Does anyone target smallies this early? Are they still holding pretty deep? Is it wise to try and target these fish yet or would it be hard on them to be caught and released. I’m sick of listening to the walleye guys having all the fun! 
I think I’m going to break down and get out soon.
BomberA,
It’s a little early yet. We need a warming trend to get things started. Even with a trend it’s still slow, a few fish a day at best. Once the ice is gone off Lake Pepin the bite gets very good. 
See Pepin Ice Thickness to keep tabs on the ice thickness.
There are catchable fish year-around but it’s probably best to leave them alone. I’ve concluded that even with warmer water temperatures the need a period of near hibernation as part of their lifecycle. An example is the dam area at Red Wing where there is a reasonable wintering population of smallies. With the nuclear power plant using river water for cooling the water temp stays right around 40 degrees all winter. In the spring and fall, fish in 40-degree water are very catchable. But during the winter they tend to stay deep and are very inactive. When I do catch a fish that has been wintering I frequently see evidence of damage from the pressure change. 
They frequently have their stomach bulging in their mouth or even worse their eyes popped from the pressure change. The question comes up why don’t we see that in the summer? I assume it’s because the fish make frequent changes in depth in the summer but the stay in deep water for long periods of time during the winter.
Another issue near the dams is catch-and-release isn’t always practiced. I simply don’t want to show a lot of people where the fish are so they don’t get filleted. I’m hearing disturbing rumors about a major largemouth harvest going on downstream on pool 4. 
John
Quote:
The question comes up why don’t we see that in the summer? I assume it’s because the fish make frequent changes in depth in the summer but the stay in deep water for long periods of time during the winter.
I have wondered this myself why dont we see this in the summer. My theory is a little different. Fish are cold blooded so as the water cools their system slows down. I was thinking that during the summer when their system is warm and more active they are able to quickly adjust to the pressure change. I have no idea if this is the case but it is what i came up with.
Quote:
Another issue near the dams is catch-and-release isn’t always practiced. I simply don’t want to show a lot of people where the fish are so they don’t get filleted. I’m hearing disturbing rumors about a major largemouth harvest going on downstream on pool 4.
John, you’re not alone… Lake Onalaska (Pool 7) is being HARVESTED this winter. In fact, last weekend, at the Lion’s Fishing Derby, I got to see a 5.5# LGMB hanging on a stringer… declaring VICTORY! I see this as anything BUT a victory. Sincerely, dozens of LGMB over 3#s are no longer swimming.
Is it me, or is the fishing society becoming polarized? Those patrons for the environment (ie Tourney guys practicing safe catch and release – almost obsessively) and those who see it as a tool to stoock there own personal freezer?
What gives? And, what are the long term effects of such a harvest? Do I need not worry? Thoughts?
John,
What does this rumor consist of? Is this some kind of organized fishing or are you just hearing of certain people that countinually are keeping their catches? And if this is a private matter you can pm me or call. That really sparked my interest.
Quote:
In fact, last weekend, at the Lion’s Fishing Derby, I got to see a 5.5# LGMB hanging on a stringer… declaring VICTORY! (… along with other Bass … )What gives? And, what are the long term effects of such a harvest? Do I need not worry? Thoughts?
That wasn’t David Dudly holding that bass was it?
If a kid was holding the bass and was going to get it mounted, then I would have given him/her an atta-boy. If it was anything other than a trophy then I would have felt indifferent about the catch.
I don’t keep many fish but they are managed for some harvesting. Would there be a negative impact if no Bass were harvested?
i think so… you should take some small ones just legal size. the less little bass in the lake the more forage for the big ones. ive seen that on tv where they have their stomachs up into their throat. mostly when they are catching snappers off of oil rigs down south. they claim that you ahve to pop it and then let them go and they will survive. not sure how it will work with smallies but they claim it works with most fish
I’m not tring to start something here, but a fish taken legally, bass or otherwise, that is of legal size can be kept. I, as a devoted bass fisherman, would never kill a 4 pound bass. But if someone does, what is he/she doing wrong?
Tbass
What they are doing is killing the gene pool of a fish that is 5-8 years old. 4lb + fish don’t get that big in just a few years..it takes a while….
Fish that have that growth potential need to be released so that those same Big fish genes will get passed on each spawning year.
Everyone has the right to keep legal fish, but that is my argument as to why NOT to continually keep big fish. I have no problem keeping a trophy, but it’s the people that are popping 4 and 5 lber’s on the ice ALL winter long that do damage….
My friendly .02, not trying to step on toes….. 
Quote:
Quote:
Another issue near the dams is catch-and-release isn’t always practiced. I simply don’t want to show a lot of people where the fish are so they don’t get filleted. I’m hearing disturbing rumors about a major largemouth harvest going on downstream on pool 4.
John, you’re not alone… Lake Onalaska (Pool 7) is being HARVESTED this winter. In fact, last weekend, at the Lion’s Fishing Derby, I got to see a 5.5# LGMB hanging on a stringer… declaring VICTORY!
Is it me, or is the fishing society becoming polarized? Those patrons for the environment (ie Tourney guys practicing safe catch and release – almost obsessively) and those who see it as a tool to stoock there own personal freezer?
What gives? And, what are the long term effects of such a harvest? Do I need not worry? Thoughts?
I think this was a big discussion here last year.
I understand everyones concern about keeping big fish.
However, if it is legal to keep, you can’t get harsh on somebody for doing it.
Now, you can try and influence that person with positive info on why they should return big fish to the water. But until it is law that you can’t keep big fish, then you can’t beat people up for keeping large fish. When they change the law to protect large fish, then you can make comments out of it.
You cannot condemn someone for keeping a 5.5lb bass for a money tournament. Not when there are many, many tournies around the state that are catching 5.5lb bass for money and not all of these fish survive.
My whole problem with the bass circuit is my interpretation. My interpretation is that you can’t kill any bass, because those bass are for me. It is ok to hunt down bass on a tourney, beat them up in a livewell for money, hoping the fish survives. But as soon as somebody wants to eat a bass, all heck breaks loose.
Me, as a muskie nut, want to see the fish returned to the water. Yet, we still impose a top end spectrum for length. The muskie may take 20 years to reach “trophy class”, incomparison to 8 years. As a promoter of CPR’ng muskies, it is my “job” to promote CPR and try to give positive influence on why to return the fish. Not condem people who keep legal fish.
I guess my point is this: It is all or none.
If you want to throw bass in a livewell for a 6 hour boat ride for money, then don’t condem or complain about a guy who wants to throw a bass on a stringer for money, or even a bass on the fry pan for lunch.
If you don’t want the bass thrown on the stringer or in the frypan, then establish tighter regulations on length.
Gary,
Well written…. 
Let me counter on a few things..You mentioned top end spectrum as far as Musky Size goes….I know this may sound odd, but 4 and 5 pound Bass ARE the top end spectrum in the north. granted 6 and 7 pounders are caught, but 4 and 5 pounders are considered top end…Fish that size are just like Muskies over 50″
the only other thing i wanted to comment on is the “getting beat up in the livewell”, I see more guys treating their livewells like 5 star hiltons…I think the MISconception is that we don’t care, but it’s b/c we care that we get in an uproar somtimes….
The key argument here isn’t Catch and Release or Catch and Keep, it is SELECTIVE HARVEST.
Ok, I didn’t want to open a can of worms but I guess I did. The issue of harvest is always controversial, and I don’t have a problem with it most of the time. The issue in the winter is the fish are concentrated in a small area and a population can be hurt by over exploitation. What concern’s me are the groups guy’s that go back day-after-day and haul of a limit. Than they wonder where all of the fish went the rest of the year.
I’m fortunate I get fish a lot. The reality is I probably kill more fish inadvertently than most casual catch and keep fisherman (the family that spend on week a year fishing). I believe I understand the issues and try to do the right things. Blatant over-harvesting an area needs to be addressed.
I see a few posts above are guys on defense asking whats wrong with keeping a few. Nobody said it was wrong. Some people keep some and some people don’t.
As far as the livewells go….For the most part, and there is some exceptions, most livewells work great and I can’t provide the info. but there has been more than a few studies done on that subject which show a less than 5% mortality rate.
Ahhhh, never mind 
It just isn’t worth the breath anymore
Ok, I have a question for the guys that fish pools 7-9, and are constantly worried about what others are doing to the bass. If you remember last years tourneys, the winning bags kept getting bigger and bigger all year, and were vey impressive to me. So, here is my question. If the fish population is being damaged by so many people, why do the weights keep getting better year after year? I am no biologist, but I can conclude this. The harvest of these fish are only improving the habitat for the thousands of remaining bass on the river system. Thinning the population is not hurting the system at all. And there was NOT a large harvest of bass this year on the lake. The main fishing area was not targeted by more than 5 vehicles at any one time the whole ice season. Personally, I think it is a benefit to the lake for people to harvest bass. It is so full of dinks it is unreal.
Winning weights and top 10 weights are different the the full field and total tournament weights. Don’t get me wrong here. I know everybody has the right to eat em up. But this all started from something a little different than the way we’ve swerved here.
Don’t get me wrong at all.
It was the bass dudes that paved the way and taught us what CPR means today.
AND
Obviously I’m against overharvest of any species. The way Riverfan said he is protecting an area by being tightlipped is the perfect way. Nothing wrong with that.
But knifing a fish to eat is just fine, especially when the population can handle it and the laws permit it.
However, if there is that great of a concern of over-harvesting of bass, then I would recommend to push for upper end size limit protection. There is nothing wrong with having an immediate release of all fish under 20 or 21, or even 22″.
Quote:
There is nothing wrong with having an immediate release of all fish under 20 or 21, or even 22″.
Hmmm… did you mean OVER 22″? From my years of fishing for Muskie, the limits were always UNDER 34″ and over 48″ (or more, depending on the lake). For BASS fishing, these slot limits would sure be interesting… weights would be lower and would impact overall strategy for sure. Not sure how it would be enforced.
As for Muskie Tournies that are regualry held on various bodies of water (like the Muskie World Championship up by Boulder Junction each Fall), fish are IMMEDIATE WEIGHED and released… tough to do how BASS tournies are fished.
Interesting idea, though, Gary. 
John basically stated the point that I would have liked to make earlier. There are certain areas on the river that concentrate bass. I have seen it first hand. Overfishing these could hurt the river.
Fishing a tournament a few years ago we fished an area with a high concentration of bass. While we were in there a guy thought he would be cool. He stood up yelled at me “hey, I bet you would like a few of these”. Between him and his 2 buddies, he must of had a dozen 3# smallmouth hanging on a stringer. That is an issue. That should be the issue. I only questioned the fact that 1 person took 1 fish from a well populated part of the river. The 5 pounder will be missed, but not near as much as those smallies. I still think we should be able to harvest a bass legally if we do it within the letter of law.
Tbass
Slop, quit stepping on peoples toes.
I’m out 
I release all of the bass I catch. I just love to hook into a bass even though I mostly fish for walleye. Larger bass are not that good eating anyway. I release most of the walleye I catch. I do keep fish for the table over the course of the year but the majority of what I catch is released immediately. I do not have a problem with people keeping fish to eat and as long as it is legal for them to do so. I know how difficult it is to see somebody put a 20+ inch walleye to the fillet knife. I encourage the people I guide to release the larger fish but some want to keep them and if the law states that they can then there is not much I can do about it. It is much easier since the DNR began the protected slot on pools 12 on down river to have clients release the larger fish.
I feel this way about bass as well. Several years ago I was fishing the powerplant discharge at Lansing and the smallies were on a feeding frenzy. I caught four smallies over 3 Lbs in less than an hour and a half. I was releasing one of the fish when an older fisherman asked what the heck I was doing. He and his wife must have had 7 or 8 smallies on a stringer and there wasn’t one of them under 2-1/2 Lbs. It looked like they had a couple fish in excess of 4 Lbs. There must have been 30 people fishing there that particular day and I was the only one releasing fish. Everybody thought I was the strange one releasing the fish.
Eyehunter
I think the biggest issue is how you fish. Most of the people on this forum fish for sport. For the thrill and privilage to catch these fish. We are all obviosly devoted to our sport. Where some other people only get out twice a year and keep everything they catch. I just don’t think they know anybetter because they aren’t passionate about the sport. On another note I know in many small lakes it is important to harvest some bass out of the lake to insure strong growth patterns for the others. I’ve been to lakes where you catch fifty bass in a day but they are all 10 inches long, skinny, with a big ol head. these fish are malnutritioned due to overpopulation. Does the river have this problem? no. could it eventually? who knows.
The fact is there are a lot of idiots out there. If someone wants to eat a few keeper size bass that’s fine. There are times when the line is crossed however. While ice fishing last month an old timer came over to me and my buddies while we were setting up our tip-ups. He kindly informed us that if we caught any bass and didn’t want them he would take them. He then said, “I catch and release into a hot pan of grease!” Later my friends walked over to this guys truck to talk with him. He said he had caught a bass and that it “might be to big to eat, but I’m gonna try anyway.” My friends looked in his bucket and saw the biggest bass of their life. Easily over six pounds with a mouth big enough that my buddy stuck his fist in it without touching the sides. My friends didn’t tell me about the fish until the guy left because they knew how mad I’d be. Law or no law, there is never a valid reason to take the knife to a fish like that. If you do, you might as well go fillet a 50 pound muskie and 12 pound walleye while you’re at it.
Luckaly your average fishermen is not going to catch these big fish on a regular basis. Most of the people who keep these fish are just casual fishermen that stumble apon these fish. I agree that there are some fairly knowlwedeable people that over harvest, but most people you see wll probably only catch a few of these fish in there lifetime. Know if Mr. James Holst starts keeping his limit of big eyes on pool 4 we have something to worry about. Otherwise I don’t think these people take enough fish out to hurt anything.
The keeping trophies debate is actually somewhat amusing to me because it’s the exact opposite of the perennial debate in whitetail deer hunting.
Most tournament C&R guys are begging people to keep all the shorts they can catch and leave the big girls.
Most trophy hunters are begging people to shoot only the old, big bucks and leave the little ones to grow up and become big.
Anybody else see the irony in all this? ( :
Andy
yes, i have thought about this before, but its more a matter of numbers i think. there are alot more fish yes, but the biggest fish are usually females and the bigger fish produce more eggs, thus far more fish. the big bucks, all they do is go downhill after so long say 5 or 6 years. plus there are alot less deer in numbers than fish. if you kill the small deer, more than likely you will shoot a few does in the process. if you are just hunting for that one big buck, well with the exception of eab you are usually just a big buck hunter and usually take that one animal that is going down hill. it takes a long time for a smallie around here to reach 5 pounds. i think iheard like somewhere between 10-12 years. maybe longer maybe shorter. little fish also eat alot of forage. but i dunno why they want to get rid of them becasue i think there is plenty of forage to go arund. talk to a bioligist they defnitally know more than i do. im just guessing.
Let them all go I say.
My kids want to be able to catch fish, too! 
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
