Fishing Bedding Fish!

[Lil'skeeter]

I think fishing for bedding fish is detrimental to the spawn. What is your opinion? Does it harm the spawn? Do you think it has no effect on the fish? The parks department at our local lake is planning an open tournament next weekend on our local lake. Some of the water was 58 degrees this past Tuesday, the temps are supposed to be in the mid to upper 70's all next week. I feel this will move the fish onto the beds. This lake (as small as it is) is one of the most popular lakes in our area and could draw 100 boats or better for this tournament. I'm afraid most will be targeting the fish that are on beds and feel this will really hurt this years spawn. Am I overly concerned?

 

 

[J Francho]

Studies have shown that catch and release bedding fish has no real net effect on the size of the lake's bass or the population.  Harvest is what affects that.

[roadwarrior]

Wwll, I use to feel the same way, but the discussions here on the Forum have changed my view.

The "science" is  pretty solid, bed fishing does not impact bass populations. The best example

that I have personally observed is Lake Fork. We had our first two RoadTrips there during the

height of the spawn. There were literally thousands of boats and it seemed like thousands of

fisherman targeting bedding bass. Even with all this pressure, Lake Fork continuse to be the

biggest contributor to the Texas Lunker Program.

 

p.s. I still don't EVER intentionally fish bedding bass. Regardless of the science, I just feel like

the bass should be left alone during the spawn.

 

 

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Of all the bedding bass you see, TRUST ME there are even more and bigger fish that never have a boat hovering over them.

[BrettD]

Here is a good article about the university of Florida's research on it.

http://news.ufl.edu/2010/03/23/bass-2/

[senile1]

There was a time when I had uneasy feelings about fishing for bedding bass, but as RW stated, the science didn't support my opinion so my thoughts are different now.  Most of the lakes I fish nearby are stained to the point where sight fishing isn't very useful.  I can see the occasional bed but most of the time I am fishing areas I know to be  spawning areas without seeing the fish on the bed. 

[Lil'skeeter]

Thanks for your input. I read the article and didn't see anything conclusive.

   Roadwarrior, I hear what you're saying but that's not a good comparison (not that you had info to compare). The lake I'm talking about is 2,000 surface acres, Fork is over 27,000. Fork has had over 11,000,000 fingerlings stocked in it since '95 (around 600,000) a year, my lake has had 230,000 in two stockings (none since 2002)  in the same time period. I know I'm hard-headed...I just can't see that this won't hurt it. Anyway...I hope to see more responses......for my side...LOL!

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Thanks for your input. I read the article and didn't see anything conclusive.

   Roadwarrior, I hear what you're saying but that's not a good comparison (not that you had info to compare). The lake I'm talking about is 2,000 surface acres, Fork is over 27,000. Fork has had over 11,000,000 fingerlings stocked in it since '95 (around 600,000) a year, my lake has had 230,000 in two stockings (none since 2002)  in the same time period. I know I'm hard-headed...I just can't see that this won't hurt it. Anyway...I hope to see more responses......for my side...LOL!

 

I fish lakes that range from 60 to 8600 acres that receive ZERO fingerling stockings. Still no effect fishing/catching spawning bass. Even if you are fishing the first dropoff, I guarantee you are still catching spawning fish that you can't see (depending on water temp of course).

 

I know it's not on your side but there is another response. LOL

[200racing]

having millions and millions of fry introduced to the lake is not the best thing for it. do some research on recruitment in ponds and the efforts needed to fight it so your pond stays healthy.

 

 it takes 10lbs of food to grow 1 bass 1lb. so if the spawn is interrupted think how much more forage is available for the big fish. 

[Lil'skeeter]

Believe me I know there is another response, there are people down here that build platforms on their boats just for sight fishing. I actually saw one guy that had a stepladder in his boat. I welcome your response, sometimes that's the only way people learn. The effect may not be near what I make it out to be in my mind, (what little there is left) but when I see, or hear someone complain that his fish would have weighed more if she hadn't dropped her eggs in his live-well or in the net, you can't tell me that has no effect on the population. Toe-may- toe, Toe-maw-toe, I appreciate your response.   Let's go fishing sometime!

[Teal]

I do fish bedding fish. However, i never keep them and i dont "fun" fish the same bedding spots all the time.

[Lil'skeeter]

having millions and millions of fry introduced to the lake is not the best thing for it. do some research on recruitment in ponds and the efforts needed to fight it so your pond stays healthy.

 

 it takes 10lbs of food to grow 1 bass 1lb. so if the spawn is interrupted think how much more forage is available for the big fish. 

Actually i have done research on stocking and maintaining "ponds". And I agree that if the spawn is interrupted there will be more forage for the existing fish. The millions and millions of fry is actually somewhere around 600k a year in a 27,000 acre lake. Which means only a hundred or so make it to maturity. Apparently TPWD knows what's best...they've created one of the best fisheries in the nation.

Peace!

[BrettD]

Believe me I know there is another response, there are people down here that build platforms on their boats just for sight fishing. I actually saw one guy that had a stepladder in his boat. I welcome your response, sometimes that's the only way people learn. The effect may not be near what I make it out to be in my mind, (what little there is left) but when I see, or hear someone complain that his fish would have weighed more if she hadn't dropped her eggs in his live-well or in the net, you can't tell me that has no effect on the population. Toe-may- toe, Toe-maw-toe, I appreciate your response.   Let's go fishing sometime!

Poeple have been catching bedding fish for as long as fishing has been around. Alot of people in my area argue that fishing has never been better to the point that FWC want to increase bag limits to reduce the number of small fish in the lake. I fish one of the most pressured lakes there is granted its a huge lake.

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Believe me I know there is another response, there are people down here that build platforms on their boats just for sight fishing. I actually saw one guy that had a stepladder in his boat. I welcome your response, sometimes that's the only way people learn. The effect may not be near what I make it out to be in my mind, (what little there is left) but when I see, or hear someone complain that his fish would have weighed more if she hadn't dropped her eggs in his live-well or in the net, you can't tell me that has no effect on the population. Toe-may- toe, Toe-maw-toe, I appreciate your response.   Let's go fishing sometime!

 

I'm down brother.

 

Always wanted to fish Texas.

[Lil'skeeter]

"Come on down" Speedbead, we can go hit Fork just because we can. I've never done really well there, 1- 9+, 2- 8's and a couple 7's and broke off a few that could've gone over 10 but there a too many smaller lakes that have produced sharelunkers (over 13). We can go to Grapevine and you can teach me how to catch smallies!

[WRB]

Large lakes over 10,000 acres bed fishing has minimal impact to the overall adult size bass population. Smaller lakes under 3,000 acres bed fishing can be catastrophic to the large female bass population and minimal impact on the general bass population. Trophy size bass are always targeted and suffer the most harm from being over harvested by bed fishing.

Tom

[Lil'skeeter]

When I posted this I just asked a general question about hurting the spawn when in "my" mind I was more concerned with the results of this tournament, on this lake, but didn't make that clear. My concern with this tournament is that the fish will be removed from the beds at the upper end of the lake and released after weigh in at the opposite (deep end) of the lake. With 5-fish limits, that could be a lot of bedding fish. I can count on one hand....maybe two, the times I've caught fish off of beds. They were released in the same spot. No harm, no foul. Removing them from the beds and releasing them on the other end of the lake is my concern. Will they still spawn at that end? There have been studies that say some, but not all fish, return to where they were caught.

[Avalonjohn44]

I think that bed fishing benefits the species in the long run, from a Darwinian perspective. We are probably catching the dumber bass, those less fit to compete, preventing them from passing their genes on and thus giving the stronger/smarter ones an edge in breeding.  We get stronger and slightly smarter bass, over the course of decades it might even make it harder for us to catch bass.

 

Who is to say we are not evolutions mechanism for weeding out the weaker/stupider bass?

[BassinB]

Bed fishing is shown to have no effect on the amount of age Zero bass at the end of the sumer season.  The critical point in a basses life is somewhere between it hatching and the end of the "summer".  Up here in WI most fish are naturally culled through the winter months. Anywhere from 2-20% of the age Zero fish make it through their first winter anyhow. This is one of the biggest reasons guys want the bass season extended to an all year fishery here, and it makes sense.

[Fish Chris]

Ha !  LOL

 

Here we go again ! 

 

Fish

 

PS, My opinion is, if you find a ginormous bass on a bed, you absolutely, positively should NOT fish for that fish !!! Instead, you should send me a PM with directions to said lake, and GPS coordinates. I will go take a look, and determine if said fish needs a hook stuck in its mouth I'm thinking it might..... but you really need to let me check it out, first LOL

[CountBassula]

Ha !  LOL

 

Here we go again ! 

 

Fish

 

PS, My opinion is, if you find a ginormous bass on a bed, you absolutely, positively should NOT fish for that fish !!! Instead, you should send me a PM with directions to said lake, and GPS coordinates. I will go take a look, and determine if said fish needs a hook stuck in its mouth I'm thinking it might..... but you really need to let me check it out, first LOL

 

ROTFLMAO!!!!! LOL!!! You owe me a new monitor!