June 2021
Spawning Sign
Minn Department of Conservation
Minnesota
1950s?
The item I feature each month is not just fishing lures, but anything fishing related. This month I am featuring a very early example of a spawning sign.
For many years, select lakes in Minnesota had spawning areas designated that were posted by long wooden stakes that were pounded into the lake bed (in the shallows) that featured a yellowish or orange sign marking an area that could not be fished in the Spring. This was common on lakes in Central Minnesota where I grew up.
As a kid and having parents that owned the lakeshore attached to our local spawning area, we liked to catch many fisherman that liked to creep in this area with their boat and fish. I guess it made us feel pretty “big” to be a pre-teen and kick “grown-ups” out of the area as they were fishing illegally.
However, since the early 1980s, most if not all of the areas that used to be “spawning areas” are now not posted. Why, I am not sure the reason. I just think they opened these areas for fishing to satisfy the public or maybe they found this was not helping the lakes like they thought it would.
As these signs are tied to a childhood memory for me, I am always on the looks for wooden Minnesota Spawning Area signs. If you have one that you are willing to sell, please mail me at retiredlures@hotmail.com
