I am fishing an old private quarry that gets barely any pressure. It is full of bass and I am thinking too many. I catch dozens of them in the 8"-14" range. I have yet to see any bigger ones.
So here are my two trains of thought:
1) there are simply too many bass. I also catch rock bass up to 10" and lots of 8-9" bluegills and a few crappie. So I am not sure if there are just too many top tier fish (bass) and that is why they are small. Obviously there are prey fish (small gills) or there wouldn't be the nice rockies and gills.
2) the big ones are in the deep parts of the quarry. It may go as far as 70' in some areas and in the 5-6' range in the areas I catch the other bass. I haven't seen any on beds yet but I am thinking if they are staying deep then I will see some hawgs when they spawn.
The quarry is a mature fishery, I fished it 30 years ago.
My 12 year old son said he wanted to try a shore lunch and I am debating on eating a few bass. How are they? I know bluegill would be a treat too.
I ask lots of questions in order to learn. When I gain knowledge I answer lots of questions in order to teach.
2012 fishing totals:
Largemouth: 145
Smallmouth: 1
Bluegill: 21
Crappie:3
White Bass:1
Rock Bass: 46
Channel cats:2
Don't apologize for anything, absolutely nothing wrong with eating a bass just like any other fish. Every now and then I will hook into one while fishing for crappie and bring it home. Fried up with the crappie, aside from the size of the fillet, you can't tell the difference. Just like anything, its all in how you cook it
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Proud supporter of PETA!! People Eating Tasty Animals
Go ahead and eat some, they are pretty good, just ONLY eat the ones in the 10-15 in. range. If you eat the larger ones you can ruin it, especially smaller privater places.
I have no problems eating Bass in that circumstance...especially when they are chilled like RiverGetter pointed out!
My only problem with eating Bass is that some Creeks, Lakes, and Reservoirs have a hard time getting the Population established or maintained...I believe they should be Catch and Release only.
Most Lakes/Creeks in the North cannot sustain large fast growing populations of Bass like in the South!
Ponds and Pits are the exception and sometime need to be "culled" due to the lack of food or size restrictions!
I have no problems eating Bass in that circumstance...especially when they are chilled like RiverGetter pointed out!
My only problem with eating Bass is that some Creeks, Lakes, and Reservoirs have a hard time getting the Population established or maintained...I believe they should be Catch and Release only.
Most Lakes/Creeks in the North cannot sustain large fast growing populations of Bass like in the South!
Ponds and Pits are the exception and sometime need to be "culled" due to the lack of food or size restrictions!
I think this area is in the "needs to be culled" stage.
I ask lots of questions in order to learn. When I gain knowledge I answer lots of questions in order to teach.
2012 fishing totals:
Largemouth: 145
Smallmouth: 1
Bluegill: 21
Crappie:3
White Bass:1
Rock Bass: 46
Channel cats:2
Honestly, I ate some bass this past weekend for the first time in over a decade. My uncle has a 2 acre pond that he built about 10 or 12 years ago. I just started fishing there about 3 years ago (I only go occasionaly, those farm ponds will spoil ya) and I was very impressed by the healthy distribution of fish (bluegills up to 10", bass of all sizes up to 5 pounds, catfish up to 12 pounds). However, last year, all the mid-sized bass... in the 15 to 18 inch range seemed much more scarce, and when I did catch them, they looked very thin... but the small 8 to 10 inch bass were so plentiful, you could just about catch one every cast, anywhere in the pond. I told my uncle it would be good to take some out... zero harvest of bass meant a lot of mouths to feed and they would all end up being stunted. So this past weekend, I got a couple friends, took our fishing gear, a portable propane grill, and a portable propane fryer, and went over there and "harvested" some of those 12-14" bass.
Everyone has different oppinions about fish taste... just like everyone has different oppinions about other tastes (my wife can't stand mushrooms, raw or cooked, but I enjoy them... I don't like spinnach, raw or cooked, but my wife eats it all the time). I personally think that bluegill, crappie, perch, and walleye (not to mention many saltwater species) are better tasting than bass, but that doesn't mean bass are bad. Some people can't tell the difference between them and other freshwater fish. Some think they are better than other fish. I also agree that the way you prepare them makes a difference, but even more of a difference is made by the size (as they get big, the taste degrades) and the time of year (spring when the water is cooler they'll taste better than mid summer through fall). I'd say, eat them if you like them... just do so responsibly.
Honestly, I ate some bass this past weekend for the first time in over a decade. My uncle has a 2 acre pond that he built about 10 or 12 years ago. I just started fishing there about 3 years ago (I only go occasionaly, those farm ponds will spoil ya) and I was very impressed by the healthy distribution of fish (bluegills up to 10", bass of all sizes up to 5 pounds, catfish up to 12 pounds). However, last year, all the mid-sized bass... in the 15 to 18 inch range seemed much more scarce, and when I did catch them, they looked very thin... but the small 8 to 10 inch bass were so plentiful, you could just about catch one every cast, anywhere in the pond. I told my uncle it would be good to take some out... zero harvest of bass meant a lot of mouths to feed and they would all end up being stunted. So this past weekend, I got a couple friends, took our fishing gear, a portable propane grill, and a portable propane fryer, and went over there and "harvested" some of those 12-14" bass.
Everyone has different oppinions about fish taste... just like everyone has different oppinions about other tastes (my wife can't stand mushrooms, raw or cooked, but I enjoy them... I don't like spinnach, raw or cooked, but my wife eats it all the time). I personally think that bluegill, crappie, perch, and walleye (not to mention many saltwater species) are better tasting than bass, but that doesn't mean bass are bad. Some people can't tell the difference between them and other freshwater fish. Some think they are better than other fish. I also agree that the way you prepare them makes a difference, but even more of a difference is made by the size (as they get big, the taste degrades) and the time of year (spring when the water is cooler they'll taste better than mid summer through fall). I'd say, eat them if you like them... just do so responsibly.
my uncle has a 4 acre pond, when we noticed the average size was going down hill we did the same. We took out a total of around 150 Bass anywhere from 10-16"(took a month between us)... and we noticed a difference in the size within a few years. It works! After we were all done we got the turkey fryers going and had an extented family fish fry that fed well over 30 people.
I bet there are still some Bigguns in that quarry if its a deep one even now, i belive the next Ohio record will be out of a quarry like you describe... if you manage yours well, it may be from there! good luck with your culling, eat em up!
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If I were a fish...... what would I eat?
is there any taste difference between smallmouths and largemouths?
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Largemouth's taken out of most farm ponds,and a lot of shallower,weedy lakes tend to be somewhat mushy,and have a bit of a muddy taste to them.A smallmouth taken from a stream,or a deep clear lake have a much more firmer,and flakier texture,and I think they're very comparable to walleye in taste.The rule of thumb is the larger fish of either kind are less flavorful,bass between 12"-14'"would definitely be better quality.
Kudos to the other posters for not berating you. Your scenario reflects mine. I fish a 45 acre lake that gets fished regularly by 3 people. My dad fishes it the most as his retirement job is to maintain the land for its 87 year old owner. I fish it second most as I spend most of my days off on that lake. The third person who fishes it is a retired game warden (who knows things that blow my mind). Long story short, we all keep eater bass to benefit the lake. Outside of the three of us, there are occasional fishermen who get access but it's seldom.
In situations where fishing pressure is null, like the one you described, management is almost a necessity. Keeping some of those medium sized fish eliminates competition for food.
For example, at the lake I fish, during this time of year, I can hook into a smaller bass and let it swim until it spits the hook, only to have a bigger one inhale my senko as soon as the smaller fish spits it. The bigguns aren't as desperate to eat as the youngsters who are absolutely starving for an easy meal. I've watched it happen for years via polarized sunglasses and sight fishing. The big ones are opportunists, and when the lake is loaded with bass, their opportunities are limited.
I have never kept a bass from a public fishery, but by the same token, I have never left this private lake without a meal's worth of bass wrapped in aluminum foil.
My dad and I have also beer battered crappie, largemouth, and bluegill from this very lake and asked fellow fishermen friends to identify which species they were tasting. No one could tell the difference. This is an exceptionally clean lake with a location that allows for virtually no pollutants, but the fact of the matter is that the right sized bass in the right scenario is delicious.
I am 100% in favor of C&R on public waters, but in cases where a fishery receives little pressure, quite frankly it is irresponsible to throw them all back, and I'd rather eat them than throw them on the bank.
(For reference sake, I keep a tally of fish every time I go there. Last Sunday, I caught 81 fish. Of the 81, 59 were bass. Of the 59 bass, only two were in the 3 pound range. Because of poor previous management, the fish at this lake are mostly 1 to 2 pounders. Mind you, if managed properly as it was before the owner's husband passed away, this lake would hold 7 pounders. The cabin on the lake has one on each wall.)
too many small fish will ruin a fishery. however, you need to determine what is small and what is big for that particular fishery.
in jcus' case, if you are mowing through 60 bass and only 3 are 3lbers, that is the size you want to leave be. while removing the smaller fish.
if you are constantly catching fish in the 8-10" range, and a 14"er is the rarity, you dont want to remove the 14''.
just make sure your culling the right fish. it might suck filleting 8'' fish but it might be necessary in some cases and if your culling fish larger then that, you might be doing more harm then good.
again, not all fisheries are the same, you have to determine what size fish is choking the lake and cull accordingly
Eating largemouth
Eating largemouth
One turns to the other and says "Dam!"
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