Are the rumors true?

[TR215]

I have been hearing some rumors about there being allot of gill nets in the Bays de Noc area. Is there any truth to this? And if so, what are your thoughts as to the impact on this falls fishing?

[The Bait Shop Guy]

Just rumors. The only net sets anyone has been talking about lately were the ones set by the DNR. They are only out for couple days before they move to the next test area. There may well be some illegal nets out there, but no one has come into the shop and said they've found one, all summer.

[Fishoil]

Is there such a thing as a "legal" net in Little Bay? Over the years I've encountered a couple of nets but don't know if they were legal or not. If in fact some nets are legal, do they have to me marked in any particular way to identify them?

[TR215]

Thanks Chris, I had a hard time believing that there were tons of nets in the area, but yet no one was talking about it. The way it was said to me made it out that there were nets all over, and that I should not even bother fishing there because of it. Hopefully the fishing stays strong for years to come! I'm trying to plan a trip up later in the month, so see you soon.

[The Bait Shop Guy]

Fishoil, subsistence fishing is legal in the bay. I'm not sure what the season is for them, but you primarily see them in the winter and spring. They should be marked with buoys or stakes. Commercials sets would look like this - http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10364_52261-137209--,00.html