Thanks for Ringing in Scott.
Now why should I go and read the book? [crazy]
Especialy when we have mighty fine anglers such as your self who can at any moment correct us if we havent caught up to the new rules that came up in 2006 [cool]
you do know that the rule you stated only applies to the lower pen. the upper pen begins on may 15th. and that dose not apply to all lakes for there are lakes with special regulations and you will need to know if the lake you are fishing on is one of them....[
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I could look at the new drop shotting rule, as most anglers know that method of fishing in michigan has been outlawed for years, just look at excerpt and tell me what you think of this one [
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[black][size 3]New regulations are in effect for the 2006 fishing season![/size][/black]
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Gear Restrictions. Changes to the gear restrictions order were made to allow anglers to suspend a weight below a hook tied directly to the main line (without using a three-inch dropper line) on certain waters. The method of using this gear is called “drop shotting” and will now be legal to use on inland lakes, the Great Lakes and connecting waters. However, the gear restriction is still in effect on all rivers, streams and drowned river mouths where snagging potential is highest. The list of drowned river mouths by county is: Kalamazoo River and Silver Lake in Allegan County; Betsie Lake in Benzie County; Arcadia Lake, Manistee Lake and Portage Lake in Manistee County; Pere Marquette Lake in Mason County; Duck Lake, Mona Lake, Muskegon Lake and White Lake in Muskegon County; Pentwater Lake, Silver Lake and Stony Lake in Oceana County; Macatawa Lake and Pigeon Lake in Ottawa County. [/li][/ul][/black][/font]
[black][size 3]The above is directly from the Michigan DNR web site. Follow this link for more information.[/size][/black]
MDNR Fisheries make Michigan bass season recommendations for 2006
At the August 23rd coolwater external committee meeting, the MDNR fisheries staff unveiled their recommendations for the 2006 Michigan bass season. After going through their recent thoughts on the situation combining public meeting comments, studies and survey comments, the MDNR announced they will take the following recommendations to the Director and the Natural Resources Commission (NRC):
1) Keep the existing bass season opener on the Saturday before Memorial Day, and the existing 3rd Saturday in June opener on the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, Detroit River system;
2) Catch-and-Immediate-Release (CIR) of bass will be allowed statewide on all waters of the Lower Peninsula from the last Saturday in April until the regular bass season openers, and from May 15 until the existing regular bass season opener in the Upper Peninsula. All waters statewide include all inland lakes, rivers and streams, and the Great Lakes and connecting waters. Exceptions would be existing special regulation lakes and areas to be spelled out in the regulations.
3) Eliminate the special April 1 opening on the 6 test bass lakes so they will now open at the same time other lakes open since these lakes are no longer being studied.
- A monitoring and assessment protocol will be implemented to evaluate the new regulations structure.
- A fisheries order will implement the new regulations with a 5-year sunset clause although any serious concerns could be addressed before the 5 years are up.
- Special regulations areas such as the Beaver Island Archipeligo and the Sylvania Tract are still under review.
The MDNR will review the CIR season for the lower Great Lakes since the main concern for the initial start date is to match existing pike, trout and walleye season openers, and these Great Lakes waters are open all year. MDNR fisheries leadership will announce their recommendations on this suggestion later this fall.
Now that the MDNR fisheries has announced their initial recommendations, the next steps in this process are:
- Input from this coolwater external committee are considered;
- Post card data received back from anglers who did not respond to the mail survey are analyzed;
- A final report is written which will be presented to the Director and NRC;
- Fisheries leadership provides their recommendations for information to the NRC at the September 8, 2005 meeting in Houghton, MI;
- The recommendations are presented for public input and review at the October NRC meeting in Lansing;
- Action is taken on the recommendations at the November NRC meeting;
- The final outcome goes to the MDNR Director as Fisheries Order 215 for signature to enact;
- The new fisheries order would go into effect April 1, 2006.
The MDNR also announced they are going to a 2-year fishing guide effective 2006 as a cost-saving move, so there would be no further changes to fishing regulations until 2008. This was a factor in the final decision Fisheries made regarding the bass season issue and why it made a big difference the change could go to the Director as a fisheries order instead of action that required legislation.
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There are more changes! Click on the link below for additional information! Grab your reading glasses and your Goodies Head Ache Powder for this one guys... wholy kowz...[/size]
[size 5][/size] [center][url "http://www.michigandnr.com/law/law_book/orders/fisheries%20orders.html"][#0000ff][size 3]DNR Web site at
www.michigan.gov/dnr[/size][/#0000ff][/url][/center]
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