Females in beds yet?

[Coderson]

Was there last weekend again and most of the fish were starting to bed up. Going to head out on Saturday again and looking for some updated info. Are the females holding shallow yet? Same colors for plastics?

[nolivebait4bass]

Just say no when you want to molest the nest

[bassoholic]

Was there last weekend again and most of the fish were starting to bed up. Going to head out on Saturday again and looking for some updated info. Are the females holding shallow yet? Same colors for plastics?

I'll be shocked if someone gives you some info with this post...........

[Coderson]

Haha I assumed but it never hurts to ask. Not sure what's up with 'Nolivebait4bass' and bringing up sexual acts with fish. Sorry man, not my jam. I find it funny when guys get all touchy about bed fishing when the process of fishing includes slamming a hook into their head and ripping them out of water...sometimes destroying their crusher and killing them (even C.A.R.). Why even leave the house if you're so touchy about it?

[JJT]

The females are extra fat right now coderson perfect time to catch your PB. So just do what everyone else does and fish for them and then lie about it later.

[WastedYears6x6x6]

Whoa Coder, asking for advice? How dare you..

[Brent]

Is snagging your PB off a bed really your personal best?
I don't think so.

Brent

[fish-hound]

I didn't realize that there were stipulations on when, where, and what type of fish you can catch now... so it's wrong to catch bass on beds? Does that mean we all need to stay off the lakes when the bass are on beds? Who cares fishing is still fishing no matter if you catch a bedding bass or not. If I catch a 10 pound bass on a bed I'm gonna brag about it being my best fish and deuces to anyone who says it's not a real catch... point is I put my hook and bait in the water just like anyone else does to catch a fish and if I do then I'm happy.

[gogreeenz4]

The females are extra fat right now coderson perfect time to catch your PB. So just do what everyone else does and fish for them and then lie about it later.



+100

i wonder, do guys that hate bed fishing claim that and say dont fish beds so they have more beds to fish!?! yes there is some ethics to fishing but lets get real we cant control if a bedded momma makes a move on a lure.. you think a huge hook set to the face feels good to them??? i think they would be more mad about that then you fishing there bed .. i dont encourage or discourage bed fishing becuase i dont care what others do firstly secondly i dont want people telling me how to fish so i dont tell them how to.

this is the best time of year to fish for bass and the worst time to be on a forum hahahaha :LOL:

good luck out there coderson

[Pete Marino]

There have been bedfish at DVL for over a month... and there will still be bedfish into late May... they do not all come up at the same time ..

Pete

[seal]

Anybody fishing for LMB's during the bedding period has the potential for catching a fish off from a bed even if he isn't "bed fishing", you don't see all the beds and who know's if the fish you just caught was a bedding bass or not.

The silliness and drama that LMB fishing creates is a great source of entertainment for me.

[HawgZWylde]

Anybody fishing for LMB's during the bedding period has the potential for catching a fish off from a bed even if he isn't "bed fishing", you don't see all the beds and who know's if the fish you just caught was a bedding bass or not.

The silliness and drama that LMB fishing creates is a great source of entertainment for me.

The water turbidity at DVL is very clear right now. Just a couple of weeks ago, it was so clear you could see the bottom 30ft down. It was like they blue stoned the water. Instead of hitting the beds, I hit pre and post spawn spots using reaction baits and have been catching very nice fish. Last Tuesday I had a 25lb bag without a huge kicker. My largest fish was a hair under 7lbs. I personally boated 14 fish without ever touching a bed...

[HawgZWylde]

It's pretty common knowledge that the fishery at DVL is struggling. It seemed last year a good recovery was underway, but this year it seems that the recovery has slowed. How many posts have you seen here where the person is crying about getting skunked and that DVL sucks? Quite a few. I know of some of the best anglers in the business leaving the lake with a big white stripe on their back. Ask the Stripey guys how many 10 fish limits they've caught here lately. Ask the LMB tournament guys about how their bag weights have gone way down. And DFW even reduced the bag limits to 3 fish over the winter to reduce barotrauma deaths. There are indeed several missing generations of fish here.

My partner and I have cruised all over the lake looking for beds, not to fish, but to try to gauge how the spawn is coming along in the normal places and for this time of year they are way down, with some of the best spawning coves of the past having no beds at all. No secret, Rawson's Cove is a widely known spawning area, and while there are beds there, there isn't that many and even on a Tuesday when there aren't that many anglers on the lake, there was at least 5 boats parked back there hammering every bed there. We went back there at the end of the day to check it out only to find nearly all the beds empty and saw 5 dead fish laying on the bottom. That just left all those bed full of eggs unguarded and subjects those eggs and fry to destruction by predators.

Due to the nature of So Cal and the volume of anglers and tournaments on our lakes, puddles compared to lakes elsewhere, puts a huge strain on the fish. The fish are already stressed from spawning and to deal with being caught raises the possibility that the fish will die, or abandon the bed. If this lake is to recover at least to some degree of what it once was, those fish should be left alone to increase the chance of a successful spawn and subsequent hatch. Stripey and the 100ft draw-down did enough damage, why is it too much to ask people to respect the beds in order to get this awesome fishery healthy again? Once it has recovered, hitting the beds is not as much of an issue, but right now, in my opinion, it's best to leave them alone...

[seal]

The water turbidity at DVL is very clear right now. Just a couple of weeks ago, it was so clear you could see the bottom 30ft down. It was like they blue stoned the water. Instead of hitting the beds, I hit pre and post spawn spots using reaction baits and have been catching very nice fish. Last Tuesday I had a 25lb bag without a huge kicker. My largest fish was a hair under 7lbs. I personally boated 14 fish without ever touching a bed...

DVL in the wind even with the clarity of the water I'm sure you would not be able to see all the beds. Only way to avoid the beds would be to fish at a depth that you are certain there are no beds, this would not be an option to a shore fisherman, you are coming from a boaters perspective someone on shore who casts out 30-40 yards and is fishing plastics slowly would not be able to avoid the potential of fish being caught off beds. My point being the only way to eliminate pestering bedding bass is to not fish from shore, shallow or just plain not fish during the months that bass are bedding.

Having said that avoiding intentional pestering of bedding bass is a decision an angler must make, I would never dispute the fact that it could have an impact, in fact probably the worse offenders would be tournament anglers that not only target the beds (hey there's money on the table right?) but take the fish away from their beds for weigh in's.

[HawgZWylde]

DVL in the wind even with the clarity of the water I'm sure you would not be able to see all the beds. Only way to avoid the beds would be to fish at a depth that you are certain there are no beds, this would not be an option to a shore fisherman, you are coming from a boaters perspective someone on shore who casts out 30-40 yards and is fishing plastics slowly would not be able to avoid the potential of fish being caught off beds. My point being the only way to eliminate pestering bedding bass is to not fish from shore, shallow or just plain not fish during the months that bass are bedding.

Having said that avoiding intentional pestering of bedding bass is a decision an angler must make, I would never dispute the fact that it could have an impact, in fact probably the worse offenders would be tournament anglers that not only target the beds (hey there's money on the table right?) but take the fish away from their beds for weigh in's.

You are correct and thanks for pointing that out to me Seal. It's been a long time since I fished from shore and wasn't looking at it from that point of view. But with the limited access for shore-fishing at DVL, I don't think that would have as much of an impact as boaters. However the OP and other posters here are talking about deliberately targeting bed-fish which at this point in time at DVL, I don't think it would be a good idea as far as helping this lake recover...

[DarkShadow]

Stripey and the 100ft draw-down did enough damage, why is it too much to ask people to respect the beds in order to get this awesome fishery healthy again?

Considering the title of this thread, Seal's great point about "money on the table," the fact that around this time of year you have the same question being asked in all the forums, and the fact that at my local tackle store, there were people asking the very same question to the shop owner and employees, the simple answer is, 'no.'

[HawgZWylde]

Considering the title of this thread, Seal's great point about "money on the table," the fact that around this time of year you have the same question being asked in all the forums, and the fact that at my local tackle store, there were people asking the very same question to the shop owner and employees, the simple answer is, 'no.'

Not a smart or wise answer. The DVL fishery is obviously struggling. The answer would be to double the tourney's on other, non affected lakes until the fishery recovers enough to be able to handle them. No money lost. Many tourney guys actually don't like to fish DVL in the first place because they can't put a decent bag limit together. Locals only, you know?

I'm sure you know that some states prohibit bass fishing on some lakes during the spawning period back east...

[WastedYears6x6x6]

So in order to protect these beds the lake needs to close down completely during the spawning months? I am all for the health and well being of the bass but that's not realistic or profitable to the lake. Coderson, JTT and myself all fish from shore where it's impossible to gauge whether we are hitting beds or not. Not to mention we get 1.5 miles out of a 22 mile shoreline to fish. Keeping everyone off the lake is unrealistic. But I think we can all agree that its best to use our discretion and be as respectful as we can by always releasing fish shortly after they're caught, and if you see a bass bed maybe its best if all 4 people on the boat didn't cast to it.

[HawgZWylde]

So in order to protect these beds the lake needs to close down completely during the spawning months? I am all for the health and well being of the bass but that's not realistic or profitable to the lake. Coderson, JTT and myself all fish from shore where it's impossible to gauge whether we are hitting beds or not. Not to mention we get 1.5 miles out of a 22 mile shoreline to fish. Keeping everyone off the lake is unrealistic. But I think we can all agree that its best to use our discretion and be as respectful as we can by always releasing fish shortly after they're caught, and if you see a bass bed maybe its best if all 4 people on the boat didn't cast to it.

No, absolutely not. I just posted that to make a point. I think that's too unrealistic and extreme. I fish the lake (DVL) every week and have done so for years and I wouldn't want to stop now. Besides, I'm chasing the reaction bite in pre and post spawn areas. But I would like to think that anglers would care enough about their fisheries to at least try to keep them healthy. Especially one that's recovering from the devastation caused by the draw-down and overpopulation of the apex predator Morone saxatilis, or Striper if you will. Face it, DVL took a huge hit, Mr. Stripey, along with the LMB's did a good job of eating everything in site, including themselves, while they were condensed into a large "fishbowl". It's not the shore guys I'm concerned with, they only get a little over a couple of miles of shoreline to fish. It's the guys out on the water with the ability to hit every visible bed in the lake that make the difference, at least for now. I agreed with Seal on that one. Perhaps making the backs of certain coves off limits for a couple of months would help until the population recovers sufficiently, that way the tourney guys would still have the rest of the lake to fish for pre and post spawners...

[JJT]

I can agree with closing off coves to protect the bedding fish during spawn as long as its not any of the ones that I shore fish.... Maybe they should stock LMB for a little too while their at it instead of feeding the line sides with trout...

Just saying

[Pete Marino]

I think the fishery is doing just fine... Last week I had my biggest 5 bass limit on DVL ever. My biggest 5 bass weighed 37+ lbs.. YES 37+ lbs. I had one over 9 lb, 2 over 8lbs a 6+lber and one almost 6 lbs. and none of them were bedfish... Im about to post the story on a new thread. My point is...the big bass are there you just need to know where to find them. I was pretty bummmed to find out that the ProAm this weekend was cancelled because Im crushing them right now... At last weekends tournament I fished all day with a broken trolling and still managed almost 19lbs.. And I didnt hit my best spots because of the brokenn troller.. They are there though...trust me!!

Pete

[HawgZWylde]

I can agree with closing off coves to protect the bedding fish during spawn as long as its not any of the ones that I shore fish.... Maybe they should stock LMB for a little too while their at it instead of feeding the line sides with trout...

Just saying

I suggested a share lunker program here like they do Texas once but didn't get much of a response. I agree with putting some more Florida strain and Northerns in the lake. Perhaps more Smallies as well...

[seal]

No, absolutely not. I just posted that to make a point. I think that's too unrealistic and extreme. I fish the lake (DVL) every week and have done so for years and I wouldn't want to stop now. Besides, I'm chasing the reaction bite in pre and post spawn areas. But I would like to think that anglers would care enough about their fisheries to at least try to keep them healthy. Especially one that's recovering from the devastation caused by the draw-down and overpopulation of the apex predator Morone saxatilis, or Striper if you will. Face it, DVL took a huge hit, Mr. Stripey, along with the LMB's did a good job of eating everything in site, including themselves, while they were condensed into a large "fishbowl". It's not the shore guys I'm concerned with, they only get a little over a couple of miles of shoreline to fish. It's the guys out on the water with the ability to hit every visible bed in the lake that make the difference, at least for now. I agreed with Seal on that one. Perhaps making the backs of certain coves off limits for a couple of months would help until the population recovers sufficiently, that way the tourney guys would still have the rest of the lake to fish for pre and post spawners...

Closing off coves (not shore fishing accessed coves) is really a great idea! Everybody knows where the hot bedding spots are so it's easy to determine the best coves to close off, Big Bear Lake came to mind immediately when you mentioned it. They close off the tributaries to protect the spawning fish, same principal.

[HawgZWylde]

I think the fishery is doing just fine... Last week I had my biggest 5 bass limit on DVL ever. My biggest 5 bass weighed 37+ lbs.. YES 37+ lbs. I had one over 9 lb, 2 over 8lbs a 6+lber and one almost 6 lbs. and none of them were bedfish... Im about to post the story on a new thread. My point is...the big bass are there you just need to know where to find them. I was pretty bummmed to find out that the ProAm this weekend was cancelled because Im crushing them right now... At last weekends tournament I fished all day with a broken trolling and still managed almost 19lbs.. And I didnt hit my best spots because of the brokenn troller.. They are there though...trust me!!

Pete

Lol, with all due respect Pete, you are the epitome of who I was speaking about when I said "locals only" to DS. You are a pro, a local, and a guide too boot. You know where those fish are, and to an extent so do I. But you have to admit this lake doesn't fish anywhere near like it did before the draw-down. The average Joe monthly angler isn't going to get bit like back then. But I'm not referring to the big fish, I'm referring to the volume of fish at any given spot.

Congrats for sticking that fat bag Pete, that's awesome! Why did they cancel the ProAm? Did the seal go on the lower unit?

[Pete Marino]

Im not sure closing off some coves during the spawn would do much good... Yeah I guess it would help a little...but they spawn all over the lake at DVL from each dam and every area in between. Castaic closes off a large cove every year but like DVL, the Castaic bass spawn everywhere... Im sure it helps save some spawners from getting caught but its only a small percentage..
I found a 12lber on a bed last week on STEEP rock...I could have taken her the day before the tournament last Friday but I saved her for the tournament. Come tournament day she had backed out because of the cold front that came through in the morning on tournament day... Poiint is...she was one of the top 2 % of the bass in DVL and she was bedded in the most unlikely of areas... As Ive said hundreds of times in the past...its nnot the anglers that are putting a strain on the Bass at DVL...its the Stripers gobbling up one of the main food sources..(SHAD). That being said...Ever bass Ive been catching lately is VERY healthy looking.,..both make and female!!

They cancelled the touranment because lack of participation on the Pro side.

Pete

[USCisbeast22]

I went to DVL yesterday and it was ridiculous..people were taking home stringers full of 2-4 lb LMB, which I'm guessing were off beds. One guy had a stringer with about 12 bass on it, and the smallest one was probably 2 lbs. Somebody needs to do something because soon the LMB population will be way down.

[HawgZWylde]

Closing off coves (not shore fishing accessed coves) is really a great idea! Everybody knows where the hot bedding spots are so it's easy to determine the best coves to close off, Big Bear Lake came to mind immediately when you mentioned it. They close off the tributaries to protect the spawning fish, same principal.

After Kwin confirmed the fact that the LMB population was in fact greatly reduced last year here on this forum, I changed my views on taking bedding bass, at least at this lake at this point in it's recovery. Indeed, Stripey devastated the Shad population, but they didn't stop there either, they ate everything else in site, including boatloads of LMB and their own juveniles. But that was years ago now and DVL has slowly been recovering. Last year I was hard pressed to catch a sick looking LMB. But with that being said, the general spot to spot numbers, and the Shad population are making an excruciatingly slow recovery. I see no reason not to temporarily protect some spawning areas to allow greater numbers of eggs a chance to hatch. Too bad there aren't any Tules back in those coves, they'd be greatly beneficial to fry for protection and forage sources...

[Stormcrow]

I would like to interject a couple of points here. Based on my catches at DVL over the past few months, and those of you who go see my yellow and silver Stratos Evo A LOT there these days, I think I can offer the following:

The fishery is doing just fine. Every male and female I seem to catch, regardless of depth, are FAT and healthy looking with lots of color.
Then number of occupied beds you see at any given time is no real indicator of the quality of the spawing season. The spawn is spread out with waves of fish moving in and out over the course of 3 months. This is especially true in California where we have some drastic temperature changes frequently in the spring time.
Bed fishing is perfectly acceptable. Those males and females, if released properly and quickly after your photo, return to their nest and continue their parenting behavior which is all genetically inscribed. Only when a fish is hurt or overly traumatized may they sometimes NOT return, and even then, they find their way back to the nest if unmolested for a time.
Im not afraid to say I bedfish at all, for every nest you see, there are 50 deeper nests that NOBODY ever finds.


This is a fun time to fish right now. I say everyone go have a blast! Just practice some responsibility and we can all enjoy.:Envious:

[Coderson]

I went to DVL yesterday and it was ridiculous..people were taking home stringers full of 2-4 lb LMB, which I'm guessing were off beds. One guy had a stringer with about 12 bass on it, and the smallest one was probably 2 lbs. Somebody needs to do something because soon the LMB population will be way down.

How to put this politically correct....I really mean no offense. But generally foreign cultured people are catching bass to eat not for sport. It is devastating to see. It should be C.A.R. except for trout. Although who knows if they would even follow that. Again, I mean to offense. It just it what it is.

[bassnet]

I would like to interject a couple of points here. Based on my catches at DVL over the past few months, and those of you who go see my yellow and silver Stratos Evo A LOT there these days, I think I can offer the following:

The fishery is doing just fine. Every male and female I seem to catch, regardless of depth, are FAT and healthy looking with lots of color.
Then number of occupied beds you see at any given time is no real indicator of the quality of the spawing season. The spawn is spread out with waves of fish moving in and out over the course of 3 months. This is especially true in California where we have some drastic temperature changes frequently in the spring time.
Bed fishing is perfectly acceptable. Those males and females, if released properly and quickly after your photo, return to their nest and continue their parenting behavior which is all genetically inscribed. Only when a fish is hurt or overly traumatized may they sometimes NOT return, and even then, they find their way back to the nest if unmolested for a time.
Im not afraid to say I bedfish at all, for every nest you see, there are 50 deeper nests that NOBODY ever finds.


This is a fun time to fish right now. I say everyone go have a blast! Just practice some responsibility and we can all enjoy.:Envious:


Well said-

[USCisbeast22]

How to put this politically correct....I really mean no offense. But generally foreign cultured people are catching bass to eat not for sport. It is devastating to see. It should be C.A.R. except for trout. Although who knows if they would even follow that. Again, I mean to offense. It just it what it is.

Exactly! Although they were not even foreign. I asked them why they were keeping them and they said because they destroy the trout population! How ridiculous!

[pvue]

i agree if the bass on the bed decides to eat ur lure at the bed well its an official catch :)

[JJT]

I would like to interject a couple of points here. Based on my catches at DVL over the past few months, and those of you who go see my yellow and silver Stratos Evo A LOT there these days, I think I can offer the following:

The fishery is doing just fine. Every male and female I seem to catch, regardless of depth, are FAT and healthy looking with lots of color.
Then number of occupied beds you see at any given time is no real indicator of the quality of the spawing season. The spawn is spread out with waves of fish moving in and out over the course of 3 months. This is especially true in California where we have some drastic temperature changes frequently in the spring time.
Bed fishing is perfectly acceptable. Those males and females, if released properly and quickly after your photo, return to their nest and continue their parenting behavior which is all genetically inscribed. Only when a fish is hurt or overly traumatized may they sometimes NOT return, and even then, they find their way back to the nest if unmolested for a time.
Im not afraid to say I bedfish at all, for every nest you see, there are 50 deeper nests that NOBODY ever finds.


This is a fun time to fish right now. I say everyone go have a blast! Just practice some responsibility and we can all enjoy.:Envious:

That's what I'm talking about those are all very good points!

[cutbait]

I prefer you don't fish for them at all!

But if you have to slum it up for a bed fish or two release them quickly please so the can return to guarding the nest!! DON"T BE A "FOREIGNOR" or "BOGART"!!! and keep them!

































Cause in two months when the fry are 2-3 inches long the real fish "stripers" need sumin to eat!!! :LOL:

[Pete Marino]

hahahaha.....

[ben0606]

I prefer you don't fish for them at all!

But if you have to slum it up for a bed fish or two release them quickly please so the can return to guarding the nest!! DON"T BE A "FOREIGNOR" or "BOGART"!!! and keep them!

Cause in two months when the fry are 2-3 inches long the real fish "stripers" need sumin to eat!!! :LOL:

:LOL::EyePop::ROFL::ROFL::ROFL:

[fishinarteest]

Anybody fishing for LMB's during the bedding period has the potential for catching a fish off from a bed even if he isn't "bed fishing", you don't see all the beds and who know's if the fish you just caught was a bedding bass or not.

The silliness and drama that LMB fishing creates is a great source of entertainment for me.

Same here seal. Whenever I get bored, I just read an limb thread lol.

And at cut bait. Lmao

[FishEye]

No, absolutely not. I just posted that to make a point. I think that's too unrealistic and extreme. I fish the lake (DVL) every week and have done so for years and I wouldn't want to stop now. Besides, I'm chasing the reaction bite in pre and post spawn areas. But I would like to think that anglers would care enough about their fisheries to at least try to keep them healthy. Especially one that's recovering from the devastation caused by the draw-down and overpopulation of the apex predator Morone saxatilis, or Striper if you will. Face it, DVL took a huge hit, Mr. Stripey, along with the LMB's did a good job of eating everything in site, including themselves, while they were condensed into a large "fishbowl". It's not the shore guys I'm concerned with, they only get a little over a couple of miles of shoreline to fish. It's the guys out on the water with the ability to hit every visible bed in the lake that make the difference, at least for now. I agreed with Seal on that one. Perhaps making the backs of certain coves off limits for a couple of months would help until the population recovers sufficiently, that way the tourney guys would still have the rest of the lake to fish for pre and post spawners...

So you're absolutely certain that all the LMB you're catching are in pre and post spawn mode? And that none of the fish you catch are about to stage on beds or protecting fry already? Why don't you share with everybody where these pre and post spawn areas are so people will stay away from the beds and still have a good time catching fish at DVL. I'm just a weekend angler that cares about my fishery and wouldn't want to contribute to the decimation of the LMB in DVL. PM me if you want to keep these areas on the down low. Otherwise I'll be forced to fish some coves where there maybe a high percentage of bedding bass.

[sumodnb]

Conservationists have conducted studies that prove only a small percent of eggs laid and an even smaller percent of fry survive the spawn, and that bedfishing has a negligible effect on bass population. Excuse my lack of references but a little google research will bring up said studies. Survival is affected more by bluestoning than bedfishing.

[HawgZWylde]

Conservationists have conducted studies that prove only a small percent of eggs laid and an even smaller percent of fry survive the spawn, and that bedfishing has a negligible effect on bass population. Excuse my lack of references but a little google research will bring up said studies. Survival is affected more by bluestoning than bedfishing.

DVL is not Blue-stoned. Never has been. It has a negligible effect on a healthy and large LMB population. DVL's population was drastically reduced a few years ago due to an over population of Striper and a 100ft draw-down. It's on the mend which is why I suggested not deliberately targeting every bed you see, for now. I never suggested stopping bed fishing altogether, I love sticking a pig off a bed, but just not now, at DVL. That's me, I'd like to see DVL get back to the fishery it once was. We just need the Shad to repopulate and anglers like T/O to keep the Stripey population down...

[dfeivelson]

How to put this politically correct....I really mean no offense. But generally foreign cultured people are catching bass to eat not for sport. It is devastating to see. It should be C.A.R. except for trout. Although who knows if they would even follow that. Again, I mean to offense. It just it what it is.


If you see anyone leaving with a string of bass, kick them in the nuts then punch them in the ******* face, especially if they're foreign :)

[gogreeenz4]

If you see anyone leaving with a string of bass, kick them in the nuts then punch them in the ******* face, especially if they're foreign :)

+1!! :Twisted: