Meh, they already limit fishing seasons. I believe most of the spawn is off limits. Yankees are stupid

Must be a democrat mentality. If I can’t afford it or don’t like it then nobody should have it.

I can see the benefit of catch and release only during the LMB spawn. I don’t see the benefit of catching them off beds and taking them to a weight in…just seems very counter productive.

JMO

Do you understand why there are seasons for sportfish in many northern states?

It’s mostly to do with the reality that the window of opportunity for bass to successfully spawn in northern states is a very narrow window. In places like Texas and Florida bass have conditions to spawn for months. In Florida and South Texas sometimes half the year.

In northern states the window is sometimes literally weeks. Because if they dont successfully do it early enough they die in the winter. So recruitment can be zero some years.

Smallmouth especially are very vulnerable.

It’s actually smart, in the north to have seasons, not stupid.

It would be stupid to do it in Texas.

Wisconsin’s system for creating or amending fishing regulations is actually quite democratic (not the party, the government system) the people bring forth change. It’s actually really pretty refreshing, the government doesn’t just make rules up.

Matt Stefan has a video out about it. It’s a good video.

In the end if the people in Wisconsin’s vote , if they don’t want it, that’s that. That the opposite of socialism or communism. That’s…democracy. Many states don’t have that, whether they are considered red or blue states.

So are we thinking that the females that get weighed in don't spawn..... I'm pretty sure they do.

Doubt it matters one bit in most Texas lakes to the fish, but if it’s unpopular for the fisherman, don’t do it

From what I know it’s more dependent on whether the male gets taken, the females can drop
Eggs on several beds

The MN DNR is about 50 years behind in terms of fishing regulations and management. I'll give WI only a slightly better review as they do have a few more slot smallmouth lakes that protect/create trophy fisheries, and have a longer catch and release only season.

The reality is the "protect the spawn" regulations are outdated and worthless. Catch and release season only in MN for bass is two or three weeks starting in early May, starting the Saturday of Memorial weekend bass are open to harvest or put in a livewell (take off a bed to weight). Smallies bed heavily until mid-June in most of the state. Largies spawning cycle ends only a week or two before that.....so they're not protecting squat.

Regarding the potential ban on FFS, and lead tackle which they're trying to ban as well, it's all an over-reach.....which typical of those states' governments.

Haha, it’s the exact opposite of government overreach, it’s public involvement, don’t like that concept?

Have a watch, https://youtu.be/jeT-VLPHCHU?si=dutMg88SCWElBElm

There is nothing stupid about protecting spawning fish in MN. Sure, every years is different and it might not protect the entire spawn, but it is a smart mgmt technique.

There are also several lakes in MN that have special regs to promote trophy smallmouth fishing. The reality is, not many Minnesota residents care about bass or trophy bass fishing. Honestly, most guys go bass fishing when other fish aren’t biting. I wouldn’t categorize smallmouth fishing in most lakes as challenging, I’ve literally thrown a crank bait out, ate a sandwich and had a smallmouth bite it, just sitting there, you can easily catch a pile of smallmouth on most northern mn lakes if you try. They can get a little tricky pre spawn or later in the season on some lakes especially shield lakes after turnover when they spread out and disappear for the winter…

In MN walleye is king, not bass, it is what it is. Lake associations and tribes flex their muscles and get walleyes stocked and don’t care at all about bass or muskies, In fact Muskie stocking has tanked lately because of it, which sucks. Bass are near the bottom of the barrel up here. Aside from a few lakes around the twin cities, and attention outsiders have given Mille lacs, there really isn’t much attention given to bass, that’s because the people don’t care, that is nothing to do with the government.

When I first moved up here, I was excited about the smallmouth. I talked to a guy at the bar about it. He laughed and said “look man, all those brown carp, I squeeze really hard, and bounce off the gunnel of my boat as I let them go” I’m not saying it’s right, but most locals could careless about bass up here, and some believe they are a detriment to walleyes.

Sure there are bass guys and bass tournaments, but it’s peanuts when you look at how many folks fish up here and how much water there is.

The entirety of the FFS ban idea started from citizens not the government in WI. 100% of it.

I think we found the democrat in the room.

Are you projecting again grandbassslayer?

So a bunch of people who don't fish get to decide. Lol

Haha, it isn’t like it’s on the ballot when you go to vote for president. Read about it before you throw shade on it.

Would you rather the government just make rules without public engagement? That is government overreach, that isn’t what is happening at all.