What, to you, is a “nice” bass?

[Bluebasser86]

Most of the lakes I fish have an 18" length limit, which is about a 3lb fish, so anything over 18" or 3lbs is a good fish in my book.

[Bankbeater]

Around here 2 lb and up is picture worthy.

[SC53]

3 lbs is considered a nice fish for me. As others have said, here in Florida there isn’t an 8 lbr under every piece of grass but there is an opportunity for one to be. 

[TnRiver46]

13 hours ago, gimruis said:

In Minnesota it takes a bass about a decade to get to 20 inches/5 pounds. I heard that directly from a fisheries biologist in 2016 at the Bassmaster Elite AOY at Mille Lacs. It’s very unfortunate that some people still harvest such an old fish but it still happens. Even a 3 pounder up here is probably 6-7 years old. I would say a bass that is 17+ inches is a nice bass here.

I feel like harvesting older ones can be better than harvesting young ones (except in ponds). Old ones have already spawned several times, they aren’t the future. Old fish are close to dying, might as well eat em. If you think about it, almost every state has length minimums, meaning you keep big fish. If  keeping only small fish was better for the ecosystem, you would think biologists would make length maximums instead of minimums. I’ve seen a few length maximums across the country but not many. I think we as fishermen let big fish go because we love them and don’t want to kill them, not because it’s good for the ecosystem. Also in hunting, most harvest mature animals 
 

 

[garroyo130]

< 1lb - Dink

1-2lb - "A fish" (dinks dont count towards totals of fish caught)

3-5lb - Nice

5-8lb - Good

 

After that, Toyota wrote the book

 

8-10lb - Lunker

10-13 - Lunker Elite

>13 - Lunker Legend

 

... I'm still chasing that lunker

[DitchPanda]

A lot of it depends on circumstance like others have said. I wouldn't really think much of a 2lbs on my baitcaster but in my ultralight that would be a stud.

Also my parents live up by Okoboji and they have a good smallie population in several lakes around them so a good one would be 3lbs. For me my local pond has a small population of mainly little smallies so a good one here is 1.5lbs and up.

[Koz]

I do most of my fishing i waters where 2 and 3 pound bass are common. So for me, a 4 pound bass is decent and anything over 5 is good.

 

What I find frustrating is that my PB is a hair under 7 pounds and I catch a ton of 5 and 6 pounders every year. To top it off, a decent number double digit bass are taken out of those lagoons every year. Someday...

[Captain Phil]

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

I feel like harvesting older ones can be better than harvesting young ones (except in ponds). Old ones have already spawned several times, they aren’t the future. Old fish are close to dying, might as well eat em. 

Most bass fisherman I know prefer catching big fish over small fish.  Every big fish "harvested" is a fish no one will ever catch again.  I release every bass I catch.  My biggest bass was near 12 pounds.  She was released and hopefully lived to thrill another angler.  

[Dwight Hottle]

I guess its all relative to where you fish & what your used to catching. To me a bass over 4 lbs is a nice fish either brown or green. A good fish is over 5lbs for both species. Trophy class depends on where your fishing. In FL an 8lber is a trophy according to the state trophy catch program which I would agree with. When I was fishing Erie a 6lb smallie was considered a trophy.  

[Hewhospeaksmuchbull]

Any fish brings a smile to my face, a nice fish is any fish approaching my PB, a whopping 4 to 5lbs.

[gim]

6 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I feel like harvesting older ones can be better than harvesting young ones (except in ponds). Old ones have already spawned several times, they aren’t the future. Old fish are close to dying, might as well eat em. If you think about it, almost every state has length minimums, meaning you keep big fish. If  keeping only small fish was better for the ecosystem, you would think biologists would make length maximums instead of minimums. I’ve seen a few length maximums across the country but not many. I think we as fishermen let big fish go because we love them and don’t want to kill them, not because it’s good for the ecosystem. Also in hunting, most harvest mature animals 
 

 

The problem with harvesting big fish is that there’s not nearly as many of them. They require more resources and food and therefore occupy a larger carrying capacity as well. So only removing a few of them causes more damage per fish.  Also, most large fish are females and females are what carry the population in the natural world. Removing males generally does not affect the population as a whole unless it’s done on a large scale. This is exactly why our lakes are completely over run with small northern pike up here. Too many people harvested big ones for too long and now no one wants to keep the small slimy snakes we need removed. Lastly, most game fish are cannibalistic so they eat smaller fish, including their own kind. Removing big ones leaves nothing to keep small ones in check, which has greatly contributed to our stunted pike problem here as well.

 

Most hunters I know do not harvest mature animals. They try to, but they fail, myself included. The ones I know are mostly meat hunters and harvest small bucks or antlerless deer (if permitted) rather than waiting for mr big because they want to fill their freezer and waiting for something that doesn’t show up isn’t successful. And most turkey hunters I know harvest whatever legal bird shows up first whether that be a mature Tom or a young jake.

[Captain Phil]

Back in the day, a few Central Florida guides started offering money back guarantees.  If you didn't get a chance at a ten pound plus bass, they would give you a refund.  They used 12" shiners for bait.  I never met anyone who got a refund, but I do remember seeing buckets of huge dead bass in the back of a pickup.  Back then Florida had a 10 fish per angler limit with no size restrictions.   My fishing buddy and I won an Okeechobee team tournament in the seventies with a 20 fish limit that weighed 67 pounds.

 

This had a devastating affect on our bass fishing.  Florida went to a five fish limit some time ago.  At this time, you can only keep one bass over 16 inches in Florida.  Tournament exemptions are available.   Hardly anyone keeps a large bass any more, which is the way it should be.  Golfers don't burn their golf balls at the end of the day.  Sportsman don't kill bass, they catch them over and over again.   

 

  

[TnRiver46]

6 hours ago, gimruis said:

The problem with harvesting big fish is that there’s not nearly as many of them. They require more resources and food and therefore occupy a larger carrying capacity as well. So only removing a few of them causes more damage per fish.  Also, most large fish are females and females are what carry the population in the natural world. Removing males generally does not affect the population as a whole unless it’s done on a large scale. This is exactly why our lakes are completely over run with small northern pike up here. Too many people harvested big ones for too long and now no one wants to keep the small slimy snakes we need removed. Lastly, most game fish are cannibalistic so they eat smaller fish, including their own kind. Removing big ones leaves nothing to keep small ones in check, which has greatly contributed to our stunted pike problem here as well.

 

Most hunters I know do not harvest mature animals. They try to, but they fail, myself included. The ones I know are mostly meat hunters and harvest small bucks or antlerless deer (if permitted) rather than waiting for mr big because they want to fill their freezer and waiting for something that doesn’t show up isn’t successful. And most turkey hunters I know harvest whatever legal bird shows up first whether that be a mature Tom or a young jake.

Yeah I’m not a hunter but it seems way more difficult than fishing. But I do have some buddies that let the small bucks walk everytime 

[Uncle_MC]

3+ to me is "nice".

[BrianMDTX]

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

Yeah I’m not a hunter but it seems way more difficult than fishing. But I do have some buddy that let the small bucks walk everytime 

It’s definitely different. It would be akin if you could “see” every bass and decide if it was big enough to catch. Then again, there is no catch-and-release in hunting! 

[RoLo]

9 hours ago, Dwight Hottle said:

In FL an 8lber is a trophy according to the state trophy catch program which I would agree with.  

 

Actually Dwight, based on the FWC, 8 lbs designates “Lunker” class,

whereas 10 lbs designates a “Trophy”. Nevertheless, I don’t agree with 8 lbs or 10 lbs.

Based on broad-based statistics (not just Florida), 9 lbs probably offers the most realistic

benchmark for a trophy bigmouth, but we humans prefer nice round numbers like “10”  ☺️

 

Now back to "good" fish. I'm thrilled with a 3-lb bass, be it Ontario or Florida 

 

Roger

[gim]

12 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Yeah I’m not a hunter but it seems way more difficult than fishing. But I do have some buddies that let the small bucks walk everytime 

 

I prefer to do that too.  I actually prefer to eat a nice young corn fed doe over a buck when possible.  The bucks are pumped full of hormones because of the rut and they taste like leather.  And the bigger the buck, the worse they taste.  But ya, if you harvest mr big you likely didn't do it because of the tender meat it has lol

[GioFromNJ]

in nj...just about anythin over 3

 

[jbsoonerfan]

3 lbs is a nice one in my book.

 

That being said, I was fishing in my Speedo the other day and a lot of people were yelling "NICE BASS", not sure what they were talking about though. 

[rtwvumtneer6]

I think its relative to where you are.  Most of my tournaments have a 15" limit so anything that makes it into the livewell and onto the scale is a "nice" fish.  

 

Fun fishing, anything near 3# usually finds its way in a photo.  That's a quality fish (my opinion) for Western PA.  When I'm shaking so bad it takes me a couple tries to re-tie, that's usually 5+.  And if/when I ever break 8# in my neck of the woods, I'll have a replica made. 

 

That being said, I took a guide trip in Texas and my perspective changed based on the possibilities of what I could catch.  2 and 3 pounders were still welcome, but I viewed them a little differently knowing the caliber of fish that live there. 

 

[Armtx77]

On 5/30/2020 at 2:40 PM, Johnbt said:

The first one of the day is always the nicest one.    After that I can be just as picky as I want about weight and length. And I always expect the next one to be a double digit.   

1st one of the day, always puts a smile on my face. Especially if I can reuse that Senko.

[matbellon3]

A "nice" largemouth for for the ponds and lakes I fish is anything 2 lbs and up a good one is anything over 3.5 lbs.

[Cgolf]

Small river system I fish, a 17-18" smallie is a quality fish. Fishing the northwoods of WI a largie or smallie in the 17-18" range is also a quality fish. Over a lot of years, the 20+" fish have been very few. I have lost a smallie that likely would have gone 6+ easy at the net when the RES popped out. 2 people got a good look at the size so we know the toads are there, it just takes them so long to grow.

 

My first 20" smallie on the river was caught 8-10 years after I caught her as my first fish on the fly, she was about 14" then. She had very specific markings and a jaw deformity so I recognized her right away. Really cool to get 2 firsts with one fish years apart.

[the reel ess]

It depends totally upon where I'm fishing. In Florida, a 6 Lb. bass is pretty routine. IN South Carolina, not so much. I think in SC 5 lbs. is my lower range of a "really nice bass". There are some places I fish where 2 lbs. is a good fish. There's one place I fish where 1 lb., or even a fish with a gut, is a good bass. But I keep going there and taking small bass out of it.

I'll take 1-2 lb. bass all day long though. It holds your interest. If you're fishing a place with bigger ones but catching dinks, you're just putting in the work to get one of them.

[J Francho]

Anything over 4 is gonna get a photo op, green or brown.