Ethics question - Opener?

[Guest]

Just speaking what I see out there. I rarely fish before the season in Mn waters...but when I do....guys are out fishing bass.

If I want to fish northerns with a tube....well thats my buisiness.

As far as sponsers go. I don't have any...nor am I sure I want any cause all they do is turn honest guys into liars for the most part. Plus guys are sooooo worried about their image and what they say that it makes me sick.

Is it worth a couple hundred bucks in free product to become a liar?

[Deitz Dittrich]

Mr. Lee,

As a sponsored angler, I take a little of what you say to hart. However, I understand that you are not speaking to me personally. The majority of sponsoored anglers are very honest people, they have to be. A dishonest angler gets a reputation, and a bad reputation is hard to get rid of. However, as with any buisness, there are a few that make the rest look bad.

Deitz Dittrich
Mepps/MisterTwister/Shimano Prostaff

[Double]

I'm sure you couldn't care less, but I have lost all respect for you, Mr. Lee. I can only hope anyone who spots you "fishing for northerns" with a tube before the opener treats you like any other poacher and calls the DNR.

Double

[Bait Waster]

Yall just wished you lived up here on the iron range east of 53 north of duluth where weve been catchin bass since walleye opener. trade in that bran new truck move up to the woods get a shack and an ol 70's ford an start livin the good life.

[panolo]

I can't lie, I catch some bass before the season opens. Do I specifically hunt them? No. Most of mine are caught on a spinner bait fishing slimers or a small tube bait working sunnies and crappies. Do I like it when I see people throwing worms or tubes for "Northerns" before bass opener? Absolutely not. It ticks me off. It is a violation and is no different than being over your limit. Why should the law be any different for anybody else?

[This message has been edited by panolo (edited 05-20-2004).]

[smallies24]

First of all, as many others have said....it's the law. And two, it's poor ethics. You can catch northerns, and catch a higher percentage of eaters while avoiding bass spawning habitat. Many (of course not all) of the decent size northerns are off the shallower areas where you'll find spawning bass. I think it's important to keep this in mind even after the season opens.

The spirit of the law is to preserve and improve our fisheries. What I find frustrating are when I see the guy, bass boat or not, tossing tubes, spinner baits and jigs under docks and into shallow spawning areas. If you want to throw some mid depth cranks or slow roll a spinner bait deeper, you'll here no complaints from me. But when you start targeting spawning habitat your hurting the fishery whether it's in season or not, particularily on small bodies of water.

During the spawning period fish can easily be over stressed. All I ask is you please try to do your part.

[BarTender]

I suppose I'll get the third degree for throwing small rapalas at crappies and sunfish before the bass season opens.(oh, by the way, I catch more crappies this way than bass or sunfish)

More bass are cought with bobers and crappie minnows/leeches than any tube jig throwing Mr. Lee.

It may be unethical to most people to throw tubes or other lures for northerns, but when you stop and think about it, all those crappie fishing people will no doubt catch and disturbe more bass than a bass fisherman targeting them preseason.

I think the bass season is a joke, it should be open earlier, IMO

Now this thread asked for honest opinions, and when you got one that you didn't like, you jumped all over him, lweaving me to wonder who actually answerd this honestly...

[Trailblazin]

My oh my! Have a cold beverage and relax already! I for one do not like the opening day laws - protecting the fishery or not. The fishery will be hamed with all the bozo's taking out big fish during the year rather than releasing them.

I for one do not target species out of season. I do not like, but it is the law and I obide by it.

Have I been throwing spinnerbats like crazy the last 2 weeks - you bet - for PIKE!
I fish a small lake that I know where the pike live and where the bass live. In the last 2 weeks, I must have boated 70 Pike and 2 bass. The largest bass being about 2 lbs.

I hit tonka and yes, I caught some nice bass in the last week. I was workingdepths of 5-10 feet throwing Rat-l-Trap and going fo Pike. Again, more Pike, some Bass.....

The law is the law....if you don't like it I am throwing spinnerbaits before bass opener, that is your opinion. In my opinion, I am honestly going after Pike and not targeting the bass.

Maybe Bass and Pike opener should be the same weekend!

[psegriz]

I like the last two replies I've seen. If anyone has read the post on opener you would know why. It is just the most effective way I know of at catching big pike. That is my intended target.

GRIZ

[Doop]

Now we're thinkin here! Why not make bass opener the same as walleye and northern? Will it really effect the spawn that much? I have no idea....what I do get very upset about is when someone blatantly admits they are targeting bass out of season. That person should not be allowed to fish. It's way beyond ethics in my opinion.

[musky hunter]

In the early spring I'm a dedicated walleye fisherman, and since I fish the St. Louis River it is not unusual to pick up small mouth with the walleyes, especially in moving water. It's a fact of life since they feed on the same forage base. The first fish I caught this year was a 20" smallmouth and being out of season did not in the leas dimishish the enjoyment of the fight. But I was legitimatly looking for and trying to catch walleyes. But I probably caught 6 walleyes to each bass. As long as the ratio is reasonable, I'd say the you're legit. Otherwise, the best ethic would be to move to a different spot.

[rascalP]

Correct. A rule is a rule, like it not. But.... Wisconsin bass opens with walleye and pike the first Sat. of May. I fish WI alot all year long and the early opener does'nt seem to have hurt the fishery. I don't keep track of where the catch-n-keep and catch-n-release line is for those first 2 weeks cause I don't keep any, anytime. IMO, the solution is open bass with walleye/pike for catch-n-release only. Even just try it on some study lakes. Easy to enforce too. Don't like the rules? Then try to change them. But till then......

[BigMike]

I'm just glad opener is finally here and we don't have to worry about this until next spring

Good luck to everyone hunting the almighty green carp