Bedding Bass

When I was younger and learning to fish the guys that that taught me considered it unethical to fish bass that were bedding. Now it seems like that is the most popular time to fish them. I'm sure we have less of an impact than PBs that put them in a live well releasing them miles from where they were caught. Anyone have any knowledge of what kind of impact on the fish this has? 

Not sure about specifics of bedding bass but I have heard there is 30% mortality rate on all C&R fish

personally i dont think mortality rate on bass is as high as on other types of fish mainly because of the fishing style.  since most are caught using artificials and the hook set is pretty much immediate, the fish is generally hooked in the lip and released easily.  and since bass are generally more shallow than other fish there is less strain on them in trying to return to depth.

the problem with fishing bedded bass is that these are fish that generally are not feeding (more of protecting the bed). so expending extra energy during a fight with a fisherman is probably not good for the fish.  And if the same fish is caught 1,2, 20 times, each additional time it fights it is expending energy that it should be conserving protecting the bed, but not really replenishing it with food source.

i have fished bass on beds before but have pretty much given up on it now.  the reason a lot of guys do it is that this is probably the easiest time to find a big girl-other times of the year they are out there but you can't be 100% sure exactly where they are.  Trophy fishing is what it is.

since most are caught using artificials

Most of the big bass caught on this site are caught using Secret Agents

yes that much I know.  I sometimes drift agents but I normally throw plastics. 

They eggs likely will get eaten by crappie or other bass.  I try to find a research article to site but I am sure there plenty.

Sight fishing during tournaments Is very productive, esp. ClearLake. Their are tournaments every weekend on this lake during the spawn, and has not seemed to hurt the population one bit. I think wile fishing for bed fish we are seeing only a small percent of the fish.  (to manny places to hide)

Is catching a bass off a bed, realy any different than catching a salmon or steelhead running up the river?

Is catching a bass off a bed, realy any different than catching a salmon or steelhead running up the river?

None if your fishing the redds, I think most of it is more like fishing the pre-spawn

High-horse time. I have little respect for people using bait to catch visibly bedding bass. I lump it together w/steelhead fishing on top of redds....completely unethical.
While in this state, they are extremely aggressive. So if you can't catch it w/a lure, then you aren't a very good fisherman, and you should just leave it alone. There is no denying that fish caught on bait have a higher mortality rate (otherwise, the Bassmaster Classic guys w/b allowed to use shiners, right?).

Catching a bass off the spawning bed is probably similar to catching a steelhead in the river.  If the fish is returned to the water pronto, and revived if need be, (a big assumption) it probably is not that bad.  In both cases, just understand that you are stressing the fish at its most vulnerable point.  It needs all the energy it can muster to successfully reproduce, and you are diverting that energy in the name of sport.  The bass will probably go back to the bed less a few eggs lost to crappies (that is, if it is not taken to a dock 2 miles away to be weighed).  Most bass are pulled into the boat pretty quick.  However, (and some people will disagree with me) the steelie/salmon might not get up the river and spawn in the first place.  In both cases, the fish does not need to be exhausted at this particular point in its life. 

There is another big difference between the bass and the steelie/salmon and that is that the population of LMB is not currently in total free-fall.  Numbers of LMB are not so low that people fear for the survival of the species in some locations (the Sac Delta salmon run needs 120,000+ spawners to survive, and this year I believe we got 67,000). 

Given a choice, I would fish for bedding bass, because you are right, there are a ton of bass out there, and they are a pretty tough fish. 
 

Pre-spawn, post-spawn, artificials only. No bedding bass, no secret agents. That is the way I roll.

It's true bass are tough and not endangered it is more an issue of making it more sporting. Secret agents are for giant tuna or mendo stripers, IMHO. 

scott

Bass is one of the most prolific fish around California. At least it is in the lower elevations. It would be pretty hard for you to do a dent in their population by fishing beds.

Besides the reservoirs that were drained beyond recognition I would not give it a second thought to bed fish. In fact if you were to go to Anderson and bed fish, please take a few home with you and enjoy. Secret agents are against the county rules though.

I dont ish for bass usually BORING... I will fish for Crappie all day and accedently catch bass  ... Bass do not fight even close as a crappie pound for pound, or any fish for that matter...

If you got on a good topwater bite I bet you would have a different opinion.  For me it is not all about the fight, but more about figuring out how to fool this predator into taking my offering. 

I used minnows many years ago before I became a self proclaimed tackle whore. Now I would rather pound all the finish off of a jig on the rocks than wait on my bait, but that is just me.

As for bedded bass, game on.  It is actually not a lock to catch a bass on a bed if you see one.  Many have to be agitated properly in order to commit.  Some have been caught recently and are shell shocked.  Others will stare at your offering while you spend half of your fishing day in a trance.  If I land one it is CPR'ed and back to the nest it goes.

Same here...no problems fishing for them in the spawn, artificials w/ catch & release on the spot.  A few of the areas i'll fish during the spawn are small, shallow bodies of water and i'll often see the same fish one week I caught the previous, so I don't think mortality is much an issue when the fish are fought/handled carefully.  Just my two cents...

-beenfishin