Bruce424 Posted March 18, 2015 Posted March 18, 2015 As of right now, those of us in Michigan have to wait until the Bass season opens. Which is currently at the end of April. The DNR commision will hopefully be changing that to a year round catch and release with harvesting beginning at the end of May So you can't purposely fish for bass til then? even if you release them. That is quirky. Quote
Alpha Male Posted March 18, 2015 Posted March 18, 2015 So you can't purposely fish for bass til then? even if you release them. That is quirky. Same in minnesota. Nothing but panfish and certain rough fish until may 9th. This is the first year of a catch and release bass season that starts with the rest of the species. Usually last weekend in may is bass opener. 1 Quote
Penguino Posted March 18, 2015 Posted March 18, 2015 ASAP but the ice still hasn't melted yet.... I'm probably stuck inside for another week or so. This winter is the longest winter NJ has had in a long time... usually, the ice melts by the beginning of March. Quote
Super User RoLo Posted March 19, 2015 Super User Posted March 19, 2015 Not sure what you mean. Our ice in Florida never melts, except during a power failure Roger Quote
Sun Fish Posted March 19, 2015 Posted March 19, 2015 I've had my boat out before when there's still been sections of ice on the lake. Unfortunately in WI there is a closed season for anything other than panfish and a few other rough fish until the first full weekend in May so usually I'm just running around the lake making sure that everything on my boat is in order after it slept for the last 6 months. I usually start panfishing a few weeks after the ice is out, but I fish for bass in the fall until the lakes ice over, so if I could, I'd be fishing for them as soon as the ice comes off. What happens if you accidently catch a bass when fishing for lunker sized panfish? Quote
tnt2671 Posted March 19, 2015 Posted March 19, 2015 the ct river in western mass. is almost all liquid by my house( besides the occasional iceberg floating by) i went out the last 2 days for a few hours and didn't get anything but man it just felt good to throw a line Quote
Super User Sam Posted March 19, 2015 Super User Posted March 19, 2015 First club tournament at the end of March. Quote
Super User WIGuide Posted March 19, 2015 Super User Posted March 19, 2015 What happens if you accidently catch a bass when fishing for lunker sized panfish? Haha well it depends on what you were targeting those lunker sized panfish with. If you are fishing for them with something other than panfish baits and something like an ultralight you can be fined. If they catch you with fish that you're keeping out of season, I'm pretty sure they can treat it the same as poaching which would allow them to take anything used in the capture of the illegal game including tackle, boats, even tow vehicles used to get to the lake. They definitely make it not worth the risk :/ Quote
DocNsanE Posted March 19, 2015 Author Posted March 19, 2015 What happens if you accidently catch a bass when fishing for lunker sized panfish? In my area, Northern Pike fishing opens in mid-May and bass only open around the third week of June. I called the Fisheries department to ask them "what happens if I catch bass when targeting pike" since they can often hit the same lures. They basically told me as long as I didn't have any bass in the boat I couldn't get in trouble. I'm not certain if that explicitly meant I could practice catch and release but it's basically how I took it Quote
Trenton Posted March 19, 2015 Posted March 19, 2015 Had the boat out today marked a bunch of fish and the water temp was a little colder then I thought it would be. Just over 41 degrees. No catches but it was the first time on my little sportsmans club lake with my lowrance and I found a lot of structure on the deeper side. All in all it felt great Quote
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