Where does a bass “go” when you release it?

[BrianMDTX]

If you make a bomb cast and hook a bass, after you land/boat it and take pics, measurements, etc., you release it. Right there.  Where does that bass go? Right back where you caught it? Stays where you release it? Who knows?

 

I’m wondering what happens when you catch a bass during spawning season. If it’s a male and he’s guarding the bed, will he return to it? If it’s a female, where does she go? 

[gim]

I assume that most bass that are released quickly and properly after they are caught likely go back to where they were after a short period of time.  There was a reason they were there to begin with.  There's likely a combination of cover, food, and/or access to deep water nearby.

 

Spawning bass is opening a whole new can of worms.  Some say they go right back and others say they don't.  Some people do it regularly and see no issue and some say its unethical.

 

I am in the crowd of simply not doing it very often.  When I encounter one, I make a couple of casts and then move along.  I do not specifically seek out bedded bass.  I prefer to let them complete their reproductive process unhindered.

[Team9nine]

Lots of studies in this area, and as you can imiagine, the best answer is "it depends" because there are so many variables involved. Generally speaking, in your scenario, the first thing a bass would do is go right down to the bottom when released. After a period of time, he'll start moving about again and then likely relocate back to the same general area where he was caught. 

 

In the case of nest guarding, males will abandon the nest about 1/3 of the time, and return to the nest in a short period of time and continue to guard the other 2/3 of the time. Females, since they don't tend to the nest and are only there to spawn would likely leave the area to recover before trying to spawn again somewhere nearby.

 

All of this is generalized based on studies, but you can find studies that vary considerably in this regard because of the unique circumstances around each lake and study. 

[Sphynx]

I am a huge proponent of hunting big fish prespawn, that's probably the best chance you'll ever have of hooking up on whatever qualifies as a trophy sized fish in your area, but as to bed fishing, I don't make it a point to go, I have done it in the past, but a big part of my hesitation anymore is precisely because "I don't know" isn't an answer I am comfortable with, I don't like to run other people's lives for them, not my place to tell folks whether they ought to do, or not do anything, but for my part, I will be trying not to disturb spawning fish until the answer about what happens to bedding fish that are caught ends up being much more clear and decided that it's not a harmful practice.

[roadwarrior]

Well, although I do not target bedding bass, I have watched the most intensive 

fishing for these bass on Lake Fork. I have never fished anywhere that was as

crowded as the Fork. During the spawn there are literally thousands of boats

on the lake. A large number are there specifically for the opportunity to focus

on nesting big girls.  This has been going on for decades without ANY apparent

effect on the bass population.  

[TnRiver46]

It goes wherever it wants to, there’s no rule they must follow. And if there were such a rule, the Bass wouldn’t know about it and would still do whatever they want

[the reel ess]

14 minutes ago, Sphynx said:

I am a huge proponent of hunting big fish prespawn, that's probably the best chance you'll ever have of hooking up on whatever qualifies as a trophy sized fish in your area, but as to bed fishing, I don't make it a point to go, I have done it in the past, but a big part of my hesitation anymore is precisely because "I don't know" isn't an answer I am comfortable with, I don't like to run other people's lives for them, not my place to tell folks whether they ought to do, or not do anything, but for my part, I will be trying not to disturb spawning fish until the answer about what happens to bedding fish that are caught ends up being much more clear and decided that it's not a harmful practice.

In my neck of the woods it's just a matter of personal preference. People persecute the bass during spawn here and it never seems to hurt the population. I'd have to skip the month of April to avoid spawning bass. I mean, catching & releasing is better for the population than keeping them. Many of the same people who won't fish for bedding bass have no issue taking a limit of crappie during their spawn. 

[BrianMDTX]

Kinda what I figured. If the bass population doesn’t seem to be affected, it probably doesn’t hurt if you C&R. 
 

This will be my first year fishing seriously during the spawn (I was late this spring and didn’t know my bass from a hole in the ground at that point lol). I know I could see bluegill beds as they are shallow. I think the bass beds are deeper and water clarity is such you can’t see them at all. I’ll have to see what happens. 

[NHBull]

There are plenty of examples of tagged fish being caught in a tournament, weighed in 10 miles from the spot, only to be caught in the same spot the next year.  I would not have believed it if I hadn't seen it on lake Winnipesaukee.  After that, a google search found it pretty common.  That said, it was after spawn

[.ghoti.]

Decades ago, i subscribed to several magazines. Was looking through back copies for a particular article when I discovered a coincidence. At random, i had looked through three mags, and each had a short article on this subject. This happened quite some time ago, so I do not remember which issues of which mag.

 

one quoted a study claiming bass hung around where they were released for a short period, and then returned to where they had been caught.

another claimed they dispersed immediately.

another claimed they stayed at the release area until they had recovered from the stress of being caught, and the left for parts unknown.

my conclusion? Stop reading studies and go fish.

 

It’s all speculation. Nobody knows why a bass does what it does. The bass ain't talking, and even if they were, they don't know either

. 

[jbsoonerfan]

I don't know where they go when they are released, but when I fished tournaments I always just fished the ramp area where the tournaments were held since I figured that's where they release them so there had to bass there at some point. LOL 

 

Just kidding of course. 

[Deephaven]

There was a female under our dock guarding a nest this year.  Regrettably two of the neighborhood boys took turns catching her.  Over a period of 2 weeks she was caught at least 1-2x/day.  Always returned to the nest and usually instantly.  I "assume" female as it is MN and the bass was around 3.5lbs and spawned out looking.  I never personally held her but it would be odd for another the same size to take her place.

[Choporoz]

Somebody posted a link to a detailed study, I think in Oklahoma,  of tagged tournament fish.  Pretty fascinating.....some fish stayed close to weigh in ramp....some returned to area not far from where they were caught, some traveled many miles...like more than 10?...in relatively few short weeks,  IIRC. 

As for fishing bedding fish,  I don't do it for a couple reasons, but not because I think it is hurting the hatch

[NoShoes]

I looked pretty hard last year just to see one and never could find a bass on bed. Maybe it’s a water clarity issue, but I’ll look again this year. 

[Tackleholic]

I caught a male smallmouth which was guarding a nest in clear, shallow water; he was only 12-13 inches long.  When released, he made a beeline back to the nest and immediately began torpedoing the several 30 inch carp which were already circling the nest.  An hour later he was still holding his ground.

[Koz]

I’ve always been curious what bass are more likely to do after short striking a bait. 

 

Sure, sometimes they stick around and you can follow up. But when that doesn’t happen I wonder if they are more likely to go deep or run run for shallow cover.

 

But realistically I’m sure it’s random.

[FishinBuck07]

Watched the show Hook and Look the other day, he was fishing St Clair during the smallmouth spawn.  He was bed fishing, every one he caught and released went right back to the nest.  Not saying it is the end all be all, but it was pretty telling of their instincts to protect their young.

[BrianMDTX]

4 minutes ago, FishinBuck07 said:

Watched the show Hook and Look the other day, he was fishing St Clair during the smallmouth spawn.  He was bed fishing, every one he caught and released went right back to the nest.  Not saying it is the end all be all, but it was pretty telling of their instincts to protect their young.

How far was the release point from the nest? 

[Choporoz]

Not the same study I recalled above,  but here is one in New York tracking tournament fish.  Somewhat interesting 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.uvm.edu/seagrant/sites/default/files/uploads/publication/lcbp_report_bass_study_2013_reduced_size.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwj0_PfgsanuAhWnzlkKHauOCbwQ6sMDMAB6BAgBEAY&usg=AOvVaw0MvPmCcKukvV1sL--RXegY

 

[flatcreek]

They skidaddle

[Sphynx]

6 hours ago, the reel ess said:

In my neck of the woods it's just a matter of personal preference. People persecute the bass during spawn here and it never seems to hurt the population. I'd have to skip the month of April to avoid spawning bass. I mean, catching & releasing is better for the population than keeping them. Many of the same people who won't fish for bedding bass have no issue taking a limit of crappie during their spawn. 

I wouldn't doubt that a bit, and like I said it's no place of mine to tell another person how they should or shouldn't behave, I expect they are adults capable of reasoning out their own decisions, as to crappie, I don't know if there are any fish easier to catch consistently than crappie, and I have never felt the need to specifically target them during the spawn, if you find trees, brush piles, etc in the lake, you have almost certainly found the crappie, it's my belief that fish spawning means more fun for me over the long term, and I certainly like the sounds of that.

[FishinBuck07]

11 hours ago, BrianMDTX said:

How far was the release point from the nest? 

He was casting quite a ways!  His son is his camera operator, he was in the water filming while the host was fishing, he would release and the camera would follow them back to the nest from a distance.

[Jonas Staggs]

I would think it probably goes and hides as quick as possible. I had one hide in some cover in a tiny creek literally right where I dropped him for a while. 

[TnRiver46]

I let a possum go once and it ran right into another trap I had set 

[J Francho]

There's been several studies on this very topic that are well documented on the interwebz.  TL;DR: It depends on how long they are held, how far from where they were caught they are released, and the circumstances of the catch.