What is a Creel?
By Coltin Gresser
Let me set the scene for y’all. You and your buddies just got back
from a stellar day on the water. It was a type of day where if it had gills and
was a game fish, you guys caught it. As you get closer to the boat ramp
you see “insert your state” DNR. You know you’re fine you have all your
licensing, but are your buddies?
A huge weight was lifted from your shoulders as you got close
enough to hear. “Hey guys! How was your day on the water, do you have
time to answer a few questions for my creel survey?” No, this is not the
state trying to figure out your secret spots. You may be a wizard at catching
donkeys on that lake or river, but I promise to the state you are just another
angler. To answer that question, you may have asked yourself. What the
hell is a creel survey? Here is a little background and information for you to
tell the family at the dinner table, what a creel survey is and how it came to
be!
Creel surveys were originated from some state’s fish biologist going
around asking anglers. What their target fish is, what have they caught,
how long they had been fishing, and what lures or flies they were using.
They are also known as angler surveys. These surveys are used to
determine recreational fisheries data not commercial.
Minnesota is a state that has been using this way of obtaining data
since the 1930’s. As for the Texas coast, it has been used since the 1970’s. It
became standard practice in the 1980s. The data that they collect from this
can help determine gear regulations and bag limits. This also shows
another way of helping determine a certain species’ population, which is
almost impossible to do sometimes in the fishery world.
You are probably saying, okay now I know what and how the surveys
work. I still have no idea what a CREEL is. A creel was at one time a
fisherman’s best friend. A creel is a wicker woven basket that
encompasses peat or moss. The moss or peat that is lined in the basket
helps keep the angler’s catch nice and cool. This is so it doesn’t spoil as
fast as it would just out in the open in the sun’s rays.
These baskets were usually used by fly fishermen. It was a nice light
basket that they could carry to their backcountry trout streams. The type of
material they would use to create the main haul of the basket was willow,
wood split, and reeds. The modern-day live wells in boats and the yeti,
Coleman and igloo coolers have taken the place of these traditional “live wells”.
In today’s world many people and even anglers do not know what a
creel is. If you do find a creel basket, it usually is used as a decoration
piece or sold as vintage gear, that collects dust in an outdoorsman’s house. I
challenge you to put away the plastic coolers and go old school and collect
your next fish harvest in a creel basket!
Word around the rock point is that if the fish see you hauling around
one of them cool old ass baskets. They will be fighting each other to get on
your line! Remember to catch the fish, you must think like the fish.
So, Stay Degenerate!
