Outdoor News / April 2012 / Hey Legislature! Leave our opener alone!

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Hey Legislature! Leave our opener alone!

Frankly, I just don’t buy it: The concept being proposed by two Legislators to move the Minnesota fishing opener back a week because of the early spring.

Sen. Tom Bakk of Cook and Rep. David Dill of Crane Lake are the ones behind this half-baked scheme which, at first mention, made me rather excited.

Their reasoning? It was a tough winter and late ice fishing season so this gives resorters a chance to get people back on the lakes earlier than usual. Another reason is that it would give Mom her weekend and then anglers their weekend.

Moms who fish would most likely have two reasons to celebrate.

But that’s when it hit me. All this talk about how this will offer the opportunity for more people to take a kid fishing sounds good but let’s remember something: the fishing season never closes.

Yes, I’m a big fan of the opener. I talk about fishing the opener. To be clear, it’s the walleye and pike opener statewide. It’s already been open in a lot of locations all over the state including border waters and parts of the Mississippi River.

There is no shortage of fishing opportunities available right now, next weekend, and every weekend between now and the actual opener set for May 12.

Have a desire to go fishing? Go! Want to introduce a kid? Go! Do it. You don’t need the Legislature to intervene with the calendar to make this happen. If you catch a walleye, bass or pike, let it go.

I guess what really irritates me is the audacity of certain legislators who think that they can somehow better manage this state than the experts charged with doing so.

I know the Legislature has the power to set the fishing opener, but they did. If we can dial it back a week, I’m pretty sure we can push it back a week. Normally I’m not a big fan of the “slippery slope” argument but that’s hardly an issue with the Legislature.

What’s to stop a future Legislature from pushing the opener back one week during an unusually cold spring. If they are going to move the fishing opener, I think they better change the turkey opener as well. Push that back a few weeks as well but for archers only. Oh, and if the average temperature in August doesn’t exceed 67 degrees they should adjust the deer opener to allow for better antler production.

Oh wait, on second thought. Just because they have the authority doesn’t mean they should exercise it.

None of those senators and representatives in the hallowed halls of our State Capitol has a clue how to do much of anything on a microcosmic level. They aren’t biologists and they aren’t social studies teachers. When they try getting their hands on every little thing, they only proceed to mess things up and complicate matters.

I’m actually a big fan of the legislative branch. I love that they are the ones most connected to the people, but that’s not my point.

My point is that they have some big work to do. They should do it.

Leave things like fishing openers and other “micro” issues alone. It only makes for more complications and confusion and often does more harm than good to the problem it was meant to try and solve.

Oh, and remember, if you want to go fishing early. Go for it. Nobody’s stopping you! Make sure to bring somebody new to the sport as well.

Especially if it’s Mom.