The no-culling regulation in Minnesota came under some more heat at last week’s Elite Series tournament on the Mississippi River at La Crosse, Wis. It cost Mike McClelland his Day 1 bag after he inadvertently culled in Minnesota waters. It appears everyone involved from anglers to B.A.S.S. to Department of Natural Resources officials want to get that changed. But it wasn’t done in time for the tournament.
However, Minnesota’s DNR deserves some praise for the special permit that’s allowing the AOY Championship to be fished under the usual B.A.S.S. rules. Without that, these are the regulations for bass fishing at Mille Lacs: Daily possession limit of four bass, with only one bass over 21 inches. All bass between 17 to 21 inches must be released.
As in other B.A.S.S. events, anglers can cull at will and weigh-in bass of any length. It’s not like this is likely to come into play, but there is a 12-inch minimum length limit on bass at Mille Lacs that’s still in effect for this tournament.
One final note, you’re likely to see some unusually small bass show up on BASSTrakk during this tournament. That’s part of a study that Minnesota’s DNR is doing. B.A.S.S. officials agreed to help by recording every catch by every angler during the three days at Mille Lacs. Typically, many of those catches don’t get recorded on BASSTrakk if they’re not keepers or don’t effect the angler’s bag weight at later hours of the day.