THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI-- A CONSERVATION SUCCESS STORY
Those familiar with the channelized and commercialized Mississippi River downstream of St Paul Minnesota might be surprized the river above Minneapolis is the same waterway. Considerably smaller and too shallow for commercial traffic, the upper Miss' retains much of its natural state, with rocky riffles and boulder strewn pools.
And as recently as the 1970s, many knowledgable smallmouth anglers regarded the upper Mississippi as one of the "big bass" rivers in the country, with 3 to 5 pound fish commonly caught.
Sadly, as the Mississippi's smallies were discovered by more and more anglers, the average size of the fish continued to decline throughout the '70s and '80s. By the late 1980s, many veteran smallmouth anglers concluded that the Mississippi would soon become what too many other once-fine waters had become: a river that supports plenty of smaller fish, but few larger ones.
Fortunately, another event was also taking place during this time. In 1988, small group of Minnesota smallmouth fans organized the first Smallmouth Alliance chapter. Recognizing that old attitudes and management policies of "maximum yield" were a leading cause of declining smallmouth sizes, the new group was committed to getting some Minnesota waters managed for better quality smallmouth fishing. In the late 1980s, Minnesota's six fish limit/no size restriction covered every body of water in the state and had remained unchanged for 50 years.
One of the Alliance's first projects was researching the smallmouth potential of the state's rivers. The group soon realized that the fertile Missisippi upstream of Minneapolis topped the list of where a high quality fishery could be maintained. They also found that large numbers of anglers wanted new smallmouth management. It was discovered several state fisheries officials were also interested in new regulations for the Mississippi-- provided an angling group would take the lead on the issue. The fact that there were few harvest oriented commercial interests such as resorts or lodges committed to maintaining the status quo on the river was also encouraging.
The fledgling Smallmouth Alliance felt it was time for decisive action. It formally proposed that the Department of Natural Resources enact reduced harvest regulations on the upper Mississippi. And it quickly concluded that plenty of other effort would be required to get a tradition bound state like Minnesota to move forward-(Minnesota had previously enacted very few special regulations for any species).
The Alliance elicited the support of several other fishing groups and it widely popularized the idea of better regulations to the general angling public through press releases and articles in local publications. A day-long "Smallmouth Symposium" was very successful in raising and discussing the "better regs" idea to a large number of fisheries professionals and concerned anglers. By the time public hearings were held on the issue of special regulations for the Mississippi, near unanimous support was voiced.
These efforts paid off in 1990 when Minnesota reduced the bag limit and placed a 12 to 20 inch protected slot on smallmouth over a 30 mile section of the upper Mississippi. And while not asprotective as complete "no kill" regs, Smallmouth Alliance members felt the large protected slot would never-the-less have a very postive impact on fish sizes.
Time proved them correct. After only three seasons with the new regulations in effect, smallmouth sizes impoved dramatically. DNR data showed a 200 percent increase in fish over 14 inches from 1990 to 1992. Angler surveys also found good compliance with the regulations and a 90% support level for them.
Since these early days of the new regs, things have gotten even better. Though angling pressure on the Miss' has continued to grow (the river is only 30 miles from 2 1/2 million people) smallmouth sizes remain extraordinary. Most years, fish caught over 15 inches are at least 40 percent of the catch. And the percent of lunkers over 17 inches is 20 percent. Combined with a generous sprinkling of 21 inch (five pound) giants released each season makes the "blue ribbon" reaches of the upper Mississippi truly a smallmouth conservation success story.
Perhaps most importantly, the Mississippi's new progressive regulations stimulated the state's fisheries management to start taking smallmouth populations seriously all over the state. A long range management plan for smallmouth was drawn up, eight more smallmouth lakes and rivers have gotten catch and release regulations and a statewide fall catch and release season was implemented two years ago. (In northern states, like Minnesota, fall smallmouth concentrate in huge schools and are extremely vulnerable to overharvest.) And last year the Mississippi's protective regs was increased from 30 to 47 miles of river.
This Minnesota conservation victory also energized the local Smallmouth Alliance to help other states create Alliance chapters and offered other states inspiration that they too, could win better regs for their local waters. While smallmouth conservation still has a long way to go compared to the enormous efforts on behalf of trout, successes in Minnesota and other states point to much larger possibilities for our favorite fish.
Rank and file anglers willing to unite around common goals and a good strategy really can make dramatic improvements in their smallmouth fishing. Just ask the Minnesota guys.