Read an editorial from a Wisconsin newspaper this morning as well.

In it, an author (couldn’t find a name on the page… could have been anonymously submitted, wondered:

Opening day of fishing season just isn’t what it used to be.
First off, there is no real opening day anymore. Sure, Saturday had that title. But the Wisconsin River is open all year long, so anglers have been pulling walleyes from its depths since ice retreated a few weeks ago.
Myriad other regulations — catch-and-release only openers for trout, no season or regulations at all for some species and other rules — can leave even veteran fishermen baffled.
Other factors also detracted from Saturday’s opener. The weather was just plain lousy, with snow flying around hot spots near Minocqua — and some far-north lakes still covered with ice on this late-arriving spring.

I can see their point. Many of us are catch and release anglers anyhow, so New York State extending “open catch and release” season for black bass on all waters, as well as giving us hundreds of miles of no-kill trout water (Thousands?) has made Opening Day a thing of the past in the most romantic of regards.

However… I’m not sure I miss it.

What’s fun about standing elbow to elbow with someone just because today’s the day we can catch trout? With less and less public fishing available in some areas, that phenomenon has extended beyond opening day as well. Drop by Burt Dam when the salmon are running sometime.

So I guess what I have to ask myself is this. Is opening day more romantic than quality year round fishing?

My answer is no. I’ll take May small mouths on the fly rod, please.

This Black Creek smallie fell for a Muddler Minnow, almost a month and a half before the traditional Opening Day of bass season.