Victory for South Dakota Muskies!

We did it!

The proposed harvest regulation for muskellunge 45 inches and larger was not adopted, and South Dakota’s muskies will remain catch-and-release.

This effort ended with nearly 700 petition signatures, 57 public comments, and 11 people who showed up either in person or on Zoom to speak on behalf of South Dakota’s musky community. Those 11 people helped put a face and a voice to the hundreds of people who supported keeping our muskies catch-and-release.

I want to give a huge thank you to Thorne Bros. for directly endorsing the petition and standing behind South Dakota’s musky fishery. A big thank you to Josh Borovsky and Muskie Insider, along with Doug Wegner, Pete Maina, Jason Mitchell, Tanner Bouchard, Chris Thury, Scott Vander Meulen, Taylor Anderson, Brad Sheridan, and the many others who not only signed the petition, but helped spread the word and get it in front of more people.

I also want to thank the Muskies Inc. chapters that showed up to the meeting and supported us, as well as everyone who took the time to attend, whether in person or on Zoom. There were a ton of people behind the scenes who helped make this happen, and every share, conversation, public comment, and signature mattered.

But this is just the beginning. South Dakota muskies are going to be on the come up. South Dakota is now the only state in the country with statewide catch-and-release-only regulations for muskies. That is something we should be proud of. We have a unique opportunity to build something really special here and continue growing South Dakota’s musky fishery.

We are actively working on starting the first-ever Muskies Inc. chapter in South Dakota.

You don't have to be an avid musky fisherman to be part of it. There will be opportunities for musky tournaments, league outings, fundraiser events, and plenty of other ways to help expand and grow musky fishing in South Dakota. Even if you've always wanted to learn how to musky fish, we'd love to have you be part of something that's just getting started.

If you're interested in being involved with the first Muskies Inc. chapter in South Dakota, reach out to me. You can email me at jakecheeseman10@hotmail.com We'd love to get as many people involved as possible.

There is a lot of potential for South Dakota muskies, and I'm excited to see where we can take this. This petition showed what can happen when people come together for the fishery. Now let's keep that momentum going.