Fishing is an integral part of Minnesota’s culture. People fish off their boats. Clusters of folks fish off piers at public parks. High school students have developed fishing as a competitive sport. And there’s purse money involved. Partly, it’s evolved due to the abundance of lakes. Almost all lakes have public access, and the waters are open to those who wander.
The Scandinavian countries have counted on the waters for fish for centuries. Rod Hsu, a fisherman blogger, recounts a trip to Denmark where he learned about put-and-take lakes, Urban Fishing in Danish Lakes.
Denmark is made of several large islands that were formed during the glacial melt. Unlike British Columbia, it lacks mountains and streams. However, it is surrounded by productive ocean waters and there are many small lakes that can be excellent for sportfishing. Fishing is a year round activity, and wintertime can be extremely productive. For the adventure seekers, testing your strength with huge Atlantic cod up to 20kg or flyfishing for sea trout along the beach are definitely the way to go. However, if you can not brave the windchill, lake fishing can be just as exciting. Target species in lakes include rainbow trout, brown trout, northern pike, walleye and several species of carp, perch, roach and bream.
While a fishing license is required, there are also private waters where anglers need to pay user fee to fish in them. One such type of waters is known as the “put & take lakes”. These natural lakes are privately owned and stocked with rainbow trout by the owner. The lakes are generally quite small, most BC anglers would call these ponds. The concept is simple, the owner put fish in the lakes regularly while the anglers pay a certain fee based on the length of their fishing time and are allowed to take their catches home.
Fishing licences are required in Minnesota as well. And they are enforced. A ranger will stop boats on the lake and ask to see their documentation. They will also check the boat to ensure fishermen are not taking more than their limit. This is all organized through public means.
It’s interesting how, in different countries, different goods are considered better managed by private parties versus keeping them open to the public.
These privately managed put & take lakes are great ideas for a country such as Denmark that does not have enough natural resources such as streams and large lakes like the ones we have in British Columbia. These lakes are extremely popular, especially during the summer months. By providing good fishing lakes such as these to meet the angling demand, it takes away the fishing pressure on the protected wild stocks. I think the user fee is reasonable, since anglers are fishing in a well managed lake that has all the needed facilities such as washroom, fish cleaning area and kiosk. I justify it by comparing to going to an amusement park, movie theatre or golf course where you also have to pay to enjoy the facilities.
Home Economics 