nascar2428 Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 Here in Michigan for the majority of the state. Bass season opens the last Saturday in April and is catch and release until Memorial weekend. This is to protect the Bass population. Michigan DNR now has scientific evidence from other states disproving this theory plus the fact that the majority of Bass fisherman in the state practice catch and release, they are currently looking into modifying or eliminating a closed season for bass all together. Having said that I absolutely will target spawning areas but not the beds themselves. All of the professional tours have been fishing beds for years without any apparent ill effects on those lakes. I think the harm factor has been greatly reduced with today's catch and release mentality within the Bass fishing community. Quote
Super User geo g Posted January 16, 2015 Super User Posted January 16, 2015 I don't like taking bass off a bed. One person taking a fish may not have much effect on a body of water, but get a tournament in there and 100 anglers and that's another story. Do that at the same time every year and fishing can't help from being effected. Being off the bed for only minutes and the bait fish will move in for a feast. I just can't get myself to target the future of the sport I love, for what a photo! 4 Quote
Super User SirSnookalot Posted January 16, 2015 Super User Posted January 16, 2015 People put the fish in there. First if you just have water with no fish then you can have a bad mosquito problem so whenever a pond is made it is almost always stocked with at least minnows, but usually bluegill and bass to. This is usually done by whoever made the pond. 2nd is guys jut put them in there by bucket. I have done it many times when I was a teenager whenever a new sand pit pond was dug or a new golf course was built. I have seen other doing it to. It happens a lot more then you might think. There is some truth to this in Florida, the FWC does stock bass in some of these community man made ponds. Some ponds are connected to canals and get populated with fish from swimming in. Where I fish in Florida I seldom see any one else fishing, there are tons of bass here. I don't think bed fishing is going to affect the overall fishery at all where I'm at. I don't do it myself but if one chooses to do so in these low pressure areas, I don't have a problem with it. However I do bed fish for peacocks, these are low pressure ares and the peas always come back to the bed. Quote
OntarioFishingGuy Posted January 17, 2015 Posted January 17, 2015 I stay away from it for the most part. Most of my local lakes don't have a very good LMB population anyways, so I try to do everything I can to reserve what little quality bass fishing Toronto has left. I tend to target rainbows during the spring anyways. 1 Quote
Dave Jakes Posted January 17, 2015 Posted January 17, 2015 I live by the golden rule: Don't do to others what you don't want done to yourself. Now, I know the reproduction process is a bit different for fish, but I wouldn't want someone yanking me off my bed by the mouth while I'm "spawning". 8 Quote
mjseverson24 Posted January 17, 2015 Posted January 17, 2015 I don't target spawning fish at all, I am sure I catch a few spawners each year unknowingly, but ignorance is bliss in those cases. My intent is to avoid spawning fish, but when you flip a jig under a dock, or by a tree/stump, or pocket in the weeds and the fish are in spawn mode you will most likely get a few in the act on accident... During tournaments I typically fish deeper than a normal bed would be located, so I should be pretty sure of not disturbing the spawn... Mitch 1 Quote
Super User scaleface Posted January 17, 2015 Super User Posted January 17, 2015 I dont think fishing for spawning bass hurts a bit , but Ive been wrong before. A lake will only hold so many adult bass, An astronomical number of fry are hatched each year. I doubt anglers fishing for spawning bass will effect the number of fry reaching several inches. Thats Mother Natures way of assuring a healthy population.What is much more important is natural events that can have great impact on a years spawn , like floods . One of my most memorable days of fishing ever , I was targeting schools of fry with a jelly worm and catching 2 to 3 lb bass all day. Quote
tatertester Posted January 17, 2015 Posted January 17, 2015 I don't go on a rant about fishing beds, BUT, somehow, seems to be not a right thing to do. 3 Quote
Super User Lund Explorer Posted January 18, 2015 Super User Posted January 18, 2015 Question If it's unethical to catch em off the bed what do y'all do about catching the female moving from one nest to the next? Would this not create the same problem? Seems your question can't be answered. Perhaps too many people see bed fishing as being little different than tossing a lure into the manger with Mary & Joseph. Probably the #1 reason no one goes to the BR Road Trips for fear of catching fish off a shiny spot! 1 Quote
Super User Catt Posted January 18, 2015 Super User Posted January 18, 2015 Oh it can be answered, it'll burst thier bubble of bed fishing cause the effect is the same! There is tons of research proving bed fishing does not hurt the spawn. Quote
greentrout Posted January 19, 2015 Posted January 19, 2015 I consider it unethical to fish for bass on their spawning beds. They are locked into their nests; they will not leave unless driven off by a larger predator (usually man or a drastic, sudden change in water temperature). A big bass is highly vulnerable while spawning. Often spawners are easily seen...and easily taken. I've seen fishermen throw heavy lines rigged with grab hooks to snag big females on their spawning beds. While most would never resort to a such a lowly method of gathering a trophy, many believe it's okay to catch bass on their beds with artificial lures or live bait. I'm a fisherman and a researcher, not a preacher. All I can say is that once you really get to know the bass, bed fishing simply becomes out of the question.The Bass Professor -- Doug Hannon Old school basser 4 Quote
bassindon Posted January 19, 2015 Posted January 19, 2015 No bed fishing here anymore. I do better not bed fishing Quote
Super User Lund Explorer Posted January 19, 2015 Super User Posted January 19, 2015 Oh it can be answered, it'll burst thier bubble of bed fishing cause the effect is the same! There is tons of research proving bed fishing does not hurt the spawn. Unfortunately, we have a generation or two that have decided to adopt the same philosophy that PETA expounds. When it becomes "unethical" to catch a fish at one time of the year, how can they be that far away from the argument that it is wrong to catch that same fish anytime of the year. It always amazes me when I read someone professing to fishing during the spawn, not targeting spawning fish, and then admitting to "accidently" catching them off their beds. Perhaps they should just stay off the water. Maybe they should lobby their state to adopt the closed seasons that a few northern states have. I would hope that these people all refuse to support all of the major tournament organizations that hold contests during the spawn. They should refuse to purchase any bait that is touted as "good for tossing on a bed". Of course that is all overblown and ridiculous. The holier than thou crowd enjoys the easiest fishing of the entire year just as much as the lowly bed snatcher. They just can't admit it! 4 Quote
Super User scaleface Posted January 19, 2015 Super User Posted January 19, 2015 I find bed fishing challenging. More times than not I dont catch the fish. They will spawn on top of stumps in a nearby lake. Sometimes I will spot the wakes as they chase away smaller fish. I never have caught one of those fish. 2 Quote
Super User gulfcaptain Posted January 19, 2015 Super User Posted January 19, 2015 You catch a few great. Am I going to spend hrs trying to catch one fish....No. If I catch one bass off a bed am I going to catch that fish each day for the next week just because I know where he/she is. No. We all will happen to catch a bedding fish here and there. I don't target them, but if they want to bite in that first 3 min hey why not. But then I'm done with that fish and will not harrass it again. But there are other fish to be caught that are pre-spawn and just as heavy to be had at that time as well. Quote
corn-on-the-rob Posted January 19, 2015 Posted January 19, 2015 I will catch some off beds and not feel bad about it, I just rarely do it because I don't particularly enjoy bed or sight fishing much. 2 Quote
Super User Wayne P. Posted January 19, 2015 Super User Posted January 19, 2015 If you base your position on facts instead of "thinking" and "feeling", that should determine your participation. 1 Quote
Super User HoosierHawgs Posted January 20, 2015 Author Super User Posted January 20, 2015 What are the 'facts'? Not meant in offense, just a clarifying question. Quote
Super User Wayne P. Posted January 20, 2015 Super User Posted January 20, 2015 They have been posted a few times in this thread. I don't have to repeat them. You figure it out. Quote
cyclops2 Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 Add in Gobis & not a egg or yolk sac is left. Several lie just out of attack range. I caught a nesting bass. As soon a it was past the attacking distance 8 to 10 Gobi raced in & munched as fast as possible. By the time I Unhooked & released the bass the Gobi cleaned out the nest. The bass darted around. Then sat on the edge of the nest. I can now make out the Gobi even when 1/2 buried around the nests. The real killer up north is V H S disease. Kills everything. The fish look like a lamprey had attached & released from them. Difference. ALL the scales are in place. But there is a very red sore in the flesh. Lots of fish are long & skinny. Another sign. Viral Hemmoragic Septicemia ? It just is devastating in some slow moving areas. Quote
Super User HoosierHawgs Posted January 20, 2015 Author Super User Posted January 20, 2015 I don't fish any goby water, but can see how it would be a problem. Quote
Super User Catt Posted January 20, 2015 Super User Posted January 20, 2015 Y'all do know the female does not stay on the nest! 1 Quote
Super User gulfcaptain Posted January 20, 2015 Super User Posted January 20, 2015 Let us hope so. Bet they don't know she will spawn several times during the spring as well with different males on beds. Quote
Super User Lund Explorer Posted January 20, 2015 Super User Posted January 20, 2015 You catch a few great. Am I going to spend hrs trying to catch one fish....No. If I catch one bass off a bed am I going to catch that fish each day for the next week just because I know where he/she is. No. We all will happen to catch a bedding fish here and there. I don't target them, but if they want to bite in that first 3 min hey why not. But then I'm done with that fish and will not harrass it again. But there are other fish to be caught that are pre-spawn and just as heavy to be had at that time as well. The hi-lited portion of your post is somewhat confusing. It almost sounds like there is a time limit allowed to fish a bed before it becomes an issue. To be fair, can you expand on that thought? Quote
Super User Lund Explorer Posted January 20, 2015 Super User Posted January 20, 2015 IMHO, when you get someone that asks you to clarify a post, you are better off doing so. By asking someone to "figure it out" themselves, there is too much chance for an incorrect conclusion. If you know what the bear did in the buckwheat, take them out there and point to the truth! Quote
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