Important take this MDNR fishing survey

[djkimmel]

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is conducting another fishing survey. You should take a few minutes to take the survey to let them know your feelings about Michigan fishing and their management.

http://survey.sogosurvey.com/Survey.aspx?k=SsTSXWUsSQsPsPsP

This might be a great time to tell them how you feel about the lack of any new bass tournament fishing opportunity despite 3 bass season changes over 30 years time. Another great topic to bring up in your comments would be having a really nice, safe, tournament-friendly boating access site on Belle Isle and/or just more public access sites in general too.

If you don't take this survey you miss a great chance to have your voice heard whether they listen well or not. Hopefully they will listen well, especially if enough of you say what you're thinking.

[FrickerDude]

Done

[Team houston]

Done

[thedude]

i focused on the season length and changes as well as the gross overuse of weed kill applications on inland lakes.

[t-bone]

Done

[stackenem]

 :done

[Get_the_net]

Done

[Waterfoul]

Like thedude, I focused on the season and the DNR putting what seems to me like too much focus on the opinion of a select few fishing guides around the state.  The fishing in Michigan is as good or better than it's ever been, despite the cries of a few people out there who say otherwise.

[djkimmel]

Thanks everyone! Keep it up and share the post with the link with your friends.

PS: I have a resolution at this year's MUCC Convention to get them more involved in weed killing - try to put a dent in it somehow.

[djkimmel]

Think about this too:
If people want to walleye fish more, they stock walleye.

If people want to muskie fish more, they stock muskie.

If people want to salmon/trout fish more, they stock salmon and trout.

If people want to bass fish more, they say no. Too dangerous. Too risky.

People keep most of their walleye, trout and salmon. People let most of their bass go yet their first answer is always no, too risky, we don't stock bass, in fact we may restrict bass more (see my post about Grand Traverse Bay in Member's Only) if we think people are keeping them (i.e. if a guide says too many people are keeping his bass). Anyone have a problem with any of that? I know I do.

70% of Michigan fishing licenses are now sold because of bass fishing primarily, bass are primarily a catch and release fish, yet they are the most restricted fish despite being the most wide spread and available gamefish. Help me stop the madness. They stock 20+ million fish and 0 bass because they don't have to but what if everyone becomes a bass angler and people start keeping more? We still don't stock them? We stock everything else. Other states supplement stock bass to provide good bass fisheries.

In Michigan, they would just keep restricting the 'harvest' season more punishing bass tournament anglers too because 'no one wants to harvest bass more,' translation you bass tournament anglers aren't important enough to give you more opportunity, plus 'you're so dangerous we can't risk giving you more bass fishing. You'll wipe out the bass.' Something like that is what a certain tv personality said at an NRC meeting... and they liked it.

Eventually, we could have year-round catch-and-release but not be able to have bass tournaments until July 1 (in the heat of the summer which makes sense, right?) and if they were to adopt the idiocy of Minnesota we would stop allowing 'harvest' (bass tournaments) on smallmouth bass after Labor Day to protect the wintering bass... This is the way some of these people think and someone has to stop this kind of thinking and turn things around.

If they pass restrictions on Grand Traverse Bay like Beaver Island (which was because of cormorants not fishing I'm told) it will spread to other Northern waters. We either need a CDR exception or we need longer harvest seasons or our bass tournaments will be more restricted in the future than they already are. This present NRC will not support either unless the MDNR Fisheries Division tells them it is okay.

My next step is to get MUCC on board to support us for adaptive management and equal opportunity for bass tournaments and it won't be easy because some people even there think we fill up too many boat ramps too often (even though there are supposedly so few of us we don't really matter).

I've always wondered how a group of anglers that is so small it doesn't really matter can also be so much trouble that they need MORE restrictions than other anglers...? Ever hear of having your cake and eating it too?

[dartag]

Interesting Survey.  Not sure who wrote that one.  Kind of reminded me of some Depositions I had when I worked.   Lots of questions that don't mean anything.  But I got through it.

[djkimmel]

I'm glad you got through it.