The weather is awesome. Spring fever is coming early and already at a pitch. So maybe that is why this is worse than normal, but please, everyone, if you are fishing right now in Michigan, remember that on almost all inland lakes pike and walleye are closed until the last Saturday in April when catch and release bass season opens.
I have to delete any posts about going out in Michigan on inland lakes targeting an out of season fish or a post that appears you are catching bass out of season regardless of what you say you are targeting. There's tons on evidence on facebook and other sites - pictures, details - but I do not want any on this website. I have already talked to one member who was ticketed because he was observed catching visible bass. That is the kind of ticket you won't get out of.
I will be trying to work on changing the bass season again and when I talk to the MDNR, some of them make a point to bring up that I seem to be condoning illegal activity by allowing people to talk about fishing for out of season fish on this website. It makes an already difficult task so much more difficult. None of us need that if we want it to improve.
Please do not take it personal but I will be deleting all posts without warning that mention or seem to be mentioning fishing for out of season fish in Michigan. If you go fishing somewhere where it is legal such as pike and walleye on the Lower Peninsula Great Lakes, please be clear where you were fishing and what you were targeting. People will love to read that right now, but if you mention also catching 20 bass on tubes, I will still delete it. We can all read between the lines including the MDNR.
If you truly go crappie fishing, you can talk about the crappie you catch all you want, but do not talk about the bass you caught too. People will assume that is what you were targeting. If you want to mention that you saw bass shallow and what they were doing. Fine. dartag gave a great report on that but notice no where in his post did he mention he tried to catch them or did catch them. That is a great example of sharing valuable information while not promoting illegal activity.
I'm happy that you are enjoying this amazing weather and glad you are catching some fish. We all love to talk about our fishing exploits and people like to read about it but this time of year, you are going to have to keep your bass catches to yourself. Thank you.
What about private waters? I know there are differences with hunting regulations regarding your own property, but I'm not sure about fishing. Can I legally try to catch my fish out of my pond on my property, or not?
First off my apologies Dan. You are doing and do an awesome job here and I love being a small part of that. Now for the rant. First off, I am a very law abiding citizen. I honestly do not have a very confrontational personality but, what is it that the MDNR is protecting by not letting us catch and release fish for bass this time of year??? I totally get it if your going home with a livewell full of bass and killing them. I would list the many obvious points of why it should be legal to catch and release fish but I know you are much more educated about these points than I probably ever will be. Perhaps we should get the MDNR to list all the obvious points of why it should be illegal? I have never been in trouble with the law or had any conflicts with the MDNR. I did get ticketed for duck hunting by myself when I was 15 about 300 yards across the lake from my fathers house. Which seemed a little ridiculous at the time and even more so when I see kids in trouble for smoking or drinking at the same age. I know this is probably not the right venue to express my opinions but I know there are definitely a lot of guys and gals on this site that feel the same as I do. I know you are doing as much as you can to get this changed and I honestly should be doing more myself. This is in NO WAY meant as a personal attack and if you read this and remove it I will take no offense. I do not feel breaking the law is the right thing to do. Most laws are put into effect to protect the people and do just that. But isn't there a bill of rights that says something about pursuit of happiness and cruel and unusual punishment??? Well if a guy sits all winter and stares at a lake waiting for the ice and snow to be gone and then is told on a gorgeous spring day that he has to wait another month to go fishing I think that is definitely messing with his pursuit of happiness and is a little cruel and unusual. Anyway this is just my 2 cents. I really don't want to cause a lot of problems for you or start a war. But maybe that would get the attention of the crazy people putting these laws into effect. On a last note if this makes your blood boil let me know what to do. It is about time I get off my butt and do what I can to help out. Thanks
I say this every spring when this subject comes up, EVERY spring. I dont fish for bass until its legal, bottom line. I dont, because its not legal to do so. Thats it. The only reason. I know a lot of people do, I'm not one of them. I'm with Dan on trying to get the law changed, you're right, it makes no sense. But, its still a law. Until the laws change, which I feel confident they will, I wont target bass or any other species, until they are legal to target.
This is another topic that comes up each year. It was nice when we had 3 lakes with April 1st catch and release. People wanted it changed so they changed it to last sat in April. Maybe some day they will do away with the closed
Season.
What about private waters
You can also vote with your wallett. I will not buy ANY fishing or boating related item in Michigan until the "real" season opens up for tournaments here. C&R is also stupid, there should be no season at all on bass, just like the southern states with much smarter DNR.
I bought all of my spring boat supplies (fuel fliter, ect) out of state this year. I won't even buy a bag of soft plastics locally until they let us fish.
Private waters - I've read other forums on this and it appears that the owners of the private lakes are exempt from needing a fishing license and fishing regulations. Being classified as private is a bit tricky and people need to be careful with this. They should probably check with their local CO about whether a lake is truly private.
Guys - Dan is doing us a particularily important service. Invaluable. I've never had a website owner provide such complete service to his sponsors, customers, all while using his website as a creative tool to gather and demonstrate support for DNR issues close to the sportsmans heart.
I'm glad he removed my post. I learned what every single fish is in season and what is out of season ..... and I shouldnt be near water til I fully knew.
My moto is clear: IF FRANK CAN DO IT,,,,, SO CAN WE !!! He found data and information, sent it in to one officer. He got a law changed in less than 1 year !!
Im not one to complain and NOT DO ANYTHING, and boycotting purchases is not doing something ... because the loss of revenue cannot be traced to the specific reasoning. Love ya Seth, but its time we stand up together and change the law.
Lets take this topic to the Michigan Bass Season thread and gather our 100 - 200 members and get Dan what he needs from us for his April meeting with the MDNR.
WWFD .......
Quote from: Eric on March 22, 2012, 09:31:25 AM
What about private waters? I know there are differences with hunting regulations regarding your own property, but I'm not sure about fishing. Can I legally try to catch my fish out of my pond on my property, or not?
If you completely own the water or have property with a group that completely owns the water, you can fish whatever whenever if I understand the regulations correctly. Just please make the distinction clearly in your post that you are fishing a private lake and don't be surprised when others ask where it is at or for you to take them fishing! ;D
Quote from: CMURoss on March 22, 2012, 10:55:02 AM
What about private waters
Make sure it is private and that you have a legal right to be on the water and you should be okay. Private waters that meet this are very limited and don't mean a lake with no public access. Most lakes with a navigable inlet or outlet are not private. Generally, we are talking about a small pond completely on your property or a man-made lake with some type of limited association ownership. Some bigger lakes people consider private are not private in the sense that they don't fall under state regulations. I can't go beyond that. We're talking law now and I'm not a lawyer.
If you are absolutely sure that you are on a truly private lake legally, then make that distinction and post away. Some people may still question it. I can't help that much either.
I would love to resolve this entire issue once and for all, but not everyone feels the same way about our bass season. Even when we had all those public meetings and our own bass angler pre-meetings, it was hard to get everyone to agree to one thing. I have very limited resources and time. I'm my own boss now and have to learn so many new things. I did not plan on working on the season at all this year but you know what they say about the best plans...
I see a possible good opportunity this year thanks to some unexpected new relationships. I will do the best I can with it and take help anyone offers as it becomes more clear what needs to be done. I know I don't have the time or resources - and probably couldn't do it anyway at this time - to get our bass season open all year. Way too many complicating issues.
I have always gone for the best compromise I think I can get. There's almost always compromise when you are dealing with large numbers of people and all those differing opinions along with the fear of change with a little selfishness thrown in. I do truly see light way at the end of a long bass season tunnel for the first time in my adult life of working on this issue. I still am not sure if it is the end or a train ;D but I think it might be the end. I sure hope so.
We have some of the best bass fishing in the world in Michigan thanks to our amazing resources, and many people are very interested in enjoying it with us. More people are interested in pursuing that now. Meanwhile, there are many more localized issues that could improve things even more that anyone could choose to take on like Frank did and have a realistic expectation of accomplishing something with a little work.
I'm thinking expanding drop shotting on the West side, minimizing the use of aquatic plant control on inland lakes, wetlands protection, ramp improvements and additions and more. Any one of you could choose something like this and make something happen. Frank did! Way to go Frank! Who's next?
What did Frank do exactly?
I look at this time of year as an opportunity to force myself to pursue other species of Fish....Walleye fishing is a blast and they taste great...I am hearing some pretty good reports on Perch and Crappie....The Blue gills should be moving onto their beds....Steelhead are probably already running or darn close....
With Bass I would just as soon save my time, energy and financial resources to nailing down patterns during the Tournament season that doesn't kick off until June...It is a blast to catch the smallies in early spring on LSC but that doesn't help much to score points during the competitive season......Just my opinion....
The tournament weights are better in Michigan than they have been as long as I have been fishing....So to be honest I am pretty happy with the way things stand....Remember not everyone is as Conservation minded as people from this site...There are alot of meat hunters out there that will keep a limit every time they are out.....Just like most other laws some of the conservation laws are made to target the 10 percenters that don't value the resource...
I just don't like looking over my shoulder thinking I am doing something wrong or feeling guilty about doing something I love with out good evidence that what I'm doing is deconstructive. I really didn't mean to tick anyone off and I too have been on this forum and seen this similar thread the last 7 or so years and avoided it. I think we are all in this together and see no sense in arguing amongst ourselves. Something about today and feeling guilty about wanting to go bass fishing that just got under my skin. If you want the real ugly rant we can bring up peta or gun control ;) I like your suggestion Djkimmel- I'm not sure what Frank did exactly but I'm sure it helped me or the fishing community out in some way. Thanks Frank. I'm also not the most educated person about all the facts and statistics. I do read a lot of online articles and research from biologist and such and almost everything they say pretty much states that immediate C&R bass fishing does not hurt the resource reguardless of season (spawn/summer/fall/winter). I don't want to go on and on but what about the natives setting nets on the inland waters??? Do they release the bass they catch this time of year??? I'm betting I'm wrong but don't those nets kill fish reguardless of species? I just see it as a double standard or very hypocritical. I don't consider myself the smartest bulb in the pack but how do they consider that legal, but us fishing with one line up to 5 single hooks :) and releasing our fish, illegal? Especially when this is going on in exactly the same lake? I guess I don't see the sense in abiding by a law that isn't protecting anything while they make it legal for that to go on. It's like wiping before you poop. It don't make sense. Anyway I'm done for now. I know what happens every year. We all get mad and say we will do something but in a couple weeks most of us go fishing and forget (at least thats been me). Lol. I'm gonna try not to this year. If nothing else this has motivated me to try and do my part. I hope it has someone else too.
Our present bass season isn't based on study (they don't support it) or conservation though people will claim that is the reason. It is based on social management and promoting a holiday weekend most of all. It is based on old, conservative ideals that mostly only exist in the Northern states following some old, old thoughts about bass biology that have long ago (over 50+ years) been proven incorrect.
No one should get mad at anyone for just stating your opinions. We all have them based on who we are, how we were brought up and what we believe or think we believe in.
Me, I think the future of fishing and the outdoors in general, along with our Michigan economy, depends upon managing our resources to provide the absolute most opportunity they can provide with the least amount of confusing regulations. I feel the studies clearly demonstrate that we have more opportunity to give in Michigan, and also that we can do other things related to habitat and clean water that will do more for our bass than a closed season ever could. I also think a lot more people feel that way now than ever before.
I brought this topic up only because it still won't be a cake walk and I don't want it any tougher than it already will be for anyone who wants to work on it. Some people will always fear and fight change.
"I see a possible good opportunity this year thanks to some unexpected new relationships. I will do the best I can with it and take help any offers as it becomes more clear what needs to be done....."
It's worthy - provide the tasks, I'll build the team and execute the plan. It's what I do.
Need a poll established ? Signature drive ? Organize a Meeting to get a written, compromised, generally popular change that can be introduced into law ? "DROP"..... That's the sound of one willing to drop what I got to help a worthy cause.
Can you ?
We'll see what the tasks are at the end of April. I don't think much will happen until then.
lol, I'm not sure FRANK did anything. I met the guy who was heavily involved with making this a public lake by chance. I was at an awards banquet for my business where he gave a horribly boring hour long speech. Because he mentioned this lake I was the only one in the room at full attention. I sat with him for a half hour afterwords and expressed my opinions about how small yet amazing the lake was. Possibly, he listened. After that I wrote Dan on here and on his advice I called and sent letters to a few people in the govt. and the DNR. Maybe they listened. Then again, maybe I had nothing at all to do with it yet someone did and I'm thankful.
That being said,
I did hear that DNR is enforcing the bass issue this year and ill see what I can find out. Please think about this while addressing this issue: I know a lot of people and have yet to identify one person who breaks no laws at all. My sister is about as close as you get to being a goody goody but I remember a time last year when she found a quarter on the floor and I'm positive she didn't declare that on her income. We all no that our govt should get at least 4 cents of that. Hmm, I think I'm going to turn her in.
If you guys need my help changing this legislation, I will give you my all after June 1st. I can help in small amounts until May.
Frank
Quote from: djkimmel on March 22, 2012, 09:47:21 PM
We'll see what the tasks are at the end of April. I don't think much will happen until then.
Shouldn't we have proposals ready for your meeting? I know it isn't the most popular strategy but I think the best shot we have at doing this right is by generating NEW income for the DNR - they'll need to dedicate additional resources with seasonal changes so it would be wise to have a plan in place that added revenue. A resident $18 & non-resident $28 year-round CDR (catch & delayed release) permit would be more than fair - consider the water we have to manage here and we should really be paying a whole lot more for our licenses. The article below is one of many on the topic.....opening up the season for bass fisherman & tourney anglers would improve both resident & non-resident license sales over night. If we simply had 5000 residents and 1000 non-residents we be able to cover additional MDNR expenditures of $118,000 - that's not much but it would pay for a couple new full-time CO's.
Cited By Jeff Alexander/Bridge Magazine contributor - 27 October 2011
TAKES TWO TO FISH: A state official says Michigan fisheries are doing fine, but the number of anglers dropping hooks into the water is headed down, threatening funding for fisheries programs and hurting revenue for a billion-dollar industry in the state.
"If fewer people are buying fishing licenses, that means there is less money for the state's Fish and Game Fund," said Thorsen, a life member of Trout Unlimited who owns a cabin on the upper Manistee River.
The number of licensed anglers in Michigan has dropped by 20 percent since 1995, and continues to decrease at a rate of 1 percent to 2 percent annually, according to state officials.
Fewer anglers mean less money for the Fish and Game Fund, which translates into less funding for programs that nurture and protect Michigan's myriad of fisheries and wildlife populations.
That trend is particularly alarming because Michigan's fisheries program, which generated $1.6 billion of economic activity in 2006 (the most recent statistic available), is funded almost entirely with revenue from the sale of fishing and hunting licenses.
"We're not seeing a decline in fishing because the fisheries suck — our fisheries are as good as they've been in decades," said Jim Dexter, acting chief of fisheries for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Michigan has one of the nation's largest and most diverse fisheries. The state borders four of the five Great Lakes, has more than 10,000 inland lakes and 36,000 miles of river and streams — 12,500 miles of which are coldwater trout streams.
Field & Stream magazine recently named Michigan the nation's best state for fly-fishing.
Yet, the ranks of anglers fishing here continue to slide.
A study released this year of the charter fishing business in the Great Lakes found significant declines in charters from out-of-state visitors and from the Flint and Detroit areas between 1990 and 2009. The charter business, concentrated heavily in Lake Michigan, has averaged a $20 million annual economic impact for coastal communities in the last two decades.
"This is one of the state's most interesting conundrums," Dexter said. "We have so many fantastic fishing opportunities and our inland fisheries are second to none, and yet we continue to see this decline in the number of anglers."(http://bridgemi.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Fishing_21.jpg)
IT IS TIME TO WAKE UP THE SPORT-FISHING SLEEPING GIANT THAT IS MICHIGAN!
Quote from: motocross269 on March 22, 2012, 04:00:04 PM
I look at this time of year as an opportunity to force myself to pursue other species of Fish....Walleye fishing is a blast and they taste great...I am hearing some pretty good reports on Perch and Crappie....The Blue gills should be moving onto their beds....Steelhead are probably already running or darn close....
With Bass I would just as soon save my time, energy and financial resources to nailing down patterns during the Tournament season that doesn't kick off until June...It is a blast to catch the smallies in early spring on LSC but that doesn't help much to score points during the competitive season......Just my opinion....
The tournament weights are better in Michigan than they have been as long as I have been fishing....So to be honest I am pretty happy with the way things stand....Remember not everyone is as Conservation minded as people from this site...There are alot of meat hunters out there that will keep a limit every time they are out.....Just like most other laws some of the conservation laws are made to target the 10 percenters that don't value the resource...
You are spot on Moto. I was fishing a tournament up North last year and seen something to this extent. They were using live bait and catching bass one after another. I seen them pack up and take off with a bare minimum of 10 bass to eat. From listening to them, I could tell they were locals. I can only assume they do the same thing all year long.
To me it is kinda like gun laws and door locks. They keep the honest person on track but do nothing for the criminals.
One of my greatest concerns has always been the decline in anglers and hunters. So I try to figure out what I might be able to do about it and then try to do it when and how I can. Other people do the same. Guess we need more people to do more. It's a complicated issue with lots of reasons but having more fishing opportunity in a state that can provide it won't hurt.
I'm not writing up any plans but I have my questions and some study data, and will follow up after I get a sense of where we are presently at in various peoples' thinking on this issue.
Thanks Dan for bringing up the the issue of folks fishing "early". I do miss the C&R season on Pontiac/Cass/Kent, however this is the deal we made to get early C&R on all the lakes. I am in favor of looking at the regulations but we need to keep in conservation in mind. We have great fishing here in Michigan and that should be our #1 priority.
The decline of fishing licenses worries me a bit, but that seems to be how the world works. I'm not sure any regulation can change that. If it doesn't have a touchscreen on it people don't want it! ;D
Vic
I was wrong about what I said about Seths money boycott. Money does bring them to the table.
I wonder if we put a proposal together, and once they decline it, we as tournament fisherman stopped all tournaments, don't go, don't buy a license, for 2013, that would be a huge blip on the map, much greater than the results of the 2009 economic collapse. Our result would be enough so that they Must change the law as a direct result of the dnr not supporting the main people who support them.
Does it have to be that drastic ? But you wouldn't be able to fish for a year. Seems like a huge sacrific eh ? Not an option ?
Wonder if we could get a person whose name starts with pH D to do a study on the impacts to Michigan economy if all tournament bass fishing stopped ? Would all of us chip in to pay for that instead of a boycott ? Hmmmmm.
The poll we posted has already shown a vast majority of us support either a full open season or some form of C&IR in the spring and are willing to pay for it. It's a small minority who want to keep it the same, but when you agree with status quo, that seems to be the voice that is heard.
What about this option ?
http://www.greatlakesbass.com/fishing/scenario8.htm
As you can see, I'm one not to complain without a solution. What do you think ?
I don't think it is the only voice being heard. As I mentioned, I am hearing some good things through the grapevine. I'm not getting worked up, especially about worse case scenarios unless I were to find out that was actually the case. I don't think it is. I just don't have much more beyond that until at least this upcoming meeting.
No sense in talking about big responses before there is much of any evidence they are even needed. I doubt very many people would give up fishing for a year. I also don't think that would be the way to handle it. There are a number of better options that can be pursued before something like that anyway. Right now, I'm not worrying about the other options since I have no idea that they will be necessary.
I don't doubt there are a number of people who would love to see all the little tournaments go away. No sense in helping them out. The sheer number of them shows the amount of interest is there. It is one of the few growth areas in fishing. Maybe the only one?
I was part of a group that got a high school tournament with 10 schools from Grand Traverse, Leelanau and Benzie counties last May on Green Lake during the catch and release season. Our rules were basically a #'s caught with no measuring or weighing and immediate return of fish.Dnr had no problem and tournament was a big success for the kids.
What i wasnt prepared for was several letters to the editor from locals after an article was run telling the success of the tournament that were against any kind of fishing tournaments. I would love to fish year round for bass and i am not a tourney fisher. Just prepare for some small pockets of opposition from all sorts. Good luck!
They are there and will continue to be there, probably forever. Some people actually fight any change just because of these peoples' types of opinions. To me, that is a completely separate issue that needs to be addressed another way.
They say it takes all sorts. I just think there are some sorts you can ignore as long as they don't organize, or you just have to be more organized and more vocal. Of course there are people against just about anything. I don't recall ever speaking at a public meeting or hearing where there wasn't some kind of opposition. That's just part of trying to make any change.
I've responded to some of those ridiculous letters to the editors printed in some of the northern papers after some of our various events in the past. Usually, those letters are full of rumors and untruths. The kinds of things some people will read and say, that's ridiculous, but sure, others will be 'worked up' about.
You did the right and good thing with your youth event. Regardless of what a few codgers, isolationists or other people who don't like anyone on 'their' lake might say. Those kind will always be there whether you hold an event or not.
I still have my list of the various people/groups who were against a longer bass season and why they were against it, from last time. Once I see what the MDNR is thinking and/or willing to do, then we can talk about how or if to address the various opposition elements. Very little of the opposition had anything actually to do with protecting bass. As most people who know the truth and are honest will tell you, given clean water and good habitat, the bass pretty much take care of themselves.
Let's keep our fingers crossed. Mojo, you are on it man. It would be really hard not to fish for a year, but for a good result, it would be well worth it. We can all spend our money fishing Indiana. They will appreciate it.
As far as a special license, another expense to most, I would be more than willing to pay it. But, if it gets crazy like the price of snowmobile trail permits, it would suck bad. Even if our license doubled, I would pay. It's what I thoroughly enjoy. Fishing is the only hobby I have ever had that relaxes me 100%.
I am friends with some people that make lures for at least part of there income. these guys don't like the current regulations either. I would feel wrong punishing them for something th is not their fault
Frank
Big::::: I saw that article and the responses. We have a fine group of folks up here to deal with every year don't we ? I tried to do that on my lake and the association tossed a giant fit . Said it was too small of a lake and the noise from our boats would be annoying. I ran one anyhows last year . Course they female dog about my boat constantly ."It's too fast, it's too loud"
I tried to suggest a quiet time on the lake from 8pm to 8 am . They said it was stupid so the first night right at dark on a completely empty lake. I did a few hot laps . Course they female doged the next meeting . All I said was well, you all decided we didn't need one .
Next year if ya get one together give me an email . I'll donate my boat and time to give ya a hand.
Quote from: mikeszr800 on March 25, 2012, 08:19:38 PM
Let's keep our fingers crossed. Mojo, you are on it man. It would be really hard not to fish for a year, but for a good result, it would be well worth it. We can all spend our money fishing Indiana. They will appreciate it.
As far as a special license, another expense to most, I would be more than willing to pay it. But, if it gets crazy like the price of snowmobile trail permits, it would suck bad. Even if our license doubled, I would pay. It's what I thoroughly enjoy. Fishing is the only hobby I have ever had that relaxes me 100%.
Actually some in Indiana, with their only 400 or so lakes, wishes we would stop being so selfish with our bass in our 11,000 lakes and stay home a more often to reduce the pressure and issues on their smaller amount of water. They have enough of to deal with from their own anglers on such a small amount of water. My understanding is that they have voiced their opinion to our MDNR in the past that we should open our waters and help take some pressure off their waters (mostly for riparian issues).
I agree with them - why would you send anglers away from the amazing Great Lakes and 11,000 lakes we have to a state with 1/2,000th of the water? Makes no sense on so many levels.
Quote from: bigmojet on March 25, 2012, 06:19:04 PM
I was part of a group that got a high school tournament with 10 schools from Grand Traverse, Leelanau and Benzie counties last May on Green Lake during the catch and release season. Our rules were basically a #'s caught with no measuring or weighing and immediate return of fish.Dnr had no problem and tournament was a big success for the kids.
What i wasnt prepared for was several letters to the editor from locals after an article was run telling the success of the tournament that were against any kind of fishing tournaments. I would love to fish year round for bass and i am not a tourney fisher. Just prepare for some small pockets of opposition from all sorts. Good luck!
Here is one of my old responses to the editor when someone wrote in to the Elk Rapids paper about one of our events way back. It's on the older part of the website - http://www.greatlakesbass.com/fishing/tmtourncol.htm
There was one old dude up there that use to complain in one paper after every tournament on Mullett Lake. And they printed his nonsense every time. His stuff was always full of lies and ridiculous exaggerations ('all those loud 300 horse motors ripping across the lake at 80 mph!!'). I only addressed him once in the same paper to clarify what actually happened and was done verses the crazy stuff he claimed.
I remember at one meeting way back where some locals complained about us wiping out their bass and wanted the town to deny us from using their ramp. One guy in particular claimed we would wipe out the (his) bass on Elk-Torch Lake with our spawning tournaments. I was not surprised when the local CO told me this same man had been issued a ticket for a bucket full of undersized bass. I can't tell you how many times at how many public meetings over the years I have been told the same things about the most vocal local complainers.
We are planning the same tournament on Green Lake with 20 possible teams(2 teams from 10 schools each) on May 19th.
I am trying to organize an evening tournament for 10 teams for a evening time the 2nd week of May on a small lake in Benzie County during the week so we could pretty much have the lake to ourselves so we dont have any issues.
We are just starting to get the kids fired up for these events so hate for us not to keep on giving them the opportunities just because a few.
Quote from: bigmojet on March 25, 2012, 06:19:04 PM
I was part of a group that got a high school tournament with 10 schools from Grand Traverse, Leelanau and Benzie counties last May on Green Lake during the catch and release season. Our rules were basically a #'s caught with no measuring or weighing and immediate return of fish.Dnr had no problem and tournament was a big success for the kids.
What i wasnt prepared for was several letters to the editor from locals after an article was run telling the success of the tournament that were against any kind of fishing tournaments. I would love to fish year round for bass and i am not a tourney fisher. Just prepare for some small pockets of opposition from all sorts. Good luck!
Those are the typical knee-jerk reaction comments from people who've never read a study or actually fished a tournament. It happens, it will always happen, and we must continue to try to educate them if possible.
No one takes BETTER care of the bass in Michigan than a tournament angler. I mean think about it... if they die in your possesion you are penalized and your chances of a high finish are greatly diminished.
Quote from: bigmojet on March 26, 2012, 10:17:09 AM
We are planning the same tournament on Green Lake with 20 possible teams(2 teams from 10 schools each) on May 19th.
I am trying to organize an evening tournament for 10 teams for a evening time the 2nd week of May on a small lake in Benzie County during the week so we could pretty much have the lake to ourselves so we dont have any issues.
We are just starting to get the kids fired up for these events so hate for us not to keep on giving them the opportunities just because a few.
Keep up the great work. You are doing the right thing even if a few people can't recognize that. Some people just aren't happy. Nothing we can do about that but we can continue to do the right things anyway. Anglers and hunters still do more for our natural resources than any other group. We all know that.
Quote from: Waterfoul on March 26, 2012, 12:41:53 PM
Quote from: bigmojet on March 25, 2012, 06:19:04 PM
I was part of a group that got a high school tournament with 10 schools from Grand Traverse, Leelanau and Benzie counties last May on Green Lake during the catch and release season. Our rules were basically a #'s caught with no measuring or weighing and immediate return of fish.Dnr had no problem and tournament was a big success for the kids.
What i wasnt prepared for was several letters to the editor from locals after an article was run telling the success of the tournament that were against any kind of fishing tournaments. I would love to fish year round for bass and i am not a tourney fisher. Just prepare for some small pockets of opposition from all sorts. Good luck!
Those are the typical knee-jerk reaction comments from people who've never read a study or actually fished a tournament. It happens, it will always happen, and we must continue to try to educate them if possible.
No one takes BETTER care of the bass in Michigan than a tournament angler. I mean think about it... if they die in your possesion you are penalized and your chances of a high finish are greatly diminished.
its a knee jerk reaction from people who just don't like bass fisherman in general - or own lake front property and think they own the whole thing. it surprises me the same people who get all grumpy over 20 bass boats on their lake are usually the same ones driving jetskies or towing tubers 20' off the end of everyone's docks.
This is kind of like the dove bill. This is not a popularity contest and shouldn't be. Leave conservation to the biologists and drop the politics.
If only we could... sure would save a lot of people some time and money.
I rember that article Dan. I rember when you guys use to come up here and stay at the no tell motel right on the river across from the shell station. Use to go down and dream of being up there doing what you guys did.
As for that guy. He use to whine at the bar constantly about the tourney's. The problem with Elk Rapids is it is full of people that don't live here and feel they have a say in how we run our town.
I'm sure Bill W was one of the people that whined the most. We have put up with him for far too many years and will probably have to for many years to come. His nephew asks me not to hold that against him LOL
I've forgotten so many things... but I do remember that guy. I think I might like his nephew. ;D
Dan....Didn't the Michigan Redman Trail used to have an early season tournament in Indiana or someplace down south....? I remember going down there early in the year and I think it was for a Redman......
The first Enduro (motorcycle) race used to be in Indiana every year also.....Maybe that is what I am mixing it up with...LOL...Oldtimers disease...
I can't remember all the details from way back and that is from just before I started fishing 1 or 2 of those 'big' tournaments a year. I think they did. I know TriState always started in Indiana and/or Ohio when they were big back then. Other circuits that have come and gone did the same.
I don't doubt FLW Outdoors would like a longer season to choose from in Michigan. I think they prefer to keep all the BFL events in Michigan for our division because we have the facilities, the water and the bass! We are water rich, no doubt.
http://fishweb.ifas.ufl.edu/allenlab/Popular%20Articles/Bed%20Fishing%20May%2010.pdf
early fishing study/article. it's a good read
this second study is a bit more of a read
http://fishweb.ifas.ufl.edu/allenlab/publications/Gwinn%20and%20Allen%20spawning%20closures.pdf
What it basically says is one of the messages I've been trying to get across, if you have the Great Lakes, and 11,000 lakes and all the rivers we have in Michigan, closing all of them to bass fishing to possibly protect a few very high fishing pressure waters that may or may not even exist in Michigan because of how much sheer water we have, is going way overboard!
You're taking away a ton of bass fishing opportunity for situations that might not even exist and if they do, then you have local regulations on those specific bodies of water to help them out. Northern statewide closed bass seasons are kind of like being a hypochondriac - I'm going to take all this medication for all these diseases I probably don't even have just in case.
That is not real management. That is being overly simple without considering how much opportunity you are taking away from people who want it, and if that outweighs protection that more than likely isn't even needed.
At one point, we talked about maybe only allowing open bass fishing on the Great Lakes and lakes larger than 1,000 acres. But that again, is like using a 2 by 4 to swat a mosquito you think you hear but don't actually see. There are so many lakes in Michigan that get little bass fishing pressure all season because we have so many lakes.
I do sympathize with the MDNR in the area that they don't have the staffing levels to personally manage every lake that might have an issue like overabundant panfish, low fish productivity, habitat problems, maybe extra high catch-and-keep fishing pressure, but we shouldn't use that to justify completely taking away bass fishing opportunity for all waters for a long period of time. Everyone has to prioritize and they won't get more staffing if less and less people hunt and fish each year. I'm trying to help though I know not everyone will see it that way.
What is real interesting about the study paper bob o linked to above it about how a year-long catch and release - http://fishweb.ifas.ufl.edu/allenlab/publications/Gwinn%20and%20Allen%20spawning%20closures.pdf on page 630 (actually 5 of 9 in the PDF) - is one of the key points I keep making - if 60% to 80% of all bass anglers are already VOLUNTARILY practicing catch and release all year, then we are ALREADY doing one of the proven, most effective things we can do to have more adult bass in our fisheries!
Add that to the 14 inch size limit that allowed way more bass to have the chance to successfully spawn at least before they might be harvested and we are doing the most effective things we can for our bass populations! Look at the weight results and catches on average across the state of Michigan since we went to the 14 inch size limit that boosted the already high voluntary catch and release ethic and you can see that in general we are catching as many or more bass than ever with a higher average weight on many, many waters.
KVD said recently that these are the good ole days! I completely agree with him! All this DESPITE the amount of out of season bass fishing so many people practice on purpose or incidentally to fishing for other fish during this same time and I really don't see how anyone can't come to the same conclusion I have - we are giving away a whole bunch of bass fishing opportunity and tourism boost in Michigan that we do not need to give away.
Help Michigan's economy - support more legal bass fishing in Michigan. Let people fish.
When in April do you have a the meeting? Glad to see I'm not the only one trying to make things happen. I personally e-mailed one of our fisheries biologists but felt I didn't get anywhere. He told me even if there studies shows there is no negative impact on the bass that there is still social regulations, basically saying "we make whatever laws we want".
Well, some of them are stuck on social regulations partly because they say they get the phone calls. Doesn't mean we can't change that with enough of the right support. I'm glad he/she at least admitted that to you.
Honesty is better than trying to make claims that studies don't support. My meeting is near the end of April. It is a citizen's advisory group and the bass season is one of the topics.