75 acre lake I fish at where my brother lives has too many bass in it. The lake management company that takes care of it sent out a notice that since folks that live at the lake don't really fish it enough and usually throw everything back that they catch, that it would be better if they would keep some fish or just throw them up on the bank and let the turtles and raccoons have them so the bass population won't start to get stunted in growth. I went out and fished from about 9PM till 3:30AM and caught a bunch.  I released all the fish over 5 pounds and kept 6 of the smaller fish which were just so beautiful and healthy. The lake is spring fed with no pollutants that run into it.  I found that I had much better luck night fishing than day fishing.  Used plastic worms. Lake seems to come alive at night.  Tough during the day.  I felt like a kid again with a stringer of fish. First time in many years I have kept a few to enjoy with my family at a meal and they were so good.

Looks like you had a great time! You will have a great fish fry i'm sure!

It's been a while since I filled a stringer.

Nice job!

Nice! Looks like you had some fun!

Those are going to be so tasty. How many fish was it suggested you needed to remove? I fish a 75 acre pond also and it is FULL of bass. I'm the only one to fish it and it has always been catch n release. I was considering taking a hundred or so and relocate them.

looks amazing,

and those are perfect "eatin size"

good job,

and

good eats my man!!!

Those are going to be so tasty. How many fish was it suggested you needed to remove? I fish a 75 acre pond also and it is FULL of bass. I'm the only one to fish it and it has always been catch n release. I was considering taking a hundred or so and relocate them.

It would be a good idea to check your state law about transporting game fish. You don't want to get into any trouble that might cause your fishing license to be revoked. If you have a private lake to release them in, then maybe no problem. That is a good idea though.

The lake mangement folks do a shock count every so many years and after they analyze the fish population they write up a report. They did not say exactly how many to cull, they just suggested that if the lake objective is a trophy size bass lake then whenever anyone catches a smaller bass in the 1 1/2-2 1/2lb range that they should consider keeping these or throwing them on the bank for the critters to eat.

This lake has been there since the mid 50s and started out with small cabins around it. Now the cabins have been added onto and some newer small homes built...maybe 50 or 60 homes around it. Not a lot of folks fish there. About 12 years ago the bass were very stunted so a management company was hired to get the lake back in good balance. They came in and shocked up a large number of fish, culled out the correct number and gave them away to anyone who wanted them....seems like the residents would take the free fish, but don't want to go to the trouble to actually work to catch them!!. Then they introduced threadfin shad as a baitfish and started to fertilize the lake for correct PH balances and also stocked a Fla. strain of bass. Now the lake is full of beautiful bass and the best thing to do is to now cull out some of the smaller fish.

About 9 years ago a catfish pond that was on the north end of the lake had a dam failure and the catfish in the pond ran down a creek and into the lake. Just the other day the next door neighbor to my brother was going out in his boat and saw a comotion on the water and thought it was an otter thrashing around. Turned out to be a big cat with a 2lb bass stuck in his throat. They got the cat and it weight 48lbs!!! Guy took it home for food. There have been numerous 20 and 30+lb catfish caught there.

It is a great little lake to fish. The Fla. strain of bass after about a 10 year period start to become harder to catch on lures..so the studies have shown, but at night with plastics I have had good luck. If you can find the bass herding up the shad and busting through them, you can throw about anything through the shad and get a bite.

This is the first time in the years that I have fished this lake that I have kept any fish. All were released. It was a little strange at first to take the fish, but after taking into consideration the management test it was better clear to me that in some cases catch and release can actually degrade the fishing over a period of time. Same thing with the deer population. If you don't cull some of them now that there are not enough natural predators they will starve as the population grows and outeats the food source.

Speaking of food source, my brother in law cooked them up and we had a family dinner. They were VERY tasty and he is a salt water only fish eater and I don't think he thought he was going to care much for bass, but when he tasted them he was surprised how good they were.

Good article on smaller lakes for bass growth. Catch and release over a long period of time will stunt the growth of bass. Not a problem on huge lakes.

http://www.americansportfish.com/?option=com_content&task=view&id=51&Itemid=78

Nice stringer!

Every situation is different, but I think Ray Scott's advice is

to "Take them out until you think you have taken too many,

then take out 30% more."

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/selective_harvest_bass.html

8-)

It's a shame it has to be done.... But it's an evil necessity.

I can't help but visualize that scrumptious pile of stacked fillets

Bon Appetit

Roger

I can't help but visualize that scrumptious pile of stacked fillets

Bon Appetit

Roger

Your visualization was indeed my reality!

It's been a while since I've eaten any bass.  Im goin out in a couple of weeks and I just may bring a couple home after reading this...Hope they were all delicious!

Nice stringer

Went back over and fished the lake Sunday night and Monday. Caught 15 or so.  Kept 6 smaller ones in the 1 1/2-2lb range. Released all the larger fish.  Brought them home and my wife made ME cook them as she said the men should cook fish like her Dad did!  8-)  I went online and found the easiest recipe..just some olive oil in the bottom of the pan, some lemon pepper and a few pats of butter on the fish, 375degrees, cook for about 25 minutes or until flakey.  My wife loved them!!  

Catch and release is great for big water, but for smaller lakes, it can be awful for the fish.  Funny thing, this has actually made fishing even more fun to be able to bring a few home and have a meal, know I have done something good for the lake I fish in and saved some money at the grocery store, and last but not least make the "War Department" happy by cooking a meal.  Maybe she will let me go fishing more!!!!!

Never tried any LMB? How does it taste? What could it compare to?

I recently culled some small bass out of a 1 acre pond that is to populated. They were all 1lb or less and boy they tasted so good. Put a little batter on them and fried them up along with fresh okra from the garden (that stuff is awesome fried) and home made maccaroni and cheese... YUM YUM YUM

My father-in-law is making me go out again this Sunday to cull more fish so we can repeat the process.

I have two ponds that I have been instructed to cull due to over-population of bass and bluegill and I'm going to get as many as I can before the weather gets to bad.

It's been a while since I've eaten any bass. Im goin out in a couple of weeks and I just may bring a couple home after reading this...Hope they were all delicious!

If you like fish, you'll love bass!

Realistically though, there are many people like my own brother who do not enjoy the flavor of fish.

George prefers fish that taste like chicken, and I tell him to stick with poultry (he does).

As for me, I don't like fish that tastes like chicken, nor chicken that tastes like fish ;D

The surest way to destroy the natural delicate flavor of freshwater bass is by smothering it in coatings, sauces and seasonings.

Properly prepared, the delicious favor of largemouth and smallmouth bass will rival any $50 fish entr ée

in New York's finest restaurant. To boot, freshwater bass are high in heart-healthy "omega-3 fats".

Roger