Would you eat a pot bellied female bass full of eggs in the spring?

[Jig Man]

If not, then please explain sight fishing for the males guarding the eggs and fry in the nest.

[etommy28]

cause catching the males is not a death sentence  >

[Tin]

I believe in Darwinism....

And why sight fish for the male, the female is usually close by......

[cart7t]

Only if the eggs were green and with a side of ham, Sam I am.  

[rfunfarm]

Fried or grilled???? 8-)

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

Explanation of why do it or how to do it :

[Jake.]

Sure, I'll put her in the bucket next to all of the other fish I caught with a casting net.  :

[fourbizz]

Would you laugh at self important idiots with delusions of wit?

Yes.

[Fishing Rhino]

If not, then please explain sight fishing for the males guarding the eggs and fry in the nest.

As a former commercial lobsterman, no I would not.

I catch and release all fish. The only fish I would keep would be a fish that would not be likely to live if released. Hasn't happened yet.

Egg bearing lobsters, known as eggers, by law cannot be harvested.

I oppose taking egg-laden bass for the same reason. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've experienced that it's easier to catch egg-laden bass during the pre-spawn bedding season. Rather than being dispersed as they are throughout the year, in the spring, they are found in areas suitable to prepare for spawning.

A number of fishermen, targeting these pre-spawn, egg-laden, bass can do serious damage to a year class, for the reason stated above.

edit:  No, I would not take the males either for the same reason.  It occurs to me, that if the female happens to be full of eggs, they have not spawned.

If they have paired up, and prepared the bed, will another male arrive to replace the "taken" male?  I may be wrong, but it seems to me that the entire spawning process from pairing off to preparing the bed, spawning, and then the male playing the role of protective daddy, the entire process is a ritual imprinted in the bass by nature.

If the female goes hunting for a substitute, then it may not be disastrous.  But, if she doesn't, it wouldn't matter which one you took.  There would be no spawn, and no young.

[Sam]

No.

With thousands of nests and millions of fry there is no harm to the reproductive cycle if you remove some males from the nests.

Studies have shown that removing a male from a nest will not have a negative impact on the bass population.

I release all fish when I catch them or at the ramps after a tournament weigh-in.

I would think the vast majority of us bass fishermen do the same.  

[Muddy]

Yep, Microwave her, the eggs taste like cracker jax when done right

[bassmaster3000]

This post makes me mad... NO WAY! That is just WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

> > :'(

[roadwarrior]

Has nothing to do with the bass. I would release it unless

the fish were mortality wounded.

8-)

[mattm]

I would release the fish, but we are all kiddng ourselves if we don't think catch and realease can't be overdone.  Someone electing to keep the fish would not be the end of the world.  If everyone let everything they caught our fisheries would be in bad shape.  In fact in the southern states we should prbably keep anything under 3 lbs.

[Eddie Munster]

Yep, Microwave her, the eggs taste like cracker jax when done right

;D

That or wrap the fish in foil and Jiffy Pop em.  

[Mattlures]

What is the difference? well it depends on whot you are trying to achive. If you want a lake full of small fish so you can go there and catch a lot then release them all. If you want a lake that has less fish but produces monsters then keep the males and let the fry get eaten. The fat female is already the results you are trying to achive so you don remove that one. There will always be fry that reach adulthood. In an older healthy lake a good sucesful spawn can be a negative thing. Too many small bass eating up the prey can make the lake becoem unbalanced. The predators will overpopulate and become stunted.

All of this depends on what part of the country you are from and the exact lake. Each lake is different. If a lake has a small population of healthy bass then you should release most if not all the bass. If the lake has a too many smaller bass and the bigger fish are a little thinner then they should be then the best fish you could remove is the bedding male.

[Hammer 4]

I don't eat bass. CPR always..

[IdahoLunkerHunter]

I don't eat bass. CPR always..

X2

[thetr20one]

Would you laugh at self important idiots with delusions of wit?

Yes.

LOL. I am not sure who is more funny BIZZLE.

[Gatorbassman]

What is the difference? well it depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you want a lake full of small fish so you can go there and catch a lot then release them all. If you want a lake that has less fish but produces monsters then keep the males and let the fry get eaten. The fat female is already the results you are trying to achieve so you don remove that one. There will always be fry that reach adulthood. In an older healthy lake a good successful spawn can be a negative thing. Too many small bass eating up the prey can make the lake becoem unbalanced. The predators will overpopulate and become stunted.

All of this depends on what part of the country you are from and the exact lake. Each lake is different. If a lake has a small population of healthy bass then you should release most if not all the bass. If the lake has a too many smaller bass and the bigger fish are a little thinner then they should be then the best fish you could remove is the bedding male.

This is exactly right.

This debate happens every year and it all boils down to this. The top warm water biologists in the country will tell you that if you are fishing in a large body of water then practicing C&R is just fine, but if you are managing a smaller body of water and you want big fish then you need to keep and eat a lot of smaller fish. If you don't then it will be detrimental to your fishery.

[DawsonH]

No probably not.

Now having said that, if you keep that fish at any time of year, be it prespawn, postspawn, summer, fall winter, whatever, it is going to remove all potenial future offspring. Its going to have the same effect regardless of when you remove it, only difference is that when the fish is full of eggs it has more of a psychological and emotional effect on some people than other times of the year. Until the eggs inside that fish actually hatch and become fry they are all the same, POTENTIAL offspring. It has the same POTENTIAL effect regardless of when you keep it.

Thats just how I look at it. I agree with the others that are saying all catch and release isn't always the best thing. Besides the fact that smaller fish will overpopulate a fishery if not removed the fish can also learn. Studies show that some fish will hit artificial baits over and over, some only once, and some never at all. The more trained fish you have the harder the fishing even thought the numbers are the same.

[retiredbosn]

It wasn't that long ago that the egg laden females were prized in this area for the roe.  Fishermen would take the roe and fry them for breakfast along side the fillets from the female.  Made a decent breakfast, the old timers loved it, I never ate it and now that I know better they are released along with everything else.  BTW most biologist agree that catching and releasing the bass off of a bed does no harm to the fishery.

[starbuck]

i dont eat bass ...

but ....

there is a reason the state wildlife and fisheries set limits and slots ...

becuase .... drum roll

those limits do not hurt that fishery with those limits on them ...

but i throw all bass back its my personal choice but i do not begrudge anyone for catching and eating their fish ... most credible studies have shown the limits and slot system works fine

[starbuck]

BTW most biologist agree that catching and releasing the bass off of a bed does no harm to the fishery.

nor does keeping them within slot and limits set by state biologists according ... no harm to overall fishery

[RobbyZ5001]

BTW most biologist agree that catching and releasing the bass off of a bed does no harm to the fishery.

Really? I would like to see the backing for this comment. Any fisheries biologists on here? Paul Roberts and insight?