Now that the "season" is over

[DTro]

Why is it that MN will never consider a year round C&R season on all species? It really doesn’t make sense to me. With all the various special regs and slots on different lakes, and special laws for certain species, its like we are essentially releasing most of the fish we catch during the season anyways.

Like clockwork as the ice melts now and the season winds down, we will certainly see posts about perch fishing for walleyes, crappie fishing for bass, pike fishing for muskies, and catfishing for sturgeon, mark my words, it WILL happen.

The funny thing is that all it takes is a wink and a nod and there is really nothing that can be done about it (from a legal standpoint) and the MNDNR has fully admitted that by saying “as long as people don’t admit they are targeting an out of season fish, there is nothing we can do.”

I know all the arguments about hooking mortality and the tradition of an opener, but seriously, take off the walleye colored glasses and step back and think about the big picture. Allowing C&R spread out over the entire year for all species will not only generate more $ for the industry, it will take all the vagueness and ambiguity out of the reg book and allow honest sportsmen who want to spend time on the water chasing their favorite fish, to go ahead and do that and not have to look at the calendar.

Sure we can still have seasons in which we get to take some fish home, that totally makes sense, but the number of people that ONLY go out to fill a bucket grow smaller and smaller each year. Most folks just want to get out and wet a line and have some fun.

Laws were written in a time in which people kept everything they caught and it was essential to implement bag limits. Now its time to recognize the next generation of anglers who just enjoy fishing for what it is, and don’t care about stuffing their freezer.

This is my yearly rant and hopefully someday the DNR will see the light, until then I guess it’s a wink and a nod.

[bassfshin24]

I totally agree with ya DTRO. It makes me want to move back to South Dakota just for that reason. Well maybe not because I love Minnesota! But still, they are one state away and they have an open season all year round.

[rundrave]

I will be out this weekend in pursuit of Walleye and perch with my FOUR lines this weekend here in SD

[CrewJones]

Not being an MN native, I feel the laws here are increasingly getting more dumb and open to interpretation every year. Its almost like america's tax code your going to need an app just to let you know the laws for the body of water you find yourself on.

[JohnMickish]

Darren, I agree with you, but I think the answer lies in those that don't follow the rules, or even the ethical intent.

First off, with a C&R season people will not be doing the R part. Some people just cant let fish go, closed season or not.

We also all know that someone will be fishing during the spawn. Pulling fish out (you also know that someone will be keeping this big fish) when they are most vulnerable. Not many people are willing to pay for the COs to watch this so it's probably just easier to close the season.

[TruthWalleyes]

Why is it that MN will never consider a year round C&R season on all species? It really doesn’t make sense to me. With all the various special regs and slots on different lakes, and special laws for certain species, its like we are essentially releasing most of the fish we catch during the season anyways.

Like clockwork as the ice melts now and the season winds down, we will certainly see posts about perch fishing for walleyes, crappie fishing for bass, pike fishing for muskies, and catfishing for sturgeon, mark my words, it WILL happen.

The funny thing is that all it takes is a wink and a nod and there is really nothing that can be done about it (from a legal standpoint) and the MNDNR has fully admitted that by saying “as long as people don’t admit they are targeting an out of season fish, there is nothing we can do.”

I know all the arguments about hooking mortality and the tradition of an opener, but seriously, take off the walleye colored glasses and step back and think about the big picture. Allowing C&R spread out over the entire year for all species will not only generate more $ for the industry, it will take all the vagueness and ambiguity out of the reg book and allow honest sportsmen who want to spend time on the water chasing their favorite fish, to go ahead and do that and not have to look at the calendar.

Sure we can still have seasons in which we get to take some fish home, that totally makes sense, but the number of people that ONLY go out to fill a bucket grow smaller and smaller each year. Most folks just want to get out and wet a line and have some fun.

Laws were written in a time in which people kept everything they caught and it was essential to implement bag limits. Now its time to recognize the next generation of anglers who just enjoy fishing for what it is, and don’t care about stuffing their freezer.

This is my yearly rant and hopefully someday the DNR will see the light, until then I guess it’s a wink and a nod.

Bingo Bango...

Here's my yearly +1 to your statement.

[bassfshin24]

I hate you rundrave! haha ok I don't....just extremely jealous

[Craigums]

Meh, I don't think it will ever change. Until then I'll just go 'crappie' fishing, I got a new 7'MH/F rod I want to try out

[bassfshin24]

At least we have pool 2 and 4 craigums. A few more weeks and we will be chasing the greens and browns on the river!

[Alagnak]

Great topic, great points. I couldn't agree more. Alot of times 'opener' dates are in the same sentence as resorts and campgrounds. If someone wants to talk about how this pans out to resorts, sports shops, bars, campgrounds, etc- I can't imagine it would not benefit them a great deal as well. Instead of a resort being absolutely PACKED for a couple weeks it can be spread out- and there aren't customers getting turned away because they're full, showing up an having your cabin already rented, etc. I know I'm not the only person who avoids crowds like a hole in my hull. On 'opener' (amateur) w/e I don't go anywhere but maybe 10-15 miles from my house. I don't want to step in a bait shop or anything that has anything to do with fishing. And for the month before opener some places don't make a penny.

[Alagnak]

At least we have pool 2 and 4 craigums. A few more weeks and we will be chasing the greens and browns on the river!

Yes but because those are a couple of the only options as we get closer to the 'opener'- it's freakin PACKED. :-(

Funny we're talking about this- as I'm packing my gear to go to IOWA to trout fish for 3 days- where the season never closes! LOL

[DrJuice1980]

Probably because it will give an added excuse to poachers to go out. Seriously, how many times has your livewell been checked? (not including Mille Lacs). Me none, that doesnt mean Im going to do it. Its a whole lot easier to do it though when you can openly fish with a pike/walleye/bass/muskie set-up. Also for Bass, they are SUPER easy to catch when guarding thier beds, then you stress them out but catching them, in the mean time a group of gills can come in and swoop up the eggs/fry. I think it would be a bad idea, very bad. Targeting species in the middle of spawn should not be done, and maybe you have the moral ethics not to do it but there are plenty out there that dont give a dump. This would just be a bad idea. If you wanted to open the ice season longer like until the end of March that would be understandable but these fish need the time to spawn and not be disturbed.

[raymondk]

what is wrong with chasing other fish that don't close. i like the way it is nothing better then waiting for the opener to come; we don't need any changes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

[bassfshin24]

I don't really agree with that. Bass opens in the north two weeks before the rest of the state and that has some of the best bass fishing in the state. I guarentee a lot of those lakes up north are in spawn mode or havent even hit spawn mode when it opens.

[creepworm]

Why is it that MN will never consider a year round C&R season on all species? It really doesn’t make sense to me. With all the various special regs and slots on different lakes, and special laws for certain species, its like we are essentially releasing most of the fish we catch during the season anyways.

Like clockwork as the ice melts now and the season winds down, we will certainly see posts about perch fishing for walleyes, crappie fishing for bass, pike fishing for muskies, and catfishing for sturgeon, mark my words, it WILL happen.

The funny thing is that all it takes is a wink and a nod and there is really nothing that can be done about it (from a legal standpoint) and the MNDNR has fully admitted that by saying “as long as people don’t admit they are targeting an out of season fish, there is nothing we can do.”

I know all the arguments about hooking mortality and the tradition of an opener, but seriously, take off the walleye colored glasses and step back and think about the big picture. Allowing C&R spread out over the entire year for all species will not only generate more $ for the industry, it will take all the vagueness and ambiguity out of the reg book and allow honest sportsmen who want to spend time on the water chasing their favorite fish, to go ahead and do that and not have to look at the calendar.

Sure we can still have seasons in which we get to take some fish home, that totally makes sense, but the number of people that ONLY go out to fill a bucket grow smaller and smaller each year. Most folks just want to get out and wet a line and have some fun.

Laws were written in a time in which people kept everything they caught and it was essential to implement bag limits. Now its time to recognize the next generation of anglers who just enjoy fishing for what it is, and don’t care about stuffing their freezer.

This is my yearly rant and hopefully someday the DNR will see the light, until then I guess it’s a wink and a nod.

So you should be able to fish for every species all year long, except Flatheads?

[DTro]

Nope, what I said applies to EVERY specie (nice try though ) I’m not opposed to fishing for flatheads in the winter. The thing is that I’m not into snagging so I wait until they will eat a bait. However, I’m certainly in favor of a non harvest season in the winter for Flatheads.

We all fish for a lot of fish during the spawn cycle, including cats. The road warriors can’t wait for Crappie spawn to fill their buckets, and some of the best tournament Bass tactics involve beds and sight fishing. Yes that does happen in MN.

You want to talk about taking full advantage of a spawn cycle, let’s talk about Rainy River Walleyes and Sturgeon.

[bassfshin24]

+1...Well said DTro!

[frazwood]

This is a good issue worthy of discussion.

I think, from a practical perspective, are we worried about maintaining the fishery or worried about making sure that everyone follows the laws?

I think the current set of laws allows the fishery to be protected to a reasonable extent while balancing the "freedom" to fish year-round.

Personally, I think that it would be great if we had more water bodies that were catch-and-release year-round, but it doesn't have to be all water bodies. Conversely, we could close some water bodies for ALL fishing for part of the year -- this is already done with the designated trout lakes in Crow Wing County.

[gwiff100]

+1

and since this is sure going to turn political soon i would like to piggyback something onto dtro's proposition. Reducing the daily limit while increasing possession limit. and state wide slot.

(this should really get people going)

[Mid-Lake Rock]

Great topic, great points. I couldn't agree more. Alot of times 'opener' dates are in the same sentence as resorts and campgrounds. If someone wants to talk about how this pans out to resorts, sports shops, bars, campgrounds, etc- I can't imagine it would not benefit them a great deal as well. Instead of a resort being absolutely PACKED for a couple weeks it can be spread out- and there aren't customers getting turned away because they're full, showing up an having your cabin already rented, etc. I know I'm not the only person who avoids crowds like a hole in my hull. On 'opener' (amateur) w/e I don't go anywhere but maybe 10-15 miles from my house. I don't want to step in a bait shop or anything that has anything to do with fishing. And for the month before opener some places don't make a penny.

This is the reason you won't find a C&R season. Opener is huge business and I think a lot of Minnesotans enjoy the festivities that surround opener. The posters on this site are not representative of the majority of Minnesotans that fish "casually." This site is more for the diehards. My guess is a majority of the "casual" folks don't mind having to hang it up for two months and get to sit around and talk up the opener.

Personally, I don't really care that much that they close the season. Late ice panfish is one of my favorite times of the year. Then it is open water crappies, morel mushrooms, spring turkey, etc.

[DrJuice1980]

Targeting spawning bass is like shooting fish in a barrel. Any technique will work, you could do it with a shiny plain hook. Where is the sport in that? I am sorry but I can not get behind something that would damage a fishery like you are describing. And how can you possibly compair Rainy River to a 200 acre lake? They are COMPLETELY different. The Rainy system is huge, there are many locations that arent hit for spawning walleyes, the reproduction will always be there and its a location that doesnt see an immense amount of pressure, whereas the 200 acre lake that can spit out nice largemouths doesnt offer that many locations these fish have for spawning. Anybody with a rod and reel (scratch that a cane pole will do) can disrupt the spawn. Are you saying there is no effect on taking spawning LM off their beds? Totally disagree, just because it happens once in a while doesnt mean we should make it the norm. I am glad you want to protect your precious flatheads though....

[Craigums]

Targeting spawning bass is like shooting fish in a barrel. Any technique will work, you could do it with a shiny plain hook. Anybody with a rod and reel (scratch that a cane pole will do) can disrupt the spawn. Are you saying there is no effect on taking spawning LM off their beds? Totally disagree

I can tell you've never tried bass fishing during the spawn. Thank god I live 1/2 mile from P2

[DrJuice1980]

No I have not targeted them but many times while trying for panfish on weed edges the cast will go a little to far and the Bass will dart right over to it. Its a protective reflex. Youre telling me this has never happend with you? Whats "P2"?

[bobbymalone]

P2 is Pool 2 of the Mississippi River.

It's the stretch from the Ford Dam in the cities down to the lock and dam in Hastings.

Pool 2 is catch and release only for walleye and bass, but there is no closed season.

[Craigums]

No I have not targeted them but many times while trying for panfish on weed edges the cast will go a little to far and the Bass will dart right over to it. Its a protective reflex. Youre telling me this has never happend with you? Whats "P2"?

Pool 2 of the Mississippi. Year round catch and release bass season. I bass fish alot, during the spawn too. You can find the occasional bass that will smack a bait but that is not the norm. We can go to a slough on P2 that would fish similar to a lake and I would bet you $500 that you could not catch a spawning bass with a cane pole and bare hook (no snagging, thats just unethical).