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

Full draw wrote:

Mn has very good bass numbers and we already can catch them when they are spawning.

This is the key statement right here as it relates to this specific thread.

Most of the bass spawn allows them to be targeted and kept as it is right now, because the majority of their spawning season occurs from late May until mid June.

If the goal is to protect a species either from being targeted specifically, or only targeted for C & R during their primary spawning season, then why are the current bass fishing regulations in place?

We all know the answer. It’s to protect another species. No science behind protecting bass whatsoever.

BigWerm wrote:

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

Don’t know if there are others but I’ve seen this study about willow ptarmigans referenced before when discussing whether the same would be true of ruffed grouse:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/41058806

Main thing is that the group with highest harvest quota “had higher natural mortality during winter after the hunting season.”

234342 wrote:

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 you are saying that you do not Target Big Pike while Spawning or Shortly after spawning while they are still in shallow muddy bays??? If so, you are the exception to lots of the Canadian guides. I Watch so many video’s of Canadian guides who are guiding guest sight fishing large fish with Fly’s every year. Rather these fish are still actively spawning are just recovering from the spawn, I am not sure. either way that to me is targeting spawning fish.

No closed seasons for anything.

Harvest season and no harvest season.

Done

234342 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.

——-

I COULDN’T DISAGREE MORE.

Do you even fish???

I won’t argue that at certain times of the year there is certainly A LOT of hooking mortality (warm water being THE biggest stress factor).

That said, I can tell you with 100% confidence that I could count the number of dead walleyes I’ve seen during the Rainy River spring run in the last 15+ years on one hand…

I’ve also absolutely crushed walleyes in the prairie potholes of South Dakota in cold water during the spawn/post spawn without ever seeing a single fish think twice about swimming back. They’re angry, full of oxygen and pisz’n’vinegar lol

Ever catch a walleye on a boat-side figure-8 in the lower 48???

I have. And it wasn’t in the heat of summer.

When their tail routinely splashes your face with water during the release, hooking mortality is of absolute minimal concern.

On the “other” hand…there’s Mille Lacs in the summer months for example..there’s not enough fingers and toes on IDO to even come close to keeping track of the mortality in a week of fishing taking place there, especially before the warm water closures started.

I’d love to see a hooking mortality rate study for walleyes (and every species for that matter) in sub-55° shallow water compared to the warm/deep summer months.

I think the science would show that fish are far more vulnerable in warm water well past the spawn than they are during the actual spawn.

My own 40 years of fishing experience is more than enough experience/evidence for me.

Heat and barotrauma kill fish. Plain and simple.

Cold and shallow water does not, regardless if they’re spawning in the spring or chasing food in the fall (or vise versa for some species like lake trout).

If science and biology were ever able to defeat tourism and tradition, there would be NO fishing allowed in July and August, and the other 10 months would be wide open for fishing and CPR during spawn if deemed necessary (and our fisheries would be healthier too).

B-man wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Reelpro wrote:</div>
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.

I COULDN’T DISAGREE MORE.

Do you even fish???

I won’t argue that at certain times of the year there is certainly A LOT of hooking mortality (warm water being THE biggest stress factor).

That said, I can tell you with 100% confidence that I could count the number of dead walleyes I’ve seen during the Rainy River spring run in the last 15+ years on one hand…

I’ve also absolutely crushed <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleyes in the prairie potholes of South Dakota in cold water during the spawn/post spawn without ever seeing a single fish think twice about swimming back. They’re angry, full of oxygen and pisz’n’vinegar lol

Ever catch a walleye on a boat-side figure-8??

I have. And it wasn’t in the heat of summer. When their tail splashes your face with water during the release, hooking mortality is of absolute minimal concern.

On the “other” hand…there’s Mille Lacs in the summer months for example..there’s not enough fingers and toes on IDO to even come close to keeping track of the mortality in a week of fishing taking place there, especially before the warm water closures started.

I’d love to see a hooking mortality rate study for <em class=”ido-tag-em”>walleyes in sub-55° shallow water compared to the warm/deep summer months.

I think the science would show that fish are far more vulnerable in warm water well past the spawn than they are during the actual spawn.

My own 40 years of fishing experience is more than enough experience/evidence for me.

Heat and barotrauma kill fish. Plain and simple.

Cold and shallow water does not, regardless if they’re spawning in the spring or chasing food in the fall.

If science and biology were ever able to defeat tourism and tradition, there would be no fishing allowed in July and August, and the other 10 months would be wide open for fishing (and our fisheries would be healthier too).

When that downrigger bite gets going on LOW it’s disgusting how many dead fish are floating around out there. There’s a reason pelicans swim right behind the boats out there. Pretty much every fish big or small is dead. Seagulls love slot fish because they can stand on them and float around. But heaven keep a couple fish on one little stretch of river that usually boils down to a week or two time period. What a joke.

The only push back is having tournaments during the spawn, otherwise the majority seems to be in favor.

Gary Korsgaden wrote:

The only push back is having tournaments during the spawn, otherwise the majority seems to be in favor.

Gim has pointed out in the past. The current season structure is not out of the spawn. Season opens memorial weekend for the most part. Depending on the year the spawn can go into June.
Having tourneys when fish are spawning is ok if they do a weigh or measure them, then immediate release. It’s the hauling around spawning fish in a live-well that can’t be good for recruitment.
Tourney guys catching and then immediately releasing spawning fish is no different than your average weekend angler.

Yes, thank you.

Full draw wrote:

Gim has pointed out in the past. The current season structure is not out of the spawn. Season opens memorial weekend for the most part. Depending on the year the spawn can go into June.

Yeah, I have buddies that fish tournies on a lake that is during the spawn and they catch some absolute tank smallies on a small lake. I wouldnt even call it fishing at that point. People complain about FFS, but the style of fishing a fish on a bed is just no better and probably worse especially if the fish are brought to shore for a weigh in.

B-man wrote:

I’d love to see a hooking mortality rate study for walleyes (and every species for that matter) in sub-55° shallow water compared to the warm/deep summer months.

The MN DNR has done 3 such studies, that I am aware of, and water temp is a smaller factor than depth of capture, but you are correct virtually no hooking mortality out of cold water. I can send you the studies if you want to PM/Text me your email.

B-man wrote:

On the “other” hand…there’s Mille Lacs in the summer months for example..there’s not enough fingers and toes on IDO to even come close to keeping track of the mortality in a week of fishing taking place there,

There’s typically about a week or two, that is high risk according to their own studies on ML. Outside of that, and due to ML overall shallowness, hooking mortality is not really a scientifically important factor. It’s the scape goat used for overly restrictive management.

It’s also important to note, these 3 studies were all done with hoop nets that were a major flaw in the barotrauma study that Aaron Weibe did a few great videos on. So it’s theoretically possible that there actually is significantly LESS hooking mortality as at least a certain % of the fish that died in the study died from not being able to acclimate themselves as they went down, or just 3 days in a net without food caused them to die.

CaptainMusky wrote:

Yeah, I have buddies that fish tournies on a lake that is during the spawn and they catch some absolute tank smallies on a small lake. I wouldnt even call it fishing at that point. People complain about FFS, but the style of fishing a fish on a bed is just no better and probably worse especially if the fish are brought to shore for a weigh in.

Contrary to popular belief, it can be difficult to catch spawning bass. I’ve tried. They aren’t hungry. They bite out of defense, agitation, or aggression near or on the bed. The females (which are the bigger ones) are only there for a brief time compared to the smaller males.

I will usually give it a cast or two and then move on. Some people waste hours trying to get one fish to bite, even in tournaments.

Gim, I agree with you on the Largemouth they can be difficult and I vary seldom target them. However what I have seen with smallmouth is the opposite. I have caught the vast majority of the bedded smallmouth I encounter. My go to presentation is a drop shot with a 4” robo worm.

gim wrote:

Contrary to popular belief, it can be difficult to catch spawning bass. I’ve tried. They aren’t hungry. They bite out of defense, agitation, or aggression near or on the bed. The females (which are the bigger ones) are only there for a brief time compared to the smaller males.

They have NO trouble catching them. Trust me. Massive weigh in with full limits each time. There were some folks that had struggled for sure, but many did not.

It really just depends on the mood of the individual fish. Some are very aggressive, some aren’t. It’s an agitation bite. Not a hunger or reactive bite, that occurs during the rest of the year.

I’ve seen 13 boats stop at 1 bed try to catch one fish. They all failed. One by one they would come by, try, swear, and then leave without success. Lol

Full draw wrote:

Gim, I agree with you on the Largemouth they can be difficult and I vary seldom target them. However what I have seen with smallmouth is the opposite. I have caught the vast majority of the bedded smallmouth I encounter. My go to presentation is a drop shot with a 4” robo worm.

100% agree with this. I have witnessed the same smallmouth caught 4 different times over a 1 hour period. Smallmouth are far more aggressive when on beds than smallmouth. And YES the Robo worm on a dropshot is deadly on bedding SM.

gim wrote:

’ve seen 13 boats stop at 1 bed try to catch one fish. They all failed. One by one they would come by, try, swear, and then leave without success. Lol

.
I’d have to guess that fish way a largemouth in ultra clear water, or 13 boats with really bad fishermen.

I personally like to catch bass, for a shorth time, that aren’t scarred up or have Pinned Cull tag holes in their jaws. I am Happy to give them a couple months to rest and recover from pressure. There is a reason our bass fisheries are in such great shape. Why break what is fixed.

I’d be fine with a year-round bass season with a c/r requirement to allow for the spawning period. I catch a ton of bass, both LM and SM while crappie fishing well before the bass season opens and cannot believe that I’m the only one catching them. The Mississippi border water backwaters in this area are full of bass and can be fished year round. The backwaters are more Lake-like than the currented portion of the river so I don’t think a continuous season would harm much.

I don’t keep bass for any reason.

Where I do my real early season crappie fishing smallies will be present. Typically, I catch the largest smallies of the whole season at this time. One year I caught a smallie of about three and a half pounds that had a split in it’s tail, several times before it ventured out of the area. The following spring I caught the same fish at about 4 pounds twice from the same place. Of the two basses, I really enjoy the smallies best, but I appreciate any bass on the line.

fishthumper wrote:

I’d have to guess that fish way a largemouth in ultra clear water, or 13 boats with really bad fishermen.

It was actually on a popular smallmouth lake. Some of them were definitely tournament boats too. I could see the ribbon on their rigs.

Certain fish just will not bite, no matter what you throw at them. I’ve never spent more than about 10 mins targeting one specific bed fish because I’ve got better things to do that frustrate myself.

gim wrote:

Certain fish just will not bite, no matter what you throw at them. I’ve never spent more than about 10 mins targeting one specific bed fish because I’ve got better things to do that frustrate myself.

You are correct. Its just rare in my experience with SM. They are just way more aggressive when on beds. I don’t target bass on beads near as much these days since I no longer fish tourneys. I once spent over a hour and half on a bedding large Mouth during a tourney. I already had a decent bag and this was the kicker I believed I needed to give myself a chance for the win. It would have been a easy 1.5 Lb cull. Turned out I was correct. I lost by 1.25 lbs. She turned and nosed down on the bait several times and once even sucked the bait in but spit it prior to my hookset.

This comes up every year as “being on the table” however it’s pretty obvious that it’s never seriously on the table. As Gim said, this closed season is not designed to protect the bass. It’s for the walleye. I am a bass fisherman and I think it should be wide open year round. We have more bass than we know what to do with in this state and it wouldn’t hurt to have a 5 year period of wide open seasons to thin out the runts and help our size structure. This would exclude smallmouth however. They need quite a bit more protection.

Spawning bass, if you are sight fishing them on their beds, get caught, get unhooked, and go right back to their beds. I would limit tournament fishing to C and R during the spawn so they are not taken across the lake for a weigh in, but other than that, there is virtually no harm in fishing bass on beds. There’s only a few days out of the spawn where a largemouth will be aggressive enough to strike a bait while they’re on the bed anyway. There is a period of their spawning cycle where they are basically in a trance and you can bonk them on the head with your lure and they won’t even move.

I don’t see this changing until the DNR stops putting walleye above god in this state.

wormdunker wrote:

I personally like to catch bass, for a shorth time, that aren’t scarred up or have Pinned Cull tag holes in their jaws.

It’s not the 90s anymore. Almost all tournaments in MN have banned cull tags that go into the fish. They require the clamp on style cull tags now.

The holes you see in fishes jaws/lips are from people who think they are Roland Martin setting the hook like they’re about to bring in a 100 lb tuna.

mahtofire14 wrote:

This comes up every year as “being on the table” however it’s pretty obvious that it’s never seriously on the table. As Gim said, this closed season is not designed to protect the bass. It’s for the walleye.

Anyone who gets involved at the legislative, management, or enforcement level will eventually come to the discovery that it’s ALL about the walleye here in MN. EVERYTHING…
Some of those on the “steering committee” will even say that straight to your face.

https://www.si.com/onsi/fishing/bass-fishing/mlf-is-forward-facing-the-battle-between-instinct-and-innovation?fbclid=IwY2xjawJHDEhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHVIxF1IpPYtk3g9v8XKFQ-9mViwigcKWfic9oIq-jb84AQY6rc87ACH63A_aem_rWYtd13d-fz6HSeUZi1Ztw

I’m not much of a bass guy but my biggest came on a bed. I was crappie fishing and saw her. I started counting casts after a few…I got her on cast 38. She could pickup and spit that jig out without a hookset at an alarming rate.

Matt Moen wrote:

I’m not much of a bass guy but my biggest came on a bed. I was <em class=”ido-tag-em”>crappie fishing and saw her. I started counting casts after a few…I got her on cast 38. She could pickup and spit that jig out without a hookset at an alarming rate.

Exactly. Watch an Elite Series tournament when fish are on beds. They aren’t crushing them. They are guys that will spend an hour on a single bed trying to get a bass to bite. If it’s the right day of that fish’s spawn cycle it will strike. If it isn’t, they won’t. They also are great at picking up lures without putting the hook in their mouth and moving it out of their bed repeatedly.

Again, it’s different for smallmouth. They are pissed off at anything anywhere near their beds.

It’s not the 90s anymore. Almost all tournaments in MN have banned cull tags that go into the fish. They require the clamp on style cull tags now.

The holes you see in fishes jaws/lips are from people who think they are Roland Martin setting the hook like they’re about to bring in a 100 lb tuna.
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Must be amazing to know fish inquires are caused by one thing on every lake in Minnesota, Apparently you are the only person that knows how to properly handle a fish? Oh and if you believe all anglers follow all the rules you are mistaken. I know a cull tag hole when I see one. Apparently the word is not out that pins cull tags are illegal in central to western Minnesota because you can hardly catch bass on tourney lakes that your thumb doesn’t touch your thumb when you try to pick it up. They are Cull tag holes 100%.

I know bass tournaments in MN and almost all of them ban cull tags that go through the lips of fish. Sorry you took offense to that. Wasn’t trying to.

All of the bass i catch out of low pressure lakes have a suit and top hat on. I couldnt imagine the horror of a cull tag mark.