Is catch and release legal after I caught my limit?

[Joe in T.C.]

Michigan has season for catch and release only on bass.

There are also catch and release only stretches of rivers as well as catch and release only on some lakes.

Sport Fishing shows almost exclusively show catch and release.

There is a chance any one of these fish can be injured, but almost all of them survive no worse for ware.

The limit on a catch and release only fish is zero. Are you going to give someone a ticket because the fish is accidentally injured?

[Capt J]

Yes they will. As they should IMHO

[tazdevil300]

Guys have been ticketed for fishing when they had their limit so why take that chance when you can stop one short.I don't know how that one fish could be that important.

[Chrisper4694]

you guys should be thankful this is what you're discussing...in NJ our biggest problem are the hundreds and hundreds of guys, some with some without fishing licenses, that hide in trees and bushes in the shoreline and fill garbage bags with anything and everything they catch and do, god knows what with it...giant cauldron of fish soup?

call the hotline to report it, i've done so many times, no officer ever comes.  say something to them and they yell at you in pollish or russian and keep on filling that bag.

be glad you have great fisheries with officials that protect it because trust me it's a privilege that we don't have in NJ

[RLWagner]

Michigan has season for catch and release only on bass.

There are also catch and release only stretches of rivers as well as catch and release only on some lakes.

Sport Fishing shows almost exclusively show catch and release.

There is a chance any one of these fish can be injured, but almost all of them survive no worse for ware.

The limit on a catch and release only fish is zero. Are you going to give someone a ticket because the fish is accidentally injured?

Joe, Dun fergit the Catch and Release season on Trout......... Prior to the official opener.... Might be what you meant about the river stretches?

[Hollywood703]

I guess I don't have a problem with people TRULY targeting other species, however, if you catch 25 pannies out of a hole, and nothing else, and don't change your setup etc, then you aren't changing, you are making an excuse. Keep 24 and throw back then next 50.....no problem, its pretty easy to see targeting when it is occurring. And circumventing the laws, no matter how you interpret them, just shows character of said person, same with taking kids out and unless they are catching them, its individual limit, not a group effort. People wonder why groups keep asking for more conservation reform, and this kind of topic is exactly why it will one day likely change.

It is just like traffic laws.......speed limit use to be 55 on the freeways, people do 65....they change it to 70 and people do 80. There are going to be violators no matter what the law is, try and catch the biggest violators and hope it deters some others. Some people will never be happy............

[Capt J]

Good to see ya hollywood!

[RLWagner]

Yo Wood

[dalhnt]

Lesage, Christian (DNR)  ([email protected]) 
 
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Dale,

 

Thank you for your question.  Yes, you may continue to fish once you have reached your limit.  However, I recommend you immediately release your hooked fish so you do not appear to be keeping more than the possession limit allows.

 

Good luck fishing.

 

Christian LeSage
MiDNR Fish Biologist
 ASRA Unit

(517) 284-5822

[dalhnt]

The above is the reply I got from the dnr when I emailed them.

[DR.SPECKLER]

I knew it.. like I said ive had my limit of bluegills the dnr checked me and I kept fishing and releasing big gills with the dnr right at the side of my boat at miner lake.thanks for the solid answer dalhnt.instead of everybodys different opinions on the law you went straight to the source.

[Stand By]

Looks like that was a biologist, might double check with an actual c/o.

[Dean84]

My buddy says I have t stop fishing after I catch my limit, I say I can keep fishing but just cant keep anymore! who is right?

technically yes, you are done fishing for that species the second the limit is reached. If you make a noticeable switch in gear or lures to target another species you would be fine. CO's wont believe ya much if you have 5 eyes on the ice, and now claim to be targeting perch with the same lures and no perch to show for it though. If you had switched over to teardrops, it'd be much more believable. Lots is left to the discretion of the officers.

[tazdevil300]

technically yes, you are done fishing for that species the second the limit is reached. If you make a noticeable switch in gear or lures to target another species you would be fine. CO's wont believe ya much if you have 5 eyes on the ice, and now claim to be targeting perch with the same lures and no perch to show for it though. If you had switched over to teardrops, it'd be much more believable. Lots is left to the discretion of the officers.

Good point and like most said why push it just quit one short thats what I do.

[Capt J]

....  just sayin

[Broken_Lines]

It's a fishing license. Nothing illegal with catch and release. Add long as fish are alive you can upgrade fish. It's when your possession goes over the possession limit that you get into trouble. Simply catch and release after teaching your limit.

[RLWagner]

It's a fishing license. Nothing illegal with catch and release. Add long as fish are alive you can upgrade fish. It's when your possession goes over the possession limit that you get into trouble. Simply catch and release after teaching your limit.

Broken,

You must have missed the rest of the thread? Your advice, as logic as it sounds, WILL result in our fellow sportsmen getting tickets. 

[motocross269]

We cull fish with the limit in the boat every week in Bass and Walleye tournaments......Just as has been pointed out a few times as long as you immediately release the over fish you are good....
The DNR works closely with Tournament organizations so it is a pretty well known that anglers are culling fish with limits in their boats.......It's common sense....

[motocross269]

Broken,

You must have missed the rest of the thread? Your advice, as logic as it sounds, WILL result in our fellow sportsmen getting tickets. 

There are  postings with represenatatives from the DNR saying just the opposite on this thread.......and from my experience you can catch and immediately release with a limit in your posession......We do it every weekend.....I would be willing to bet most of the charters out there do the same thing once their clients have boated their limits...

[RLWagner]

There are  postings with represenatatives from the DNR saying just the opposite on this thread.......and from my experience you can catch and immediately release with a limit in your posession......We do it every weekend.....I would be willing to bet most of the charters out there do the same thing once their clients have boated their limits...

Yes, tournaments get a free ride on this one. But every year stream side fellow sportsmen are issued tickets for the same. I suspect most of the fellas here that witness the ticketing each year, are just trying to help their fellow sportsmen and women avoid getting undue citations. The ticketing is not debatable, as it is the norm year after year. Would just hate to see some unsuspecting peeps follow your advice, and end up with a ticket, rather than erring on the side of caution.

[FilletofSoul]

It seems like the way you keep the fish that have already been caught, for example in a live well or on a stringer, has alot to do with whether a fisherman is acting in good faith in their attempt to cull fish. I read in another thread, that in Ohio walleye must be on chain style clip stringer iif one culling fish, and that keeping the fish on a rope would not qualify once a fisherman has reached a limit.

[FilletofSoul]

the smart spell correction on this site is annoying as hell by the way.

[Hollywood703]

that response from the DNR was sent from a Biologist, not enforcement unit, which will be the ones writing said ticket and make the determination on how the law reads.

[Hollywood703]

We cull fish with the limit in the boat every week in Bass and Walleye tournaments......Just as has been pointed out a few times as long as you immediately release the over fish you are good....
The DNR works closely with Tournament organizations so it is a pretty well known that anglers are culling fish with limits in their boats.......It's common sense....

do you put your ice fishing catch in a livewell or a stringer in the water?  If not, then you are potentially throwing back dead or frozen fish.

[Joe in T.C.]

This is on page 8 of the 2016-17 Michigan fishing guide:

"Catch-and-Immediate-Release (CIR): The act of
returning fish immediately to the water without
injury and without holding in a livewell or similar
device. Anglers may continue to fish CIR given
that they have reached their daily possession limit
for a given species."

good luck all 

[Eyes R Bitin]

[esox_xtm]

Sounds like in MI you're OK. In WI if you have your daily bag you're done. DNR tickets lots of folks fishing after their daily bag has been met or catching them "double dipping" by leaving the water with their limit and returning the same day to pound some more.... In WI if we want to keep fishing we have to leave our daily bag "1 short".

[bowcarp]

I'll catch perch , eye's , gator's and crappie all on the same set up , I stick to my limit or what I can eat , let more go then I keep but if the fish cop wants to argue (never have had that happen encounters have been more then pleasant) we could be there for awhile 

[RLWagner]

Sounds like in MI you're OK. In WI if you have your daily bag you're done. DNR tickets lots of folks fishing after their daily bag has been met or catching them "double dipping" by leaving the water with their limit and returning the same day to pound some more.... In WI if we want to keep fishing we have to leave our daily bag "1 short".

Tickets are issued every year on the steelhead runs to guys that continue to catch after three in the bush. Guess they need to go to court and fight it with a copy of the regs that are very clear.

[Gills-only]

that response from the DNR was sent from a Biologist, not enforcement unit, which will be the ones writing said ticket and make the determination on how the law reads.

.               Good point, irregardless of "the law" it's how each individual officer enforces it. Go ahead and get a lawyer and fight if u want, I'm going fishing!!