Most invasive species of all? The careless.

This little nugget about two northern Minnesota minnow-farmers breaking the golden rules of invasive-species management got me thinking.

In this case (which was widely reported in the media) a pair of licensed minnow-farmers used equipment from Lake of the Woods - which had possibly been infected by the lake's invasive species, such as the spiny waterflea - to harvest minnows in Upper Red Lake. As punishment, their commercial minnow licenses were revoked for three years.

I say: Take their fishing licenses, too.

I've become entirely fed up with anglers who don't take preservation seriously. Those who don't care enough about the water to preserve it, don't deserve to fish it either.

I'm ashamed when I travel to my favorite shore-fishing haunts only to find the shoreline strewn with empty cans of Natural Ice (funny that it's never something like Sam Adams or Stella Artois), various bait containers and cigarette butts.

I'm a smoker myself. And I use beer and bait regularly, often at the same time but only rarely for the same purpose. However, I have never - now allow me a moment to mount my high horse - NEVER thrown those things on the ground.

Those who do act so carelessly deserve to be treated the same as those who transport invasive species, an issue that has long troubled Minnesota anglers and DNR officials: Take their licenses, confiscate their equipment and tell them not to bother fishing for awhile.

As outdoors folk, we make habit of proclaiming loudly our value of preservation. I say: Prove it.

- For those interested, you can view a list of Minnesota waters that are infested with invasive species here.

For what it's worth ...

The family and I got out for a bit on Friday night. Went to the public boat landing on West Jefferson and I missed a few on a yellow jig and wax worm while I was chasing the boy around. The fellas down the way were catching a few, though.

As a sidenote, we stopped first at Buckmaster Bridge on Madison Lake and there must have been 100 people fishing from shore. Looked like some had been camped out for some time. 

Although it can get a bit crowded, I love fishing at Buckmaster. It's as good as there is when it comes to shore-fishing. Plenty of flat shore space, additional cement walk-outs and, of course, the good fishing structure.

Guess that's why it's no secret.

As far as public fishing docks go, the only other that I fish often is the one on West Jefferson (which features an under-road tunnel connecting the dock to the parking area for the safety-conscious). That, too, is an excellent place to catch fish all year-round and has enough room for plenty of anglers to spread out beyond the dock. I grew up fishing on West Jeff and the rock wall along that shoreline has always been a nice spot for spring crappie, too.

I'm no expert, but I'm guessing water temps this weekend were in the 45-50 degree range - probably a few degrees below spawning temperature for panfish. Fishing should be picking up on most area lakes.

Feel free to chime in with a good place to get 'em.

 — For what it's worth, motorists can pick up this semi-taunting and location-free fishing report on a roadside marquee outside a gas station in Madison Lake: 

"The crappies are biting" ...