Fish the bank or site fish specific beds…what do you prefer?

[Pat Brown]

I am merely referring to the Florida strain largemouth present in North Carolina. I have no idea what Northern smallmouth do on their beds @TOXIC and wouldn't be surprised at all if they're a)more aggressive b) not as easy to educate.

 

Here the bass seem real quick to learn but yeah seems like the mere thought of catching a fish on a bed offends some people and I get that but also those people probably catch fish off of beds blindly without knowing all the time.

 

It's kind of a strange topic to wrap ones head around when you really start to consider all the details.

 

Heck tons of the bass around here spawn at odd times and in depths that make no sense etc.

 

I mostly don't change how I fish at all regardless of season but I'm ALWAYS using my eyes to catch fish every single day.

 

I think what I'm trying to say here is that I site fish the banks all the time.  How else does one fish a bank?

[WRB]

Most weekend bass anglers mimic what they see and read pro bass anglers do.

When bass are on beds the pro’s target those  100% of the time so why all the hysteria an about sight fishing?

Could it be the natural feeling that fishing in a nursery is repulsive? Maybe but the need for a pro to cash a check out weighs ethics and I agree. 
Back in the 60’s and early 70’s I was a bed fisherman and developed skills to catch big female bass. Caught so many  it became as simple as taking advantage of there instinct protect the nest site   stopped targeting those big females by sight fishing. Keep in mind our lake are clear water with average depth of light about 15’ and beds in 10’ to 12’ were common where the big girls spawned.

 I swore targeting bed bass off around 1975. However knowing where big bass like to spawn help tremendously catching them during pre spawn using jigs that replicated crawdads that are egg eating and high protein prey for the giant bass.
To each his or her preferences but remember these big girls are very fragile fish so handle them with the care they deserve when procreating the species.

Tom 

[Catt]

[ol'crickety]

I've never seen a single bed in my 1.5 years of largemouth fishing in Maine. I don't know why I can't see them. Maybe my eyes are too old. Maybe there are too many weeds. 

[Catt]

I don't go looking for beds but when I see one & the female looks large enough I'll spend some time on her.

Edited April 2 by Catt
Fingers faster than the brain

[ol'crickety]

12 hours ago, WRB said:

To each his or her preferences but remember these big girls are very fragile fish so handle them with the care they deserve when procreating the species.

 

I once read that the act of spawning taxes some of them so much that they don't survive. Now imagine fighting an angler atop procreation. So, if I ever do see a bed, I'll pass. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

 

5 hours ago, Catt said:

That size fish will turn everybody into a bed fisherman 🤣

 

The willpower it would take to motor past that situation is something I don't have.  

 

To me they look so much smaller under the water a few feet.....so if it looks big in the water, it's huge out of the water.  

[gimruis]

I agree that returning a fish caught off a bed to the water quickly should not cause any damage.

 

What I don't agree with is placing them in a livewell, hauling them to a weigh in, and then returning them to the water later on.  There is obvious damage in that situation to the reproductive process and it should be mandatory C & R while they are spawning on beds.

[Catt]

28 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I agree that returning a fish caught off a bed to the water quickly should not cause any damage.

 

What I don't agree with is placing them in a livewell, hauling them to a weigh in, and then returning them to the water later on.  There is obvious damage in that situation to the reproductive process and it should be mandatory C & R while they are spawning on beds.

 

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department biologist Clarence Bowling says studies have shown that a female (when handled properly) will simply locate a bed and an available male in the area where she is released and complete spawning.

[Dwight Hottle]

On the Great Lakes system & other bodies of water holding gobies removing a male from the nest while he is guarding eggs allows the gobies to quickly raid the nest. So fishing for bedding bass may or may not hurt the population depending on the body of water. 

[Pat Brown]

4 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

I once read that the act of spawning taxes some of them so much that they don't survive. Now imagine fighting an angler atop procreation. So, if I ever do see a bed, I'll pass. 

 

 

If the fish down here hit as hard and as often as they do up North in your bogs, I don't think anyone down South would even know what bed fishing is 😂😂😂 

 

Consider this:

 

You hear a fish blow up in the grass and think 'dang the fish are really chewing today' and you note where the blow up happens and pitch a bait into the hole.  Instantly you are bitten and catch a chunky fish with lots of minnows crammed down her throat and think 'wow they're feeding in here!'

 

When in fact:

 

Fish are on bed in the grass field.  Bass are constantly blowing up on (and consuming) bed invaders all day long.  You see a bass guarding it's fry or it's eggs (via the blow up in the grass)  and you visually cast to the fish and catch it.

 

Point being, we are often fishing beds without knowing it.

 

Why else do we tell new anglers 'parallel the bank slowly'

 

You're gonna be putting your bait around an angry fish a lot of months of the year and they're not eating your lure because they're hungry.

 

We see a big female hovering in the sun next to a dock piling and pitch to her and she hits and we catch her.  We don't know it but she has just laid eggs next to that piling.

 

Etc etc etc etc

Edited April 2 by Pat Brown

[Mobasser]

I don't search out bedding bass. I have seen some on beds but usually can't get them to hit. They can blend in perfectly. 

[Bankbeater]

This time of year I fish mostly from the bank, and once in a while I will locate an area where the bass seem to be stacked up.  The water is usually shallow, and the area is almost always around some type of dead vegetation.  I'm not sure if I'm casting into beds or if the bass are going after forage in the cover, but by the amount of dinks in some of these lakes, I don't think I am hurting the population any.

[Munkin]

On 4/1/2024 at 7:34 PM, TOXIC said:

Fishing beds will always be a touchy subject that there is no right or wrong answer.  I know on St Clair the spawn used to be closed and it was shown in multiple scientific studies that fishing the spawn did not impact the fishery and so the law was changed. 

 

I have personally witnessed bluegill come in and attack the bed of a bass that was just caught off it. Now I don't quit fishing during the spawn but am 100% against purposely targeting a bedding bass. To me its Un sportsman like just to agitate a fish into grabbing a bait to protect its nest. Pennsylvania it is illegal to bed fish.

 

Allen

[CrashVector]

1 hour ago, Munkin said:

 

I have personally witnessed bluegill come in and attack the bed of a bass that was just caught off it. Now I don't quit fishing during the spawn but am 100% against purposely targeting a bedding bass. To me its Un sportsman like just to agitate a fish into grabbing a bait to protect its nest. Pennsylvania it is illegal to bed fish.

 

Allen

My thoughts exactly.

[TnRiver46]

On 4/2/2024 at 10:10 AM, ol'crickety said:

 

I once read that the act of spawning taxes some of them so much that they don't survive. Now imagine fighting an angler atop procreation. So, if I ever do see a bed, I'll pass. 

I’ve eaten a good many fish eggs……. I’m the worst!!!

 

bass eat their own young so I don’t lose too much sleep over it 

 

I don’t think I prepare them properly but they aren’t bad, taste like fish. We’ve tried white bass and crappie. Up where my brother lives in Philly the shad roe from deleware river is a prized possession. Here on the TN river it’s paddlefish eggs that people are after, it’s a short season and they fish hard for them. Apparently it’s high dollar food as well. The game wardens keep a close eye where they target paddlefish 

 

 

[ironbjorn]

If I happen to see a nice bass on a bed, I'll take some swings at it. I won't stay for long though. I'll either catch it in a reasonable amount of time or I won't. And I move on. I don't specifically waste my time searching for beds. Also, for ME PERSONALLY, stumbling on a nice fish on a bed is one thing, but specifically searching out animals who are breeding and messing with them isn't my cup of tea. 

[TOXIC]

11 hours ago, Munkin said:

 

I have personally witnessed bluegill come in and attack the bed of a bass that was just caught off it. Now I don't quit fishing during the spawn but am 100% against purposely targeting a bedding bass. To me its Un sportsman like just to agitate a fish into grabbing a bait to protect its nest. Pennsylvania it is illegal to bed fish.

 

Allen

There is no denying that predation takes place when a fish is pulled off the bed.  On St Clair it’s gills and gobies and rock bass and white perch and yellow perch and, and, and.  I’m not passing judgement on anyone who bed fishes but all those pictures of big smallmouth posted proudly during the spawn are of fish that normally would be a lot harder to catch and were more than likely in some phase of the spawn.  You have to trust the DNR of your particular state to determine if there needs to be a ban on catching spawning fish.  All I know is that when it was studied on St Clair it was determined that the predation that took place was not harmful to the overall spawn.  That’s good for the trophy hunters.  If you have a moral problem with it or your particular state bans it, by all means don’t do it.  

[TriStateBassin106]

My bed fishing strategy is simple. If they're willing to eat it i'll try to catch them. If they put their nose to it or spook off that's a sign they've already been caught before and it's not worth to stress the fish out even further. If all the bedding fish are like that, i'll fish for out of sight cruisers or other bass that may still be in the pre spawn.

 

The nice thing about the spawn as a whole is the bass aren't doing one thing at the same time. You could have post spawn and pre spawn fish on the same lake at the same time. 

21 hours ago, ironbjorn said:

If I happen to see a nice bass on a bed, I'll take some swings at it. I won't stay for long though. I'll either catch it in a reasonable amount of time or I won't. And I move on. I don't specifically waste my time searching for beds. Also, for ME PERSONALLY, stumbling on a nice fish on a bed is one thing, but specifically searching out animals who are breeding and messing with them isn't my cup of tea. 

My thoughts exactly man, couldn't have said it any better. 

[TnRiver46]

Kind of a funny video on the topic 

[TOXIC]

9 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Kind of a funny video on the topic 

He brings up some good points but he glosses over the non tournament fisherman who is more than happy to catch that 2 pound male guarding the eggs or fry and which subsequently allows the predation of the bed and fry.  If that is your issue then there is no denying that happens.  I know that in the studies done by the DNR on Lake St Clair when deciding to open the season to immediate catch and release from a closed season, they found that despite the predation of the beds, the number of fish spawning and the number of beds that will not be found or fished, are so numerous that it does not impact the overall fish population.  Still, I’m not making a judgement call on whether or not fishing during the spawn is ethical but rather relying on science and the experts to give the facts so that I can make an informed decision. 

[tunaman]

Just watched that vid last night and thought about this thread. I would have posted it if it hadn’t already been…

 

If you look at the studies outlining how much of a lake’s population actually get caught each year, logic dictates that any impact is likely minimal or negligible. Adding in the amount of care most anglers take handling and caring for caught fish it is inconceivable (to me) that angling during the spawn is detrimental to a population.

 

i enjoy bed fishing, and have since I first got into bass fishing more years ago than I’d like to admit… it is my favorite. I am fascinated by the whole lifecycle and it is a privilege to get a peek into the process.

[TnRiver46]

I agree, if you catch a fish in November it was going to spawn in spring (or not) no matter what I do, makes absolutely no difference in my mind 

 

fish on peoples 

[gdub17]

I’m in south Louisiana so the water is probably warmer but I prefer to fish along the bank targeting any form of cover or structure in shallow water I can see using the time tested Texas rigged soft plastic of some sort with an 1/8th or even 1/16th ounce bullet weight. I like to fish slow most always . 90 percent of the large mouth I catch are taken on soft plastics. That lure group in by far my favorite 💪Good luck brother