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No, he's a Ludington guy who normally spears Torch and Skeg.

Sad to see but I guess the silver lining here is this guy should be done killing fish now for the year…assuming he used his tag and follows the law.

Why do people like this get so much press for fish that aren't even trophy size? I have already seen a handful of newspaper articles on mid-upper 40" fish speared this winter. Don't get me wrong here, this is definitely a nice fish, but how is this even remotely newspaper worthy???

Yeah, pretty much what swanzey said…
it is a badge of honor for some crowds to catch/harvest/spear a musky, they feel as tho they have limited opportunity, so in doing so, they accomplished the ultimate goal in their sport.
That is the difference in catch and release, fortunately, we know when we catch that fish, and put it back it gets bigger for the next guy! As a good friend said while discussing shooting small bucks and using the "if I don't the guy on the next 20 will" justification… The only way to guarantee it won't get bigger is you shoot it.

Imagine if there were hundreds of 45-50" muskies in Hamlin and it took a 52"+ fish to make the news, not really too far fetched. Ohh what could have been there. [smilie=brickwall.gif]

"Will Schultz" said:
Does it ever get to the point when MMA says…
MMA has invested tens of thousands into the muskie program. MMA is directly or indirectly responsible for stocking nearly 100,000 muskies in Michigan. Because there is no other organization or community providing any support MMA will no longer support the muskie program if the fish continue to stock waters like Hamlin, Marghrethe or any other water that allows harvest of these fish before there is an acceptable population .33/acre?

Just to be clear, MMA would never hold anything over the head of the DNR to get what we believe to be correct and best for the fishery. Just my way of reminding everyone that YOU the MMA members are the only ones doing anything to make muskie fishing better for everyone. MMA isn't selfish and has never said, if we can't have it our way you shouldn't get to have it your way – which has been said many times by MDAA.

50" MSL on all restoration sites!!!! It just makes sense. Economically for the hatchery, biologically for the establishment of the critters, and socially for us fisherman that are working so hard to help out with the previous 2 points!

Unfortunately it's kinda hard to state the obvious and still sound like the conservation group we are, that cares about healthy fisheries… But, when we are presenting ideas to DNR and NRC people, and they see that we have a rapport with the hatchery, biologists, and the researchers that can help us get the info they need, it surely should weigh in our favor. At least compared to the other groups main point of "if they get to play, we should get a turn too".

"Mayhem" said:
How about next time the hatchery needs money for minnows we just ask MDAA to chip in half the bill, after all the majority of the fish are going to waters being decimated by spearing. Seems fair to me! Margrethe and Hamlin have accounted for over 80,000 stocked fall fingerlings over the past 14 years and what exactly have we gotten for it?

Better yet, since more than 2/3 of the waters are open to spearing let's have them pay for 2/3 of the minnows. First they need to get square with what MMA has done, I figure somewhere around $50k should do it. Funny though, to even suggest they do their part gets comments about MMA being a bunch of rich elitists that pay off the DNR to get what they want. So we're damned if we do and damned if we don't.

"Will Schultz" said:
Does it ever get to the point when MMA says…
MMA has invested tens of thousands into the muskie program. MMA is directly or indirectly responsible for stocking nearly 100,000 muskies in Michigan. Because there is no other organization or community providing any support MMA will no longer support the muskie program if the fish continue to stock waters like Hamlin, Marghrethe or any other water that allows harvest of these fish before there is an acceptable population .33/acre?

Just to be clear, MMA would never hold anything over the head of the DNR to get what we believe to be correct and best for the fishery. Just my way of reminding everyone that YOU the MMA members are the only ones doing anything to make muskie fishing better for everyone. MMA isn't selfish and has never said, if we can't have it our way you shouldn't get to have it your way – which has been said many times by MDAA.

I think we've gotten to the point of dictating where some of our donations go. I think the MMA has earned that right and I also feel the evidence backs up the need for stricter regulations. We could continue to follow our mission statement and donate towards restoration, education, & research. We wouldn't be holding anything over their heads. We would be doing what's most responsible with the money that is raised by the MMA. The mission statement of the MDAA is, "The Michigan Darkhouse Angling Association actively works to establish equality of winter spearing and angling among all resident fishermen and to provide sound conservation practice of our sport." Huh? What the hell does that even mean…..conservation practice of our sport?" I have never once heard any Darkhouse association talk about ways to protect the resource. It's always about more opportunity for THEM. Actions speak louder than words and their own mission statement shows how selfish they really are. The current regulations are much better than they were, but striving for stricter regs makes sense biologically and economically. As always, thanks to everyone for fighting the good fight.