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I have no data on this, just rumors.

I would not want to do anything to hurt the bass population. Seems that many states have catch & release seasons and have for long enough that they would have run out of bass if there was an impact that wasn't balanced with some kind of intervention.

I suggest a ridiculous fee for a pre-season c&r license on a rotating zone system for the next 5 years. Use the moneys to do a study and get some data. $200 pre-season catch & release licenses... I know there are many who would pay...

Once the research was in, if it was proven/indicating there was no impact, the price could be adjusted so everyone could fish pre-season...

but, bottom line, I would not want to do anything to hurt the bass population.


Tim

There already is a pre-season bass license on the Ottawa River...it's called the "I own a bass boat and am really good at flipping for pike" license.

fisherguy33 wrote:There already is a pre-season bass license on the Ottawa River...it's called the "I own a bass boat and am really good at flipping for pike" license.

Weren't you the dude who caught the 6 pounder not too long ago?....

Err on the side of caution, particularly when something as valuable as a healthy fishery is at stake.

Take it from someone who lives where people were POUNDING the bass all through spawn. You guys have got superior fishing. It's no coincidence. I know most of you do not take for granted the amazing resources right at your doorstep.

Even if the fish are done spawning with a 2 week buffer or so, all the better to give them that extra bit of time to recover from the stresses of the season.

Keep the season where it is. Make it later. But by all means, do not move it up.

W.

MNR were checking every boat going into White Lake yesterday and were searching the boats and handing out tickets for "intending to fish bass out of season" Apparently a lot of people were nailed yesterday and this past weekend. My buddy was talking to them and they had a bunch of tickets already wrote up and waiting to hand them out. Good that they are being pro-active.

fisherguy33 wrote:There already is a pre-season bass license on the Ottawa River...it's called the "I own a bass boat and am really good at flipping for pike" license.

Come on not because he's in a bass boat that he's bass fishing even if he's pitching the slop.

I think the seasons are just fine, they set the dates for the latest possible spawn times not the erliest.

Was at the cottage on the weekend and didn't have any luck with the trout....decide go for a snorkel and a little scuba dive (buddy breathing to get a little lower down)....thermocline was at about 11 feet so much lower than a few weeks ago. Surface temp was around 21.

Saw a lot of Bass schools underneath the docs and tons of fry in the top few feet of the water column but there were certainly a couple bass wading over their nests and a bunch of egg clusters on the bottom attached to logs (not sure if they are bass eggs). Guess some of these guys are the late bloomers.

Pretty sure the opening day is to compensate for these late bloomers....we had seen lots of bass nesting over a month ago.

Gotta say, the more i fish and don't catch anything, the more i want to dive and snorkel (free dive) to check out the structures underneath and where the fish are.....or I could just get a fishfinder

Flipper wrote:Should the MNR consider opening bass season earlier in eastern Ontario and the Ottawa river?

NO!

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I liked the comparison of waiting for the opener being harder than waiting for Christmas morning. The time leading up to the opener is no less expensive than Christmas either. If I can't fish for them then I'm going to shop for things to catch them with.

If you want to fish the spawn or pre-spawn buy yourself a NY or Vermont licence and knock yourself out. One of these years I plan on making an early run down to Champlain.

However, as anxious as I am right now I don't want the season changed unless there is solid year over year proof that the spawn is happening earlier and there will be no detremental impact on the fishery.

So 4 or 5 more early springs in a row and maybe we are on to something.

seeksbigguns' wrote:MNR were checking every boat going into White Lake yesterday and were searching the boats and handing out tickets for "intending to fish bass out of season" Apparently a lot of people were nailed yesterday and this past weekend. My buddy was talking to them and they had a bunch of tickets already wrote up and waiting to hand them out. Good that they are being pro-active.

Wait, how do you nail someone for "intending to fish bass out of season" ???
I mean, I've heard they'll go based on the lures you're using at that time and even confiscate them.

Trisomy21 wrote:

seeksbigguns' wrote:MNR were checking every boat going into White Lake yesterday and were searching the boats and handing out tickets for "intending to fish bass out of season" Apparently a lot of people were nailed yesterday and this past weekend. My buddy was talking to them and they had a bunch of tickets already wrote up and waiting to hand them out. Good that they are being pro-active.

Wait, how do you nail someone for "intending to fish bass out of season" ???
I mean, I've heard they'll go based on the lures you're using at that time and even confiscate them.

That is apparently how they were nailing them. They said there was people flipping in the weeds and pads with plastics and 5 different rods and it is obvious they were targeting bass.

seeksbigguns' wrote:That is apparently how they were nailing them. They said there was people flipping in the weeds and pads with plastics and 5 different rods and it is obvious they were targeting bass.

Ah well that's just obvious then. It'd still be hard to enforce with other lures or bait in other areas or do they nail you for using 8-inch sucker minnows and randomly catching a bass?

seeksbigguns' wrote:

Trisomy21 wrote:

seeksbigguns' wrote:MNR were checking every boat going into White Lake yesterday and were searching the boats and handing out tickets for "intending to fish bass out of season" Apparently a lot of people were nailed yesterday and this past weekend. My buddy was talking to them and they had a bunch of tickets already wrote up and waiting to hand them out. Good that they are being pro-active.

Wait, how do you nail someone for "intending to fish bass out of season" ???
I mean, I've heard they'll go based on the lures you're using at that time and even confiscate them.

That is apparently how they were nailing them. They said there was people flipping in the weeds and pads with plastics and 5 different rods and it is obvious they were targeting bass.

Can't imagine any of these tickets would stick if someone took the time to challenge them. Don't get me wrong if a poacher gets nabbed I am not going to lose any sleep but I don't like the idea of the government infering my intent by the number of rods I have or if I am fishing in the weeds. Now back to the actual topic of this thread.... Eventhough I think bass are probably the most well established species in the province I see no need to open them earlier. Lots of other species out there that are open in the spring.

For large bodies of water that have healthy bass populations, there should be some sort of C&R season for bass. Every state that borders Ontario and Quebec has moved to some form of C&R after doing lots of studies and in Ontario, Lake of the Woods is catch and keep all year round.

If the MNR is worried about bass populations, they can designate sanctuaries.

A C&R season would also relieve muskie fishermen of their guilt as they disturb the late spawners with bucktails and suicks over prime weedbeds.

I'd say leave it as is, there's no doubt what's going on now is working. There are healthy Bass populations in most areas for this reason.

There's an old saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".