Bed Fishing

[BadBassWV]

Is it just me or do others think its just wrong to jerk these big females off their nest... ?   I watched a guy who rigged a regular hook with a 1 foot leader and tied on a treble hook. Rigged the regular hook with a live lizard, fish would come take a look at the lizard and he would foul hook the bass in the side with the treble. He was so proud that he had found a way to catch bass off the bed...Made me sick. I just wish I had something to poke a hole in his boat and sink him right there on the spot. I enjoy seeing them, but I never try to catch them off the nest. Just makes me feel good knowing there are big bass in the lake that I fish.

[smac024]

Agreed with you on the anger towards that guy.  He must have a tough time catching a bedded bass to resort to such drastic and bad measures in no way looking out for the health of the fish. 

[Nick]

In my state catching a bass that way is illegal.  In MO a bass is legally caught if it is hooked inside the mouth. Yeah, I would have been angered into action had I witnessed it.

[Avalonjohn44]

Intentionally foul hooking is a d!ckish move, and you should have told him so at the very least, and called your local game warden/fish and wildlife service.

I think normal bed fishing is OK, I don't feel that it really impacts the population of healthy bodies of water.  I base this on the following article, which describes a scientific study on bed fishing.  Very interesting article.

http://fishweb.ifas.ufl.edu/allenlab/Popular%20Articles/Bed%20Fishing%20May%2010.pdf

The model predicted that if 10 to 20 percent of the nests are lost because of fishing, the survival rates increase for the other eggs and larvae due to reduced competition and cannibalism.

[Fish Chris]

Intentionally foul hooking fish off of a bed..... or fish nowhere near a bed, is just plain wrong.

It also gives a bad image to guys who work really hard to get a big female to "eat" their lure, while guarding a bed...... which is sometimes all but impossible.

Another thing, you didn't say if the guy kept these illegally hooked fish or not....

But IMPO, removing the fish from the fishery is really the worst part.

What I always trip on, is people that have a problem fishing for big bedding females > because of the offspring.....

FORGET the offspring ! If she lays 10,000 eggs, maybe 1 of them might someday get as big as her..... or maybe not ! It's that 1 giant fish which has already beaten incredible odds to get as big as she has, that holds 95% of the value !

Peace,

Fish

[WdyCrankbait]

Yeah, that is not right!  Both morally and ethically as a fisherman, you enjoy the hobby, but not do abuse it.  Jerk man on TV guys part.

[smac024]

here bed fishing can be a big problem because in the san diego lakes that are trout stocked, you get a lot of 'trout fishermen' who basically will keep anything they reel in regardless of species and will target bedding fish right off the shore  >

[BadBassWV]

Around here where the word "Red Neck" originated, I have seen people sit for hours trying to get a bedding bass to bite, throwing everything in there tackle box. I've seen people toss Grappling hook anchors into the nest trying to snag them anyway they can. And yes they do keep everything they catch regardless of how they caught it. If rigged correctly you could take a hot dog weiner and keep throwing it in the nest, She will eventually pick it up to move it and get caught. I no others have there opinions, but after seeing some of the tactics I've seen, it just kind of makes me sick to see so many boats on the water during nesting season sitting at one nest for hours and hours, then never see those guys back on the water all year long.

[clayton86]

i dont see a prob with bed fishing if done in a legal manor and you handle them properly and return them. i dont keep bass regardless of the season and get upset when i see bass in pan fishermans buckets cuz they got a passer by. i see it all the time almost daily people catching fish out of season or undersized and keeping them anyways. idk how much it impacts honestly cuz i still catch big fish and plenty of numbers but its still wrong.

[J Francho]

i dont see a prob with bed fishing if done in a legal manor and you handle them properly and return them. i dont keep bass regardless of the season and get upset when i see bass in pan fishermans buckets cuz they got a passer by. i see it all the time almost daily people catching fish out of season or undersized and keeping them anyways. idk how much it impacts honestly cuz i still catch big fish and plenty of numbers but its still wrong.

You do realize there's a TOLL FREE hotline to report poaching, right?

1-800-TIPP DEC (1-800-847-7332)

[Pitchinkid]

Around here where the word "Red Neck" originated, I have seen people sit for hours trying to get a bedding bass to bite, throwing everything in there tackle box. I've seen people toss Grappling hook anchors into the nest trying to snag them anyway they can. And yes they do keep everything they catch regardless of how they caught it. If rigged correctly you could take a hot dog weiner and keep throwing it in the nest, She will eventually pick it up to move it and get caught. I no others have there opinions, but after seeing some of the tactics I've seen, it just kind of makes me sick to see so many boats on the water during nesting season sitting at one nest for hours and hours, then never see those guys back on the water all year long.

What lake were you on Badbass? RD Bailey? Bluestone?

[flipin4bass]

I don't see a problem with taking a female off the bed as long as she is taken legally. I've caught females off the bed many times, and after I've taken the vitals and a pic, I always turn her loose. I only wish others would do likewise.

[clayton86]

i dont see a prob with bed fishing if done in a legal manor and you handle them properly and return them. i dont keep bass regardless of the season and get upset when i see bass in pan fishermans buckets cuz they got a passer by. i see it all the time almost daily people catching fish out of season or undersized and keeping them anyways. idk how much it impacts honestly cuz i still catch big fish and plenty of numbers but its still wrong.

You do realize there's a TOLL FREE hotline to report poaching, right?

1-800-TIPP DEC (1-800-847-7332)

yeah easier said then done when theres only 2 dec officers for the county im usualy fishing in weve called befor for other things and never have em show up cuz there out some where else or on the big lakes

[J Francho]

What do you mean, "easier said than done"?  Its a toll free call.  How do you think the officers know where to patrol?  Call the tip line if you see poaching, otherwise you have nothing to complain about.  Its simple.  Up here we have two or three guys as well.  They usually show up within 15-30 minutes.

[ww2farmer]

The NYS DEC tip line works very well. I was in the back of a creek fishing last spring when I saw an idiot walking around with a stringer full of bass. I gave him a warning first that it is C&R ONLY for bass this time of year, his attitude was basically "F off". I called, and he whipped his stringer in the water and hauled it out of there. Just based on my description they caught the idiot 2 hours later and fined him. I was surprised myself, and surprised they called me back to let me know they nabbed him. I guess they wanted me to know the system works so I would call again if I saw more of that crap.

[CAdeltaLipRipper]

The way that guy caught it was horrible.But I dont have a problem with catching bed fish,as long as the fish is released.And if you're in a tournament, leave one of the fish on the bed.So if you catch the female,leave the male alone,or vice versa. Hopefully no one will come along and yank the other off.After the tournaments over, drive the bed fish atleast closer to their bedding areas or better yet,go back to the exact spot.Make it easier and faster for them to get back

[Carrington]

if im in a tournament then im yanking both of those fish off the bed, if i can find 5+ beds then i would not take both but if i find say 3 beds with good size fish then im taking anything i can get.  Im pretty sure that 3 beds are not gonna ruin the lake.