Never Too Old To Go Fishing/MN Fishing Facts

Dennis Anderson at the Minneapolis StarTribune has an interesting piece today on Minnesota’s oldest fisherman.   Floyd Doty from Glenwood, Minnesota who will hit the waters on Saturday at the ripe old age of…are you ready for this…105 years young.   Read the entire article by clicking on any of the excerpts that are hyperlinked below.

“The year Dad turned 100, the electronic licensing system couldn’t handle an age that had three digits,” Alan[his son] said. “The guy at the bait shop called the DNR in St. Paul and asked what he should do. He was told the license for such an aged fisherman must be free. So we got the license and didn’t pay a thing.


“A couple weeks later, the DNR sent Dad a bill in the mail….”


 …Floyd shuffled to the establishment’s lone counter and laid out his driver’s license with its remarkable statistics.


Born: March 25, 1901


License expiration: March 25, 2009.


Later, at his apartment, reminiscing about the attributes of presidents Wilson, Coolidge and Taft, Floyd settled in for the evening only a short distance from the shores of Lake Minnewaska, a lake he has fished many times.


And will again.


But for now, on this evening, there was TV to watch, and soon Floyd would be flicking the remote, looking for his favorite program.


Would it star famed angler Al Lindner? Or perhaps the equally famous Babe Winkelman?


Not quite.


Said Floyd, “Lawrence Welk.”


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On Tuesday, Doug Smith also with the StarTribune had an interesting article that detailed a chronological listing of historical facts pertaining to fishing in Minnesota.   Check them out as it’s quite interesting to see the evolution of the sport fishing industry in Minnesota:



1874 Minnesota’s Fish Commission was launched, and it soon introduced salmon and carp to Minnesota waters.


1891 First fish limit established: Anglers could take only what they could use immediately for food.


1911 First fishing license required — for nonresidents. Nearly 5,000 are sold. (Residents still didn’t need licenses.)


1914 Walleye limit set at 25 daily, with a 6-inch minimum size.


1920 The first opener appears in DNR records. The season began May 1. The walleye daily bag limit was 15, with no possession limit, but a 14-inch minimum size.


1922 “The taking of more than 25 fish in one day or abandonment or waste of the edible part of fish or game is punishable as wanton waste.” Daily lake trout limit was 25.


1927 First resident fishing license is required. Cost: 50 cents. Number of licensed anglers: 386,000.


1930 Walleye limit is eight daily, 16 possession. Northern limit is 10 daily, 20 possession. Opener is May 15.


1937 “Each nonresident may ship to himself … 24 pounds of game fish in the aggregate or one fish weighing over that amount.”


1941 Resident license is $1 for person 18 and older; $1.50 for husband/wife. Number of licensed anglers: 677,000. Walleye possession limit reduced to 12.


1947 Resident license increases to $1.50. Walleye limit: 8 daily, possession limit made the same as daily limit.


1949 Synopsis listed yearly spending by Bureau of Fisheries at $1.9 million, about half for rough fish removal.


1954 For first time, number of licensed resident anglers tops 1 million, excluding unlicensed children. Thirty-two percent of state population held a fishing license.


1956 Walleye possession limit is six (which it remains today from most Minnesota waters).


1961 Resident license fee is $2.25.


1964 Regulation booklet grows to 12 pages.


1970 Resident license is $4. Resident licensed anglers fell below 1 million (981,000) for last time.


1976 Number of nonresident anglers peaks at 432,000.


1977 Resident license is $5. Regulations booklet is 20 pages.


1982 Resident license is $6.50; 1.2 million resident anglers; 28.5 percent of population.


1984 Resident license increases to $9.


1988 Resident license increases to $12.


1991 Resident license increases to $13.


1995 1.2 million residents fish state waters; 26.2 percent of state population.


1997 Current regulation booklet format begins, with 66 pages, including ads.


1998 Resident license increases to $15.


2001 Resident license increases to $17.


2003 Crappie limit reduced to 10, sunfish limit to 20 and lake trout to two.


 2006 Jim Braaten. All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction without Prior Permission.