on the line. You've got the planning/preparedness part when you dig worms, gather tackle and lines, and sharpen hooks. The icky part when you bait or take something off your hook.

Whether young or young at heart, everyone can enjoy fishing. There's no club dues, little skill involved, just a hook, line and bait and anyone can be an "expert". Fish are a renewable natural resource, especially if one practices catch and release. Fish can tell you about the health of the lake, from lamprey marks, to black spot, to yellow grubs, and that nasty sarcoma that affects Northern Pike.

Our state benefits from the money tournament and recreational fishing bring. The future of our aquatic ecosystems lies with youth who grow up respecting their delicate balance. Kids who understand why excess soap, wastes, and chemicals don't belong in our waterbodies.

I implore any and all, young and old alike, take a kid fishing. Its some of the best community service you can do. Help preserve our waterbodies, get a kid off the street, off the couch, away from the video game system. Help wrestle tomorrow's leaders from the grip of the television set, and affect positive change.