What's up with folks targeting closed spieces

[FearNoFish]

I have been reading here and talking with folks out fishing and they state to me while talking that they are fishing for fish out of season. On the St. Croix I have talked with folks that are looking to fight a sturgoen. or bass this weekend. I know this is like preaching to the choir but folks read the reg book. YOU CAN NOT TARGET FISH OUT OF SEASON EVEN IF YOU ARE JUST CATCH AND RELEASE. I even talked with a guy that was targeting Muskie on the Croix on Sunday. He thought it was the fishing opener and you could fish for anything.

On a good note the Federal park rangers and the state DNR was on the St. Croix on Sunday. I was happy that they both check my boat, and were talking with folks that were making to large of wakes. Fishing out of Franconia down to Ocseola.

[johns73]

I was checked at the osceola landing. This was the first time ever. Not much luck, but did catach a sturgeon by accident. I did see a couple of boats at full plane.

[maj330]

I fished along the Cannon on Saturday and observed many people keeping the smallmouth bass that were biting like crazy. After seeing a few go into buckets, my fishing partner and I mentioned to them that bass season hadn't opened yet. No one cared, many gave blank stares, and some appeared like they wanted to start a brawl. About 10 minutes later I enjoyed watching the COs round people up and issue about a dozen fines. It's a bummer that so many people feel that the rules do not apply to them. At least some of them found out that they aren't above the law.

[photocycle]

Happens year after year. Just have the DNR number set on speed dial. Done deal.

[OnAFly]

Yep, call it in when you see it. It's about all you can do.

[MuskieJunkie]

...... About 10 minutes later I enjoyed watching the COs round people up and issue about a dozen fines.

Good to hear, must have been a great feeling seeing that.

[RumRiverRat]

There is a post in the Bass picture thread from a person that caught 2 big Largemouth while throwing "Big Muskie Blades" for pike.

[TruthWalleyes]

Lol, I put a pic in the South central forum of the bass that i caught on opener...not like i'm targeting them, but you can't fish with a crankbait this time of the year and not catch them!

[Aaron Carrell]

There is a post in the Bass picture thread from a person that caught 2 big Largemouth while throwing "Big Muskie Blades" for pike.

And your point is? I use what most people would call muskie lures probably 75% of the time I'm fishing for pike (including this past Saturday). It doesn't mean a thing unless you know they were fishing on a lake that contained Muskies, and you don't know that based on his post... Why pick apart every last picture on this site? I took a picture of a bass a friend of mine caught this weekend because it was big in relation to what he's caught in the 2 years he's been fishing. Does that make it wrong? Negatory sir!

Oh, and a quick addition. We were using original Xraps to catch the large majority of our fish, and that put 32 pike and 8 bass in the boat. So we definitely were doing our best to keep away from the bass if we found them in an area.

[bassnub]

Can someone tell me where I can pick up a pike ONLY lure that will deter bass & muskies but catch tons of pikes.. Thanks

[whitebassman]

Can someone tell me where I can pick up a pike ONLY lure that will deter bass & muskies but catch tons of pikes.. Thanks

rapala rattle trap in firetiger...a definite pike magnet if i've ever had one!

[bassnub]

rapala rattle trap in firetiger...a definite pike magnet if i've ever had one!

If I do happen to catch a bass on it I'll be pretty upset

[FearNoFish]

I am not going by what folks use for bait/lure I am going by what folks are targeting as we talk at the launch or even when you troll by I make small talk to ask how there day is going and they state what they are there to target and what they have caught.

[CJH]

I am not going by what folks use for bait/lure I am going by what folks are targeting as we talk at the launch or even when you troll by I make small talk to ask how there day is going and they state what they are there to target and what they have caught.

If they are dumb enough to deliberately target fish out of season and talk about it, then they deserve to get caught and pay a fine.

[reinhard1]

if a CO saw someone catch more bass than walleye for example he or she will tell you to switch baits or move when bass are out of season. if they see someone catch and keep a bass they will get a citation. CO's understand what's going on and are reasonable about the situation. if someone is truly interested in intentional targeting a game fish out of season, call your local CO and find out how they look at it as i have to answere past questions. it pays to know the laws and understand them. i agree with your post. good luck.

[chris63]

Just use a magic marker and write on your lures "pike only please"that will work!c63

[CANOPY SAM]

For you folks snapping a quick pic of the fish you catch "out-of-season". I believe the regs clearly state that any species caught out-of-season must be immediately returned to the water. I don't think there's any addendum in there stating you're allowed a couple quick pics for the photo album.

It's fairly easy to "mask" your intentions while targeting a specific species of fish, and there will obviously always be folks who just don't follow the rules (as evidenced by the smallmouth bass incident above), but is it really worth the effort?

It's one thing to pick up a bass or two, or perhaps a muskie, while trolling for walleyes. It's another thing entirely to use species specific tackle and techniques in areas known to hold non-target, closed season fish.

In our stretch of river many people cast jigs and minnows from shore prior to the "opener" targeting "crappies", all the while we're quite aware of what's happened to the crappie population in Upper Red Lake.

It's pretty simple, if you catch one before the season is open, unhook it quickly and put it back. Don't brag it up, and if you do, be ready to accept some criticism.

[TruthWalleyes]

For you folks snapping a quick pic of the fish you catch "out-of-season". I believe the regs clearly state that any species caught out-of-season must be immediately returned to the water. I don't think there's any addendum in there stating you're allowed a couple quick pics for the photo album.

It's fairly easy to "mask" your intentions while targeting a specific species of fish, and there will obviously always be folks who just don't follow the rules (as evidenced by the smallmouth bass incident above), but is it really worth the effort?

It's one thing to pick up a bass or two, or perhaps a muskie, while trolling for walleyes. It's another thing entirely to use species specific tackle and techniques in areas known to hold non-target, closed season fish.

In our stretch of river many people cast jigs and minnows from shore prior to the "opener" targeting "crappies", all the while we're quite aware of what's happened to the crappie population in Upper Red Lake.

It's pretty simple, if you catch one before the season is open, unhook it quickly and put it back. Don't brag it up, and if you do, be ready to accept some criticism.

So you've never, not once, taken a picture of an out of season fish that you caught

[pushbutton]

This is my understanding of the law as this is the definition of immediately released in the regs. I do fish for early season panfish and inevitably will catch out of season bass, northern, and walleye. Before anyone gets excited i rarely use a plastic over an inch this early in the season. When you are able to land a 5lb plus fish on ultralights and 2lb test it truly is a great fishing experience and see no reason why it can/should not be photographed, especially if my son catches it and the fish is afforded due care.

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Immediately released or returned to the water– Fish must not be retained longer than is needed at the site of capture to unhook, identify, measure, and photograph. Placing the fish in any type of container or on a stringer is not immediately released. Any fish not immediately released is considered to be “reduced to possession.

[Aaron Carrell]

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Immediately released or returned to the water– Fish must not be retained longer than is needed at the site of capture to unhook, identify, measure, and photograph. Placing the fish in any type of container or on a stringer is not immediately released. Any fish not immediately released is considered to be “reduced to possession.

Perfect definition. Thanks for pulling that from the reg. book. I didn't have the ambition to go dig it out yesterday. There's definitely an understanding in this state that a lot of fishermen are out there just to catch a trophy, and I think that is recognized in the regulations pretty clearly. An accidental catch obviously can't be kept for a state record when out of season the way I understand it, but those 30 extra seconds to snag a picture or 2 can make it all worth while especially for the unseasoned fishermen/kids/etc!

[Moe Szyslak]

In our stretch of river many people cast jigs and minnows from shore prior to the "opener" targeting "crappies", all the while we're quite aware of what's happened to the crappie population in Upper Red Lake.

That right there is the problem. Not everyone knows the ins and outs of every body of water. And DNR lakefinder, being a readily available research tool is not accurate and often out of date. Often times I use the DNR information on a lake I have not been to in order to try and target a certain species. Several times it will list a high abundance of a type of species, then when I go to the lake to target that species I only catch a different species.

That being said, I was not "quite aware" of the situation on Red Lake in regards to crappies. That being said I would be well within my right to fish it for crappies prior to opener. The only way I would be in the wrong is if the DNR posts at the landing a sign stating "fishing for crappies is not allowed".

[TooTallTom]

In our stretch of river many people cast jigs and minnows from shore prior to the "opener" targeting "crappies", all the while we're quite aware of what's happened to the crappie population in Upper Red Lake.

I agree that a closed season is generally probably good for fish populations in MN, and I really dislike the way that some people target out of season fish. But I want to mention that the crappie population decline in Upper Red is pretty strongly tied to the rebound of the walleye population. The exceptional crappie fishery of the early 2000s was a result of the walleye population's decline in the 1990s. (I'm not 100% sure of my timeline here, but I am sure of the sequence of events.) For a while, there was a phenomenal crappie fishery, which helped to keep the remaining local businesses going. When the mature walleye population started to increase again, largely as a result of stocking operations, the crappie population returned to more "normal" levels.

[DTro]

I've said it every single year this topic comes up and I'll say it again.

Closed seasons are the problem. Have a harvest season and allow C&R the rest of the year. Problem goes away.

If people want to catch and release smallmouth bass all day, do we need to criminalize them? Face it, when we see people fishing C&R out of season, we are really not upset they are hurting the fishery (which they most likely aren't) we are more upset that we can't be doing it ourselves too.

[OnAFly]

Here is the bottom line. If you would continue to do what you're doing with a CO looking over your shoulder, then what ever you are doing is probably OK.

[TooTallTom]

dtro, I disagree with the gist of your post, which seems to be "If the law is inconvenient, it's bad and we should change it."

I think that a closed season to (ideally) prevent added stress on gamefish during an already stressful time is a good thing. I like having a dependable fishery, and I'm willing to forgo fishing when the population is breeding and trying to recover from a lean time (winter) in order to safeguard it.

Is closing the season totally necessary? I really don't know, I'm not a fisheries biologist. Am I willing to cool it for a couple of months and concentrate on other things? Yep. I can deal with not being able to do exactly what I want, when I want.