Bedding Bass

[UTCAngler]

I know this has probably already been discussed on here but what are some of your views on fishing for bedding bass??Last year i caught my pb largemouth (7.5# or so) while it was sitting on a bed but now that im getting more into the conservation thing i dont know if i will go after them this spawn.I released mine immediately, but ive also heard that it really doesnt matter if you catch bedding bass because only about 1% of the eggs will make it to maturity anyways.Id like to hear some of your input and what you guys practice during the spawn.

 

[Guest]

For me, it's half and half. The place that I fish the most, Sloppy Floyd State Park, I have no problem fishing for bass on beds there, due to the huge populations of bass already in both lakes.

If I am on a larger body of water, such as Guntersville, Weiss, Nick, Chick, etc., I will shy away from fishing for them. I believe the studies that have been done and believe that it's alright to do it, but there's a part of me that can't stand the thought of not giving the bass a chance to survive. The bass have a hard enough time keeping their eggs going without humans taking them away from the eggs.............so, that's where I stand. I go with ole Jerry Clower and say, "Give everything a fighting chance."

On the same note, last year I saw something that made me feel kinda good and yet shocked me. While I fishing a shellcracker bed, I kept noticing a nice bass hanging on the edge of the honeycomb. When I would get one of the crackers from the edge the bass was sitting on, he would go in and snatch the eggs off the bed and eat them. I promise you, I saw this. Anyone else ever heard of this behavior? Is it possible that bass are learning to retaliate against the crackers/bluegills?

 

[Guest]

It is a dog eat dog in the animal world, can't tell you what to do. I have caught big bass in ponds and carry the bass half way around the pond and turn it loose and most will go straight back to the bed, just a big vee in the water. Maybe you could catch them, weigh them, take pics and turn em loose. My 2 cents worth

 

[Bassallday]

Up in the bay of Green bay and sturgeon bay in wisconsin when the small mouth are spawning they are like sitting ducks in that crystal clear water and you can catch a truck load of 3-5 lber's off there bed's .It's awsome and I don't have a problem with it ta all.At the boat ramp's their are fish cleaning stations and it is sickening to see all the limit's of large smallmouth's being butcherd this time of year.this is not the time to catch and eat,but it the time to catch thhe biggest bass of the year.

 

[team-d]

Same with the Columbia River each spring - have caught a lot of smallmouth off the beds, even the same fish off the same bed twice in one day.

 

[bullet]

i'm about half and half too, i only fish beds once or twice a year, but i too have mixed feelings about it.
i really hate to hear about people filleting them like that, it's a wonder there are any left to go on beds, with greedy type people like that, one day they will probably be wondering why no one can catch bass in thier lake anymore! i hate it! catch a lot but release a lot too! keep a couple if you really need to eat them, but i would prefer people eat bream, shellcrackers ect... just my opinion

 

[dtw2]

Fish "practice catch and release" and "practice catch and eat", plenty of bass to go around with the 15'' limit.

 

[bassncorey]

I have bed fished before. I don't really see a problem with it if you're practicing catch and release. I have read articles that say it doesn't hurt them.

 

[tarheel]

My thoughts on fishing for bedding bassemoTskTsk
I do not fish for bass when they have sex on the brain. Anyone can catch a fish that
is bedding, I see no sport in that.

 

[Dropshot]

I have been a little apprehensive in the past. With that said, I won my first tournament bed fishing on Nickajack a few years back. I tried to justify it in my head by saying that I caught the fish shortly before weigh-in, which did not keep them from the beds for long, which were very close to the weigh in area.

I have personally tried to refrain from snatching them off the beds. Little harder to do when you are fishing for money.

 

[bubba adams]

i think if your catching and puttin them back i dont have a problem with it but if you keep them i think thats not right but different people have different feelins about the hole thing

 

[B-Pro]

I don't see a problem with catching bedding bass as long as you release the fish back. There been time when I have caught a bedding fish and release it and it went right back the bed and I caught it again the next cast.

 

[Fuzzy]

I always wondered why up north (New York), the season for largemouth was closed during spawning. After some research and talks, I discovered the reason they close it was because the largemouth strain and the short spawning season cannot support fishing for bedding fish. Here down south, the lakes can support it. When I fish the Harris Chains, locals will tell you there is no "fall" fishing. It goes right from summer to pre-spawn, because the spawning season is so long.
I don't like the fishing for bedding bass concept, but I think it's from my "roots". It just doesn't appear as "sporting" or something along those lines, but I guess that was always what I faced up there.

For what it's worth..

Fuzz

 

[harbuck handyman]

If it was ethical,the question would not have occurred to the asker. I guess if you are doing something for money then all the ethics issues go out the window.