Year-Round Bass Season Is On The Table In Minnesota What are your thoughts?

Other rough fish are continuous so why not bass?

Gitchi Gummi wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bearcat89 wrote:</div>
It’s not unethical to kill a bird in season, no matter who tells you it is

Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s ethical.

Is it ethical to shoot a bear over a pile bait? Is it ethical to fish bass on spawning beds? Is it ethical to shoot a doe with a fawn? Is it ethical to shoot deer in a fenced in farm?

I think an important part of being a sportsman is being an ethical one. It’s pretty clear ethics and morals aren’t something everyone inherently has.

The mn dnr claims all those things to be ethical. Hunting a bird in season is not detrimental to their population. Good try on the trying to pretend your morals are superior. I am a legal law abiding sportsman

I have to ask. Do the Goshawks, owls, and other predators leave the Grouse alone in the winter too?

Gitchi Gummi wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bearcat89 wrote:</div>
It’s not unethical to kill a bird in season, no matter who tells you it is

Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s ethical.

Is it ethical to shoot a bear over a pile bait? Is it ethical to fish bass on spawning beds? Is it ethical to shoot a doe with a fawn? Is it ethical to shoot deer in a fenced in farm?

I think an important part of being a sportsman is being an ethical one. It’s pretty clear ethics and morals aren’t something everyone inherently has.

The thing about ethics is they are strictly a personal opinion or belief.
There are plenty that think shooting a bear over bait is ethical but shooting a deer over bait isn’t.

Most early archery seasons for deer are set around the chance of a fawn surviving if the mother is killed.
So then it boils down to one’s ethical opinion on whether to shoot a doe with a fawn.

Contrary to popular belief there has been a lot of research into largemouth and small mouth bass populations in Minnesota and neighboring states/provinces. The findings are what is supporting a year around season, with part of it being C&R.

As far as walleye, they are easy pickings when spawning. Not to mention the tradition of the fishing opener.

Full draw wrote:

Why do we have to protect <em class=”ido-tag-em”>walleye while they spawn? I get a closed season to limit harvest.
For the record I agree 100% that carrying around bass caught off beds in a tourney is not helping their spawn.

I suspect it’s a business-money thing. Fishing openers in states like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota are big deals and long standing tradition.

I can’t comment on the biological or scientific reason why walleye or pike season is closed while they spawn. My assumption is that they are much easier pickings while congregated in shallow water or rivers, as Blackbay stated.

Reef W wrote:

Other rough fish are continuous so why not bass?

My thoughts exactly

Steve Root wrote:

I have to ask. Do the Goshawks, owls, and other predators leave the Grouse alone in the winter too?

about the same as the wolves and deer… coyotes, skunks raccoons with pheasants and duck eggs!

Same as big fish eating little fish!

Closed walleye seasons “to protect them during the spawn” is an old wives tale…

And a lot of people still believe it.

If it were detrimental or cataclysmic to a given population could someone please explain to me how the Mississippi River and LOTW/Rainy River have thriving populations that are fished extremely hard during the spawn EVERY YEAR????

Fishing “seasons” are all about the state making a literal “holiday” to generate revenue.

They’re like a florist on Valentine’s day.

If someone could show me proof that a fish population has crashed from a catch-and-release season during the spawn I’d absolutely love to hear about it.

LOTW Rainy River & the Mississippi River are massive amounts of water. Not like a small to mid size lake where there is limited to no fish movement.

I don’t think fishing seasons are a by product of finances for the resort / tourism industry 100%, there is a biology aspect there also I think.

Dutchboy wrote:

LOTW Rainy River & the Mississippi River are massive amounts of water. Not like a small to mid size lake where there is limited to no fish movement.

I don’t think fishing seasons are a by product of finances for the resort / tourism industry 100%, there is a biology aspect there also I think.

But how? Why does it matter when you catch a fish? Either way it’s not going to reproduce the following year. We were over at the neighbors visiting last night and their grandkids were up and we were talking about spearing. I asked him if they got any big ones this year and he said not really, 28 was the biggest. I was kinda puzzled because I was thinking pike spearing but they spear walleyes where they are from. Once again it doesn’t matter how you kill em they are out of the loop at that point. Minnesota and our neighbors to the east are just stupid silly.

If you follow the Mille Lacs saga it’s been stated many times that netting spawning stock doesn’t harm Mille Lacs.

So who would actually fish for them right after ice out? We’re talking a month or so and the actual bass opener?? Weather depending. Our inland waters we sometimes catch accidental bass while fishing eyes openingweekend, but they are usually deep. Come memorial weekend and the shoreline is usually crawling with em ( when they are legal) Don’t think I’ve ever cleaned one so they can do whatever they want, won’t change the way I fish.

Swimjiggin wrote:

So who would actually fish for them right after ice out? We’re talking a month or so and the actual bass opener?? Weather depending. Our inland waters we sometimes catch accidental bass while fishing eyes, but they are usually deep. Come memorial weekend and the shoreline is usually crawling with em ( when they are legal) Don’t think I’ve ever cleaned one so they can do whatever they want, won’t change the way I fish.

Looking at wi waters, alot of folks target early season catch and release bass.

Bearcat89 wrote:

Looking at wi waters, alot of folks target early season catch and release bass.

It’s quite popular in Michigan too. They changed theirs a few years before Wisconsin did.

fins wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Dutchboy wrote:</div>
LOTW Rainy River & the Mississippi River are massive amounts of water. Not like a small to mid size lake where there is limited to no fish movement.

I don’t think fishing seasons are a by product of finances for the resort / tourism industry 100%, there is a biology aspect there also I think.

But how? Why does it matter when you catch a fish? Either way it’s not going to reproduce the following year. We were over at the neighbors visiting last night and their grandkids were up and we were talking about spearing. I asked him if they got any big ones this year and he said not really, 28 was the biggest. I was kinda puzzled because I was thinking <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>pike spearing but they spear walleyes where they are from. Once again it doesn’t matter how you kill em they are out of the loop at that point. Minnesota and our neighbors to the east are just stupid silly.

If we are talking about killing fish it doesn’t matter when they are caught. A fish out of the system is out of the system.
Now if we are talking about say a 10 month season vs a 12 month season. More fish can be killed with the added 2 months of season.

I think the Rainy River spring run that is catch and release is a prime example that a catch and release season for a period of time doesn’t hurt the fishery and it provides opportunity for sportsman. If it did hurt the LOTW fishery it would show signs of it.

The MN river here in town opened up last week. It would be great to go down and catch a bunch of walleyes and then release them all after work. Once opener roles around most of those fish are going to be back down stream.

B-man wrote:

Glenn57

Even though he was talking about fish, you bring up a GREAT point that I’ve thought about more than once.

Chew on this and get back to me.

One must first acknowledge that hunting and fishing “seasons” are made up man-made “dates”.

Now please explain how killing a pregnant doe in November is any different than killing that same deer in June???

Either way the fawn(s) won’t survive. Dead in the womb or dead from malnourishment.

One is certainly more cruel than the other, but at the end of the day they’re all eliminated before the next “season”.

Openers are a ton of fun and traditional, but when math and biology come down to it, it’s all about total mortality.

It doesn’t matter “when” the mortality happens during a 365 day period…it only depends on how much there is.

Fish…deer…ducks…grouse…turkeys… bears… pheasants…etc…all the same.

Anyone please prove me wrong

This concludes tonights Deep Thinking with B-man

Fall makes sense for numerous reasons:

Think of fall plummage for many bird species. Easier to see young pheasant roosters in October compared to August. Same for ducks, identification would be a struggle for some? Or maybe many?

Fall is also a natural season. Late winter and early spring you might be shooting weak or starving animals coming off a hard winter.

Spring, do you really want to disrupt nesting? Same for nesting waterfowl. Walking a field for pheasants you might be kicking up mallards or teal off nests. People doing that day after day wouldn’t be good for nesting success.

Summer is humid and buggy. You would be killing dogs, and from what I’ve seen, probably some hunters.

Without defined seasons enforcement would also be tough.

Fall is just natural.

gim wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bearcat89 wrote:</div>
Looking at wi waters, alot of folks target early season catch and release bass.

It’s quite popular in Michigan too. They changed theirs a few years before Wisconsin did.

Would you drop your boat in say Tonka targeting bass in April?

The best bites for largemouth bass are pre-spawn, with rising water temps below 60, and in the fall, when water temps in the low 60s are down to about 50 degrees. Depending on when ice comes off my area lakes, I may or may not be able to get on the hot pre-spawn bite. I have advocated for a catch-and-release closed season for bass since the advent of message boards in the late 1990s.

I think having a closed season for pike is ridiculous on any lake with an overabundance of them.

If walleye were open to catch and release fishing during the closed season, how many walleye guys would make the effort? I assume guys would still make the run to border waters or other states to be able to keep fish. Or would walleye guys stay local and use the saved gas money to buy fresh walleye from the market?

I’m all for making the whole year open to bass fishing. I do think it’s a good idea to make part of it catch and release only though. Some think that no one keeps and eat bass, they are wrong. I’m really glad that so many people don’t think they are good eating. If more did I believe we would have an issue like other species. If the season was open for harvest in winter months, I know I myself would harvest far more than I do. Got on a hot SM bass bite 2 weekends ago, there were some great eater size fish that would not gone back into the lake had the season been open. I would actually prefer the catch and release season to run from say April to Sept. That would allow the harvest season to be open in the colder water months when the bass would be the best eating. Just my personal thoughts.

Bass Pundit wrote:

The best bites for largemouth bass are pre-spawn, with rising water temps below 60, and in the fall, when water temps in the low 60s are down to about 50 degrees. Depending on when ice comes off my area lakes, I may or may not be able to get on the hot pre-spawn bite. I have advocated for a catch-and-release closed season for bass since the advent of message boards in the late 1990s.

I think having a closed season for <em class=”ido-tag-em”>pike is ridiculous on any lake with an overabundance of them.

If <em class=”ido-tag-em”>walleye were open to catch and release fishing during the closed season, how many walleye guys would make the effort? I assume guys would still make the run to border waters or other states to be able to keep fish. Or would walleye guys stay local and use the saved gas money to buy fresh walleye from the market?

Year round bass + walleye on all inland waters, and don’t mess with catch and release. Let’s lighten the load on the rivers and let anglers get their walleye dinners closer to home on local lakes year round

Gitchi Gummi wrote:

There’s more implications to hunting grouse than the number you kill. Like I said, when you hunt grouse in the winter it will disrupt their natural survival strategies and patterns. When pressured, they will leave their scare habitat and food sources to try to avoid being killed.

I’ve never heard this before, do you have a study or article to support it?

Swimjiggin wrote:

Would you drop your boat in say Tonka targeting bass in April?

No, I dont target bass on that lake anymore.

gim wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Swimjiggin wrote:</div>
Would you drop your boat in say Tonka targeting bass in April?

No, I dont target bass on that lake anymore.

Not on Tonka, but many other lakes i would bring bass gear while on our crappie outings. Catch many bigger bass while crappie fishing early season.

Bass Pundit wrote:

If walleye were open to catch and release fishing during the closed season, how many walleye guys would make the effort? I assume guys would still make the run to border waters or other states to be able to keep fish.

Thousands. Rainy River has been catch and release for quite a few years now, and there is more people fishing it than ever imo. However if it were open statewide it would lower the pressure on LOW in the spring significantly. There’s a lot of similar great bites closer to home that would be found…

FWIW I fully support going to CnR on all species, year round.

Swimjiggin wrote:

Would you drop your boat in say Tonka targeting bass in April?

I would in a heartbeat. I would skip so many 1/2ounce bass jigs into guys cabin cruisers

Not on Tonka, but many other lakes i would bring bass gear while on our crappie outings. Catch many bigger bass while <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>crappie fishing early season.

Yep I agree. Prespawn offers a good chance at a big fish of generous proportions.

To the OP, meh!!

Catch and release has a mortality factor.

It doesn’t matter how prepared and experienced an angler is, sometimes hooking and landing a fish kills it.

Fishing for Spawning Bass, Walleye, Pike, Lake Trout , any fish species really is like shooting Ducks in a Barrel – they are all congregated together in one spot.

So catch numbers will be Way higher when angling for spawning fish vs other times of the year, and catch and release has a mortality factor.

So angling for any species while they are spawning will kill way more fish than any other time of the year, even if they are all released.

Closed seasons during spawn , will definitely maintain fish populations better than no closed seasons for spawning.

Populations are booming , guess it don’t matter, populations struggling, it will hurt the numbers more.

Reelpro wrote:

Catch and release has a mortality factor.

It doesn’t matter how prepared and experienced an angler is, sometimes hooking and landing a fish kills it.

Fishing for Spawning Bass, Walleye, Pike, Lake Trout , any fish species really is like shooting Ducks in a Barrel – they are all congregated together in one spot.

So catch numbers will be Way higher when angling for spawning fish vs other times of the year, and catch and release has a mortality factor.

So angling for any species while they are spawning will kill way more fish than any other time of the year, even if they are all released.

Closed seasons during spawn , will definitely maintain fish populations better than no closed seasons for spawning.

Populations are booming , guess it don’t matter, populations struggling, it will hurt the numbers more.

If catch and release for spawning fish fish was so detrimental to the fishery we would see signs of it.
Mn has very good bass numbers and we already can catch them when they are spawning.
Fishing on the rainy river happens during the spawn. Tens of thousands of walleyes are caught. If bit was detrimental to the fishery LOTW would show signs of it.
The Dakotas of no closed season. Green Bay has a catch and release season during the spawn. Lake Erie and its tributaries has no closed season.

I would think if we had more opportunities certain fisheries like LOTW/Rainy River or the Mississippi would see less pressure during the spawn.