- Details
(Provided by Indiana DNR)
Dan Rostecki with record whitefish (photo by Mary Beck Ryba)Dan Rostecki didn’t catch what he was after while fishing from the Michigan City pier last Saturday, but he did haul in a state-record lake whitefish instead.
“I was out there brown trout fishing on the bottom and thought I had one,” Rostecki said. “It ended up being a whitefish. It’s the first one I’ve ever caught. It was really, really a bonus.”
A record bonus no less.
DNR State Record Fish Program coordinator Jamie Smyth certified the record catch on Monday. Rostecki will receive a certificate and patch from the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife as recognition of the record.
- Details
(Provided by Michigan DNR)
Record drum caught from Gun Lake (Michigan DNR photo)The Michigan DNR confirmed a new state record last month for freshwater drum. This record marks the first one caught in 2015.
A fish caught by Mark Leep of Middleville, Mich., on Gun Lake in Barry County Saturday, Jan. 24, at 4:30 p.m. beat the state record for freshwater drum. Leep was spearing. The fish weighed 28.61 pounds and measured 34.02 inches.
Kregg Smith, a DNR fisheries biologist in Plainwell, verified the record.
- Details
New fishing licenses required April 1Both Indiana and Michigan remind anglers that a new fishing license season begins Wednesday, April 1, which coincides with the new regulation cycle. All 2014 fishing licenses are good through March 31, 2015.
Indiana offers the following options:
- Resident annual $17
- Non-resident annual $35
- Trout/Salmon stamp $11
- One-day fishing (includes trout/salmon) $9
- Seven-day fishing (non-residents only) $20
- Senior annual fishing (residents only) $3
- Senior fish for life (residents only) $17
- Resident annual fishing/hunting $25.
- Details
Hook n' Look's Perspective on Michigan's Proposed Bass Regulations 215.15
Hook n' Look's Perspective on Michigan's Proposed Bass Regulations 215.15
Although we haven’t received official word from the DNR, the Michigan Natural Resources Commission rejected a proposal night that would haven opened the bass season to year-round catch and release and permit pre-registered tournaments after April 30 and prior to the traditional bass opener.
For details of the original proposal, click here.
The DNR’s proposal triggered a controversial debate over allowing tournaments to be held five weeks earlier than what they are now. Liberalizing the tournament season has been strongly supported by the Michigan B.A.S.S. Federation Nation while adamantly opposed by others.
The commissioners announced at Thursday night’s public meeting that it had agreed to reject the Fisheries’ Division proposal before opening the floor to public debate. Nonetheless, the public was permitted to voice its opinions, of which there were many.
Michigan angler Kim Stricker, producer of Hook ‘n Look television show, may have had an influential hand in the commissioners’ decision. Prior to the meeting, he provided each of the commissioners a video of his perspective on the impacts of early bass fishing on Lake St. Clair which has been a centerpiece of the debate. (See video above)
- Details
By Louie Stout
If a new proposal gets through Michigan Natural Resources Commission (NRC) meetings over the next month, anglers could be fishing legally for bass as early as April 10 this year.
The DNR announced it has revamped original proposals that it presented at public hearings over the past year and will present a hybrid version at this month’s NRC meeting.
The new plan will be heard at the March 19th meeting in Lansing.