Bass still on the beds for opener?

[akaShag]

A buddy of mine was out a few days ago on a local lake, looking for some walleye.  He was saying (and I believe him) that the bass were just spawning. 

It is an early season opener, in fact the earliest possible date for a third Saturday in June, and it is a VERY late spring here in the Kingston area.  I do not intend to fish this weekend, but I am guessing that a lot of folks will be pulling bass off their beds.  Will it be a massacre?

I'm all for opening up new fishing opportunities, but sometimes the biologists have to get out of their offices and raise hell when conservation is at stake.

JMOYMV

Doug

[BillM]

I won't be fishing them if they're on beds, but you know some guys will do whatever they can for those double fisted Facebook and Instagram hero shots.

[akaShag]

7 minutes ago, BillM said:

I won't be fishing them if they're on beds, but you know some guys will do whatever they can for those double fisted Facebook and Instagram hero shots.

yes and that is what worries me sick...............?

[Canuck]

Bumper crop of gobies next year i expect with bass pulled off the nests.  Lots of bass egg fodder. 

[singingdog]

It's not the first time this has happened, and bass are somehow not extinct.

[porkpie]

They’re bass.  There are plenty of them, they’re prolific and durable creatures.  I don’t really spend much time fishing for them, but I can say with some certainty that they will be just fine!  If they didn’t hold tournaments for them, people would just consider them big sunfish.

[akaShag]

1 hour ago, singingdog said:

It's not the first time this has happened, and bass are somehow not extinct.

People said this about the cod on the Grand Banks, the West Coast salmon, moose here in Ontario, caribou in northern Quebec/Labrador, etc.  For that matter a decade ago Ontario's biologists allowed up to six deer tags per hunter, and did not turn off the taps when the numbers started to crash.  We had two bad winters in a row, and the deer, at least here in Southeastern Ontario, are only now getting back to a normal population.  We humans are pretty effective harvesters of fish and game.........and when we KNOW that something is a poor practice conservation-wise, even if it is legal, we should try to help out the species when we can.

 

Just sayin'...........

[jimmer]

The first mistake was changing the opening to a week earlier a few years back. Maybe the crappy weather will provide some relief. However, bass seem to be resilient to the pressure for now. I also understand akaShag's point of view. No resource is endless.

[singingdog]

Some of the most prolific bass fisheries in North America are open year-round. Bedding bass are not near as easy to catch as folks think they are. 

[captpierre]

Was catching tons of incidental bass accidentally for 2 wks after walleye opener. Including a PB smallie. Was thinking then they were spawning and on nests. Have caught very few lately. Hopefully they’re done now. 

[BillM]

1 hour ago, singingdog said:

Some of the most prolific bass fisheries in North America are open year-round. Bedding bass are not near as easy to catch as folks think they are. 

I haven't found an easier fish to catch then a bedding/nesting bass.   

[Blue Lk]

I wish somebody would catch the jerk nesting under my dock.Everytime I try to do a little dock leveling he attacks,& also goes after the dogs if they wade in for a drink.

Only a bump on the legs but scares the crap out of us every time?

[msp]

2 hours ago, singingdog said:

Some of the most prolific bass fisheries in North America are open year-round. Bedding bass are not near as easy to catch as folks think they are. 

Very true however, many of the US lakes are stocked like crazy

[Sinker]

4 hours ago, msp said:

Very true however, many of the US lakes are stocked like crazy

Northern ontario is open all year and they are a pest up there. Tons of bass. 

I'm just waiting for all the bass prostaffers to leave the musky and walleye alone so I can fish them in peace. lol 

 

S. 

[BillM]

14 hours ago, Sinker said:

Northern ontario is open all year and they are a pest up there. Tons of bass. 

I'm just waiting for all the bass prostaffers to leave the musky and walleye alone so I can fish them in peace. lol 

 

S. 

I've never seen bass fishing like I have in NW Ontario, just ridiculous.  Locals hate them.   

[dave524]

3 hours ago, BillM said:

I've never seen bass fishing like I have in NW Ontario, just ridiculous.  Locals hate them.   

Seen a few spec lakes in Haliburton get smallies introduced,  maybe accidentally or more likely by some  intentioned  a__hole, they were never were the same afterwards. I like smallies too, but.

Edited June 15, 2019 by dave524

[BillM]

45 minutes ago, dave524 said:

Seen a few spec lakes in Haliburton get smallies introduced,  maybe accidentally or more likely by some  intentioned  a__hole, they were never were the same afterwards. I like smallies too, but.

Yeah, I remember Opeongo in Algonquin before it ever had smallies in it, lol.

Edited June 15, 2019 by BillM

[porkpie]

When did opeongo not have smallies?

Edited June 15, 2019 by porkpie

[pics]

One bad year class shouldn't affect the population too much.. happens with most species..

[BillM]

4 minutes ago, porkpie said:

When did opeongo not have smallies?

Never caught/saw/heard of a smallmouth being caught when I was a kid.   So almost 40 years ago?  

[grimsbylander]

Whether someone decides to target spawning bass or not is a personal decision and if it's done during the open season, not a legal issue. Getting sick over it?? Please. The damage to spawning fish/fry caused by severely fluctuating water levels, shoreline construction, pollution, or cormorants, are vastly worst for bass vs catch and release of a bedding bass. Personally, I avoid them if possible. The funny thing is, people think by fishing out in deeper water and not sight fishing, they're good Samaritans. Truth is, in clear water, smallies spawn out in as much as 25' of water...and at that depth they usually spawn later than shallow fish. So while the deep guy is throwing tubes and judging the shallow fisherman's ethics, there's a really good chance he's sticking active fish and bring them a lot further off the bed. Just saying...people are quick to judge based on what they think they know. Then go happily off to the river in the spring and catch bedding rainbows and milk them for bait because, well, they're ok with that. lol Because of the late spring and cooler water temps, If you're concerned about catching a spawning bass this year, better leave the rods in the garage until mid July. ?

Edited June 15, 2019 by grimsbylander
proof read, THEN post..lol

[dave524]

Check the exceptions to zone 19 regulations for Port Colborne,  been this way since I was a kid, over 60 years. July 15th opener keep everyone happy??

https://files.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/fishing/2017/2017_FMZ_19_English.pdf

Edited June 15, 2019 by dave524

[misfish]

2 hours ago, grimsbylander said:

The damage to spawning fish/fry caused by severely fluctuating water levels, shoreline construction, pollution, or cormorants, are vastly worst for bass vs catch and release of a bedding bass.

You forgot the ripping around seadoos. I watched 3 of them last weekend ripping around over an area I know the smallies spawn.  They don't have a clue.

[Weeds]

Well, read this thread and was almost worried it might be like shooting fish in a barrel but squeezed in an hour this morning shore fishing the Otonobee river. Bass weren’t biting, none caught or seen. Mosquitoes were much more obliging and showed up in droves.

[AKRISONER]

Live update from the kawarthas

the bass are not on beds and the fishing is tough. Bites are around but you gotta work for them, they sure as hell aren’t up shallow enough to see.