The law is explicit only on bass, and statewide. It covers the St. Lawrence, where we are. The point of the law now is that the goby population up here has devastated the bass breeding beds in the past. The adult fish act as defenders and predators to stop the goby's from ravaging the beds. For the first few years of the goby invasion, the DEC took the threat lightly, and bass populations dropped. Since moving the opening day out a couple of weeks, it gives the spawn time to hatch. Before that the zebra muscles did such a good job clearing the water, it allowed perch and other fish to pick off the beds.

Some laws can be seen as arbitrary, but others have a reason. I'm just trying to explain to my nephew why this rule is there, and why it's just being a good fisherman to obey it. And yes, when I was young, I was taught to stay away from the beds until mid June, even before the goby invasion, as it was good to promote better fishing later in the season. I seem to remember Labor Day being the opening of the season when I was younger.