out of season targets

[SSMACNCHEESE]

I hear a lot of people targeting walleyes at the mouth of the rivers (esky, cedar). Can you leagally target a species that is closed? I know you could say I'm trying to catch trout but any fisherman type would know what your trying to catch. I'm just wondering if you could get a ticket, even though you don't keep any. ( a good friend of mine got a ticket for snagging after he released the fish!) so I wouldn't want to get a ticket just for catching a walleye out of season even after releasing it. I've read the fishing handbook a billion times but am still unclear on this topic. I'll have to talk to a CO about it next time I bump into one.

[The Bait Shop Guy]

You are not supposed to "target" fish species during their closed seasons. This time of year however, trout and walleye occupy the same water, and will eat the same lures. There's very little you can do to stop a hungry postspawn walleye from eating a "trout bait." Reel'um in, unhook'um, and chuck'um back. I've only once heard of somebody getting a ticket for targeting walleye out of season. A guy was throwing jointed Rapala's for walleyes down in the Cedar River. He didn't have an all species license, so when a C.O. asked what he was fishing for, he said "Perch." Cedar River isn't exactly know for it's perch run, and jointed Rapala's aren't typical perch gear, so "Here's your ticket."

Your friends story of getting a ticket for releasing a snagged fish sounds a little "fishy" to me. Guess I'd like to hear the details. We've all accidentally snagged a fish at some point in our fishing careers - it just happens. When it does, you release them and it's no big deal. I don't see how you can get a ticket for releasing a snagged fish unless you are intentionally trying to snag them.

[finaddict]

To make a really, really, really long story short and without "opening up a can of worms"....it is illegal and unethical to target a fish that is out of season.

Capt. Jim McDonald

[SSMACNCHEESE]

The snagging incident took place two years ago in marquette on the dead river during the annual salmon runs. Mind you there are a lot of people down there this time of year probably not taking part in the most sportsman like tactics for catching a fish but my buddy was casting from shore with a spinner. He snagged a fish, brought it to shore, unhooked it, released it. Shortly there after a CO came out of the woodwork and started writing a ticket for snagging. There are many variables in this type of situation but I don't see writing a ticket for a fish that was released which is why I asked my original questions about catching walleyes this time of year. I tried to get him to take the officer to court on this one but he ended up paying the fine. (cheaper than paying court fees you know) although I think it was a couple hundred dollar ticket......






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[Double Tap]

It doesn't cost anything to go to court unless you will be relying on an attorney to defend you. At most, you may have to post a bond in the amount of the ticket pending the outcome of the hearing/trial/etc. The notion of it costing more in fees (to argue your case) than it's worth is simply not true. You're friend may have been pleasantly surprised at the outcome in court if it indeed happened as you've stated in this forum. He will never know. I agree with Fin Addict and believe that anyone who targets a species out of season should be held accountable to the fullest extent allowed. There are (biological) reasons behind the madness regardings seasons, limits, etc. I'm not totally convinced yet that the walleyes swimming 3 miles south of Rochereau Point are any different than the ones swimming 2.999999999miles south of that line?

[Benzie Rover]

SSMAC - incidentally snagged fish that the angler still chooses to fight and land can be grounds for a CO to give out a ticket, whether you keep it or not. The actual 'snagging' is illegal, not just the retention of the illegally hooked fish. It is very rare for that to occur though and the CO usually has to be convinced you were trying to snag the fish anyway, but, in some situations I have scene our local CO give a ticket to dudes fighting steelies that were tailhooked after they were determined to drag them backwards, upriver by the tail, land them, take a photo and then try and 'release' the fish. In that situation I felt a ticket was totally deserved because even though the fish were released, that sort of ordeal will completely exhaust the energy reserves of a spawning fish and signficantly reduce its chance of successfully spawning, so it should be illegal. In more normal situations where you accidentally snag a king in the harbor with a $10 bomber and you are bound and determined not to let that fish swim off and die with your lure in his dorsal, then that is a different situation, although technically the same, where the CO would almost certainly not, although he/she technically could, give you a ticket (again, unless it was obvious you were hooking up on snagged salmon every cast on purpose). Anyway, that is what I have experienced. Hope it helps.

[SSMACNCHEESE]

So your just supposed to cut your line? Let 20-50 yards of line go into the river? Nevertheless this issue I was getting at with this post was catching walleye out of season and posting picture of them on the net.. I did get an answer to that and appreciate it.