cheap fishing?

[bassattack1990]

ok i have a qustion now we are all gone fight over this or meaby its just me but who thinks it cheap to caught fish off the beds??? i mean i know thats when every one gets there big fish but there full of eggs no wonder there heavy but i think more lakes would be better off to close the lakes for a week or two for the spwan any i just want every one else appinon

p.s lets not get nasty at each other

[jayhawkfishin]

I don't see anything wrong with fishing durning the spawn as long as you realse em.

I could understand lakes having regulations that don't allow you to keep fishing

during the spawn but i still think you should be able to fish.

[bassattack1990]

ahh thxs for saying that let me re sya that i meant like when they have big ternys and they weight the fish in and the fish have no clue were there beds are ????????? i like the fishing the during spwan i get alote of top water hits on my buzz bait and i almost always find there beds and get as close as i can to relase them near it.

[phisher_d]

In the lakes near me the bass season is closed while they're spawning.  

[rocknfish9001]

I have no problem bed fishing. However, i will never go onto a bed fishing mission when i go out on a trip. Thats just not cool. But if im fishing around them, and see a nice hefty bass, of course im going to try to catch it! I dont care how big it is, im going to release it. But there is a limit. Im not going to be like whats his name (paul douclose or something like that) and release a world record. Thats crazy, releasing a million dollar fish.

[Rattlinrogue]

Sight fishing is a lot of fun,but I personally release the fish.Like Rocknfish,If I caught a giant record fish I'd have to take the fish.I just wouldn't make a habit of it.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Many states do protect bass during the spawn.  I got a 7.6 lb LM when I lived in VT, my PB at the time but couldn't keep her because of the closed season  I'm not complaining, she's still up there for someone like Upnorth to catch again!

 

[Guest avid]

There is no closed season in Florida and the bass have never suffered from it.  Now hurricanes, that's a different story.  I know any serious basser will tell you that the hurricanes from '04 - '05 did tremendous damage to the fishery.  

[Chris]

Is this a trick question :-/?  You can bet your I like to catch spawning fish! Is it cheap fishing? No sometimes they are very hard to catch. In lakes that are not clear it is very hard to locate spawning fish so it does take a little skill. Is it going to hurt the population? No because it is not like the bass lay just one egg. Trophy fish that are taken (I do hope that it is a one time trophy) already passed on the big fish genetics to the bass population. Even without people fishing a lake sometimes because of mother nature bass don't have a successful spawn. Also some lakes don't have adequate spawning areas. If you take a good look at the posts on this board most guys will agree that prespawn is the prime time to catch the big fish. This means it is harder to catch a spawn fish than a prespawn fish. So if you want to band anything then band from ice out till summer.<~sound foolish? Do you see my point? I catch way more trophy fish in prespawn than spawn. I am one of your better bed fishermen so it is not for lack of talent. It is easier to locate schools of big fish in prespawn because they are staging in more predictable places. This topic comes up all the time and I do understand why but you need to realize when is the prime time to stick a hog. It isn't the spawn. You can spend all day on one bed and never get a bite. Also bass can spawn in weird places that are hard to get to or are impossable to find. So it is not easy fishing or cheap in my opinion. Most guys do turn loose their catch anyways. I do anyways

[Swampfishing]

qustions like this are hard to answer, but I so it is not cheap, not in the least bit. I would say most people here practice catch and release, and if done properly no real harm to the fish is done (just a bad day for it) so it can go back to spawning. People ask this qustion all the time about hunting over derr corn piles, or by streams. I personally don't hund over deer corn cause I don't want to go lay it out all year, but you better believe I will set up on the game trail heading to the creek

[Rattlinrogue]

Chris is right.A bedding bass is not THAT easy to find.If you do ,it may not be that big a bass.Even if it is .they're not very easy to catch for the average weekend angler.I've caught some,but I'm not ashamed to say I've tried and failed more often.But sight fishing is a blast!

[Upnorth]

Chris is right on.  It is definately not easy to catch bedding bass, especially in a tournament.  These fish have been hit with every bait during practice and get real skittish.  I prefer to target prespawn fish if they are in various stages of the spawn.  Not because I have a moral issue on bed fishing, but because prespawn fish are more consistant and hold up better in a multiple day tournament.  Have I weighed in spawning fish?  Yes.  Will I again?  I'm sure I will.  But if given the choice I would rather catch them before they lock on to the beds.

As far as I know, there in no evidence that targeting bedding bass has a detrimental effect on the fish population.  Go fish, have fun, and put them all back.

[Gatorbassman]

In large lakes that have a healthy LM population tournaments have no measurable affect on the population during the spawn. Most large bass will spawn in the deepest water possible making it next to impossible to sight fish them. In clear lakes this can be 10 to 15 ft deep. I routinely catch them in 8 ft of water on a few clear ponds I fish. I can only think of a few times where a bass didn't return to the bed after I put her back in the water. I think we need to consider the health of the bass on the particular lake we fish and always return the big one as soon as we can.

[dabluz]

Fishing during spawning time is about the stupidest thing a good fisherman can do.  The worst part is when the male bass is on the spawning bed and protecting the new born bass.  As soon as he leaves the bed, scrap fish zoom in and eat the young bass.

Doesn't take much skill to catch a fish who spends all of his time chasing away anything that comes close to the spawning bed.

Releasing the fish.....it's often too late to save the young bass....and the fatigued fish cannot protect the spawning bed efficiently.

The reason that some places allow year round fishing is purely economical.

[SENKOSAM]

Too many questions regarding sight fishing and fishing for spawners, have not been answered conclusively, especially for smallies.

Fact is, if a spawning/guarding male fish is caught and kept in the livewell for any length of time, the nest is kaput!, so catch & delayed release (CDR) is not going to help spawning fish. If you keep a spawning fish out of water for 4 minutes or more to take pictures (or do the Icanelli break dance), the stressed fish will not return to the nest.

The question that has been unanswered by historical surveys covering 20 year time spans is, does it do a fishery harm? One side says that it only take a dozen spawners and good yearly spawns to replenish a year class. Others say that some heavily fished waters, where delayed mortality is a factor, need all the help they can get. (I know of only a few waters in that category and they needed tlc mostly because poaching was the primary detriment.)

CIR (catch & immediate release) prespawners have a good chance of spawning, even if they've been kept in a cool water livewell for 6 hours. Bass don't all spawn at the same time and many don't spawn at all, so catching a few doesn't seem to hurt. Michigan is looking closely at changing open season laws and NY may have a change in effect by 2007. Conn. allows early season CIR, though tournament boats from NY invade three of their biggest lakes.

If you feel sight fishing is detrimental, don't sight fish. I don't, because I like to catch more aggressive fish and not those that I have to harrass off a bed. Bass are vulnerable enough due to better tackle and skill levels - why press them further?

[Matt Fly]

and they weight the fish in and the fish have no clue were there beds are ????????? ]

Handle this question in your own State!!  In Texas, we have one of the best programs around for promoting Bass Sportsmanship, consevation, and stocking programs.  And we Pay for that consevation, so fishing spawning beds isn't a issue.    

If you have waters you want to protect, add lots of Xmas trees or brush in the shallow to add protection.  This will aid and give the spawn a chance to hide.  

A male bass eats as much fry in the final days as the perch or brim do, or any other preditor does.   So its just not the fishermen.

The program or programs around Texas over the years has given us some vital info on big fish and habits.

Some marinas and COC's (chamber of commerce) on area lakes gives awards for double digit bass during certain periods of the year to promote CNR on home lakes.  You get free replica for bringing in your fish and getting it weighed and tagged.

This last season on Toledo Bend,  two of the same fish were caught twice.  A month later.   Any body that doesn't know T-bend, its 75 miles long.   The first 11+ fish was caught at Six Mile creek,  tagged and released mid lake 25 miles from where caught one month before spawn in Feb.,  Fish was caught in Six mile creek on the bed one month later, she was over 12lbs then.   The second was caught about 4 miles up lake from Six Mile creek, she to, tagged and release at the Many bridge (HWY 6) caught 3 weeks later one mile from her original spot.  This shows that a fish will and can navigate back to home waters, and study's like this shows that big fish that travel 15-20 miles and gained weight in the process do and will go back to what they call their home waters.    

[GobbleDog]

When I first started fishing 10+ years ago, I remember my Pa telling me "it's wrong to catch bedding bass". (that sounds like something a father would say) But I now realize my Pa was just shooting from the hip. I agree, at first glance it does seem rather cheesy, but according to scientists it hasn't hurt the Florida population one bit. And it's legal.

At least with recreational fishing, if you catch a big mama sitting on a bed, you can just put her right back to protect the eggs. But in tournaments they get put in livewells and taken back to the boat ramp. If they want to put a stop that, then quit holding tournaments during the breeding months. Til then, of course everyone (including myself) is going to try to catch big fish off the beds. It's a tournament! What are people supposed to do? Just ignore a tournament winning monster fish that are easy pickings? To heck with that!

[roadwarrior]

A study I read recently (In-Fisherman, I think) documented the mortality rate of eggs and new born when the male was removed from the nest. Removing the male for a very short time resulted in the loss of 20-40% of the hatch. When removed for several minutes, the male did not return resulting in a 100% loss. Perhaps more surprising, after all that time building and guarding the nest, the male ends up eating most of his babies!

Nature is cruel. I don't fish beds and I don't think anyone else should. That said, so what...If it's legal, you as a fisherman and a conservationist, make your own decision. I generally feel the same about keeping fish, except of course MY PET SMALLMOUTH. There is no evidence that bed fishing has any impact on the overall bass population.

[Chris]

Why do bass painted lures work? Bass will eat another bass if available in a heartbeat. A 5 lb and up bass can and will eat a 2 lb schooler or last years yearlings without thinking twice. In Florida it takes 10 years to produce a 10 lb bass. It takes less time if conditions are right. Northern waters a bass might take 15 to 20 years to reach the same weight or may never have the potential to reach it because of genetics. I caught a trophy fish in Illinois 2 or 3 years ago that was pushing ten. I cannot begin to count how many I have caught down south 10 or over. If the fish I caught in Illinois took 15-20 years to reach his weight how many more years will that fish live? (they don't live forever) You still have what...13-18 years of that fish's offspring still in that lake if the fish was taken that has the potential to be a trophy. How many young bass do you think that trophy eats in a year? Think about that now multiply that by 20 years.

Here is a little side note: This is from the site thats says wish i was in Cali

(signonsandiego.com)

Dickerson's bass, a potential International Game Fish Association line-class, world-record catch on 20-pound line, measured 281/2 inches long and sported a 263/4-inch girth.

And there isn't a fish around right now that has more history than this bass, once possibly the eighth-heaviest bass in the world, but certainly now fourth on the big-bass chart.

Mine on my wall is 28 1/2 inches long and has a girth of 26 inches. I caught it on 14lb line if I certified it umm.. it would be world line class record. Should I have turned it loose? or not fished for it? It was a pre spawn fish.

I am not telling you to toot my horn and I don't mean it that way but you need to see both sides of the coin.

[GobbleDog]

I don't fish beds and I don't think anyone else should. That said, so what...If it's legal, you as a fisherman and a conservationist, make your own decision.

What about during a tournament? Are you really going to just ignore a big bass sitting on a bed? Or avoid areas that have a lot of beds?

[Matt Fly]

The fact of the matter is, roe and fry are parts of the food chain.  We didn't write the menu.   If all the roe hatched and every fry lived, you would have lakes over populated and undersized bass fighting for the same food.

[roadwarrior]

Oh! Tournaments?

No, I don't fish them either. I don't think there should be any tournaments during the spawn. It may sound like I'm preaching, but really I'm not. As long as it's legal, everyone is entitled to fish wherever they choose and keep fish if they like. But for me, YES! I will ignore big bass on their nest and avoid spawning areas during that time. I like to fish near the flats and catch giant sows staging in prespawn, release them and hope they will have a very successful season. I don't bother them when they are spawning.

Okay, well here is a little preaching:

As Chris noted, it takes a long time for a bass to get big, depending on where it lives, genetics and food supply. Northern smallmouth may take up to fifteen years to reach 5 lbs. Smallies in the south will reach 5lbs in four or five years, but they only live to be about ten years old. I really don't care as much as most bass fisherman about largemouth and Kentucky bass, both are native, tend to overpopulate and eat my pet smallmouth when they are little. Smallmouth do not actually have a niche in nature, every other fish lives in their territory and bothers them. So, I would like to see more largemouth and especially Kentucky bass caught and kept, but I don't want any smallmouth kept unless they weigh 12 lbs or more. How's that for a slot limit?

[GobbleDog]

I sorta wish they wouldn't hold tournaments in Florida during the spawning months for that reason too ("they" being small clubs all the way up to B.A.S.S.). Scientists might say that it hasn't been proven to dramatically hurt the population, but it certainly can't be good for it. Like you said, it probably keeps the weights down. And it sure doesn't seem very sporting. I'm surprised B.A.S.S. hasn't taken a stand against it on the "un-sportsman" principal alone.

BUT, as long as my local club does hold tournaments during those months, you can be dang sure to find me and my partner scouting for beds and picking them clean.

And to be honest, during recreationally fishing I still pick beds. I really don't think I'm doing much harm, especially when I immediately put them right back in the water next to the bed. It's putting the bass in the livewell for a weigh-in during tournaments that bothers me.... (slightly)  

[Guest avid]

The reason that some places allow year round fishing is purely economical.

I don't know how economical it is but yes, it is good for the economy.  That being said it is deifinitly NOT good for the economy of a lake community to damage the resource that is bringing in the money.  If bed fishing was harmful to the bass population it would be banned.

[Chris]

I dug this up from a Florida Fish and Game page:

Why not have closed spawning seasons?--Answer: Research has indicated that removing a black bass (smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, etc.) from it's nest can reduce nesting success for an individual fish, and that nest failure can occur even if the bass is caught-and-released. The likelihood of a released bass returning to its nest without a negative impact to egg or fry survival depends on several factors. The amount of time a bass has been played during the fight, and the amount of time and manner in which the hook is removed by the angler, dictates how much the fish has been stressed. Stress levels determine whether the bass will return to the nest, and whether or not it can successfully provide parental care to the eggs or fry if the bass does return. During the time in which the bass is removed from the nest, there is no protection from predators such as bluegill or crayfish. Obviously, if an angler releases a spawning fish, it decreases the chance of nest failure, but it does not guarantee it.

Although catch-and-release or harvest of spawning bass decreases fry production, the question remains whether a reduction in reproductive success will reduce the number of bass that grow to juvenile life-stages on a lake-wide basis. For decades, fisheries biologists have realized that largemouth bass produce more fry than the available habitat and food supply can support. Studies done on Lake George, Florida in the mid-1980s concluded that the abundance of young-of-the-year largemouth bass was no different in protected spawning areas and unprotected areas. Our current knowledge suggests that weather patterns, quality of nursery habitat for juvenile bass, water quality, food supply and other extrinsic factors effect bass reproductive success more than angling.

This brings us back to the question of reducing the harvest of "large" fish with a closed season. As an agency, we promote optimum sustained use of Florida's fish and wildlife resources. We attempt to accommodate multiple user groups that have a tremendous diversity of fishing techniques, goals, philosophies and ethics. Fisheries biologists generally think that restrictive length limits (minimum and slot length limits) are the most practical management tool to control the harvest of quality-sized fish. As you well know, we implemented statewide minimum size limits in 1992. Our agency is increasing the number of lakes that have quality fishing regulations (e.g., 15 to 24 inch protective slot limit) every year. Length limits protect quality size bass, which is your main concern, but it does not restrict the angler's use of the resource. In addition, we want to provide the maximum opportunity for our anglers consistent with sustaining the resource, so adding an unnecessary inconvenience, such as a closed season, does not match our goal of assuring customer satisfaction.

Our agency is not alone, a recent survey indicated that there are no statewide closed seasons on black bass species (i.e., largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass) in any southeastern state. Northern states historically had closed fishing seasons, dating back to the mid-1700's, but there has been a trend to liberalize seasonal restrictions over the past few decades.