Is Fishing For Spawning Bass Wrong?
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Date: 2020-11-25
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Comments and reviews: 10
Shawn
I remember a video done by 1rod1reel (I believe) when he spotted a male guarding a bed and after several attempts, got the male to hit his lure. He released the guy inside of 30 seconds, within 5 ft of his bed and he did not return to protect the eggs. Underwater Go-pro video showed him, prior to catch and release, defending the bed from numerous egg eaters. After his release and no return to the bed, the bait fish swarmed in for the buffet. He raised the same point of fishing beds during the spawn. Spawning season definitely stresses the fish, males more than females as I understand it, more than any other time of the year. Prespawn, our fishing may curtail their spawning, durin the spawn, it may lower the viable hatch-lings, and post spawn I believe is no difference as a male cannot guard that many hatch-lings. Although I believe, the eggs outnumber those consumed by bluegill, crappie etc, and is probably why nature has wired the females to release thousands of eggs, wouldn't the future of fishing be better, with that many more bass to catch? Would they die off anyways due to predators and food supplies? Can the biosphere of a given lake only support so many sport fish regardless of our efforts to maximize their population? I personally do not like to fish spawning bass as I live in Colorado and the lakes are smaller and the number of bass within a given body of water are smaller. With all that said, I do believe though, that there is definitely more to how many bass are in a given lake though, than spawn fishing.
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I remember a video done by 1rod1reel (I believe) when he spotted a male guarding a bed and after several attempts, got the male to hit his lure. He released the guy inside of 30 seconds, within 5 ft of his bed and he did not return to protect the eggs. Underwater Go-pro video showed him, prior to catch and release, defending the bed from numerous egg eaters. After his release and no return to the bed, the bait fish swarmed in for the buffet. He raised the same point of fishing beds during the spawn. Spawning season definitely stresses the fish, males more than females as I understand it, more than any other time of the year. Prespawn, our fishing may curtail their spawning, durin the spawn, it may lower the viable hatch-lings, and post spawn I believe is no difference as a male cannot guard that many hatch-lings. Although I believe, the eggs outnumber those consumed by bluegill, crappie etc, and is probably why nature has wired the females to release thousands of eggs, wouldn't the future of fishing be better, with that many more bass to catch? Would they die off anyways due to predators and food supplies? Can the biosphere of a given lake only support so many sport fish regardless of our efforts to maximize their population? I personally do not like to fish spawning bass as I live in Colorado and the lakes are smaller and the number of bass within a given body of water are smaller. With all that said, I do believe though, that there is definitely more to how many bass are in a given lake though, than spawn fishing.
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John
Is fishing for spawning bass wrong? This is not a simple question to answer as there are to many variables which are not addressed. Where am I fishing? Am I fishing a farm pond that has is currently in a state of overpopulation overstocked, or am I fishing a body of water that is miles long? I have three answers.
a) If it is an overstocked pond, then it is not wrong. Reduction in population will only decrease the competition over food and the entire school will be more robust as a result.
b) If the pond is not overstocked and is in a state of natural balance, then in my opinion if this is practiced to often it will decrease the population and hurt the ecosystem.
c) We will just take Lake Fork, 27, 690 acres of water. I will not say that it does not have an impact and cannot find any published articles specifically detailing the impact of targeting spawning bass on the nest, however the sheer volume of bass (732, 514 were stocked in this lake when it was built over the period of several years) that inhabit this lake I find it hard to believe that there is a tremendous impact felt, and this practice may be what keeps this lake competitive.
Please keep in mind I am not an ecologist, and these are only thoughts, They may very well be incorrect.
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Is fishing for spawning bass wrong? This is not a simple question to answer as there are to many variables which are not addressed. Where am I fishing? Am I fishing a farm pond that has is currently in a state of overpopulation overstocked, or am I fishing a body of water that is miles long? I have three answers.
a) If it is an overstocked pond, then it is not wrong. Reduction in population will only decrease the competition over food and the entire school will be more robust as a result.
b) If the pond is not overstocked and is in a state of natural balance, then in my opinion if this is practiced to often it will decrease the population and hurt the ecosystem.
c) We will just take Lake Fork, 27, 690 acres of water. I will not say that it does not have an impact and cannot find any published articles specifically detailing the impact of targeting spawning bass on the nest, however the sheer volume of bass (732, 514 were stocked in this lake when it was built over the period of several years) that inhabit this lake I find it hard to believe that there is a tremendous impact felt, and this practice may be what keeps this lake competitive.
Please keep in mind I am not an ecologist, and these are only thoughts, They may very well be incorrect.
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Chris
Interesting. For me, fishing and hunting is something men do to express a nature instinct that we have and it is not any more wrong for us then it is for a cat who kills a mouse even when he isn't hungry. It's in the cat's blood to attack the mouse as it is in our blood to hunt and fish. But, it certainly hurts the fish to fish for them. I like your intermediate response. Harass a really good fish but leave the small ones to do their thing. Also, fishermen hurt fish populations but the stocking that we do helps to make up some of the difference. People aren't bad people who want to fish, it's just who they are. My dog goes crazy on every squirrel in my yard even though there is a zero percent chance that he will catch one. I let him chase them every day just so he can feel like the big dog. After all, it's just him being him and it's about the chase. Keep your line tight bro!
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Interesting. For me, fishing and hunting is something men do to express a nature instinct that we have and it is not any more wrong for us then it is for a cat who kills a mouse even when he isn't hungry. It's in the cat's blood to attack the mouse as it is in our blood to hunt and fish. But, it certainly hurts the fish to fish for them. I like your intermediate response. Harass a really good fish but leave the small ones to do their thing. Also, fishermen hurt fish populations but the stocking that we do helps to make up some of the difference. People aren't bad people who want to fish, it's just who they are. My dog goes crazy on every squirrel in my yard even though there is a zero percent chance that he will catch one. I let him chase them every day just so he can feel like the big dog. After all, it's just him being him and it's about the chase. Keep your line tight bro!
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Mike
I fish pickwick, wheeler and wilson here in alabama and i fish tournaments. I think tourny fishing should be shutdown during the spawn, simply because if catch a female full of eggs and take her off her bed and haul her across the lake, after all that stress and she is released miles away from her spawn site. I think tournaments should go with the major league fishing format during the spawn, weighed on site and released back to her bed. Your thoughts? If your every come to north alabama hit me up, just won a tournament on wheeler with the old trusty carolina rig. keep up the great videos brother!
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I fish pickwick, wheeler and wilson here in alabama and i fish tournaments. I think tourny fishing should be shutdown during the spawn, simply because if catch a female full of eggs and take her off her bed and haul her across the lake, after all that stress and she is released miles away from her spawn site. I think tournaments should go with the major league fishing format during the spawn, weighed on site and released back to her bed. Your thoughts? If your every come to north alabama hit me up, just won a tournament on wheeler with the old trusty carolina rig. keep up the great videos brother!
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BassGeek
Southern lakes it don't make that big of difference. As you go north where the spawn period is shorter however there is a greater impact. What you said is kinda backwards if you're really worried about it you shouldn't be spending the time on the bigger bass. Those are the ones you want to spawn. Now even though most of the time releasing them in the same spot does allow them to go back to the bed some do not. Stroke the small ones on the bed and leave the big ones alone those are the genes we want passed on.
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Southern lakes it don't make that big of difference. As you go north where the spawn period is shorter however there is a greater impact. What you said is kinda backwards if you're really worried about it you shouldn't be spending the time on the bigger bass. Those are the ones you want to spawn. Now even though most of the time releasing them in the same spot does allow them to go back to the bed some do not. Stroke the small ones on the bed and leave the big ones alone those are the genes we want passed on.
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Jin
caught my personal best bass a few weeks ago closing in on 8 pounds. she was on bed and hadn't spawned yet so after i got a selfie in i immediately released her right where i caught her (gently. Love fishin too much and want her and the eggs to be healthy as can be so that the future generations of fishing freaks can enjoy fishing. with that being said I wasn't site fishing just casual laid back bass fishing and i happened to have an angry mama slurp my bait up.
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caught my personal best bass a few weeks ago closing in on 8 pounds. she was on bed and hadn't spawned yet so after i got a selfie in i immediately released her right where i caught her (gently. Love fishin too much and want her and the eggs to be healthy as can be so that the future generations of fishing freaks can enjoy fishing. with that being said I wasn't site fishing just casual laid back bass fishing and i happened to have an angry mama slurp my bait up.
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FishNFoolLures
I don't like taking a fish off it's bed for more then just a few min. That's why I really think that tournaments should not be held during the spawn and why I DONT do it. I think it's ok to catch and release the fish back to it's bed right away, but keeping a bedding fish in a livewell all day and turning it loose in a different area ruins any chance for that fish to spawn that year and I'm sure the stress of that kills some of those fish.
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I don't like taking a fish off it's bed for more then just a few min. That's why I really think that tournaments should not be held during the spawn and why I DONT do it. I think it's ok to catch and release the fish back to it's bed right away, but keeping a bedding fish in a livewell all day and turning it loose in a different area ruins any chance for that fish to spawn that year and I'm sure the stress of that kills some of those fish.
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ubb4me
Ive always been against targeting spawning bass. Tournaments should not allow this. It takes the bass off of the bed and basically feeds the eggs to other fish. If its a large bass the genetic line is lost. When they release the fish it may be in areas that cant support large fish and the fish is lost. Recreational fishing. okay but catch and release quickly. Or you could just shoot fish in a barrel. Same amount of skill involved either way.
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Ive always been against targeting spawning bass. Tournaments should not allow this. It takes the bass off of the bed and basically feeds the eggs to other fish. If its a large bass the genetic line is lost. When they release the fish it may be in areas that cant support large fish and the fish is lost. Recreational fishing. okay but catch and release quickly. Or you could just shoot fish in a barrel. Same amount of skill involved either way.
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Jogos
I think if you are fishing responsibly and getting the fish back in the water quick it's fine. They usually go right back to their beds. I'm for closing waters during the spawn though because spawning bass are easy targets and some people would rather have a fish fry then a sustainable bass population. I'm all for eating fish, all kinds, but as sportsmen conservation is our responsibility too.
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I think if you are fishing responsibly and getting the fish back in the water quick it's fine. They usually go right back to their beds. I'm for closing waters during the spawn though because spawning bass are easy targets and some people would rather have a fish fry then a sustainable bass population. I'm all for eating fish, all kinds, but as sportsmen conservation is our responsibility too.
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chonch
leave bed fish. even if you put them right back they don't always go back to their bed right away or sometimes not at all. I find it funny a lot of bass fisherman like the challenge of using artificial baits and making them look alive underwater and preach baitfishing is cheating. in my opinion bed fishing is just as lame, sight fishing too. although I find nothing wrong with Bait fishing.
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leave bed fish. even if you put them right back they don't always go back to their bed right away or sometimes not at all. I find it funny a lot of bass fisherman like the challenge of using artificial baits and making them look alive underwater and preach baitfishing is cheating. in my opinion bed fishing is just as lame, sight fishing too. although I find nothing wrong with Bait fishing.
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