Legal or Illegal Fishing ?

[sonnyuphi]

Is it legal to target Largemouth Bass even though you are releasing them when the season is closed ? I saw several boats last weekend working the edge of the marsh and the channels fishing for Largemouth.I could tell by their lures that they were not after Pike! Aren't the bass still on their nests guarding the fry ? I am not an expert on the breeding habits of largemouth but I think I am right there and even a few minutes away would result in the plundering of the fry by predators.If I am wrong I will stand corrected but I do know it is illegal to stalk game when the season is closed!

 

[quinner01]

Illegal.

 

[fishstalker]

Yesterday when we were on the way to the Bluffs to fish we stopped to tell a gentleman in a Lund he was fishing illegally inside the sanctuary (and had 2 lines out in the inner bay). He shrugged his shoulders and didn't care. Those that don't care will continue that way until caught and fined.

 

[wojo]

It is totally illegal.

 

[SRT8]

quote:
Originally posted by fishstalker

Yesterday when we were on the way to the Bluffs to fish we stopped to tell a gentleman in a Lund he was fishing illegally inside the sanctuary (and had 2 lines out in the inner bay). He shrugged his shoulders and didn't care. Those that don't care will continue that way until caught and fined.



I see this every year I can't believe they don't patrol the santuary more last year a couple guys in a older bass boat were out there perchin, middle of the sanctuary I stopped and told them and they left right away. I was cruising around with the wife and son trying to put the little guy to sleep got back over by the PP to fish for perch and a CO was checking for lisences but didn't see the guys in the sanctuary, guess they got lucky next time ya see it and they don't leave call the tips line they do come sometimes and the weekend before opener they were prolly out there somewhere

I would like to thank Denali custom rods, The Rod Glove and Live Eye Jigs for their support

 

[Deeper]

Even outside the sanctuary it is not a sporting thing to do yanking them off their nests. Those are the same guys that eat everything but the outhouse door and complain about no fish in the lake any more!

Deeper

 

[Mumph]

Here is an excerpt from the fishing regs.



Fishing season opening and closing dates vary depending on the species and the area. It is illegal to attempt to catch fish for which the season is closed, even if you are going to release them. Fish accidentally caught during the closed season must be immediately released back into the water. Closed seasons protect fish at vulnerable times of the year, especially when they are spawning or protecting their young.

 

[thumper]

I see this every year also and have told people that it is a sanctuary and explained the boundaries, most leave right away and l stay there till they stop fishing. Some don't care and l have no problem taking the boat #'s and calling the tips line. You would think that MNR would patrol this area more often.

 

[ch312]

quote:
Originally posted by sonnyuphi

I saw several boats last weekend working the edge of the marsh and the channels fishing for Largemouth.I could tell by their lures that they were not after Pike!



i understand your concern, but how on earth could you "know they were fishing for largies" simply by the lures they were using?

we all know that pike would probably hit every lure in each of our tackle boxes. jigs, soft plastics, topwaters, spinnerbaits, etc all work great for pike so you cant sit there and say they were bass fishing just because they were using typical bass baits.

just sayin...

 

[sonnyuphi]

Fishing for pike is a very easy fallback position for any of these guys .Yes I do not know 100% they were targeting bass but when my Dad said to boat working the channel in front of our place "you should have been around earlier when we had a couple of 4 lb'ers hanging around " they replied "always the same -you should have been here yesterday". That to me seems like they were targeting largemouth and as far as the boats working the edge of the marsh off #17 blind that is where countless bassfishermen fish over the summer.If you don't have wire leaders on your lure you aren't fishing for toothy critters as well.But as you said CH312 they could have been after pike but I doubt it

 

[giller]

read the regs

 

[ch312]

quote:
Originally posted by sonnyuphi

If you don't have wire leaders on your lure you aren't fishing for toothy critters as well.



you're making assumptions again. many guys choose florocarbon leaders over wire as they are less visible to fish, cheaper, and are easier to work with.

its illegal to intentionally catch out of season fish, but its also illegal to harass fishermen that aren't breaking any laws.
..

 

[Jwalsh]

I dont think its illegal to harass fisherman that look like they are breaking the law there bud.

Justin Walsh

 

[quinner01]

I agree with Jwalsh.

Almost sounds like ch312 might be the one who was confronted fishing for bass in front of the boat houses the other day lol

 

[ch312]

quote:
Originally posted by quinner01

I agree with Jwalsh.

Almost sounds like ch312 might be the one who was confronted fishing for bass in front of the boat houses the other day lol

lol...it wasnt me. im not really a fan of fishing for largemouth. if i was out last weekend i woulda came home stinkin like perch, not bass.

my point here is the OP is making a lot of assumptions about what species these guys were targetting. apparently you're not pike fishing unless you're tossing 12" baits with big wire leaders? lol. most of my fav pike lures were intended for bass. guess i better not use those for pike when the bass season is closed or i'll be labelled a poacher too...

btw jwalsh, anyone interfering with legal hunting or fishing activities can be charged. im sure it doesn't happen very often due to the mnr being understaffed, but it does happen. theres a huge difference between seeing someone break the law and ASSuming someone is breaking the law...