Bass Fishing News

DNR to host public meetings in July regarding proposed changes to fishing regulations

The public is invited to discuss proposed fishing regulations - including one geared toward developing a catch-and-delayed-release bass season on select waters - at meetings hosted by the Michigan DNR across the state this July.   Photo Credit: MDNR

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has announced a schedule of public meetings in July to discuss several fishing regulation changes proposed for 2016.

These meetings will take place in each of the eight management units that oversee Michigan’s fisheries. The public is invited to attend to learn about proposed regulations, ask questions and discuss local issues.

The major issues to be discussed at these meetings are in relation to a proposed list of catch-and-delayed-release lakes for bass-fishing tournaments, chumming regulations, and a steelhead bag limit reduction for four rivers.

Sixteen water bodies are being proposed for catch-and-delayed-release bass tournaments. Catch-and-delayed-release means temporarily holding bass in a live-well for tournament weigh-in purposes. The change to chumming regulations refers to allowing no more than 1 quart of chum in an angler’s possession. The proposal to reduce the steelhead bag limit pertains to the Muskegon, Pere Marquette, Little Manistee and Big Manistee rivers.

Meeting dates, times and locations include:

Southern Lake Michigan Management Unit
> Wednesday, July 29, 7 to 8 p.m. (EST) at D&R Sports Center, 8178 W. Main St. in Kalamazoo.

Central Lake Michigan Management Unit
> Monday, July 27, 6 to 7:30 p.m. (EST) at John Graves Lodge, 4684 Evergreen Drive (M-37) in Newaygo.
> Tuesday, July 28, 6 to 7:30 p.m. (EST) at Onekama Consolidated Schools’ media center, 5016 Main St. in Onekama.

Northern Lake Michigan/Eastern Lake Superior/Western Lake Superior management units
> Thursday, July 30, 6:30 to 8 p.m. (EST) at the DNR Pocket Park in the U.P. State Fairgrounds, 2401 12th Ave. North in Escanaba.
Please note, two additional proposed regulation changes will be discussed at this particular meeting (covering three management units). These include proposals to 1) modify the one-over-23-inches walleye slot limit boundary line for Little Bay de Noc, and 2) change the fishing regulations for lake sturgeon on the Menominee River between the Park Mill dam and the Grand Rapids dam.

Lake Erie Management Unit
> Tuesday, July 21, 7 to 8:30 p.m. (EST) at the Waterford Fisheries Office, 7806 Gale Road in Waterford.

Southern Lake Huron Management Unit
> Monday, July 13, 6:30 to 8 p.m. (EST) at the Saginaw Bay Visitor Center, 3582 State Park Drive in Bay City.

Northern Lake Huron Management Unit
> Wednesday, July 29, 6:30 to 8 p.m. (EST) at the Tuscarora Township Hall, 3546 S. Straits Highway in Indian River.

Meeting details also are available on the DNR website at michigan.gov/fishing.

Here are the 16 proposed test CDR lakes for 2016 released at the meeting last night by the MDNR in Bay City:

• Lake Charlevoix (Charlevoix County)
• Houghton Lake (Roscommon County)
• Burt Lake (Cheboygan/Emmet County)
• Mullett Lake Cheboygan County)
• Hardy Dam Pond (Newaygo County)
• White Lake (Muskegon County)
• Muskegon Lake (Muskegon County)
• Gull Lake (Barry/Kalamazoo County)
• Gun Lake (Barry County)
• Kent Lake (Oakland County)
• Portage Chain (Livingston/Washtenaw County)
• Cass Lake (Oakland County)
• Half Moon Chain (Washtenaw County)
• Pontiac Lake (Oakland County)
• Wixom Lake (Gladwin County)
• Holloway Reservoir (Genesee County)

The test CDR season would run from that last Saturday in April until Memorial weekend. All tournaments would have to be entered on the Michigan Fishing Tournament Information System, and tournament directors would be required to enter their results of of the tournament after the event on the system. This information will be critical to helping determine if there are any serious negative changes to the various lakes and chains.

We are working on possibly improving and enhancing the Michigan Fishing Tournament Information System in conjunction with this NRC-proposed test season that would probably run 5-10 years and including 2 or 3 lakes having detailed fish surveys taken of them.