Pre Season Pike Fishing??

[Tori]

I have a question about preseason fishing. If you are out casting lures for pike before May first then are you subject to being arrested? Can you target pike and release them before May first??
Tori

[VPPAPS]

Tori there is no "pre-season" fishing for Northern Pike. If it is obvious you are throwing lures for Pike before the opener you will be in violation. The Pike are protected at this time of year so they may spawn and recuperate without interference. If you catch one while fishing for panfish then you want to release it as soon as possible.

[VPPAPS]

I forgot to add......Pike and Walleye season open the first Saturday in May, not May 1st.

[mitchr]

To my knowledge that is against the law. Since nothing but pan fishing is legally open at that point in time, casting lures/spinners would be very obvious to any fish and game warden. Personally if I were on the water enforcing regulations and saw this happening, I would prosecute to the fullest extent.

Catching Pike/Bass/Walleye before the season opener when they are still potentially spawning or just after spawn is dangerous to the fish (and its fry) and only hurts the already fragile populations.

Once the season is open for Pike, you may accidentally catch some Bass at times and as long as they are immediately released this would be acceptable as you have a legitimate excuse that you were fishing for Pike or Walleye at that time.

[Phil]

Don't do it Tori! It's wrong.

[Tori]

Phil and Mitch,
Thanks for your replies. I think the game warden could write tickets all day from what I see about using lures. There are lots of boats out on the water before May first using lures. Maybe a game warden will make some stops with boats on the water. I will be a good boy, Phil!
Tori

[Phil]

The ECOs were out of the boat launch last weekend when I went by.

[mitchr]

Hey Tori,

Yea I can imagine there were boats out there fishing early. It's sad to see but like always there are people who don't think the law applies to them and feel that the dozen or so fish they catch won't harm the population at all.

Most rules are there for a good reason, the ignorance of some people really upsets me at times. Hopefully the fish and game guys are out there cracking down on those people. If you see it going on, don't be affraid to call in a report on them so something can be done about it.