A viewpoint: Montana needs a fish-friendly state record program
Bill Schneider
I fish a lot … more than a hundred days annually, which I often joke means I waste two-thirds of the year. I spend most of my disposable income on fishing trips and gear. I even wear a Fishoholic cap. I also eat a lot of the fish I catch.
I am, however, among the growing number of anglers who carefully release big fish. Instead of having a date with my fillet knife, big fish go back into the lake or river to grow even bigger, continue spawning and become another angler’s trophy.
One of these days, I might be lucky enough to catch a potential state record fish. Then, what will I do?
I’ll be faced with a difficult decision. In Montana, the only way that trophy can become an official state record is for the angler to kill it and hurry off to find the nearest certified scale and game warden or fisheries biologist. And, of course, when I finally find a certified scale and discover my trophy is one ounce light, I’ll really regret killing it.
Fortunately, there is an easy, inexpensive, non-controversial solution to this dilemma.
Our western neighbor has figured it out, and we should follow Idaho’s lead. Idaho has a catch-and-release state record program. Anglers carefully measure and photograph the fish, release it, and then submit the documentation to the Idaho Fish and Game Department. The program has been working well for ten years.
Anglers need a fishing buddy because when fishing solo, there isn’t anybody to serve as a witness or to squeeze the tail for the photo. As with any fish to be released, of course, enhance chances of survival by minimizing handling. For example, leave the fish in the live well or net until all set up for the measurement and photo.
Idaho’s program didn’t require legislation. Ditto for Montana. That makes implementing a similar program much easier and faster. The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) could propose such a program and schedule a public comment period to find out what anglers think about the idea. I used to work for the MFWP, so I know that almost everything the agency does is controversial, but I can’t see many anglers being against saving trophy fish.
Montana could retain its current program and offer the catch-and-release records as an option for anglers, like myself, who can’t bear to kill a big, beautiful fish. Actually, Idaho does this, keeping two sets of state fish records, certified and catch-and-release. Idaho doesn’t use a formula to calculate the fish’s estimated weight. Instead, it lists records by length only.
Montana could go this route or use a formula to list catch-and-release records by weight, but these formula-derived records would probably conflict with the certified records, but I can’t see that as a problem.
Rare or threatened species such as bull trout and pallid sturgeon could be exempted from the system. They are now, essentially, since it’s illegal to keep them in most situations.
Weight can significantly vary among fish with the exact same length, so the certified records would be more accurate, but behind every certified record might sit somebody like me bursting with guilt for killing his or her fish of a lifetime. Many completive fishing tournaments, incidentally, use the length-only formula to minimize fish handling and reduce mortality.
Montana’s current state record system guarantees mortality.
About a year ago, I contacted Idaho Fish and Game Department and secured all the documents needed to start a similar program in Montana. I submitted these documents to MFWP fisheries administrator. After a few months, the fisheries folks got back to me and said they’d discussed the idea and decided not to go ahead it at this time.
I get it. They are already overworked and don’t need one more thing on their plate. Perhaps MFWP needs to hear support for this idea from more anglers and sporting organizations. Then, down the road, MFWP might reconsider the idea and give Montana a truly fish-friendly state record program.
Bill Schneider is a retired publisher and outdoor writer living in Helena.