Proposed Changes to Bass Regs in NY

[Guest Superdad]

Found this on "The Fishing Networks' News Wire and thought it would be of interest to people on this board.

NEW: Whole New Angle

Spiel -- Wed, Mar/9/05

DEC mulls year-round bass fishing

Friday, March 04, 2005

By J. Michael Kelly

Staff writer/The Post Standard

The Department of Environmental Conservation is about to toss a big, juicy bone to New York bass anglers by allowing them to go after their favorite fish year-round.

Under current regulations, the annual season for largemouth and smallmouth bass in most waters of the state runs from the third Saturday in June through Nov. 30. With a few local exceptions, including Lake Erie and seven of the 11 Finger Lakes, fishermen are forbidden to target bass the rest of the year, even if they toss back all they hook.

But that prohibition may soon be lifted. State biologists are proposing to allow catch-and-release bass fishing from Dec. 1 through the day before the start of the regular season on most of the state's lakes and rivers.

Outside of the regular season, bass anglers would be limited to using artificial lures or flies - no live bait - and would have to release any bass they catch immediately after landing. The new policy would take effect on Oct. 1, 2006.

Several fishing holes, including part of eastern Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River and the lower Hudson River, would remain closed during the off-season.

State Bureau of Fisheries Chief Doug Stang said year-round bass fishing is one of 96 angling regulation changes being evaluated by the DEC.

Other proposals include a larger minimum creel size for Lake Ontario rainbow trout and extensions of fishing seasons on several popular Central New York trout streams.

It's the extra six months of bass fishing, however, that is likely to cause the biggest ripple among anglers. According to a 2001 federal survey, bass are New Yorkers' favorite game fish. The study showed 387,000 resident and non-resident fishermen spend about 5 million angler days per year trying for bass in state waters.

"We've been asking for this for a long time," said Mike Cusano of Clay, who is the conservation director of the New York State BASS Federation. "Every April, I can walk out on my dock on the Oneida River and see big bass chasing bait, but I can't fish for them until mid-June."

New York traditionally has barred spring-time bass fishing to protect the species from exploitation during its spawning period. Male bass are known to guard newly hatched fry from hungry sunfish, and studies conducted in Canada and elsewhere suggested that males pulled from nesting areas by fishermen often do not return to their posts before significant predation has occurred.

However, Stang said a review of recent bass-related studies by Cornell University researchers Randy Jackson and Tom Brooking sheds doubt on some of the old assumptions about spring fishing.

"For one thing, it indicates the current closed season does not provide as much protection for bass as we once thought," Stang said. "In about half of our lakes, male bass are still guarding nests when the regular season opens."

Jackson and Brooking, who work out of Cornell's Biological Field Station on the south shore of Oneida Lake, found that bass reproduction varies dramatically from year to year, in New York as well as in states that have year-round fishing for the species.

Aside from year-round bass fishing, the most controversial proposal under consideration is a plan to raise the minimum creel length for rainbow (steelhead) trout in Lake Ontario and its tributaries from the current 15 inches to 21 inches.

That change was recommended by the DEC after some angler organizations objected to an earlier proposal to cut the daily creel limit in the lake from three rainbows a day to one. The limit in Ontario tributaries already stands at one 'bow per day.

"Either cutting the creel limit or raising the minimum creel length would reduce the lakewide harvest of steelhead by about 20 percent per year," Stang said.

Another rule change, recommended by DEC Region 7 Fisheries Manager Dan Bishop, would allow catch-and-release, artificials-only angling for trout from Oct. 16-March 31 in Owego Creek and its branches, in Tioga and Tompkins counties; the East and West branches of the Tioughnioga River, in Cortland and Madison counties; the Otselic River in Cortland, Chenango and Madison counties, Salmon Creek above Ludlowville Falls, in Cayuga and Tompkins counties; and Skaneateles Creek in Onondaga County.

Bishop has also recommended doing away with the extant special regulations for bass fishing on the Unadilla River in Chenango County and trout fishing on Spafford Creek in Onondaga County in favor of statewide rules, and changing the creel limit for walleyes in Oswego County's Redfield Reservoir to three of 18 inches or better a day.

He also proposed allowing catch-and-release fishing for trout in Ithaca's Fall Creek from Jan. 1 through March 15, from the railroad bridge downstream of Route 13 up to the Ithaca Falls; and would open the same creek below the railroad bridge to pan fishermen from New Year's Day through March. Under current regulations, lower Fall Creek is closed to all angling between Jan. 1 and April 1.

[Tim Bromund]

Tommy, I was at the DEC's Lake Ontario "State of the Lake " meeting in Lockport monday night and actually, they have taken the gobies into consideration and decided that they were a non issue in regards to this for a couple of reasons. First, In the goby infested waters (primarily Lake Erie and Ontario) the majority of the smallmouth spawn after the regular 3rd Sat on June season opener anyways so excess predation of bass nests resulting from the C&R season would be negligible. Second, they indicated that despite what we might expect, it really only takes a small fraction of the overall nests to be productive for there to be a successful year class of bass, all the others above that are excess and typically never recruit into the population anyways.

They are in the public comment period on these proposals right now and there was a fair amount of discussion on excluding Lake Erie, because this would eliminate the existing early trophy bass season that starts the 1st Sat in May. This early season has also proven to not be detrimental to the fishery for the same reasons listed above. In fact, making this C&R provision statewide would actually take pressure off the Lake Erie fishery during that period because, right now, it is the only bass fishing available in May in NYS. The statewide C&R provision would open all the other waters up to fishing.

Not sure on the increased mortality thing. Fish survive catch and release better in cold water than they do in warm water and guys pull bass out of 50' of water in Lake Erie all summer long without it seeming to damage the fishery.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

Tim

[denis]

I haven't heard of very many people getting smallies ice fishing out of lake erie and the perchheaders are hitting the mud holes were those smallies are most likely buried for the winter.

I think you will see more bass tournies down this way if that happens and with Bass Pro soon to open up in buffalo I think in a few years we will have the kind of bass fishing exposure down here like they do down south. As far as I've seen the smallmouth populations seems to be doing very well on both sides any DEC or MNR people reading this forum have any input?

As a side note how many guys are fishing the Make A Wish tournament this year? It's a great cause and last year they had an excellent turn out hopefully this year will be even better for more info check out www.wnybass.com/millenium/

[denis]

It could also be the fact that these smallies are so well fed getting them to bite is another game altogther.

I've found lately since the water is so clear many times you will watch the smallies follow right up to the boat or the shore only to turn away at the last second and show no interest until you switch baits again and usually get the same result. However if you drop in a crayfish or worm or minnow with no hook line and sinker attached that same fish will destroy it right infront of you making you wonder just what it takes to catch him.

It's fun but it can be frustrating at times but hey thats all part of it