If you are fishing in Michigan already PLEASE read this

[djkimmel]

I can't remember all the details from way back and that is from just before I started fishing 1 or 2 of those 'big' tournaments a year. I think they did. I know TriState always started in Indiana and/or Ohio when they were big back then. Other circuits that have come and gone did the same.

I don't doubt FLW Outdoors would like a longer season to choose from in Michigan. I think they prefer to keep all the BFL events in Michigan for our division because we have the facilities, the water and the bass! We are water rich, no doubt.

[bob o]

http://fishweb.ifas.ufl.edu/allenlab/Popular%20Articles/Bed%20Fishing%20May%2010.pdf

early fishing study/article. it's a good read

this second study is a bit more of a read
http://fishweb.ifas.ufl.edu/allenlab/publications/Gwinn%20and%20Allen%20spawning%20closures.pdf

[djkimmel]

What it basically says is one of the messages I've been trying to get across, if you have the Great Lakes, and 11,000 lakes and all the rivers we have in Michigan, closing all of them to bass fishing to possibly protect a few very high fishing pressure waters that may or may not even exist in Michigan because of how much sheer water we have, is going way overboard!

You're taking away a ton of bass fishing opportunity for situations that might not even exist and if they do, then you have local regulations on those specific bodies of water to help them out. Northern statewide closed bass seasons are kind of like being a hypochondriac - I'm going to take all this medication for all these diseases I probably don't even have just in case.

That is not real management. That is being overly simple without considering how much opportunity you are taking away from people who want it, and if that outweighs protection that more than likely isn't even needed.

At one point, we talked about maybe only allowing open bass fishing on the Great Lakes and lakes larger than 1,000 acres. But that again, is like using a 2 by 4 to swat a mosquito you think you hear but don't actually see. There are so many lakes in Michigan that get little bass fishing pressure all season because we have so many lakes.

I do sympathize with the MDNR in the area that they don't have the staffing levels to personally manage every lake that might have an issue like overabundant panfish, low fish productivity, habitat problems, maybe extra high catch-and-keep fishing pressure, but we shouldn't use that to justify completely taking away bass fishing opportunity for all waters for a long period of time. Everyone has to prioritize and they won't get more staffing if less and less people hunt and fish each year. I'm trying to help though I know not everyone will see it that way.

What is real interesting about the study paper bob o linked to above it about how a year-long catch and release - http://fishweb.ifas.ufl.edu/allenlab/publications/Gwinn%20and%20Allen%20spawning%20closures.pdf on page 630 (actually 5 of 9 in the PDF) - is one of the key points I keep making - if 60% to 80% of all bass anglers are already VOLUNTARILY practicing catch and release all year, then we are ALREADY doing one of the proven, most effective things we can do to have more adult bass in our fisheries!

Add that to the 14 inch size limit that allowed way more bass to have the chance to successfully spawn at least before they might be harvested and we are doing the most effective things we can for our bass populations! Look at the weight results and catches on average across the state of Michigan since we went to the 14 inch size limit that boosted the already high voluntary catch and release ethic and you can see that in general we are catching as many or more bass than ever with a higher average weight on many, many waters.

KVD said recently that these are the good ole days! I completely agree with him! All this DESPITE the amount of out of season bass fishing so many people practice on purpose or incidentally to fishing for other fish during this same time and I really don't see how anyone can't come to the same conclusion I have - we are giving away a whole bunch of bass fishing opportunity and tourism boost in Michigan that we do not need to give away.

Help Michigan's economy - support more legal bass fishing in Michigan. Let people fish.

[flipin31]

When in April do you have a the meeting?  Glad to see I'm not the only one trying to make things happen.  I personally e-mailed one of our fisheries biologists but felt I didn't get anywhere.  He told me even if there studies shows there is no negative impact on the bass that there is still social regulations, basically saying "we make whatever laws we want". 

[djkimmel]

Well, some of them are stuck on social regulations partly because they say they get the phone calls. Doesn't mean we can't change that with enough of the right support. I'm glad he/she at least admitted that to you.

Honesty is better than trying to make claims that studies don't support. My meeting is near the end of April. It is a citizen's advisory group and the bass season is one of the topics.