REciprocity = Hunting & Fishing

[Jigs]

With the advent of several States, basically limiting or thinking of
limiting the number of non-resident hunting licenses, particulary for
for small game, upland game and waterfowl. Do you think it is fair
for a state to do the same for fishing. Take MN for example. We have
limited #'s come here for the hunting. But thousands for the fishing
from the Dakota's and Iowa. Yet the rates for hunting keep climbing
in these states, with the residents screaming there is no place to hunt because of all the non-residents crowding them. I could make the same argument on my favorite lake, when I see a resort boat on my favorite point. Not exactly the same thing but close enough for thought.

[Box]

I have been going to NoDak for the past two duck seasons, for one 3-4 day trip. The hunting was really good, not perfect, but pretty darn great. Maybe I am there the wrong time (third/fourth week in Oct., when the residents say its the best), but I really did not see a lot of hunters. Just about every area we asked for permission we got it. They seem to only protect their land from their neighbors during deer season ;)

The North Dakota farmers and people are just great, and friendly as can be. They even invited our party to dinner one night. Very nice indeed.

I would hope that MN does not stoop to the limiting non-residents game, but if states want to do it, more power to them I guess. It is still easy for me to go for my 4 day trip, and I spend plenty of MN $$ there. When they make it too hard, I will just stop going.

There have been out of state hunters and anglers in many states that have really made bad impressions by poaching, etc., and I think that hurts us more than the alleged "high numbers" of law abiding sportspeople.

-Box

[bigfish1965]

It certainly sets a bad precedent. Imagine the outcry if Canada limited the number of MN fishermen allowed to our lakes?

[Mike W1]

I believe there's some sort of court challenge on license fees going on in Arizona right now though I can't remember where I read it. I hear a number of people here in Iowa complaining about out of staters and personally I don't buy into it. We have some fellows from the Minneapolis area that usually hunt my acreage each year for pheasants and they're dang fine people. Personally I'd feel like a horse's backside if I didn't let people use the little land I have to hunt particularly as I like to fish in norther MN. I don't damage the fish population much though, generally remove the barbs, and return most fish. Fact is over the years my biggest worry was going through a check station and having the warden die laughing when he looked in my cooler. BTW, my resort owner friends opinion is the locals do the most damage to fish populations in MN and having spent a lot of time up there the last 5 or 6 years I'm inclined to think he might be right. There's always instances of game/fish hogs in every state but I don't think the average guy I've met up there is that concerned with taking a limit home. And I do know a few who are but they are really a minority. Besides most tourists, myself included, can't fish very well! FWIW