Bass as Pets.

[lars320]

I have been browsing around for quite some time, but I have not been able to find a specific answer.  I am seeing a lot of questions about people keeping Large/Small mouth bass as pets and I would like to know if it is.  I live in the State of Illinois always and I see people keeping bass as pets on Youtube.  I am trying to get a fish tank going in my room and I want to put bass in it as a pet.  If anybody knows anything or anyplace that can answer my question, please feel free to do so. 

         Thanks, Lance.

[Darren.]

Welcome aboard, Lance!

 

Can't really help you with keeping bass as Pets. To me, they're

quarry to catch and release  .

[TBAG]

It's not April 1st is it?

[OCdockskipper]

i would love to answer you, but I can't find a question in your post.  It is just a bunch of statements pushed together like leftovers from Christmas dinner.

[kenmitch]

It's illegal to transport live fish as well as the water they live in. Page 7 covers it.

 

https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/publications/documents/00000839.pdf

 

 

[soflabasser]

Check the laws in your state first before getting a bass as a pet. The information I am providing below is only for those in states where you are allowed to raise bass as pets...

 

You will need at least a 150 gallon aquarium to raise a single bass and the bass will eventually outgrow this aquarium. You must keep the water parameters in good levels. Keep the ammonia, nitrites, etc low and have a good filtration system. Keep the bass well fed but do not overfeed. Make sure you keep the water temperature stable. Consider making a pond of at least 500 gallons or more once the bass gets too big for the aquarium. If this sounds like too much work then it probably would be better to raise a Siamese fighting fish in a 1-5 gallon aquarium since they are some of the easiest fish to take care of.

[Bluebasser86]

Lots of legal issues if you take wild fish but you might be able to find them at a pet store. They eat a lot and are tough to keep alive. 

[Glaucus]

I'm from Illinois. I know of a lot of people who take fish as pets. No issues. What the letter of the law says is different. But it's like the law from a southern state that it's technically illegal to walk down a sidewalk eating an ice cream come on a Sunday. But it isn't enforced and nobody cares. I'm not going to tell you to do it, but I'm going to tell you that I've never known anyone to get in trouble for it, and I've never met anyone in any position of authority who would even care. Some laws are just stupid. Like collecting rain water is or used to be illegal. Nobody cares. 

[greentrout]

Get a Lab...loyal and obedient friend...

 

good fishing....

[Glaucus]

53 minutes ago, greentrout said:

Get a Lab...loyal and obedient friend...

 

good fishing....

If you watch Bamabass, you'll want a pet bass. 

[soflabasser]

1 hour ago, Glaucus said:

If you watch Bamabass, you'll want a pet bass. 

Seem a couple of his videos where he fishes for pet bass in private ponds. They can be entertaining but I prefer watching videos of bass being caught from public waters.

[Glaucus]

17 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

Seem a couple of his videos where he fishes for pet bass in private ponds. They can be entertaining but I prefer watching videos of bass being caught from public waters.

His bass and crappie came from a river. I believe his catfish did too. Dunno about the main bluegill. The new gills came from a river too. Not sure what you're talking about. 

 

Most of his fishing for straight up videos is in private ponds though. 

[soflabasser]

18 minutes ago, Glaucus said:

His bass and crappie came from a river. I believe his catfish did too. Dunno about the main bluegill. The new gills came from a river too. Not sure what you're talking about. 

 

Most of his fishing for straight up videos is in private ponds though. 

The videos I saw where of him fishing private well managed ponds loaded with big bass. It reminded me of the videos I saw of Bill Dance fishing private ponds. Both guys are good fishermen but I rather see them fish public water. It is entertaining to watch for a couple minutes when I was a kid but not something I enjoy watching as an adult. I prefer catching my bass in public waters so I tend to prefer seeing videos of people catching big bass in public waters. As far as I am concerned a private water bass is a pet bass. Also do not like seeing overhyped Youtube videos with more talking than catching but I understand that is what brings the most money for these Youtubers.

[B-Dozer]

Instead of a leash, use a stringer ?

[Glaucus]

27 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

The videos I saw where of him fishing private well managed ponds loaded with big bass. It reminded me of the videos I saw of Bill Dance fishing private ponds. Both guys are good fishermen but I rather see them fish public water. It is entertaining to watch for a couple minutes when I was a kid but not something I enjoy watching as an adult. I prefer catching my bass in public waters so I tend to prefer seeing videos of people catching big bass in public waters. As far as I am concerned a private water bass is a pet bass. Also do not like seeing overhyped Youtube videos with more talking than catching but I understand that is what brings the most money for these Youtubers.

The best YouTube fisherman ever is ndyakangler. He absolutely slays giant smallmouth kayaking down rivers. He's mellow, only talks fishing while he fishes, and isn't over dramatic about anything. My daughter (2yo) falls to sleep watching him. It's her nightly ritual. She has to watch him catch the fishies. 

[soflabasser]

16 minutes ago, Glaucus said:

The best YouTube fisherman ever is ndyakangler. He absolutely slays giant smallmouth kayaking down rivers. He's mellow, only talks fishing while he fishes, and isn't over dramatic about anything. My daughter (2yo) falls to sleep watching him. It's her nightly ritual. She has to watch him catch the fishies. 

I would not call him the best YouTube fisherman since there are many Youtubers that catch bigger fish and more species of fish than he does. I do enjoy watching some of his videos of the big smallmouth bass he catches and like how he keeps fishing more realistic by being himself. His videos can be relaxing so I can see why she falls asleep. Beats watching a fishing channel with dubstep music or whatever terrible music they play in the clubs these days.

[Bluebasser86]

3 hours ago, Glaucus said:

The best YouTube fisherman ever is ndyakangler. He absolutely slays giant smallmouth kayaking down rivers. He's mellow, only talks fishing while he fishes, and isn't over dramatic about anything. My daughter (2yo) falls to sleep watching him. It's her nightly ritual. She has to watch him catch the fishies. 

I love watching him catching those big smallmouth in those little rivers, but man I wish someone would set the guys drag for him, drives me crazy how badly it slips all the time. I don't know how many times I was sure he was going to get hooked by a flopping fish too. I wish our rivers had smallmouth, pike, and muskie, instead of catfish, drum, and gar. 

[WVU-SCPA]

One summer when I was around 11 or 12 I decided a good projects was to setup a 70 gallon aquarium for smallies.  Built a big rock formation, filled it up with many trips up and down stairs with pots,  and headed down to the creek with a rod, spinner, and milk jug with the top cut off.  I was able to admire those 3 5-8" smallmouth bass for about 2 hours until my mother came home.  Then it was back down to the creek with the fish and many trips up and down the stairs with water filled pots again.

 

In reality, I broke 3 PA laws that day and there was a good chance those bass wouldn't have survived very long.

 

I would recommend starting a tank with an established pet trade species to learns the ins and outs of fish keeping.  The saltwater species legally available are much better then a 12" bass IMO.

[N Florida Mike]

I had what amounted to a pet bass at my dock. I caught him 5-6 times because he was so aggressive. Named him lucky. He was around 4 pounds. Then he just left, and as far as I know, I havent caught him again. Guess he got tired of getting hooked.

[scaleface]

I had a largemouth bass in an aquarium . He ate all the darters and minnows . I put him in there when it was not much bigger than a minnow and he still was able to eat the other fish . Their tails would be sticking out of his mouth . LOL  I had it for about a year then released it  , too try and have a better community . Green sunfish and bluegills were even more viscous . I actually had two small sturgeons and the bluegills sucked the  eyeballs off their heads . Drum were good pets and ate commercial food . Every time i introduced another fish , they would have parasites and I had to treat the tank . I had a channel cat ,a bullhead and a crawfish at one time . It actually was a lot of fun . Crappie didnt do well . I  would seine   specimens  from streams and creeks .

[Glaucus]

6 minutes ago, scaleface said:

 I actually had two small sturgeons and the bluegills sucked the  eyeballs off their heads .

[the reel ess]

Bama Bass is the best pet bass channel on YouTube. And he also fishes for and catches some monster bass. Hands down, my favorite YT channel.

 

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

I had a largemouth bass in an aquarium . He ate all the darters and minnows . I put him in there when it was not much bigger than a minnow and he still was able to eat the other fish . Their tails would be sticking out of his mouth . LOL  I had it for about a year then released it  , too try and have a better community . Green sunfish and bluegills were even more viscous . I actually had two small sturgeons and the bluegills sucked the  eyeballs off their heads . Drum were good pets and ate commercial food . Every time i introduced another fish , they would have parasites and I had to treat the tank . I had a channel cat ,a bullhead and a crawfish at one time . It actually was a lot of fun . Crappie didnt do well . I  would seine   specimens  from streams and creeks .

Bluegill are pure savages. Bama Bass has one on his channel named Sheriff. It's a stone cold killer.  It would eat the bass if its mouth was bigger.

[OCdockskipper]

10 hours ago, soflabasser said:

...As far as I am concerned a private water bass is a pet bass...

Sounds like someone is irritated that they dont have access to some private waters...

[Glaucus]

21 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

Bama Bass is the best pet bass channel on YouTube. And he also fishes for and catches some monster bass. Hands down, my favorite YT channel.

 

Bluegill are pure savages. Bama Bass has one on his channel named Sheriff. It's a stone cold killer.  It would eat the bass if its mouth was bigger.

Sheriff is one impressive bluegill. 

 

Their smallest bass Moby is a different kind of bass, a different kind of savage. He would eat the family if he could. Bama says he's never seen a more aggressive fish. Future DD easily. 

[Hawkeye21]

I had looked into keeping bass before and read that it's very difficult.  The one guy said that it's hard to keep up with feeding them since they're not like goldfish that can be fed with basic fish food.  I don't think it's worth the time and money unless you had a pond that you could stock bait fish in with it.