Just the other day, I was taking a drive around Fountain Lake, which is something that I do at least two times a week. On this particular drive, I happened to think of the many times that I would ride my bike into town to do some fishing.
Years ago, the dam on Bridge Street had a series of waterways on the north side of the dam which helped with the water flow. I would climb on top of the walls of those waterways and fish. You could look down and see the fish swimming through there, and from time to time I would spot crappies or big sunfish, which would get my young heart pumping fast with excitement. Partly because they were not bullheads or what we called “rubber tails,” which were a type of panfish. It was common to catch these along shore or anyplace you fished on the lake. They are called the green sunfish species and run smaller than a typical sunfish or bluegill. We never kept any of these because they had little or no meat on them.
Fishing under the dam would eventually grow old, so, when other kids that I didn’t know started to show up, I would move to the main lake. I fished the shoreline of Fountain from the bridge to Katherine Island. I would usually catch a lot of bullheads and rubber tails by the island, but not much else. It was all good because I was fishing and that is what I loved to do.
Before I headed back home, I would stop at the creamery and buy a chocolate marshmallow sundae, which was my favorite. They were .25 cents, and I would savor the moment whenever I had one because I didn’t want to get to the finish line too soon.
Last Sunday evening I got a text from my grandson, Trevor, asking if his grandma and I wanted to go down to Iowa fishing. I knew that meant going to Clear Lake for some walleye fishing. I texted back that I would have to check with his grandma in the morning. I asked her and her eyes lit up. I knew that she wouldn’t turn down the chance to spend time with our grandson. It was a fun time and a great way to spend quality time with Trevor and catch a few of those tasty fish in the process.
Shovelnose sturgeon poaching case highlights cross-agency partnerships in effort to protect natural resources.
Shovelnose sturgeon in many ways pale in comparison to lake sturgeon. They weigh less and aren’t nearly as long. They live much shorter lives, and they’re not as popular a target for anglers.
Over the course of the last two years, officers conducted a large-scale investigation that included hundreds of hours of surveillance and documentation of a number of violations. As part of the investigation, officers discovered many fish with their abdomens cut open. Eggs were collected from the females; the carcasses of females and males alike were tossed back into the river.
Ultimately, six people were charged by the Houston County Attorney’s Office with 57 violations. All pleaded guilty last year to the charges, with the final case being resolved late last fall.
Nevertheless, shovelnose sturgeon are a native fish known for their flesh and roe, an important part of the ecosystem, and they are protected with conservative harvest limits to ensure their populations remain stable. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officers and conservation wardens with the Wisconsin DNR had this in mind in the spring of 2019, when they received a tip and began looking into the potential illegal take of shovelnose sturgeon in Pool 9 of the Mississippi River.
Until next time: Whenever I read about people abusing our conservation laws, it makes me mad. The rules are there for a reason and when people blatantly abuse the rules they should be punished. It takes a long time for these fish to grow and to be poaching them is inexcusable.
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