Bed Fishing

[176champion]

Just think if no one caught fish off the beds and let this fish do there thing, what the population of fish maybe in the years to come, too me it's a win win deal. Maybe just maybe TBR would be headed back up to the top ten of fishing places......this is the sole opinion of mine, this in noway says anyone is doing anything wrong....lol

[roy_eros]

I've always thought it would be interesting  to rope off a few small creek arms or coves during the spawn to give the fish a protected area to spawn. If you could keep people from sneaking in there the whole lakes fish population could potentially benefit.

[fishinwrench]

8 hours ago, Hunter91 said:

Does anyone have any hard evidence that if a prespawn bass is caught on a bed and say, taken into a weighin, and then release, will not go out and spawn anyway?

I like the Major League fishing idea but as has been brought up before, it is not practicable in most large tourneys due to the fact you would have to have an official in each boat. Not hard for MLF with 6 to 10 boats but difficult to find 100-150 officials for some tourneys.

I think relocating fish for "sport" needs to stop.   It wasn't such a big deal back when EVERYONE wasn't participating, but it is becoming a real issue now.  The technology is available now to score differently while keeping everyone just as honest as the OLD WAY ever did, so if there just has to be 200 tournaments per year on every lake in the nation then I think it's time to explore some different ways to score them.  

Bass are Home Range critters that typically live their entire life in a chosen cove/creek.  Constantly relocating them to unfamiliar areas at the rate it is being done these days may be better than killing them all but it still has to be drastically altering their habits.  After all they are Largemouth Bass.... not Stripers.   If you catch a couple 3-4 pounders along a bank somewhere now you aren't learning anything because you don't know if you are developing a pattern or are just catching fish that are TOTALLY LOST and swimming around aimlessly.

[chi0082]

To add to what fishinwrench has said above......I just think tournament fishing should just outright be outlawed...period! It has gotten way out of control. Seems EVERY weekend there is a tournament going on in this lake whether it's local, club, charity, etc. Whether we hear about it or not, there's some type of small tournament going on during this time of year. Fisherman today have the technology and info readily available to make them much MUCH better fisherman then way back in the days. So that translates to more people fishing and more fish being caught and more participation in tournaments. A recent study (can't remember the source) by some biologists and universities that have tagged bass that have been caught in tournaments show that up to 30% of bass caught and released in these tournaments die from stress and injuries within the first few days. That's almost one out of every 3. The death rate is even higher with hot weather. And somewhere close to 70% of bass don't make it back to their original home once released. Just because a bass swims away doesn't mean it will survive til the next day. We're lucky the Rock is a wonderful lake with high quality habitat and forage base to support and sustain a healthy population of a variety of fish. We should not take that for granted and be careless with our fishing behavior. 

Ok my rants over. Just wanted to get that off my chest.

[5bites]

To what Wrench said I'll go along with that. I'm not saying we should stop fishing tournaments as they are now until something is done but you are right. There is no reason technologically we have to haul fish around all day in fear of losing them in the live well then restocking them in the same location hundreds of other fish are dropped in every week. Small tournaments and jackpots this probably isn't feasible but the larger ones don't really have and excuse. 

 

I see no reason a small series couldn't start up that was MLF based. Maybe the top 30 guys around here fishing an invitation only series for real money. Something needs to change anyway to spark a little excitement to local derbies. Until the economy and absolute silly flood of buddy tournaments there were a few series' that if you were competitive in you were known. I speak mainly about the old CPA when it was known to be tough competition. This is drifting off the main topic but it ties into fish care and the sport. 

[DADAKOTA]

25 minutes ago, chi0082 said:

To add to what fishinwrench has said above......I just think tournament fishing should just outright be outlawed...period! It has gotten way out of control. Seems EVERY weekend there is a tournament going on in this lake whether it's local, club, charity, etc. Whether we hear about it or not, there's some type of small tournament going on during this time of year. Fisherman today have the technology and info readily available to make them much MUCH better fisherman then way back in the days. So that translates to more people fishing and more fish being caught and more participation in tournaments. A recent study (can't remember the source) by some biologists and universities that have tagged bass that have been caught in tournaments show that up to 30% of bass caught and released in these tournaments die from stress and injuries within the first few days. That's almost one out of every 3. The death rate is even higher with hot weather. And somewhere close to 70% of bass don't make it back to their original home once released. Just because a bass swims away doesn't mean it will survive til the next day. We're lucky the Rock is a wonderful lake with high quality habitat and forage base to support and sustain a healthy population of a variety of fish. We should not take that for granted and be careless with our fishing behavior. 

Ok my rants over. Just wanted to get that off my chest.

Not sure where you get your facts.  I am not against tournaments and fish several each year.  From local tourneys to circuits the number of participants has been dropping.  Our local derby used to average 24 or 25 boats per tourney over the course of the year.  Now were lucky to average 16-17.  Many circuits are gone due to rising costs and lower participation.  It is much harder for an angler to make any money or break even with $55,000 boats, gas prices, higher equipment costs, insurance, lodging, food, etc.  In a lot of tourneys you best be in the top 3 to make sure you break even.  Add in the costs for pre-fishing and it is even harder to make money other than local tourneys.  To cash at a local event you must beat all the folks that live on and fish the lake regularly.  Tough competition.  A lot of guys have given it up, other than a charity tourney or two, as they just can't make money.  I have not read any recent articles or studies on the mortality rates of tourney bass.  With the advances in livewells, chemicals, etc, for fish care and the increased awareness by anglers of keeping their catch in the best condition possible, and advances in weigh in procedures and equipment I'd have to guess that the mortality rate has gone down.  If you have a recent study I'd sure love to read it.  Probably more bass die each year as the result of being deep hooked from swallowing senkos, ned rigs, and other soft plastic baits than die from tourneys.  There are far more recreational fishermen then tourney fishermen so it is safe to assume that the recreational fishermen kill more bass by deep hooking and/or eating the fish than die at the hands of a tourney angler.  Heck the super hooks of today do not rust out like the old hooks we used 25 years ago.  Cutting the line now may be signing that fish's death warrant.  If you look at bass mortality you need to look at the entire picture and not place blame on just one group.  That's why it would be interesting if bass were off limits during the spawn for a couple years to see if it makes any difference. We are all anglers and need to get along and protect the resource.

[Mitch f]

FWIW,

There is a big time LOZ tournament angler (aint gonna name names) who's full time job is an adjuster for an insurance company. He walks the lawns of his lake front clients so he can be "very thorough at his job", Oh, and while he's there, he spots the biggest females, from his optimum angle point of view, on the spawn beds and knows which beds to fish on tourney day.   

What do you call him? is he a genius, using all available information legally? or is he getting an unfair advantage and cheating? you make the call. 

[Smithvillesteve]

Interesting takes here from all you guys. I dont think there will ever be a time when bass fishing is closed for the spawning season. However, that is what they do up in Canada for the walleye. Season is closed and areas up creeks are off limits. Some of you mentioned a system where tournament fisherman can weigh a fish on the spot and then release the bass. Instead of keeping it in a livewell and carrying it around all day and hauling it miles away to be released. I really like that idea. Somebody mentioned bass released carefully will go right back to their bed. Very interesting. And why wouldnt we want that? Appreciate all your takes here on this subject. 

[chi0082]

59 minutes ago, DADAKOTA said:

Not sure where you get your facts.  I am not against tournaments and fish several each year.  From local tourneys to circuits the number of participants has been dropping.  Our local derby used to average 24 or 25 boats per tourney over the course of the year.  Now were lucky to average 16-17.  Many circuits are gone due to rising costs and lower participation.  It is much harder for an angler to make any money or break even with $55,000 boats, gas prices, higher equipment costs, insurance, lodging, food, etc.  In a lot of tourneys you best be in the top 3 to make sure you break even.  Add in the costs for pre-fishing and it is even harder to make money other than local tourneys.  To cash at a local event you must beat all the folks that live on and fish the lake regularly.  Tough competition.  A lot of guys have given it up, other than a charity tourney or two, as they just can't make money.  I have not read any recent articles or studies on the mortality rates of tourney bass.  With the advances in livewells, chemicals, etc, for fish care and the increased awareness by anglers of keeping their catch in the best condition possible, and advances in weigh in procedures and equipment I'd have to guess that the mortality rate has gone down.  If you have a recent study I'd sure love to read it.  Probably more bass die each year as the result of being deep hooked from swallowing senkos, ned rigs, and other soft plastic baits than die from tourneys.  There are far more recreational fishermen then tourney fishermen so it is safe to assume that the recreational fishermen kill more bass by deep hooking and/or eating the fish than die at the hands of a tourney angler.  Heck the super hooks of today do not rust out like the old hooks we used 25 years ago.  Cutting the line now may be signing that fish's death warrant.  If you look at bass mortality you need to look at the entire picture and not place blame on just one group.  That's why it would be interesting if bass were off limits during the spawn for a couple years to see if it makes any difference. We are all anglers and need to get along and protect the resource.

You're making a pretty large assumption that the average tournament angler takes great care of their catch. As if nobody lands their catch on the carpet of their boat, grabs the fish with dry bare hands, throws it in the livewell and then turns on the livewell. Not to mention stabbing a cull ring inside the fish's sensitive gills and yanking it out when you cull. Yea none of that will kill a fish. Everyone is just really careful because they're not pressed for time, and has top notch well maintained equipment in their $55,000 boats. 

The best fisherman in the best boats with the best equipment in the elite leagues (FLW, B.A.S.S., etc) is where my numbers come from. Even with all the precautions and things they do to take great care of the fish, the mortality rates are still higher than you think. Who knows how bad it is at the lower levels of the sport. I've been to lakes after a major tournament was held the day before and have seen dead bass all over the shore. It's a sad deal and needs to be better regulated or stopped all together. My opinion anyways. 

[MOPanfisher]

Without a doubt some fish die after being through a tournament weigh in, also some die after being caught on crappie jigs, neds etc.  If the mortality was anywhere near the numbers of 30% let alone 70% the coves near the weight ins and shorelines of the lakes would be littered with dead bass.  I don't see that.  Do I see some dead bass, yes, as likely they were caught and hauled around all day on a stringer or in a fish basket and released because the catcher didn't want to clean it.  Always see some fish floating after spawning, whether bass, crappie or whatever, some just die from the stress or are at the end of their lives.  You will never see the outlawing of bass tournaments during spawn or any other time of the year.  How many would like to stand up in a public meeting and advocate the elimination of bass fishing from April 1st through June 15th?  How do you think the Resorts, Marinas, hotels, tackle shops etc. would respond to that.  Not to mention the fact that there is not a body of evidence out there that I am aware of that says such fishing is doing un-acceptable damage to the fishery.   Take lessons from other organizations and instead of pushing AGAINST something, work to educate and re-train.  Instead of working to make bed fishing illegal (which really is impossible anyway), or to outlaw tournaments, instead work vocally and on boards like this one and others, write articles and blogs that support CPR and why, don't just pound away on someone who catches and keeps a legal fish, regardless of what kind, were caught, and how caught.  Work to improve not destroy.  (Stepping down from rickety soap box now).