WHAT ARE Sportsmen to do ?

[Guest]

Fellow Fisherman

As i sit on my dock and watch the ice go out on Chisago i wait for the first boats to wind out from the channel to the bay that i live on. Some years its a week until the boats get to my bay (Because the main lake is still frozen.) This year the ice went out on Friday and the boats came in on Saturday about noon. Then i hear the rumble of the first bass Boat as it makes it way down the lake for its first run of the season.

Mostly pan fisherman and walleye boats to start Most end up in front of my house . Throwing bobbers and line tipped with wax worms and minnows . They apparently are creatures of habit . (or not Ice fisherman. who were on the lake a week before) I live on a shallow bay in the northwest side of the bay, average depth 4 to 10 Ft. Water temps in the high thirties. boat after boat file in and don't catch any fish. maybe if they would try deeper there time on the water would be better spent . If you just let the water temps warm a little or at least check out the deep water adjacent to the shallow bay.

Well what i really want this Post to talk about is usually what happens about late afternoon . Here comes a boat along the shore with one person throwing a spinner and the other throwing a crank bait or jig. From the size of the baits they are using l know that they are not fishing for pan fish . As the season gets closer to opener More and More boats and more and more fisher People Are fishing for Bass. (I’M TALKING ABOUT THE WALLEYE OPENER NOT THE BASS OPENER!!!!).how do they call themselves sports men in one breath and a outlaw in there actions . what is the boards view on Targeting fish that or out of season?

THANKS

Chisago Docksitter

[Ralph Wiggum]

I'd call the DNR's TIP line. It's not fair that the majority of us follow regulations and a few feel that they don't have to. I'd let the DNR sort it out and save myself the hassle of getting involved directly.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I agree RW... we as sportsmen can not condone illegal fishing. Its not fair to those of us who value our resorce. Weather or not we agree with the law, we must follow it.

Call the TIP line, Here it is for you

1-800-652-9093

[Mark Christianson]

Happens every year on too many lakes.

Too bad there isnt some way to curb it more, but with so few CO's in the state, they can cover a tiny piece of their area to confront these people.

Doesnt mean a guy cant use TIP, but its awfully frustrating.

A couple years ago on the eve of bass opener, there were 5 or 6 boats in a bay on the lake where my parents have a cabin. We were panfishing, and all the other boats were bass fishing. I kid you not. Worms, spinnerbaits and surface frogs. As a couple boats passed I reminded them the season was not open. All I got was a dirty look and some grumbling as they kept going by.

[Duffman]

I guarantee ya, there are plenty of guys that visit this forum that do the same thing. What's the big deal on waiting a few more weeks? Plenty of other stuff to sink a hook into, trout this weekend, maybe some carp next week.

Funny thing is, by the time labor day rolls around these pre-season guys will be burned out and you won't even see them on the lakes in Sept and Oct when the big hawgs want to play. Fine by me. I've given up the cause of fighting these pre-season poachers, the days of Duffman vs Basspastor are no more. If you want to be a law breakin SOB, knock yourself out, I'll try and stick to the letter of the law.

[ikeslayer]

What i don't understand is why not go to the river where it is open. If you have to scratch your itch to fish then do it that way. Now i realize that is not as easy for some but the person breaking the law is looking like a fool and to those that do know the rules and abide by them it makes us mad, tooth grinding mad, and disgusted like you just drank luke warm water. too bad but will probably always happen. ike

[Maashkinoozhe]

The other way to "scratch the itch" would be to target fish with continuous seasons like panfish or roughfish. Catfish, white bass, sheepshead and carp can give a nice fight, so I don't turn my nose up at them, especially in the off-season. On a side note, I like to read some of those yahoos get their just desserts at:

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/enforcement/cotales/index.html

Some amusing stories, and they update it once a month.

Dave D.

[Ray Esboldt]

I agree with you boys. There's other fishes in the seas. I love to panfish, and I like catching walleyes when they're shallower.

BTW - Whatever happened to Bassp...ahh never mind.

[Mark Christianson]

Hey Ray,

VERY ironic. I just thought that last night and actually did a google search on him to see where he has been. I am dead serious!

[HawgTide]

Take your cameras with you and if you see people Bass fishing, take their pictures(make sure they see you taking them). You will be surprise at how many of them suddenly decide it's time to go home, or at least put down the bass gear. With the fear of the photos being posted on Internet boards, people will become very conscious of what they are doing.

[senkoskipper]

Im not advocating breaking the law here but there arent there some loopholes in the law? A few of my friends buy those crankbaits that are real tiny where the packaging says for crappies/sunfish and they go bass fishing b4 opener. I ask them what happens if the dnr comes out...they just say they will show them the package and you wont get in trouble...can anyone clarify this?

[Ralph Wiggum]

That's pure talk. If you're targeting bass out of season, I don't care if you're fishing with a worm and bobber, if it's intentional, it's illegal. And if you want to do it, you'd better not call yourself a sportsman.

[buzzin for bass]

It is all about what you are targeting, not what the packing of the lure says. I know an area on a local lake that I can catch crappie on every single trolling pass with a 3 inch white bomber crank bait. I have never once caught a bass on this lake with this method. I feel I would be justified if I used this method to catch crappie before bass season opened even though the lure package said it was for bass. Now if I did catch a bass this way (before bass opener) I would stop using the crankbait. But that goes for any method of fishing, in the past when bass started biting my 1 inch tube jig I moved to a different area.

[luckycrank]

if your fishing a float and crawler for gills for instance and your float goes down and it yeilds a hefty lg mouth (repeted over and over again) your telling me you would pack up and go home or move.who's to say your next bite could be the run of gills you been fishing for the whole time if your sitting in a 21' bass rig I garuantee the dnr won't see it as accidentall

[ikeslayer]

This has been brought up every year about this time and one time i asked the dnr the question of "What if i am fishing for one species (in season) and keep catching a different species (out of season species) what should i do. His response went something like this. If you catch one that is fine if you catch 2,3,4 that is even ok. But by the time you have caught your 4th you should think of changing your approach and by the time you have caught 5-6 you should change your tacktics. He also said that he can tell just by observing for about 15 minutes what you are really going after.

Heck we can all spot THAT GUY who is doing this and the dnr spend more time on the water than all of us. He said that he thinks he is pretty tough to fool but he said don't even try to fool him because he is no fool.

I think they will see through you and into your motives. Let justice prevail. ike

[The Prodigy]

Hey fellas,

Call me the devils advocate here, but this is my question. Would a total catch and release of out of season fish be harmful? What I am asking is, is it really a big deal to fish for bass at this time of the year if all of the fish go back in the drink? I am not saying that I practice this illegal activity, but I don't think it causes any harm either. These fish are not spawning now. I think that it would be benifit to Minnesota to leave bass season open to catch and release fishing in the spring and only totaly shut it down for say three weeks covering the spawn. I also feel that the population and overall size of crappies gets pounded on much to heavily in the spring. I am for lowering the crappie bag limit in the spring. People do not need to keep 10 - #1 plus spawning mama crappies. But all of this is just my opinion, anyone feel free to correct me if I am wrong!! Please respond - Prodigy

[Deitz Dittrich]

Prodidgy-I does not matter what we think or feel... Its against the law. and untill they change the law, thats the law.. I may feel that driving 80 MPH is fine and safe.. but I cant do it... because its against the law...

My point is.. many people may feel the same way as you, many of us have sent many different letters to the DNR. Beyond that? I am not sure what we can do. Other than, obey the law.

[RiverBassGuy]

Quote:

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What I am asking is, is it really a big deal to fish for bass at this time of the year if all of the fish go back in the drink?

---

This time before season opener is intended to be a resting time for bass. NOT for disturbing pre spawn activity and being selfish. The law is the law for a reason....

[The Prodigy]

I am not saying that I condone preseason fishing, I am just letting it be known that I don't agree. Of course I don't prefish, it is against the law, I am just voicing my opinion. There are a lot of areas in the old DNR fishing laws that I think are to restrivive, but on the other hand I strongly believe that the DNR is to lax in many areas such as its bag limits, and I think that slot limits (I can feel everyones blood pressure from my keyboard) are stupid, for reasons that I won't get into here and now. I want to ask you gentlemen, if you had your own way - conservation in mind - what would the seasons and bag limits be like? I will tell you that I would like to see seasons closed when the fish are spawning. Everyone knows that bass season is open during this period. I think that is wrong. This is one of the aspects of fishing that I really enjoy, we all are knolegable on the subject and we can discuss the areas of its conservation. Thank you for bearing with me - Prodigy

[Deitz Dittrich]

Prod- I hear what you are saying.. and some years they are done spawning before season starts.. which also depends on where you are in the state. I think if they went to a closed season during the spawn, we may end up with even less bass fishing than we already have?

To be really honest, I do not oppsose the way they do it now. We have some of the best bass fishing in the states.. yes, our fish are not as large, but numbers wise we have great fishing. I think it has a lot to do with the seasons we have in place. I just wish we didn't have the problem of people who think they are better than the law.

[The Prodigy]

And there you have it.

[HawgTide]

I encourage all of you that have not done so, to sign the petition to have the season extended. I will bump the message back to the top to see if I can get more signatures. This will be submitted to the DNR in the next couple of weeks. As of now, there are only 219 signatures.

[flippenstick]

I agree that targeting bass out of season is wrong and shouldn't be condoned. Please don't assume when you see someone fishing out of bass boat that they are targeting bass. Not everyone fishes for crappies with a float and bobber. I prefer targeting crappies in isolated reed patches with a small jig and twister tail as an example. I have received scowling looks and have overheard comments from other boats when using this method. Now I may catch some largemouth doing this, but they are not the targeted species and I catch many more crappies than bass. I release the majority of crappies I catch also.

[Captain B.R.K]

I believe in the first post, something was said to the fact that people are creatures of habit. Well if that same bass boat comes along on your lake and is pitching bigger jigs and cranks and he is catching bass consistently, then I wouldn't hesitate to call the CO. Fishing bass out of season is a no no, just like fishing specifically for walleye or pike out of season is a BIG no no.

[Pherris]

I find it amusing how may people think because someone is fishing out of a 21' bass boat they are automatically assumed to be really fishing for bass illegally. I get plenty of looks and comments as I fish for pannies out of my Bass Boat even though it should be obvious to anyone watching that I am truly fishing pannies. 4'11" ultra lite with a ice fishing reel. Any way if you want to fish bass before the MN season opens there are plenty of options. I am leaving for Iowa in an hour and plan on fishing Bass all day. I do not condone bass fishing out of season but also feel that Bass anglers are often times unfairly singled out. What about the tin boat guys and walleye guys? I have never seen a post generalizing that Walleye fisherman are fishing out of Nice walleye boats before the opener being accused of "targeting fish" that are out of season. Fishing out of season for ANY SPECIES is unsportsmanlike and I do not condone it but please stop pointing fingers at one particular group. Peace out, be safe and enjoy your time on the water.