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| Not a muskie question, but...
Is it legal to target smallmouth bass in southern Wisconsin, prior to the first Saturday in may? I wouldn't be keeping any, I've just never been clear about whether its legal to fish for them.
Thanks. |
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Posts: 258
Location: Mayville, WI | No...
Edited by scmuskies 4/18/2014 2:49 PM
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Posts: 1220
| I've probably caught 30 smallies in the Milwaukee River by my house so far this year....but I'm not targeting them--I'm just catching them and putting them right back. If asked by a warden, I'm fishing for Steelhead....which I really am because they fight as good as a musky and are swimming in the same water. I usually keep only one per year. Naturally, you better have the trout stamp if you are saying that. |
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| scmuskies - 4/18/2014 2:47 PM
No...
Too bad. Must be legal in MN though, eh? The In-Fisherman guys are always targeting them within days of ice-out, and it looks fun.
Water temps here are 42 - 47, and they're in on the flats.
Alas, restraint is the better part of valor! 2 more weeks. |
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Posts: 1901
Location: MN | gotta remember our ice out is like 3 months later than southern Wisconsin  |
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Posts: 117
Location: Northwest Wisconsin | I just watched Al Lindner fishing smallmouths early in the year. They talked about how they fish Ontario as soon as the ice leaves because the season never ends there. |
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Posts: 92
| Yep, Ont. |
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| Junkman - 4/18/2014 3:07 PM
I've probably caught 30 smallies in the Milwaukee River by my house so far this year....but I'm not targeting them--I'm just catching them and putting them right back. If asked by a warden, I'm fishing for Steelhead....which I really am because they fight as good as a musky and are swimming in the same water. I usually keep only one per year. Naturally, you better have the trout stamp if you are saying that.
May want to watch yourself- I've heard DNR wardens will tell you that if you are consistently catching a fish that is out of season, you are supposed to change your presentation/approach to avoid doing so.. I have no problem getting rid of some smallmouth, but others may be less than happy. |
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Posts: 297
Location: Not where I want to be! | No! You cannot target smallies. Smallmouth & Largemouth season is closed until May 3rd.. It is not catch and release.
Edited by wavridr 4/19/2014 6:15 AM
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Location: Hayward WI | Find one of the several "open year round" lakes/rivers. Lake WI, WI River, Puckaway...... |
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Posts: 1220
| What a tough audience-Yipes! I guess it's all about the word "target." When I was a young lad I often left the bars with a lady with far less of the attributes ( so did she ) that you would consider the ones I targeted. It's just what I got. |
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Location: MN | You can fish the Mississippi year round. Targeting a species out of season is illegal but pretty much impossible for a warden to write you a ticket for unless you admit what you are doing. I guess it really comes down to your ethics. |
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Posts: 1529
| some zones in ont are year round. read the regs wherever your fishing. avoid a bummer day. |
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Posts: 216
| "Impossible" ha lol,tell that to the warden while he's writing your ticket. They can write you a ticket for just about anything he wants and it's up to you to fight it in court. Buddy of mine got a ticket for "excessively yanking your rod" one time when we were salmon fishing. He just wasn't good at sticking em, I was catching em one after the other and his kept getting off. So I figured he wasn't setting the hook quick enough, I told him the slightest tap you feel set the hook. Hook sets are free right? Not when your salmon fishing, too many hook sets will cost ya,like $52 bucks I think it was.And yup I've heard if you catch more than a few non target species then you can be ticketed for "Harrasing out of season fish" |
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Location: MN | Brozz88 - 4/19/2014 8:55 AM
"Impossible" ha lol,tell that to the warden while he's writing your ticket. They can write you a ticket for just about anything he wants and it's up to you to fight it in court. Buddy of mine got a ticket for "excessively yanking your rod" one time when we were salmon fishing. He just wasn't good at sticking em, I was catching em one after the other and his kept getting off. So I figured he wasn't setting the hook quick enough, I told him the slightest tap you feel set the hook. Hook sets are free right? Not when your salmon fishing, too many hook sets will cost ya,like $52 bucks I think it was.And yup I've heard if you catch more than a few non target species then you can be ticketed for "Harrasing out of season fish"
Sounds like your buddy got a ticket for attempting to snag fish. Pretty easy thing for a warden to write you a ticket for.
Targeting a species out of season is a pretty tough thing to prove. "officer the crappies just love these crank baits". I had a talk with a warden on this very subject because there were a lot of guys pitching some awful large baits for panfish on the lake I grew up on and pulling nice bass off their beds. The warden told me he can't prove intent. He said unless they admit they are targeting a closed species it will never hold up in court. Anyone ever hear of someone getting pinched for this? I haven't and you see it all the time. Again it is up to your personal ethics. |
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Posts: 1039
Location: North St. Paul, MN | Always think it's funny watching the Lindner's fishing "early season bass" before the leaves are on the trees, in central MN. |
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Posts: 374
| If the question hinges on "targeting" a certain species before the opener then the answer has to be no. We each know what our intention is and should apply an ethical basis to our actions and not rely on what we get away with our the interpretation of a warden. By the way ... whenever I left a bar with what I could get I usually regretted it. |
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