I believe both abkeenan and bo have solid suggestions for additional protection of our spawning bass. Frankly, anything would be an improvement over letting tournament and recreational fishermen alike have the run of the lake during the spawn. And with tournament anglers, the argument that they are only catching five is invalid because those who are successfully targeting beds will continue to cull all day long, so they are relocating no telling how many fish during the course of a day away from their beds.
I keep hearing that the TR bass fishery is doing fine and that we're seeking problems to fit a solution, but how do we what it COULD be if we never attempt to rise aboefore bve the status quo? Why not TRY some protective measures for our spawning fish? Why not TRY some supplemental stocking, especially for the less-aggressive LM species (as opposed to brown and spotted bass)? It certainly would seem to the layman's eye that the forage base is adequate to support a greater population of bass.
And Dan, take heart ... I dearly love to eat walleye but I do release them during their spawning season. I know it's not a common practice but it would be nice if it was. For that matter, they could be given the same sort of seasonal "immediate release" protection as we're discussing for bass. Considering how much Arkansas and Missouri fish and game departments have spent stocking them, I'm a bit surprised they don't protect them more.