splashhopper Posted May 24, 2008 Report Share Posted May 24, 2008 As a newcomer to this sport, I am somewhat confused about the latest pics on the board here about all the bass being caught on the New York side of Lake Ontario. If I am in Ontario, the bass season doesn't open till the end of June due the spawning season of this fish. Do the bass in New york have a different spawning season than "our Canadian bass" do? If SO, why is that? And if NOT, why are some people proudly posting pics of bass that they have sought "out of country" then? I don't get it? Splashhopper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greencoachdog Posted May 24, 2008 Report Share Posted May 24, 2008 Are you jealous or what? As long as the fish is legally caught and in season where they were caught, there isn't a problem. You may or may not have seen my recently caught Bass: We have no closed season on any freshwater fish here in Alabama, that fish is as legal as the day is long. I believe 9 out of 10 Bass that are shown on the board this time of year are released anyway, I release all my Bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handlebarz Posted May 24, 2008 Report Share Posted May 24, 2008 Are you jealous or what? As long as the fish is legally caught and in season where they were caught, there isn't a problem. You may or may not have seen my recently caught Bass: We have no closed season on any freshwater fish here in Alabama, that fish is as legal as the day is long. I believe 9 out of 10 Bass that are shown on the board this time of year are released anyway, I release all my Bass. Now he done it had to bring out the fish porn again I think he is upset that people leave here from one side of a lake to fish the same fish that are closed. One answer I have is that they might have a hug population over there and feel that the fish that are caught will not make a difference to the over all health of the population of bass in lake O or earie? One thing I know is that for musky in the south they have no closed season as all the fish will not reproduce so there is no harm in fishing them during spawn as there will not be any. I know where Tj has his camp there is no closed season as Dad and I would fish bass on may 24 up there and there is alot of them smallies up that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiel Posted May 24, 2008 Report Share Posted May 24, 2008 ....I think a complete overhaul of our bass (and other species) seasons is long overdue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splashhopper Posted May 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2008 "I think he is upset that people leave here from one side of a lake to fish the same fish that are closed." Yep, that is my confusion exactly. But, as the next post said, maybe there is a need for the reg's to be reviewed on this particular fish exspecially if they are being caught on the "same body of water". ( Ie: Lake Ontario) And how the heck would i know if I was on the US side of a BIG wave in the middle of the lake anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packrat Posted May 24, 2008 Report Share Posted May 24, 2008 Dont know the exact dates for the US side but they're "early" season is stricly catch and release. "And how the heck would i know if I was on the US side of a BIG wave in the middle of the lake anyway"-----simple----look for the nice red and white boat waiting to greet you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forrest Posted May 24, 2008 Report Share Posted May 24, 2008 Alabama may be catch and release but for a lot of Southern Ontarians that would be blasphamy. How long would it take for the Bass population to be decimated in the GTA if there the fishing season overlapped the spawning season? I think the Ministry of Natural Resources are doing a good job, care about their job and are always looking for better ways to manage fish stocks. forrest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greencoachdog Posted May 24, 2008 Report Share Posted May 24, 2008 Alabama may be catch and release but for a lot of Southern Ontarians that would be blasphamy. How long would it take for the Bass population to be decimated in the GTA if there the fishing season overlapped the spawning season? I think the Ministry of Natural Resources are doing a good job, care about their job and are always looking for better ways to manage fish stocks. forrest Alabama is catch and keep all year, and we have a fairly liberal creel limit of 10 Black Bass!... but we have a considerably longer growing season. I would really like a C&R season during the spawn though. It would keep the tournament from pulling the Big fish off the beds and transporting miles down the river to the weigh in. They sight fish for these Bass and only have one thing in mind... money! I don't agree with nor practice this fishing pattern. The fish I catch are either pre or post spawners, and are released after the Kodak moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassfighter Posted May 24, 2008 Report Share Posted May 24, 2008 (edited) CA Bass season is open on the last week of June, it was bumped up earlier last year, and back to normal schedule. For US Niagara river fishing- Bass is open all year round for catch and release, except after first week of May, anglers can take one fish home. Fishing the CA side is not as productive as well this time of the year where the water temp is colder than average, Fihsing US side is better and shallower in many areas. Water gets warmer faster in the US side, that is the reason the fish are getting caught at the US side since April. For the CA side, the trout are still being sought after due to abnormal cooler water temp. The Niagara river is not divided equally to separate US and CA border as well, and I called DEC NY and it was quite tricky in some areas. However, one cannot just be ignorant and make excuses to the Niagara river police if being ask why one is fishing at the US or CA side. For serious angler, an extra $40 US license is no big deal. Based on the abnormal cooler water temp this year. Many bass will still be spawning after June Bass opening day ,and it will be a slaugther house event. I hope anglers will let the largemouth bass go especially if they are being caught at shallower 5 ft of water. Edited May 25, 2008 by bassfighter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oncogene Posted May 24, 2008 Report Share Posted May 24, 2008 CA Bass season is open on second week of June, it was bumped up earlier since last year. No, it's not. The bass season open date WAS bumped up FOR last year, and for last year only. This year the bass season is open on the 4th Saturday of June, isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greencoachdog Posted May 24, 2008 Report Share Posted May 24, 2008 In zone 11 it's the fourth Sat. in June this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesn Posted May 24, 2008 Report Share Posted May 24, 2008 It was bumped up last year to the new and recurring opener for southern Ontario, the 4th Saturday in June. It used to be the "last" Saturday in June so in years like last year it made for 1 extra week of bassin. This year the last and 4th Saturday are the same Saturday. As far as NY's regulations, as of this year they have a 365 day catch and release season on most bodies of water. Lake Erie has a special "trophy" season where 1 bass is allowed to be kept over 20" per person starting on the first saturday in May. Their full season opens on the 3rd Saturday in June. As far as the spawn, all across Southern Ontario it starts in some places as early as mid-May and goes until mid-July. Anything beyond that, the fry have a tough time gaining enough weight before the winter. The people catching bass right now on Erie are catching mostly pre-spawners, staging and getting ready to spawn. But they spawn deep, I've seen beds in 20-24 feet of water near Buffalo. So people may indeed inadvertently catch spawners. Some will also target spawners too, which is well within their rights. But the conditions need to be near perfect for it because of the depth of the lake. The fish spawn in waves too, so it's not like every fish is in the same stage at any given time. In a few weeks there will be fish that are pre-spawn, spawners and post-spawn fish all in the same general vicinities. Furthermore, I think there was a study that showed only 1/3rd of the adult bass population spawn in one year. Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted May 25, 2008 Report Share Posted May 25, 2008 Bass should by all means be open in the great lakes year-round IMO. But until the OMNR comes to it's senses about it, I'll glady read the reports from the guys who are legally chasing them on the NY side. Good for them. Much better to see bass legally caught in the US than "incidental" out of season bass shots from the Ontario side. The law is still the law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinS Posted May 25, 2008 Report Share Posted May 25, 2008 this thread makes me laugh its a joke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky or Specks Posted May 25, 2008 Report Share Posted May 25, 2008 Id guess what I would have to say is ,We already have a catch and release season its anytime Bass season isnt open. You can catch em you just cant keep em. Ive probably caught a good 2 dozen so far this spring while panfish fishin. Every one of them released. So why dont they just make it official for the Great Lakes and maybe we can keep some of those dollars over here and not give em to the yankees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted May 25, 2008 Report Share Posted May 25, 2008 this thread makes me laugh its a joke Enlighten me.. what's funny about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyk Posted May 25, 2008 Report Share Posted May 25, 2008 Bass is open and catch and keep all year in Kentucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garry2Rs Posted May 25, 2008 Report Share Posted May 25, 2008 Bass generally spawn on the full moon once the water reaches 65* In some years that maybe in May in Southern Ontario. In a cold year the fish will spawn in 60* water... Yes, many States have no closed season for Bass. But they tend to be in the southern half of the USA, where there is a long growing season, and the spawn is spread out over several months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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