May 28th

[Deitz Dittrich]

The type of person that would eat a bass probably doesn't pay attention to seasons anyways

I eat about 8-10 bass a year.. am I a bad person.. If I get a bad bleeder I try to revive it in my live well.. if it dies I would rather feed myself than some turtle.. I try hard to revive it in the live well... That said.. smoked bass is incredible.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

I have to echo what others have said I think some of you underestimate the amount of people that keep bass. I like the seasons how they are, heck we cant even fish open water 3-4 months of the year, whats another few weeks?

I can entertain myself with other species 'til the end of May. I have lots of 'openers' to look forward to in spring. First open water Ill maybe go for panfish or hit Pool 2 waiting for the St. Croix opener. Two weeks after the St. Croix is open I have the MN opener. Only two weeks after that 'til my favorite opener and yet I still have one more to look forward to, muskie.

[SledNeck]

I eat about 8-10 bass a year.. am I a bad person.. If I get a bad bleeder I try to revive it in my live well.. if it dies I would rather feed myself than some turtle.. I try hard to revive it in the live well... That said.. smoked bass is incredible.

You may not be a bad person, but you certainly have bad taste!

blah

[Chad_Fish]

I am also not a fan of catching fish off beds and have no problem with having a closed season during that time. But what is the point of having a closed season from March to the end of May? Close the season or have it C&R for the month of May and keep it open the rest of the year.

[thatoneguy]

Smaller bass are darn tasty! I just would rather catch them than eat them, so it's 100% CPR.

[corncob]

Bed fishing is not acceptable to me!.....I'm for earlier season, BUT,NO BED FISHING allowed.

[Deitz Dittrich]

yeah.. right.. that would work.

[Ufatz]

No problem with someone eating a bass now and then, preferably a small male or two.

I am not a competitive bass fisherman but have been after the rascals since 1947....fishin' pretty hard sometimes!!

I find it reprehensible that any "sportsman" would fish bass on beds. C'mon guys.....life is too short; ya gotta live with yourself.

I'm all fired up for the coming season.....and since I only fish topwater plugs and fly rod poppers, organizing my tackle is simple.

Have fun. Play fair.

[SledNeck]

whats a bass bed look like exactly?? so I can avoid them

[reinhard1]

loopers and steelhead are being fished as they go upstream to spawn. some walleys are being fished still full of spawn, salmon are fished in the fall full of spawn, crappies and sunnies are fished full of spawn. and yes, bass are cought and released full of spawn. why single out just bass? the dnr sets the seasons and although we may all have some complaints, it seems to me they are doing the best they can.

if someone doesn't target bass on beds, fine, but some do and as far as i can see there is no law against it as long as bass are in season. i think bass are doing pretty good here in this state. one reason is the majority of anglers who go after them release them. personaly i wish we had the same opening as wisconsin. most fishermen and women are responsible anglers and follow the laws. lets go out there and have some fun and enjoy the outdoors. good luck.

[corncob]

Dietz, I understand your response, yet, it wouldnt't be much different than other regulations......Obviously some would ignore a "no bed fishing" restriction, while others would abide by the law.....Heck, up her by Leech Lake most bass are just starting to spawn at opener anyway.

[RumRiverRat]

whats a bass bed look like exactly?? so I can avoid them

Usually they can be found under a bass that is wrapped up in a blanket.

Do not disturb they are sleeping.

[mww24]

i was waiting for someone to say it rumriverrat.

[Presco]

I think "reprehensible" is a little strong of a word. When I think reprehensible, I think murderers and terrorists, not some guy meticulously throwing every bait in his box to fool a fish into biting. But hey, to each his own. If it makes you feel any better, the only bed fishing I do is in Canada, so I am only destroying their natural resources.

[SledNeck]

Usually they can be found under a bass that is wrapped up in a blanket.

Do not disturb they are sleeping.

maybe a bottle of gatorade and some advil liquigels next to it?

[grab the net]

That seems to be a common theme, its OK to go to SD, Iowa, Wisconsin, or even ND or even out of the country to get your fix of early bass fishing. Along with what some people consider the ethical issue of bed fishing these debates will be held each year, a necessary distraction until the the real opener on the 28th of May this year.

[SledNeck]

i must have been imagining the bass opener in MN last weekend

[Ray Esboldt]

I really am not for change on this one. I actually kind of like fishing other species anyway. I can tell you I have honed some skills (albeit, my skills are limited by the size of my brain) fishing walleyes that I apply to bass fishing.

Wisconsin, at least western WI, is prime example of what I would not like to see - a 14" minimum. I have fished those lakes over there long enough to see a steady decline in size to where 13 and 7/8ths inches is the norm. What do you think happens to a bass when it gets to 14" - death by sharp knife.

Put me down as not wanting a change.

[thatoneguy]

Yeah, the minimum size really seems like it would be extremely counterproductive. But, y'know, it's Wisconsin...

[grab the net]

Emphasis on "real"

[RumRiverRat]

i must have been imagining the bass opener in MN last weekend

Only because a politician got rules written in his favor.

[vis]

Actually back home in Maine there is a length limit on almost all fish except sunnies, eels, perch which all 3 we just use for bait anyway to catch real fish lol. Bass if I remember right was minnimum 12", the biggest reason I can think of that this didn't hamper the population is responsable fishing. We never kept any under 15" all others swam away unharmed. we did the same with browns and brookies, 10"min for brookies and browns i can't remember the limit but we never kept any under 17" and still never went home empty handed.

Point is, us sportsman make the difference more than any laws. Its all in how we treat nature.

[kaine]

One thing I never understood is minimum lengths you would think it would be better to have a slot limit just for the fact that the larger fish produce more and genetically stronger fish and the larger and older the fish the higher the mercury levels. Personally I would love to see all the larger fish put back. Chisago lake for instance has a 12" maximum size limit anything larger has to be released immediately I would like to see more of this except for the fact that I fish tourneys so that would be an issue unless there was a tourney regulation implemented since probably 99% of all tourney fish do get released. Just my 2 cents.

[matthothand]

There are groups out there lobbying for changes to the current season and regulations. Minnesotans for an early bass season is a Facebook group. There are others too and if this is something anyone has a real interest in then you should join one of these alliances and share your thoughts.

[griff321]

Quote:

I'm glad we all have stayed respectful on this. We can respectfully disagree. I base my opinion, which is just that.. opinion. On just what I see and feel. I dont think other states have as good a fishing as we do. I do not feel other states have as healthy a bass population. Yes they can have great days on the water when conditions are right. But for the most part if you read forums across the internet. THey are quite happy with 10-15 fish days. And yes they may catch a 6-7 lb fish but for the most part a 2 lb fish is a decent fish. Maybe I am reading the wrong forums?

I get the itch as bad as anyone. I'm willing to agree that catch and release is working. But the truth of the fact is, not everyone does it. I would even venture to say that we reading these forums may even be the minority. And to be honest I have no problem with people harvesting fish either. But I just cant see how plucking fish off spawning beds can not hurt a fishery at some point.

Now that I have made that argument, I think mother nature plays the largest roll.. She can mess up a spawn.masive water temp drops and heavy winds when fish are on beds ect..

I would like to see a study done. One where as many variables can be taken out as possible, maybe 2 small farm ponds near each other or something.. allow bed fishing in one, and not allow it in the other and see what happens to the population and or fishability of those fish.

Sheesh who needs a study!? You hit the nail on the head! Environment plays a larger role then anglers by a large degree. I doubt that Minnesota would ever go to a full on year round season, but we could see the closed portion become catch and release only and I'd be fine with that. This is a big shift for me because I've always felt that people target easy to catch aggressive males guarding nests. Then in the time it takes to even C&R the nest is opened up to such devastating predation it'd fail and that was enough to significantly harm the population.

The Indiana DNR released a fact finding publication in '08 on this very subject and it's an outstanding read. Bass Fishing on the Beds: An Indiana Perspective