I was working on my May challenge yesterday (results posted) and got this sickly looking thing.  This is the skinniest bass I've ever seen.  It went probably 14" but I bet it didn't weigh even 1 lb.  I actually felt sorry for it.  It thought it was getting a nice meal, first in a while it seems.  But all he got was my treble hook in the jaw.

:o :o

Ouch!  That's a skinny fish.  Do you have any other fish that skinny in the area you fish?  It may be some sort of disease affecting the fish in your lake.  If not, it may just be the fish.

Truthfully i woulda thrown him on the shore :'( and seen if any more his length were like that .If u found anymore it wouldn't be so bad it would show lack of food but if it was just one could be a disease

Definitely hate to see that happening with the fish supply :-[.

I caught one other and lost two more.  None of them had this problem.  Probably just that one fish.

I'm surprised that thing was still alive! I have seen very skinny bass in lakes where there is very little food due to water shortage but that fish tops them all. Must be sicks but if he took the bait it might be recuperating.

I caught the sick bass today , this one was so skinny his eyes were sunk in his head, I catch them like this quite commonly in the lake here , they are overpopulated

this is an outstanding case for keeping bass.

This lake needs to be culled - badly.

I would keep a limit of small bass I caught every trip.  I would also call state F&W.  That bass definitly did not look healthy.  They may know about the conditions on this lake, but it's important for us to inform them.

I wouldn't eat it, never eat a fish that you aren't sure is 100% healthy.

It was hard to tell but it did look like the bass had a bigger head to body ratio than normal.

This is a sure sign of "stunted" overpopulated bass.

I would move quickly with that call to fish and wildlife.

Bass in a weakened state are subject to parasites and other diseases that could wipe out the enitre population.

Interesting side note.   On Long Island is an 11 acre pond called Khaler's pond.

It happens to be the lake where David Romeo got himself in the Guinness book of world records for most bass caught in a season.  This is kinda a joke among L.I. bassers, but that's a story for another day.

I lived close to Khalers pond and often wade fished it.  It was LOADED with small bass (and some good ones who no doubt ate the little ones)

Anyway, I would sometimes go with a flyrod and just pick em off by the dozens.

Then the bass disappeared.

I called the state but they were unaware and I don't think they believed me, but I'm telling you I couldn't get a bass and no one else could either.

I called the state again and they had additional reports and so were going to check it out.  

By that time I was moving and so never followed up

My point is this.  A pond or lake can be so overpopulated with small bass that it can actually backfire and destroy the entire fishery.

Yeah I may contact them , there are no bait fish for the bass , I cannot catch a shiner or even a bluegill , there is no real structure for baitfish to hide in either just a little bit of grass along the banks and the bass cruise the banks like schools of redfish hunting the few small minnows there are.

I do catch some healthy bass but for the most part they are thin , I keep some of the 2 or 3 pounders to eat was well. Its not a big lake only just over 20 acres , Maybe the state could recommend or stock some kind of baitfish in it

I have noticed an otter swimming around lately . I am sure he will help with the overpopulation as well. I wonder if the otters eat the big bass out of a lake or mostly smaller ones?

I have noticed an otter swimming around lately . I am sure he will help with the overpopulation as well. I wonder if the otters eat the big bass out of a lake or mostly smaller ones?

Otters prefer smaller bass, whereas alligators prefer big bass. Regardless, none of these predators are any cause for concern.

Predators maintain the balance of nature, and they perform this vital service far better than man.

True Story

I was in a hobby shop looking over their birdhouses and nesting boxes. The proprietor explained to me how important it is

to have a colony of purple martens. He explained, that when you have martens you'll be able to enjoy your backyard in the evening,

because the martens will eat up all the mosquitos! He looked a little puzzled when I asked him, "So what do the martens eat?"

Roger

Otters prefer smaller bass, whereas alligators prefer big bass. Regardless, none of these predators are any cause for concern.

Predators maintain the balance of nature, and they perform this vital service far better than man.  

Hey Roger,

My personal experinece supports what you say, but I know others will disagree.

Otters score so high on the "fun to watch" meter that I would feel lucky to have some in my lake.

Gators, well this is Florida.  Gators are part of the outdoor experience here. They are just a fact of life.

But other predatory species, specifically Cormorants and Anhingas can decimate fish populations.

I recall a similar post sometime ago.  I am basically "pro bird" and said so.

The responses I got with links to newspaper and F&G reports was a real eye opener.

One thing we sometimes forget is that many predatory species have been exterminated in alot of areas.  That means the species that survive, including other predators do not have a natural check to their population growth.

the most dramatic example of this I saw were links to lakes where the cormorant population exploded.  The birds were feeding on smallmouth bass and thier impact was severe.  

I guess the moral of the story is "It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature" but when we do the consequences have to be dealt with as well.

Up here in Maryland 99% of the ponds i  fish have one big snapping turtle <ya the turtles eat right many 1 and 2 pound bass but if not for them  the ponds i fish would be overpopulated they are really the only predator in the ponds around here they also keep the bluegill in check .mother nature has the best plan  8-)

Hey Roger,

My personal experinece supports what you say, but I know others will disagree.

Otters score so high on the "fun to watch" meter that I would feel lucky to have some in my lake. Gators, well this is Florida.

Gators are part of the outdoor experience here. They are just a fact of life.

On our wharf Avid, I seen at otter about two weeks ago. I watched this beautiful creature as he surfaced and dived

while making his way leisurely down the canal. During that brief moment I felt so privileged, my whole world just stood still!

In the same spot about 1/2 year earlier, I was fishing off the wharf in our canal. One of the residents walked up to me and asked,

"Have you seen any alligators?" I thought to myself, Uh oh, here we go again, someone who loves Florida, but is afraid of Gators.

This was right around the time when some nude bonehead, high on crack was attacked by an alligator "after dark" in Lake Parker.

So happens there were two young alligators in the canal at that time. On several occasions I had to burn the lure,

not to hook one of the little fellows. Of course, I didn't rat on those tiny gators, for fear that he'd call Animal Control.

Don, there's quite a heavy population of cormorants and anhingas on our lake, but I welcome their presence.

I look at the situation much like income tax. The surest way to avoid taxes is not to make money, therefore

the more taxes I pay the better I'm doing. Very large and very deep fish are pretty safe from piscivorous birds.

But once the fish-eating birds have heavily pruned the population of catchable fish, they have no choice but to move on.

So as long as I continue to see fish-eating birds, I feel assured that the fish population is healthy and providing sustenance.

By the same token, I believe that the sight of purple martens, tells us that mosquitos are prevalent, rather than absent.

Roger

I think I will start keeping them if I can catch some that look healthy enough to eat , I am kinda in a dilemma though .If I keep the healthy one's and release the sickly ones it seems to be the opposite of what should be done. I just cannot bring myself to eat the skinny bass .  I dont really want to put the skinny bass in a bucket and take to another lake in case they are sick. And I dont wanna just kill them although it might put them out of their misery. Any suggestions?

here are a couple from this afternoon

This poor guy has been caught before his lip is about ripped off

Any suggestions?

To my mind, the best plan of action would be to find another body of water to fish, and believe me, I'm not trying to be a smart alec.

It's pretty obvious that this lake's natural balance is broke, and overpopulation is only one cause of starvation, there are others.

Roger

Well its just kinda handy to fish its about 100 yards out my back door and I dont have a boat to travel to the big lakes here . There are some big bass in it and I understand my chances are less catching a lunker here than in other places . I would like to get it straightened around if possible.