What are you learning?

[Doozer]

The boat launches are filled every weekend with bass boats. The bass are on the beds.

Can you tell me what you are learning, for later in the summer, by catching them off the beds?

Do you think all the blue gills and perch in the shallows are not hammering the eggs after the fish is gone? Even if it's for a few minutes?

Do you think it's good for the future populations?

Not looking to raise a stink. Just wondering.

[HOLY DIVER]

Allow me to play devils advocate here, I’m not a bass fisherman anymore as of 2003 because I found bigger fish in the sea but never the less I’m a die hard fisherman and I could not imagine having a $30,000 bass boat that is only good for bass fishing and having to wait till mid June to catch a fish on it. Personally I think every one should get a bass boat and go flip your hart out in 3ft of water and catch BIG 5lb BASS WOW!!! It just leaves more room for me in the open water to catch some real sport fish!!!

But if your going to harass bass fisherman for catching spawning fish then you should also go after every one who goes after steelheads and browns in early spring isn’t that the same thing?

[muskybob]

Welcome to the site jbait. Comments for and against a thread are always welcome. That's how we all learn and make our own decisions. Glad you jumped in this time and hope you will again.

[Gator]

The biggest problem with some of the lakes around here, Honeoye in particular, is an overpopulation of bass. You can catch 10-14" fish til your arms fall off. Fishing them on beds isn't a bad thing in this lake.

And bass in any lake produce more eggs than the ecosystem can possibly support...it's highly doubtful than any group of anglers is going to put even a fraction of the bass off their beds. Remember, it's only the "visible" beds that get fished.

Gator

[Yankee Troller]

The boat launches are filled every weekend with bass boats. The bass are on the beds.

Can you tell me what you are learning, for later in the summer, by catching them off the beds?

Do you think all the blue gills and perch in the shallows are not hammering the eggs after the fish is gone? Even if it's for a few minutes?

Do you think it's good for the future populations?

Not looking to raise a stink. Just wondering.

Well, what you are learning are bed fishing tactics. These fish can be difficult to catch when they are on their beds. They are easy to catch prior to the spawn however. We have one of the few "seasons" in the country. Look all over the south and there is no season. Therefore there are tourneys during times when bed fishing is a pattern. Look at the Elite tour and we have a NY'er competing for the first time ever the last few years. Some of the earlier tourneys this year bed fishing was a huge pattern. It doesn't hurt the eco system like people thought it did years ago. Hence the catch and release program we have here in NY now. Its all personal preference, and if you don't want to fish them you don't have to.

On a side note you mention bassfisherman in general, and their bass boats. Do you have a personal issue with these guys???

[pkalfi]

Yankee, I would have to agree with you. Would the DEC allow us to fish for bass if it was destroying the population? I would have to believe they had several marine biologists looking into this before they allowed us to target, catch and release bass. Also, I have a bass boat which I have been using to troll for salmon, steelies and browns and to show my kids (4 year old twins) how much fun fishing is, since they are in more shallow water up to now.

[Yankee Troller]

A buddy was there this past weekend and crushed them. If you find a pocket of weeds in a bay...fish it! Other than that fish around the white pin bouys....these mean its a shoaly area and the SM love those areas. Toss tube jigs or hair jigs in these areas. You can get a good topwater bite if your there early enough. Other than that spinnerbaits and crankbaits will work well in chartreuse colors.