Where do you draw the line between desirable and disposable? Between fashionable and gauche? Between hero and pariah? 

When it comes to fishing, the lines that were drawn generations ago are beginning to blur and shift. Right now, Minnesota is in the process of redefining what it means to be “rough,” and it’s about time. 

Historically, the fisheries community has used the term “rough fish” for dozens of species that sat opposite game fish in hearts and minds. Carp, suckers, buffalo, gar, and many others were lumped together under that one term, and they were usually subject to limitless exploitation. “Rough” was a blunt management tool, but nobody much cared. 

Now times have changed, and we know more about the value of all the…READ MORE

By Roy Heilman