fishing off season, catch and release acceptable?

[fishermccann]

Legaly, don't you have to keep the fish, to be poaching?

[ozaibak1]

Just because someone is using spinners doesn't mean they are targeting bass does it? What about walleye, pike, muskie on spinners?

[JohnF]

Legaly, don't you have to keep the fish, to be poaching?

 

By that reasoning I'm not fishing if I don't catch anything, just wading down the creek beating the air with a graphite stick.

 

JF

[fishermccann]

What are you fishing for? Don't know, I have not caught anything! Just fishing not catching.

Edited June 2, 2009 by fishermccann

[Jigger]

Knowingly targeting fish is illegal when they aren't in season. However, theres plenty of lures that have multiple species written all over them and incidental catches are going to happen. As far as spawning fish go, fishing spawning trout and Salmon is legal and by far the most popular time of year to target them. Fishing Pike in spawning bays when the season opens yields the years biggest fish on average. Its just easier to fish your target when its spawning whether you want to call it shooting fish in a barrel or whatever. But I guarantee you that if the water doesn't warm up fast enough, you'll see male bass being hauled off beds left right and center come opener. Doesn't mean its right, just legal. The bigger fish wont be in those same spots, but it will be the people that refuse to work a little harder and that will be content with quantity over quality fishing these spots. Why? Easy pickins. This weekends musky opener has spawning written all over it too if the temps are still on the mild side.

[Rich]

Yeah, our lakes can't possibly sustain a year round bass season. Much better off to tow the boat to the other side of the Niagara River and do it over there. After all, the bass on that side of the river have a year round growing season.

 

I'm not advocating OOS bass fishing, but I would definitely advocate a change in bass season here in Ontario.

 

I've always said what would be best is keeping it open until the beginning of April, then closing from April til end of June. That would sufficiently protect bedding bass.

[Devious]

Some people can't catch them when it's legal. Too hard for them. They'll catch them out of season and take pictures and call them Personal Bests. Poachers Best, I say.

[bigugli]

Good point Roy.

 

On a personal note...

 

Caught a few OOS smallies this past winter. Four guys, 8 holes, spread right out in depths from 4 to 18 feet. One of my holes gets 3 OOS smallies, big suckers too. Best smallie outing I've ever had. Meanwhile, the other guys holes not twenty feet away are firing walleye. Am I moving?... no way. Later caught 3 walleye too out of the smallie hole and missed some fish. Wasn't there targeting bass but I feel it's absurd to pass on a great fishing area because OOS fish are being hooked 1 to 4 to the target species. Scenarios like this have happened other times as well... heck, I caught 2 OOS sturgeon recently while using deadbait tactics to take 12 (I think it was) mixed bag walleye and pike at locations where all those fish swim. Also catch most of my ice-out pike at warm water outflows where OOS walleye may be lurking as well. Fishing in-season fish is allowable but I wonder what a CO would have said about some of these cases...?

 

The bass season IMO isn't right. This fish on a pedestal is absurd. The "slow" growth for these fish compared to U.S. fish means nothing, as, it applies to pretty much all of our countries sportfish. Walleye and trout across the province need to be stocked yet they're seasons allow ice fishing and much shorter closures. Bass are open year round in some parts of Northern Ontario where bass are fewer and farther between, so why in the south do they close this fish?

I'd be happy with a shorter closed season with bass. There is no real sense in the fall closure. Personally, the pike/ walleye opener should extend 2 weeks later, but that won't fly with the tourism industry. I 'm happy they have finally closed pike in Niagara. It was also still legal here to net them a few years back, and they were easy pickings during the spawn.