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Location: LaCrosse, WI | Well said. That's exactly the point I've been trying to make as well. I hope everybody from the 3 divisions that has a hard time getting ahold of cats express their dissapointment to the FLW and let them know how they feel about it. I would be very upset if I drove 10-12 hours from Michigan just to find out that I couldn't get a major live bait that only the locals can get. |
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| John, If I understand your post the tournament will be launching out of LaCrosse, a Wisconsin city. The people from Minnesota would not be able to bring them in from out of state regardless of whether they got them legally in MN or not. So the only option would be to get them legally from a WI bait dealer and having proof of it and this sounds all but impossible to do. So if the fishermen are doing things legally and not importing them from MN this almost seems like a non-issue. If there is a limited supply of them available from WI bait dealers it sounds like a good time for them to make some money and start a bidding war which can be done via phone or internet.
I don't post my name on the internet. I do not need the grief or ego trip of seeing my name on the internet. Not implying that you put your name on for your ego as I do not know you but many people use there real name to try to build there ego or reputation, I do not need to do that. |
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| thumper - 7/31/2008 10:43 AM
although they could eliminate alot of those same issues by outlawing cheater lines and they refuse to do that, so who knows....
Thumper,
You will not see "stacker" lines allowed after this year. They are going bye-bye.
Sonny announced that at the rules meeting at Cass Lake, back in June.
The FLW has always listened to the anglers, and is always striving to make it better.
You make it sound like they are a stubborn entitiy "refusing" to budge on matters. That just isn't the case.
Juls |
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| From the website it appears the tourney is launched out of Winona on the MN side. |
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Posts: 1991
| Yes it should be out of Winona |
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| This subject has went around and around on another site. There is a big difference about a Tournament launching out of Minnesota rather than Wisconsin or Iowa when it comes to using Willow cats. Iowa doesn't have any willow cats available localy so in order for anybody to have them at the tournament they would have to transported which is illegal. That was why they were banned in Moline. Wisconsin is VHS crazy even though madtom tadpole (willow cat) is not on the list of VHS infected fish. If Wisconsin bait dealers wanted to go through the troube of having their willow cats certified they would be legal but what bait shop wants to go through that much trouble. In Minnesota you can usually buy willow cats in any bait shop from Lacresent to Redwing. Here in Winona the shops usually get cats in every week this time of year and they don't hold them only for the locals. There wasn't a problem in 2005 getting willow cats in Winona and there shouldn't be one this year. The bait shops in town know they need to have cats on hand for the tournament thats what bring in the business to them. If we dont start to get some rain here willow cats won't even be a factor. If there isn't enough flow on the river the fish move off the dams and will be in the middle of the main channel. For the FLW Championship if you have any questions just call Sonny. |
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Location: LaCrosse, WI | Tim,
Normally I would agree, but the biggest issue to most of us is that there are not Willow Cats readily available. LaCresent has zero willow cats in stock. The hardware store in Winona told me yesterday that they had about 6 dozen. The bait shop in Winona didn't have many more.
Will the proposed 500 dozen magically appear the week before the tourney? LaCresent hasn't had any for weeks and can't get any cats more than 3/4" long. How many do you have in your stock pile? Can you honestly tell me that the supply you've been seeing locally is enough to serve 120 boats for prefishing and tourney time?
With the low amounts of Willow cats currently in stores, what should make us believe that there will be more in September (when the supply is usually severly dwindling from early summer levels)?
They are great, and I like to use them, but I feel the guys from MI, IA, WI, and IL will get the shaft on this one because I honestly don't believe there will be a reasonable supply. If they're not available for most boaters, how many boaters from these other states will leave with a bad taste in their mouth for the FLW League, the Mississippi River, the Winona area and tourney fishing all together? I'll fish with whatever the FLW allows, but I'm glad I'm not going to be the one that has to answer to all the angry Heartland, Michigan and Wisconsin boaters who spent hundreds or thousands of dollars to come to this tournament and be told that they can't get Willow cats but a few people could.
I'm done posting on this subject because we'll continue to see the same things posted by myself and by the MN boaters. The MN guys will continue to push for this advantage, while the boaters from the other divisions will still want to know how they're going to get them and want some re-assurance that the playing field will be level for all, not just locals. |
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| The Hardware store in Winona is suppost to be getting more cats in on Thursday and Len at West End Bait said they would be going to get some this weekend. I don't have any cats right now I have never had much luck keeping them alive for a long period of time during July and August. This year is different than most with the late spring usually the bait shops can get tons of cats in June but this year they were hard to get then because there wern't any weeds up north where they get them. The last time Len went he had over 100 doz in a day. Even during the FLW Tour championships in Redwing when there were over 200 boats fishing there were still cats available.In my last tournament in Wabasha I had 6 doz awesome cats and caught alot of fish on them but our better fish came on cranks and leeches. Cats aren't the only thing walleyes bite on in the river and they wont be the only bait I use during the championship. |
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| Juls-
I'm a big fan of the FLW. The cheater lines have just been a pet peeve of mine. It seemed so silly to me to have them. I'm glad they are changing it, much less confusion. |
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| Rookie, If the people from the other states want willow cats then they can get over to MN a couple weeks early to try to try to stock up on them or they can try to use there contacts to stock up on them. I don't know MN law but would it be possible for them to come over to MN a week early and to trap them themselves?
These things would cost them more and yes the locals might have an advantage but don't locals always has some advantage? If you are a pro you learn how to deal with these things, if you are a wannabe you use these things as an excuse as to why you didn't win. |
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Location: Manitowoc, WI | Tim and GNWC Rookie,
I have one question: is it illegal to buy willow cats on the MN side and use them on the WI side?
The availability of willow cats will not determine, for me, whether I fish this event or not. I will be there for the final weigh-in, as I am presenting the winning co-angler with the certificate for the new G3 V185F package.
Edited by jerry 8/6/2008 12:58 PM
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| it is not illegal |
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| This continues to go round and round and I guess I will continue to contribute to it. For the most part, I think the guys coming from a long distance have a bigger issue at hand and thats learning the body of water and locating the right fish. Once located, which is the #1 game in the world of tournament fishing, I believe several tactics can be used outside of a willow cat to win this tournament.
GNWC, this local advantage is no different than when these same river guys go to Lake Erie to compete against the local out there that is buddies with all the local charters and gets all the info on location and presentation. That is a huge advantage on a body of water as Erie. In that case, I would say you have to ban that as well if your intent is to ban a totally legal bait for the state of MN. I see no difference.
Tim
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Location: Appleton wi | The viking boys make it sound like that by using willow cats this the only way you know how to catch walleyes? Whats the big deal if you cant use them? Anytime you have to different states invloved in border line laws or rules the tighter restriction should always apply. Do believe some guy on here who names himself"nope" that he knows the law and i wont be target for a ticket? Everyone knows about willow cats(they are not a secret) and how well they have done and not done . Why are you guys comparing this scenio to other baits and lures and new body of waters that has nothing to do with this. How about this one. The wisconsin guys can use 2 rods a person in the boat beacuse they have wisconsin license and the minnasota guys can only use 1 rod per person unless you go buy a wisconsin license. Would you feel that its fair that you have to spend extra money than the wisconsin guys to level the playing field in your own opionon? Now i'm going to sit back and smile as i read more post on this subject!
Edited by eye Lunker 8/7/2008 11:59 AM
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| eye Lunker - 8/7/2008 11:57 AM
The viking boys make it sound like that by using willow cats this the only way you know how to catch walleyes? Whats the big deal if you cant use them? Anytime you have to different states invloved in border line laws or rules the tighter restriction should always apply. Do believe some guy on here who names himself"nope" that he knows the law and i wont be target for a ticket? Everyone knows about willow cats(they are not a secret) and how well they have done and not done . Why are you guys comparing this scenio to other baits and lures and new body of waters that has nothing to do with this. How about this one. The wisconsin guys can use 2 rods a person in the boat beacuse they have wisconsin license and the minnasota guys can only use 1 rod per person unless you go buy a wisconsin license. Would you feel that its fair that you have to spend extra money than the wisconsin guys to level the playing field in your own opionon? Now i'm going to sit back and smile as i read more post on this subject!
I don't even know if your comment is even worthy of a post. First of all the river = 2 rods in MN and 3 rods in WI. Over the past few weeks with the low flow I have caught walleye on a variety of baits including Cats, Chubs, Leeches, Cranks, and Crawlers. Is there a preference ~ maybe? But the reality is once a series of dams are found to be holding fish you can catch them on just about anything. Whatever live bait is used flow is what determines the quantity and quality of fish, not the bait.
P4A |
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| Sick of Willow Cats!
LP |
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Location: Berlin | It sounds pretty simple. Ban them. The Minnesota guys are saying themselves there are many more ways to catch walleyes then just using cats. I guess I don't see the issue here. Is the home field advantage not enough for you guys?? |
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Location: princeton Il. | It doesnt matter to me if they ban them or not I will be there. They are legal bait in Minn. As far as home field advantage I dont buy it. If thats true why on my home water (the Illinois river)everytime there is a Tourn. I stink up the place. Alright maybe I'm just not that good but I'd like to think so. There are a lot of great anglers that have qualified and will be fishing this event and I will bet that there will be some great weights brought in caught on other things other than cats. If I can get some Cats to have then great, if not as it was said before there are other ways to catch them. See you there. |
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| “Every one of my fish came on a willow cat,”
Quote from FLW site regarding how the winner caught all his fish the last time the championship was in Winona. |
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| guest - 8/18/2008 6:04 PM
“Every one of my fish came on a willow cat,”
Quote from FLW site regarding how the winner caught all his fish the last time the championship was in Winona.
Considering he didn't have crawlers or leeches would make that a fair statement. Had he fished w/ leeches or crawlers odds are some walleyes would have bitten those as well. With Chick and Jerowski it is more about knowing the productive wingdams from non and of course any honey holes that have been found over the past 8 decades of Chick/Jerowski family heritage. While we cannot discount the fact both listed are great fisherman a few other locals to the area will without a doubt be swinging for the fence.
Whether live or artifical don't count out the local Rick Nascak - whom has also won the FLW Tour Championship (on artificle) but live bait is also his speciality.
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