just a question. dont bass season open later because they spawn later? Or does it open before the bass spawn anyways. just curious.
just read the petition and got my answers.
Everyone who is a bass fisherman should read and sign this. I love the idea of catch and release only for bass while still being able to fish for them “legally” right off the bat. I am sick of seing the typical memorial weekend vacationer hook into a big bass, and because it is opener it never sees the water again. Education is key, and having catch and release as long as we can throughout the first couple of months would be awesome. We need everyone on board here, thanks for the awesome petition HawgTide, I for one really appreciate it. I hope this upcoming opener reflects this change. 
Thanks to everyone signing! We have well over 100 signatures so far. Keep spreading the word!
On a related note…In the new Bassmaster Magazine, there is a blurb about Michigans season. They (the Anglers) are trying to get the DNR to open it up to C&R before the season starts. Looks like it will pass and could be allowed as soon as this next season. Let’s hope MN will follow quickly!
143 Signatures as of this morning. Email your friends! Spread the word. Thanks.
I’m going to play Devil’s Advocate here.
I’m against the idea of allowing catch and release fishing before the spawn. As it is now, on Mille Lacs with the “trophy” regs, most every smallie caught is released anyways. Over the last couple years we have had some colder than normal springs, which have pushed the spawn back later. This was the case the last 2 years on Mille Lacs. There were many people I witnessed who anchored their boats in the middle of a spawning area and caught every single fish on a bed in that area, because they were in season (opener), and were all going to be released, so why not? It was legal! The problem is that many of those females that were full of eggs didn’t survive. I went into those same areas on Monday and Tuesday and saw many dead females laying on the bottom, some in their nests with males swimming around them, and others just scattered around.
The spawn is one of the most physicaly stressful periods in a fish’s life every year as is, but when you add the stress of a valiant fight on the end of a fishing line on top of it, the result is often deadly. It simply takes too much energy out of them.
In short, while the intentions of “catch and release” are very noble, the actual catching of the fish during the spawn often times has much less than noble results.
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