# sight/bed fishing for spawning largemouth



## crawdiddy (Apr 10, 2006)

I don't do it but have seen some that do. I also noticed that some of the TV shows are covering this. This just seems wrong and detrimental to the bass population however I am no fisheries biologist. What do you all think. I don't think its very sporting. "Let's annoy it enough until it bites".


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## fishin'cpl (Jan 10, 2006)

I myself would do in a tournament if that is what it take to win then I wouldn't have second thought because if the research is correct the fish that we release go back to the same area. If this isn't true and when released they can find another bed the "buck" or male fish makes the bed and the female layers here eggs. I know people don't agree but if you don't site fish then there might go a check and your there for fun but you need to make the check to have fun again. I hope you think of this if you fish tournaments.


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## crawdiddy (Apr 10, 2006)

today I saw someone make about 75 casts to the same spot. Finally they caught the fish, looked to be very fat and about 18-19" or so. As they were taking the hook out, it spooged all over the place. Don't know if it was male or female but either way (especially if it was a female) wouldn't it probably mean less baby bass?


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## fishin'cpl (Jan 10, 2006)

So do all those shore poeple keeping those bass under 12 and as many as they can fit in to the basket. I look at it this way every year I go deer hunting and I hunt after the rut so if I would shoot a doe then that I could be shooting three deer with one shot now if you catch a bedding fish your going to return here alive you hope. You should be talking about those guy catch all the walleye on the rocks at will spawning. I've been there when poeple snagged them and then put them on there stringer and when I was doing the same just 5 years ago I was one of those guys now I have changed alot and understand alot more. I stand if you are working bed bass on tournament day it is ok but just go and mess with them I don't think that's right. good luck and hope that fish had already released some eggs first.


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## josh617 (Jan 28, 2005)

Catching bedding bass isnt exactly as easy task as it may seem, it takes a lot of time to tick one off enough to catch it and sometimes u still wont. When people are fishing tournaments they re going to pick and choose what beds to fish leaving others on their nests to reproduce, and when a fish lays 100,000 eggs it dont take much to keep a lake populated.


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## jsalkas (Feb 18, 2005)

Just my two cents... in year's past, I've fallen to the temptation of fishing bedding bass, but I always felt guilty afterwards. Especially after you release it, and an hour later you see some other guy fishing the same bed. I remember when I was about 12 teasing one fish on it's bed, and this guy walks by and says he caught that fish twice that morning; even at twelve I figured that fish had enough abuse that spring and gave up to find some other quarry.

That being said, to say taking a bass off it's bed isn't detrimental is ignoring the facts; one, you're stressing the fish (and it may be stressed repeatedly during the spawn), two, those nests get raided by panfish/other critters when they're not guarded.

I also agree that catching bedding bass isn't a one cast one fish every time scenario, but I've never seen one that wouldn't pick up eventually (and even if it didn't the first few times, it's not going anywhere -- no spooking), and that makes it the easiest time of year to get them.


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## WINNER (Apr 7, 2004)

Fishing bedding bass is wrong and should not be done...kinda hard to get folks to believe me when I say that because BASS targets bedding bass almost every tournament in order to get BIG weigh ins...and we all know BASS wouldn't do anything to harm the resource(unless there is money to be made)...then it's ok I guess...  

It's stressful to the adult and the nest is raided...even if the fish is immediately released...UNsuccessful spawn!!

Winner


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## Bassboy883 (Sep 27, 2005)

This topic comes up evey year, and everyone has their own opinions. Personally, I don't think its a big deal. It only takes a few successful beds each year to keep a lake populated. Every circuit in ohio has a tournament during the spawn where someone will be bedfishing. Not everyone does it. Not every fish is caught, and the male is there to protect the bed. Bedfishing has been going on for many years and we still have some of the best lakes in the country. No harm in bedfishing if the bass is release to be caught another day.


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## whitebass (Apr 18, 2004)

We can talk about this all day and night but here is the botom line. For every fisherman who won't fish bedding fish, there is one who will. It all comes down to money in a tournament. I sure every guy out here has a story about a guy who cut them off during a tournament. Either while running down lake or fishing a stretch of bank. I actually had a guy ask me if I was fishing the local tournament, when I told him NO. He almost hit the front of my boat with his by cutting right in front of me. I couldn't believe it. I asked him if he wanted me to quit fishing so he could have it all to himself. He wouldn't answer me. THAT"S JUST WRONG. I caught 2 fish right behind him. He then asked me what I was using, I was so pissed off, I told him DOUGH BALL. 

Some people will sell their souls for the right amount of money.
B


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## gonefishing8807 (Dec 5, 2005)

ok i dont fish bed but last year i watch a fish on the bed and it left the bed about every 5-10 minutes chasing a gill or somthing and in the 30 seconds it was gone atleast one gill would swim in the nest and eat some eggs. good thing for the fish it was in a impossible place to be fished by a boater and 99% of shore fisherman i have seen dont go to the area i found it in


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## smalliediehard (Oct 28, 2005)

josh,out of 100,000 eggs only about 2-3 at the most will reach adult size.Me,i'm not for that bedfishing,i think they should put a closed season on them like PA does.and tourny fishing them,pisses me off!they take em off the beds and hual them down the lake to the wiegh in so u know that beds eggs ill get eaten up.


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## Bassboy883 (Sep 27, 2005)

I think more than 2 or 3 out of 100,000 make it to adulthood. lets be realistic here. its been going on for years and years. take a look around, the bass population isn't hurting in the lakes most of our tourneys are fished on. Its not gonna go away, so don't beat the dead horse.


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## crawdiddy (Apr 10, 2006)

the attitude towards bed fishing over on riversmallies goes like this. Everyone is against it. Then again most are anti tourney also.


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## TheSonicMarauder (Mar 9, 2006)

i remembered watching a show on it.... they said each bass lays about 100,000 eggs and roughly 160 of those make it to adult hood.. 

i know that sounds big but if yer one of those people who take fish during the fall... that fish isnt gonna be there to add another 160 to the population come spring.... so its detrimental no matter when you take them.. that why its important to practice C&R... put the fish back so i can attempt at reproducing next season...


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## Bassboy883 (Sep 27, 2005)

Thats exactly why it is very important to practice catch and release. Also to follow length and creel limits.


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## liquidsoap (Oct 22, 2005)

Bassboy883 I couldnt agree more with what you said. In tournaments I "will" be targeting bedding bass, but wont in just fishing for fun. The only lake relatively hurting for bass is erie. And there is a closed season on it. Once I see the bass population start dieing down, which I highly doubt it will anytime in my lifetime, there will be a rule on it.


Now here is something you constructive bass fisherman might want to get pissed at. In steelhead fishing, alot people catch a female steelhead, cut the eggs out (for bait) and leave it to die on shore. Whats worse? Bass fishing has got it good.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

to me it's hard to argue with thousands of biologists that we pay to know if we are destroying the bass population or not. If they tell me i'm not hurting the population then i'm going to continue to do it! when they decide it's a problem, then i'll quit. not too many people complain about the amount of fish in our lakes, it's the size of fish that exist in them. don't forget, over crowding is usually the cause for that! 
And i todally agree with the steelhead comment.


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## flypilot33 (Feb 9, 2006)

Someone had said bass released in tourneys return to where they were caught. I would like to know where you get that idea from. Sometimes the scales are a long ways from where the fish was caught, there is no way it would return. If you research the whole do they return thing you will find a lot of recent studies with tracking chips put on fish. They don't do well after being released at a new site.


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## heyjay (Mar 22, 2005)

Here's a link on studies done post-tourney . 

http://www.nesportsman.com/articles/catch_release_studies/southdakotasmallmouth.htm


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## liquidsoap (Oct 22, 2005)

They did something like this a while back, they put tags on bass let them go almost 1 mile where they came from, sure enough within 2 weeks, they returned. Kind of cool how it works. Thanks for the link heyjay


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## liquidsoap (Oct 22, 2005)

I want to add something else, for those of you who say practice catch and release, I have not seen to many people eat large mouth or small mouth. I have once and will never do it again. How many people actually keep bass. I might have a blind eye to it but have rarely seen it happen.
I do remeber fishing out at lake erie and catching a large mouth on the bottom of edgewater. It was about 3 lbs. I threw it back, the guy next to me looked at me like I was crazy.


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## esox (Dec 26, 2004)

Figuring a 40%-50% yearly mortality rate per year class, (all causes combined), would not be excessive. When compared to other animals in the wild, it's downright good. For example, Ninety out of a hundred rabbits don't make it past their first fall. Also, the mourning dove mortality rate is around 80%-90% per year.
Is the bass fishing as good as it used to be? Not even close. I remember when the Big O first arrived on the scene a generation ago. We would troll it at Berlin during late summer through mid fall and hammered the bass, catching many dozen a day of all sizes. In those days there was no bag or size limit. Most fish over 1 1/2-2 lbs were released. Fortunately, the bigger fish made poor table fare or they would have been killed as well. 
There were not nearly as many fishers those days, and 9 out of 10 had no clue as to what they were doing. 
There are many more fishers these days and maybe half have a fair idea as to whats going on. However, c&r is the rule among virtually all bassers. So, why can't a person go to Berlin these days, troll a Big O and catch 50-100+ fish a day like in the "Old Days".
I believe it's the bed fishing. Whether or not bedding bass are targeted, makes little difference. They are kept for the weigh-in, (money), pic, mount, or food, and the spawn is destroyed. I might add, bed fishing can hardly be called skillful and not all bed fishers are tourny guys. Perhaps most are casual fishers who just happened to have spotted the fish which may very well have been the biggest bass these novice fishers have ever seen and exploit the opportunity to catch, and invariably kill, the fish for a pic, mount, or food, not knowing, (or caring), that large bass taste poorly.
The state bio folks try to strike a balance between fish pops and length of season, (number of days/fishing opportunities). More fishers equals more fishing equals more revenue, which after all is the bottom line. Closing the season during April-May would result in many more fish but a lot less money going into the state coffers via tourny/ license fees and sales tax on bait/tackle etc. Plus there are the political aspects. I imagine that there would be howls of indignation if inland bass fishing were closed during April and May, even if doing so resulted in a major increase in fish pops-just like the "old days". Or, it could be that most don't know what the "old days" were like.
I will add that the bag limit would have to be reduced if the spawn were closed. Assuming that more fish would be available with a closed spawn, then a spike in numbers would probably be off set/nullified by the catch and kill ethics of novice/casual fishers who inadvertantly catch bass while using generic, 'catch anything that swims', presentations such as tight-lining and/or float fishing with live bait.
Size and bag limits are a step in the right direction when it comes to fish mangement, but I have to agree with Al Linder when he says that optimal results can be had with a closed spawn. 
Bottom line? No spawn equals no fish.


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