Spawning Bass

[SAMIAM]

I know, I know.....here I go again. I whine about this every spring. We have a big bass spawning right next to our dock. She will not last 3 days. The steady parade of bass boats will see to that. It is like catching fish in a barrel. A spawning bass will strike at anything that invades her space and I'm wondering why a true sportsman would want to keep her from laying her eggs.
Any bass boaters out there....can you explain/

[Sunrise Point]

Quick, put out a diving flag or swim float! That should keep the boats away.

[EZ-Pass]

Quick, put out a diving flag or swim float! That should keep the boats away.

Question? Is that legal to use your dive flag for other purposes other than what it is designed for?? (Diving)

[topwater]

I do fish Bass tournaments, and I do not fish for bedding bass. I have found that the majority of fishermen and women who do fish beds are not true Bass Fishermen/women. I also would like you to look at the bow numbers to see where they are from. Winnie is know all over New England for its smallmouth bass fishery. What I see alot out there is people who don't really know how to fish well, and do not have the nack of catching fish any other way. I have seen boats all the way from Pennsylvania up here fishing beds. It sounds so cool to say "Wow I caught 75 fish today ". When you say it to someone who doesn't know any better, you sound like a friggin Curt Cowdy or something. When you say it to a serious bassfishermen/woman all they think is "what a clown, my 9 year old grand daughter could do that this time of year". It is what it is, they have been doing that for years, and just like anything, it has hurt fishing some, but after all is said and done, Winnie is still a great smallmouth fishery. Also look at all the Bass Guides, they're making a TON OF MONEY, taking clients out and smacking the hell out of bedding bass. So Samiam thats my take on it, I think its pretty close, this should not be set on Bass Tournament fishermen and woman, I believe its the recreational fishermen/woman that just has a bass boat. If you ever care to try your hand at Bass Fishing, I would be more then happy to take you out someday during the week lol, even I don't go out on Winnie during the week-ends unless I have a tournament.

[SAMIAM]

Topwater, it's clear that you are a true sportsman......wish everyone was like you. Thanks for the offer to wet a line, but I've actually fished most of my life. Mostly trolling for bass along the shore and for lakers and salmon in deep water.....love to get into a mess of yellow perch too. But I catch them to eat...not to show off or win a trophy. Next time you grab a salmon, clean it and leave the head on..sprinkle with fresh rosemary, dill, sea salt and 1/2 pint of heavy cream and bake covered for 30 minutes or so.......delish!!

[Lakegeezer]

For those that fish the beds, debarb your hook. It gives the fish a better chance of survival. I'll be fishing the beds this weekend - and taking a kid out with me to introduce them to the thrill of catching a fish. If it was that bad for the bass population, I assume it would be against the rules. As it is, the rules say they can't be kept, and that makes sense. This morning, I found a gold mine of beds, but the location - well, that's a secret... :cool:

[SAMIAM]

The bass was gone when I got home on friday....didn't even make 3 days. Guess somebody forgot about (catch and release)

[ApS]

My objection could be termed "Bass Eugenics":
"Those bass most protective of their young are removed." :(

(It's the males that guard the nest btw—you can't tell? ;) ).

Sometimes, I've had as many as three bass nests along my shore: For the last two years, there have been no nests at all. Previously, a nest was made, a bass hovering over it—then a few days later, the nest "mysteriously" becomes silted-in.

As a "Yankee kid" on Winnipesaukee, I fished a bed just one time—and I recall it was a Sunfish nest.

How many "fry" are lost from a bass nest in this manner? I've always thought "fishing the beds" was a Southern practice. :confused:

[winnilover]

SAMIAM i just wanted to share with you some details of our recent visit to Winni. My father and I have been making the annual trip to Winni during the first or second week of June for nearly 20 years. Each time we fish with top water lures only for the sport of it. I have seen what bed fishing does to the bass in terms of mouth damage caused by being hooked repeatedly and I find it disgraceful. Our last visit two weeks ago yielded a great time and we caught 5 different species of fish all on top water lures and shared what is the best part of it all TIME together. Few things compare to time spent between a father and son doing something they both enjoy. Looking forward to another great trip next year.

[Orion]

Over the past few days the bass hatchlings have started to appear so the males are busy keeping the sunnies away (when they're not on the end of some fisherman's line anyway).

[Bill B.]

I will be at Winnipesaukee the week of June 28th. I go every year for the Nascar race and some great smallmouth Fishing the rest of the week. It's just great up there.

[TOAD]

I just don't find it sporting although if others do it it is fine with me as long as it is legal. Looking for a bedding bass, and then throwing a lure at the bed (and they will hit most anything while bedding) is not sport. I perfer post spawn fishing where you have to find and pattern the smallies.

Does bed fishing harm the population. If it's legal apparently not but you will never convice me that bed fishing doesn't cut down on the population. JMHO.

:)

[hazelnut]

I know, I know.....here I go again. I whine about this every spring. We have a big bass spawning right next to our dock. She will not last 3 days. The steady parade of bass boats will see to that. It is like catching fish in a barrel. A spawning bass will strike at anything that invades her space and I'm wondering why a true sportsman would want to keep her from laying her eggs.
Any bass boaters out there....can you explain/

We have a Spawning Bass at the next door neighbors dock. You know what is way more fun than catching him? Feeding him from your hand!!!! My kids absolutely LOVE IT! They hold a worm tight between their fingers and the Bass "BOB" as we've named him, strikes fast and hard. They also hunt for salimanders to feed "BOB." They love their new pet and we stand on guard against any fishermen in the area!!!!

[kozak0085]

I myself am a bass angler and cannot stand the connotation that "hippie" type people attatch to us. I don't mean to segregate a part of the population but those types of "protect the environment at all costs" and "save the whales before the humans" type people are the only ones that have problems with us. Maine is loaded to the brim with them and there are many ridiculous websites that portray tournament anglers as the devil. I'm from MA and go to school in NC so I've seen both the north and south and it seems like people are MUCH worse up here. What you all need to understand is a couple things.

1. With the improvements in livewells these days and many types of powders that can be added into the wells, the mortality of fish during tournaments is hardly ANYTHING. Especially on a lake the size and health of Winni.

2. Not every bass spawns right on the shore or in shallow water. Generally, the smarter and bigger fish will spawn out in deeper waters where predators have no view on them. These spawning bass alone are enough to sustain a population.

3. Males will hit any lure near them, females however will take a little more coaxing and precision. Not just anyone can go out and fish beds and catch a 25+lb limit, sure maybe one of the females will be dumb but not many of them.

4. Many anglers, like myself, choose not to target spawning bass just because of our morals but does that the people that do target them evil? No. People are beginning to learn that the entire population does not spawn at once and it's perhaps a better idea to try and find post or pre-spawn parts of the population instead of spending hours trying to get one stubborn chunk to bite.

5. Some bass spawn multiple times in one year (this happens more in the south than the north), but there's a chance that the fish after being released will spawn again before the year is out.

I feel that bass aren't all that stupid and that traits are passed on down through generations. It's a fact that a certain percentage of a population of fish are "uncatchable" and are just too smart to hit lures. In turn, I believe that if the population is taking that big of a hit, the fish will be smart enough after being caught in 2 FOW to not spawn there again and seek deeper haunts for spawning.

Tournament anglers are not evil and we're not trying to destroy your precious waters. A lot of us, such as myself, have a love for the outdoors and are fascinated by bass. Trying to find them and getting them to bite an inanimate object is a sport to me. I release all my fish by choice, even when not fishing in a tournament. We don't hate the outdoors, but we hate people trying to take the outdoors away from us and trying to restrict it to the point of it not being enjoyable.

[SIKSUKR]

We don't hate the outdoors, but we hate people trying to take the outdoors away from us and trying to restrict it to the point of it not being enjoyable.

Welcome to the "new and improved" world of the socializing of the USA.

[Lakegeezer]

2. Generally, the smarter and bigger fish will spawn out in deeper waters

3. maybe one of the females will be dumb but not many of them.

I feel that bass aren't all that stupid and that traits are passed on down through generations. It's a fact that a certain percentage of a population of fish are "uncatchable" and are just too smart to hit lures. In turn, I believe that if the population is taking that big of a hit, the fish will be smart enough after being caught in 2 FOW to not spawn there again and seek deeper haunts for spawning.So, are you saying that the fish that survive are the ones that stay in schools?

[kozak0085]

Just today I was out on Winni and some lady starts having a fit because I was fishing near her dock and her kids "had just been in the water over an hour ago and I could be running them over if they were still swimming". I thought she was kidding but she kept screaming at me to move even though I could see around me 20yds because I was in crystal clear water 8' deep.


Here's an article on those uncatchable bass,
http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/where-fish-bass/2009/04/discussion-topic-uncatchable-bass
there's a couple more somewhere out there

[Grant]

Here's an article on those uncatchable bass,
http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/where-fish-bass/2009/04/discussion-topic-uncatchable-bass
there's a couple more somewhere out there

That explains a lot. I believe there is a high concentration of these very bass surrounding our place. I knew it couldn't be me....

[Grant]

Was that bass study funded as part of the stimulus package?

[IFish]

Kozak has it right !!! As a Ma. tournament fisherman, we have discussed
fishing during the spawn many times. The Ma. F&G has done many studies
about this, and they have decided they do not have to protect the bass during the spawn.
They have found the bigger fish will spawn deeper, and will be much
harder to see. It's not impossible to catch them, but most do survive, and these are the fish that we want to repopulate the lakes.

I live next to a lake of about 200 acres, that has LM bass. There is a
community bass club that promotes catch and release. When I first moved to this area about 25 years ago, we had quite a few big LM, up to 5-6 pounds.
Now that catch and release is promoted, the big fish are almost gone. now we have a ton of LM in the 10 to 14 inch range.
There are just too many bass for the forrage thats available.

So, what I'd like to propose, is don't be afraid to eat some average sized bass a couple times a year. It won't hurt the population, and will most likely help it,
especially if you want more larger fish.

Just one man's view.....