bass fishing seasons!?!?!?!?

[Jamers]

so... I live in ontario (Zone 16) and i read the zone 16 rules and apparently lm+sm bass have open seasons im extremely confused as ive never heard of not being able to catch bass here is the exact text from the season thing: Largemouth & Smallmouth Bass or any combination: 4th sat. in june to nov 30th  so i can only catch bass in the late spring to early fall months? im confused as ive seen plenty of people ice fishing for bass in zone 16 in december, me being a bass fisherman im really upset as bass are a sport species and they are the reason i fish i dont fish for pike, muskie, trout, or even catfish. if anyone coudl clear this up for me on what this means as i dont completely understand this here is a link to the webpage i got this info from.

 

http://files.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/fishing/2017/2017_FMZ_16_English.pdf

 

[Scott F]

It means it is not legal to fish for bass outside the dates listed. From another part of the regs;

"It is illegal to attempt to catch fish for which the season is closed, even if you are going to release them." So if your friends are targeting bass though the ice, they are in violation. 

[IndianaFinesse]

You can fish for pike flipping jigs, right?

[WRB]

Ice fisherman usually target lake trout in your nick of the woods.

Tom

[Scarborough817]

the rules for ontario are simple, yet outdated in my opinion 

if the fishing season is closed for that species you are not allowed to target that species even if you are performing catch and release 

[Jamers]

What I meant is why the best season for bass would be closed season it seems like spring is the only time I can catch bass from the shores in barrie

[papajoe222]

The reasoning behind a closed season was mainly to protect the fishery from over harvesting, especially during the spawn.  This, in theory, allows reproduction to advance to the stage of fry hatching. As you can attest from your own success in the early spring, bass are much easier to locate in the spring during their pre-spawn  to post spawn cycle. The reasoning is, this also makes them easier to catch.  Just a few decades ago, catch and release was unheard of and removing fish during that period when the fishery is at its most vulnerable was the driving force in closed seasons.  The same goes for other species that have closed seasons such as muskie.

Sadly you have only a couple of options: Move to, or fish a locality that has a longer open season that starts earlier. Petition your local law makers to update the laws to reflect the angler's morals.  Good luck with the latter.

[Paul Roberts]

The decision is actually research based. The north is a different place than the south. Spawning seasons are short and consolidated so bass are particularly vulnerable then. Broods and the successful seasons -where the strong year classes come from that produce the boom years, and maintain the species- are at greater risk in the north. In the south, long spawn seasons, multiple spawn waves, and multiple prey broods create a different risk level to year classes.

 

Growing up in the state of NY, we had the same regs -3rd Sat in June to Nov 30 (essentially ice-up, once upon a time). But they've since relaxed regs to allow C&R outside of the take season. I actually watched our local CO (Conservation Officer) make a bust on Honeoye Lake years ago. He hid in the bushes with binocs and watched a guy catch a limit, stash them in his shed, then go out and do it again. The CO nailed him. He had a lot of bass in a  cooler and freezer.

 

This may not make you feel entirely better, but at least you know where the decision came from.

[bigbill]

Something I heard about it opening the bass fishing season later after the spawn. So the time during the spawn the bass are off limits. In a heavy, real heavy fished environment I could understand it.

 

in one state they shoot pike with a 30-06 rifle.

 

i witnessed many fishermen even taking 2" sunfish to eat. It's pretty bad with people in need. They can get help nowadays.

[gim]

That's not really all that different than it is here in Minnesota.  Our bass season doesn't open until mid May and basically ends when the water freezes up (usually in November-December).  It helps protect the resource when you have a closed season during the spawn.

[BuzzHudson19c]

We have one zone in the Adirondacks like that. You are not allowed to target bass, even catch and release, until the third Sunday in June (I think). It's dumb and the spawn has usually been over a few weeks. I have a tendency to ignore dumb laws...