A September 10 public meeting with the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks commission members reversed a state-supported proposed muskie fishing rule. The proposed rule would have allowed fishermen to keep one 45-inch or larger muskie per day.
But rank-and-file muskie fishing fanatics in South Dakota got wind of it and started an on-line petition that submarined the proposal. After listening to muskie fishermen attending the meeting in the town of Winner, plus viewing the 700-signature petition against the rule, the commission voted unanimously to tank it.
This keeps all South Dakota muskie fishing catch-and-release – which it has been since 2018.
“In 2018 three anglers met with state fisheries folks and convinced them that all muskies should be released in the state,” wild-eyed muskie angler Jake Cheeseman tells Wired2fish. “Concerned anglers won then, and we just won again now.
“We’re 2 and O – at keeping our state the only one where muskies are an all catch-and-release fish.”
Cheeseman spearheaded the petition about a month prior to the meeting. He got wind of the rule change, and began contacting every hard-core muskie angler, and group he could.
“So many people helped with the petition and spreading the word about what was proposed,” said Cheeseman, age 25, from Salem, S.D. “State fisheries department data showed there were almost no muskies 45 inches or more in state waters. I knew that wasn’t right.
“Muskies Inc. keeps catch data from anglers fishing Lynn Lake, and 25 percent of the fish caught and measured there were over 45 inches in length.
“I’ve only been fishing muskies for two years, and the first one I caught last year was 52 inches. And I’ve caught five big ones from five different state lakes. South Dakota has plenty of muskies over 45 inches in length, and we need to preserve them through catch-and-release fishing.”
Cheeseman says that written comments about the state muskie proposal had 57 people opposed to keeping muskies, while only two people were in favor of it.
“When a trophy fish [muskie] is released, that fish can be caught again, allowing multiple anglers to experience that same opportunity,” said Scott Vander Meulen of Sioux Falls, S.D. “Once harvested, that opportunity is gone forever.”
Replica muskie mounts are the way to preserve big fish catches, said Cheeseman, who played football four years as a wide receiver for the University of South Dakota.
“No one eats a muskie, and if you want a mount, a replica is the best option,” he stated. “South Dakota is still the only state that requires catch-and-release muskie fishing, and hopefully that concept will spread to other muskie states.”
