In-Fisherman Magazine Article Closed Seasons

[Gary Lange]

Here is an excellent article from In-Fisherman Magazine about fishing for Bass during the Spawn.

http://www.in-fisherman.com/content/closed-seasons-conservation-concern-or-needless-restriction/1

[Al Agnew]

Thanks, Gary...excellent article and plenty of food for thought.

One of the keys in the article is the note that spawning is different at different latitudes. Question is, how do Ozark bass compare with those farther north or farther south. We're on the northern edge of "southern" bass territory.

Another thing to consider is the bottom line. Whether or not catching and releasing spawning bass affects nesting success, in the final analysis the only thing that matters is how it affects the overall bass population in a given body of water. Do enough fry survive to keep the population at a stable level...and is that "stable" level optimum or is it depressed from what the population would be if spawning bass were completely protected?

[Gary Lange]

Good questions Al. I hope that some studies are in the process now that will address these issues and shed some light on these questions. I know that on the Fox River in Illinois the ISA was responsible in getting catch and release only regulations for the period of April 15-June 15 I believe it is. Even 5-6 years ago when I lived and fished this river fish in the 17"-20" were caught as were numerous smaller fish. A friend of mine just caught a 19" on a float-n-fly which shows that catch and release which most Smallmouth anglers in Ill. practice is working. The DuPage River is coming back strong as a Smallmouth Stream and has produced some 17" fish when I fished it as well as many smaller fish. So it appears we are experiencing some year class fish so some are surviving.

[Mitch f]

Great article! Really opened my eyes!

[Wayne SW/MO]

It's hard for me to even speculate about northern bass fishing, having never done it. In the area of MO, AR, OK, TX I think there's is little doubt that pulling bass off the nest generally destroys that spawn. At least that's what the few studies done indicate. I suspect that the heavy catch and release practice mitigates the damages however in this area. The question I can't answer is "do northern fishermen have a different attitude"? I understand they don't practice a lot of C & R for Walleye, so does that hold true for bass?

If we are talking all waters, then a river like the John Day has a different set of guidelines altogether. It's relatively cold for SM bass, but there is very little catch and kill practiced on it. It's also somewhat remote and far from populated areas. In this instance the growth factor probably doesn't mean as much as it would in river close to a large population.

I think the question has to be answered for each and every body of water, because it's hard to make a regulation fit all circumstances. While blanket regs are necessary for hunting given the fact there are no boundaries for wildlife, fish do have boundaries and can be regulated by watersheds.

[Gary Lange]

Catch and release is a very big part of the Northern Anglers daily life Wayne. Most Walleye fisheries are supported by stocking programs hence the catch and eat with them but a lot of Northern anglers catch and release some of the Walleye's they catch also.

[Tim Smith]

I understand they don't practice a lot of C & R for Walleye, so does that hold true for bass?

Walleye taste great and fight like a wet sock (and as Gary said most of them are stocked so there's usually not a natural population to conserve). People who fish for walleye are usually after meat.

I agree with Gary's assessment that the catch and release ethic is very strong in the north. In most places you will get chewed on hard if you creel a lot of bass (even in places like subdivision ponds that probably need a little harvest). I'll also second the good condition of most stream bass fisheries in the state and I also believe that catch and release is the main reason they are as good as they are. The numbers do cycle back and forth over time but in my opinion Gary even understates the quality of the fishery. I was stunned to find out what kind of smallmouth you can catch in systems with very little stocking right under the noses of 3 million plus people in the Chicago area.