Keeping Bass In The Livewell Until The Bite Is Over

[bassguytom]

Has anyone done this when on a school of fish? I have seen some of the TV guys do this because they say when releasing a fish back into the school they set off an alarm through pheromones or something and the bite shuts off. I have never done this but was wondering if anyone has or if this is just a myth.

[Brian Needham]

I have heard this too....... but I aint wasting time walking to the back of the boat while on a school.

unless it is a big un I want pics of

[jbsoonerfan]

LOL, how many fish you gonna keep in the well just so they won't go warn their friends about you?

 

And by LOL, I mean this post really made me laugh out loud.

[bassguytom]

LOL, how many fish you gonna keep in the well just so they won't go warn their friends about you?

 

And by LOL, I mean this post really made me laugh out loud.

None. I have never done this just trying to learn as much as I can. But thanks for the reply.

[Brian Needham]

LOL, how many fish you gonna keep in the well just so they won't go warn their friends about you?

 

And by LOL, I mean this post really made me laugh out loud.

 

ask some old timers about it before you laugh too hard.

[jbsoonerfan]

None. I have never done this just trying to learn as much as I can. But thanks for the reply.

 

 

I wasn't trying to be a smart aleck. I have just always heard people say "don't let the fish go, they will go tell their buddies not to bite your lure"

[jbsoonerfan]

ask some old timers about it before you laugh too hard.

 

 

Never actually heard this from Pros, just guys who also hang dead coyotes on their fence to warn other coyotes not to be around. No real scientific evidence, just a theory. I am in no way saying the theory is wrong, just interesting.

[Brian Needham]

I was fishing with a older guy on day and I released a fish....... he looked dead at me and asked me what I thought I was doing... asked why?

 

He was dead serious when he told me NOT to release the fish to the side of the boat I caught it on, ALWAYS release it on the other side.

Myth, superstition, I don't know...... but I have learned when the old timers in my area talk I better be listening!

[jbsoonerfan]

I was fishing with a older guy on day and I released a fish....... he looked dead at me and asked me what I thought I was doing... asked why?

 

He was dead serious when he told me NOT to release the fish to the side of the boat I caught it on, ALWAYS release it on the other side.

Myth, superstition, I don't know...... but I have learned when the old timers in my area talk I better be listening!

 

That older guy may have been my uncle or my grandpa. 

[WRB]

It's not a myth, releasing bass sometimes shut off a good bite. When I am on a big bass bite, I try to keep the big girls on a special 10' weighted stringer in lieu of putting them in a livewell. We have a 5 bass limit in procession, so 5 is max for each licensed angler in the boat.

Most bass anglers put their keeper size bass in the livewell even when recreational fishing and release smaller bass instantly. Releasing small bass doesn't seem to impact the bite, releasing larger bass can. So do you take risk or not? This becomes an academic question because few anglers catch more than one big bass at one spot and they usually put the bass in the livewell or release it and move on, not thinking there could be a school of big bass.

Tom

[mjseverson24]

i have put some fish in the well, before, but it is mainly when i am fishing a spot, and i get 1, i will keep it until i am sure there is nothing else there... not very often though...

 

Mitch

[merc1997]

i can assure that releasing bass back into a school with shut the bite down.  case in point, when fishing a tournament one keeps the bass, and when on a good school, will continue to catch them.  but, when fun fishing, how many times do you really whack them, and you are letting the bass go??  the bigger the bass, the more quickly they will shut down too.

 

bo

[Tim Kelly]

I absolutely believe it. No doubt in my mind that it can have a bad effect releasing a caught fish back down to a group of feeding fish.

[Catt]

Fact: largest 20 bass stringer caught in a Pro tournament, Paul Elias Falcon Lake 132 lbs 8 ozs including a final day 5 bass stringer of 37 lbs 11 ozs, 87% of those bass came off the same point & off a single piece of cover. The top 12 anglers weighed in 20 bass stringers of over 100 lbs, most coming off single pieces of structure.

Most lakes down south have size or slot limits, if you're in a tournament with under size bass in your livewell it's an instant DQ, & if Wildlife- Fisheries catch you it will be a ticket or worse.

[Lund Explorer]

It does work!

 

Get on a school of 3-4lb smallmouth and you can make pass after pass on them.  Fish until you have boxed a limit, take them for a boat ride a few hundred yards away, and come right back onto the structure to catch more of them.  I've done this many times over the years, and can only suggest that people try it.

 

Conversely, keep releasing or have a couple of big fish unbutton on you and watch the school shut right off.

[MemphisFF]

What happens when the game warden shows up and wants to see what ya got in the live well..?

[CDMeyer]

I would in a tournament but that is simply just because the bass will be in my live well for the tournament, out just fishing, I would not do that to a bass

[Brian Needham]

What happens when the game warden shows up and wants to see what ya got in the live well..?

don't have more than 10 per person! lol

[J Francho]

I keep a legal limit sometimes. They get released after the photo session. If I'm on a hot bite, legal fish go onto the well, especially if they are big.

[RoLo]

Though I've never personally quarantined fish to augment my catch, it is not a wife's tale.

It has been substantiated that one bass can affect school behavior.

One bass can emit a positive pheromone that triggers a feeding frenzy,

and one bass under stress can emit a negative pheromone that shuts down the school. 

 

Roger

[Brian Needham]

excellent point RoLo......... if we believe a bite can ignite a school (it can) then it only makes sense to believe it the other way, one can also shut down a school.

[flyfisher]

I fish from a kayak so no keeping any fish but when fishing mountain streams for trout I always release the fish in the pool downstream if possible.

[porkleaker]

As long as they release them properly. There was a big tournament here the one year, the water was a lot warmer than usual which means lower oxygen levels and fish don't like drastic changes in temps especially if they're already stressed. I'm pretty sure they released them all in the shallows near the weigh-ins and needless to say, I counted around 50, really nice, big bass all floating around dead along the shoreline. 

[Salamander12]

A buddy of mine I fish with lives on the water and whenever he catches a fish 5lbs+ he will put it in the live well and release when he gets back to his house. I don't know if the bass stay there but when fishing near his house I do tend to catch bigger fish.

[bighed]

Not a believer in the spook the school theory.  I've been on too many schools catching and releasing dozens of bass sometimes over a period of hours.  Catts comment about Paul's record catch is dead on.  In fact, I think I remember that he was sharing that spot with another angelr who was also releasing many fish.