You mean anonymity?
Amenities are the goal in my life. Free Wifi!? I'm in!
Caught one bass on a bed yesterday in 12 feet of water.... super clear water ... on a wacky rigged worm and a tiny DS Hook. I released the fish immediately but noticed it swam away into deeper water never to protect the eggs anymore. I returned 30 minutes later to see that that bed was still unprotected... It’s not like I’m a Tournament fisherman putting the fish in my live well..... Should I stop targeting spawners? Are there studies on the effects of sport fishing during the spawn and future Bass populations? Anyhow me and my buddy caught 6 bass each....... 1 to 3.5 pounders in 15-25 feet of water DS roboworms.... any color as long as its purple.
Last edited by khanhqpham; 04-15-2018 at 06:57 AM.
khanhqpham,
As to bed fishing, (which I don't normally do): A buddy of mine was talking with Quinn Grandfors, the State Biologist in this region, about a Tournament permit for our bass club and happened to ask Quinn about the impacts of bed fishing on bass. Quinn's opinion was it has little or no effect on bass, which I found very surprising. He said bass lay some many eggs and then after the spawn they'll will feed on their own fry, along with all of the other fish in the water.
Last edited by BassinPLS; 04-16-2018 at 08:45 AM.
ive tried to find some bluegill lately and cant find them bass are everywhere. im not so sure castaic is like some underwater footage you see where bluegill are with the bass near them when they spawn like they are kinda forced to on smaller waterways. though i could be dead wrong. i have had small hooks with half worms on them for bluegill if they are around and im still only getting largemouth on plastic worms not anything on real worm lately. also there might not even be eggs in the nest yet. or there is no threat so they can stay deeper and only watch you. idk if you guys go for bluegills though. its crazy in some vids i see people getting lunk bluegill around this time of year but i can never find em at castaic.
Biggest affect on LMB's from a bed perspective in my opinion is the boating crowd. Sorry but I still contend that giving a fish that has been on a bed a ride around the lake till that 5 fish bag limit is caught for the glory picture has way more impact than a bank fisherman that catch and then release after a quick photo.
The bass have been sporadically bedding but not committed, typical it is still fairly early at Silverwood for the spawn and the lows that keep coming thru are not helping. Last year was probably the poorest I've ever seen the amount of bedding fish but last year they lowered the lakes just when the fish were getting real active in shallow.
I was out on the lake Friday and yesterday, I saw some really large schools of blue gills roaming thru Millers Canyon. The recent cold fronts and cool wind have really halted the early bedding bass. Water temps last weekend were nearly 48° in the afternoon, but this weekend was all the way back down to a high of 41°. Most of the fish I caught were staging near the shallow spawning areas but just outside and slightly deeper. Still very cold, so finesse techniques were required for all but a few willing to go after a jerk bait. Good news was all the fish I caught were very healthy and in good shape. That and the lake in general seems alot cleaner than usual. Kudos to all that have taken the time to clean up and maintain the shorelines! We will have to see if folks can keep it this way throughout the summer months. Fingers crossed!
On the topic of to bed fish or not,
I personally feel a bit guilty picking the bedding fish off their spots. I will fish them with spinner baits or square bills, if they bite then so be it. But I am not one to yoyo a bait right on their head. That said, that is just me. From what I have read and heard in discussion, I don't think bed fishing has much effect on the overall outcome of the bass population. The biggest threat on a basses life at Silverwood is from the Striped Bass. The yearlings (most don't make it past the fry stage) get hammered by the packs of Striper roaming the lake. Silverwood just has so many coves that the Striper can corral and destroy anything smaller than them. Save the LMB population of Silverwood, eat Striped bass fish tacos tonight!
I believe Kwin also said that the striped bass population has zero effect on the bass population as well.
I see a pattern here.
Maybe the question we should ask him is what DOES affect the bass spawn in our lakes, because predation, water level fluctuations, lack of forage and over fishing don't. We must have super fish in our lakes.