Smallies: to bed fish or not to bed fish?

Fished last weekend and had typical results for late June: a mix of healthy, fat fish that looked like they did not spawn at all and then some post-spawners with beat-up fins and mangled mouths that looked as though they had worn multiple tube jigs during the past few weeks. I’m no angel; I took a couple fish off beds this year, but I mostly focus on non-spawning reef fish during the spring. I’m wondering that as ML bed fishing becomes increasingly popular, are we risking future populations for the momentary gain of yanking a fish off a bed? And why does the DNR delay the bass opener to “protect” the fish when for most of the state, bass don’t even spawn until and after the opener? Thoughts from fellow bassers?

what depths to smallies spawn at? I assume on rocky substrates? Is it safe to assume that on a Canadian shield lake a couple hours north of the border that the spawn has yet to happen?

The smallie spawn has always baffled me. I’ve been making a special trip to the BWCA for years to fish for bedded bass. I always read the last week of May or first week of June should be the best, yet whenever I took trips then they never panned out.

So, I started going later and what I have discovered is one year they will be there and hot, and the next year they are deeper and there is no indication of any beds being fanned out in the shallows. I’ve watched the water temps to try and make sense of it, but not even that holds fast and true. Could it be they don’t always spawn shallow and the beds aren’t visible?? I guess I’m stumped how the water can be in the high 60’s yet there is no evidence of any beds. This last trip I just got back from the bass were all in about 16′ of water mixed in with the walleyes. There was the occasional one caught in shallow, but not many.

As for the ethical end of fishing for them on their beds, we fish for panfish during the spawn, we can fish for cats and sturgeon during their spawn, so is a bass any more worthy of additional “supposed” protection. I don’t know.

You are absolutely right, Joe – that’s why I find it bewildering that the DNR closes bass fishing during the pre-spawn stage, but then opens the season when many fish are on beds and most vulnerable. I’ve been on some clear lakes in WI where boats practically line-up to take turns fishing the same 5lb fish in well-known spawning flats. Fishing on a couple lakes has gone from outstanding to poor in the past 15 years. Is it all because of bed fishing? I dunno, but it can’t be helpful for fish to be jerked off a bed 5x on a Saturday. I know Al Lindner preaches “abstinence” when smallies are doing their thing, but the DNR is obviosuly not too concerned.

2 things: I read a study in In-Fisherman a few years back that claimed that in many Ontario lakes, only about 1/3 of the smallies spawn each year.

Unstable spring weather can really mess with spawning activity. this year had a later spawn. I’ve seen fish on beds in July on years with cold, rainy springs.

I hear you on fishing for different species during their spawn. On the flip side, the MN DNR closes trout fishing at the end of Sept so browns can spawn undisturbed in October-Nov. And only one race of mankind can legally fish walleye during their spawning cycle in MN. Out West, the unwritten rule is to stay away from trout on redds. It all varies so much – probably depends on the state of the fishery.

I have this same issue with West Okoboji in NW Iowa. You can easily see some big fish bedded up on rock/gravel flats. I caught a couple then decided it’s just not very sporting nor sportsmen like. No different than targeting spawning walleye…

No brainer for me… I don’t sight fish bedding bass. That fish is not going anywhere and to me there is absolutely no sport in lobbing a bait on her until she grabs it…In the clear northern lakes its pretty hard not to see them.

Last May I saw a “guide” up on Chequamegon Bay(and his clients) pitching a crawler below a small bobber over spawning Smallies…How many of those swallowed that hook?

You make another good point…I routinely flatten the barbs on my tube jigs because novices will not feel a bass pick up the tube right away. Removing barbless hooks does a LOT less damage to the fish.

Where fishing bedding bass is legal, so be it…but I am “old school” I guess.

It takes about 20 years for a bass to reach 4 lbs up here and to me, we should allow them to spawn naturally and unmolested.

As for Bluegills…Biuegills are much more prolific than bass…as are Cats… Bluegills grow faster, are underfished everywhere and are not Gamefish either.

Do you really see fishing bedding bass as a challenge?

Tom, I agree with you – it’s no challenge. It takes no special skill to drop a leech and bobber over a bed. There’s usually fish biting off the beds from opener through June. Grab some grubs and Flukes and have fun with active fish while the bedding fish do their thing.

Good point on pinching the barbs – and we should do it all summer. Anyone who fishes Senkos/Dingers gut-hooks smallies on occasion. I’ve made releases easier and dramatically cut back on bleeders by pinching the barb and using Fireline & fluro to detect bites more quickly. Knock on wood, but I don’t recall ever having a fish come unbuttoned while using a barbless Gammy.

I don’t fish them for the challenge; I fish them for the thrill. If I wanted a challenge I’d toss out all my electronics. There is no closed season for walleye on Pool 4 yet I see a post from guys that are against fishing for spawning bass plan their week at Everts every year during the walleye spawn…complete with reports and pictures. What gives? One fish better than another or what?

I was only asking to get general location to catch some bass on canadian shield lake this year in the coming week. what depths and structure and lures to you experts propose? I hardly ever fish them and want to try my hand at some while in Canada.

thanks

Joe,

I suspect that most fish will be off the beds next week and you might find yourself experiencing a post-spawn funk while they recover. I’d guess you’d still find some fish in shallow spawning bays/main-lake flats, but most fish are probably moving to deeper drops or off-shore reefs. Try slowly swimming grubs, drag 4″ worms and drop Senkos around rocks. Try topwaters over shallower reefs and rocky shorelines at dusk and dawn.

Seems like a solution in search of a problem.

I think for the size of the lake Mille Lacs smallies don’t see anywhere close to enough fishing pressure for the spawn to be effected by bed fishing. There is just a ton of water where smallies can and do spawn on Mille Lacs.

As for MN bass opener being about protecting spawning fish. I think that is just a justification they throw at the wall and hope sticks.

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I don’t fish them for the challenge; I fish them for the thrill. If I wanted a challenge I’d toss out all my electronics. There is no closed season for walleye on Pool 4 yet I see a post from guys that are against fishing for spawning bass plan their week at Everts every year during the walleye spawn…complete with reports and pictures. What gives? One fish better than another or what?

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1)the spawning (rip rap) area up by the P-4 Dam if closed to fishing until well after the normal spawning period…to protect the spawning Walleye/Sauger

2) We are not sight fishing walleyes in the spring in shallow water on stationary beds they will not leave until they are done.

No, we are just fishing in fast moving, turbid water with 2′ of visibility. If we catch a spawner it is a lot of luck… Its not like feeding bait to them like goldfish in a bowl?

I also fish bass and walleye for the thrill(although I like to eat walleye occassionally)…but I leave you with this thought…
If the all the bedded bass took off as soon as you cast to
them and never returned…would you still spend a lot of time fishing that way? I think being able to SEE that bass
on her bed, knowing that she is LIKELY to attack anything that jepordizes her young fry/eggs makes it a LOT easier for us than seeing some hooks on a screen and casting a bait in the vicinity. JMHO

“When did Noah build the Ark, Glady? Before the rain.”

Gord Pyzer, a fishing pro and guide who recently
retired from a position as fishery manager for the
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, believes anglers
in northern states and Canada should never
target bedding smallmouths. “Once they set up on
nests, it’s simply not a good idea to fish for them,” he
says.“The impact of angling, even on a catch-andrelease
basis, for nesting bass can be devastating in
the North” Pyzer says. In more southerly locations,
the often long spring spawning period is considered
by many anglers to be the best time to fish. The
spawn is protracted and the fish are less vulnerable.
Also, waterways tend to be murkier, helping to hide
bedding fish.
Researchers [including Dr. Mark Ridgeway] selected
lakes and rivers in southeastern Ontario near
the New York border where the
bass season is closed in spring,
but the season for other species is
open. They wanted to assess the
impact of preseason catch-andrelease
angling on the reproductive
success of largemouth and
smallmouth bass.
“In one of the lakes (Lake
Opinicon) as many as 63% of the
anglers on the water were observed targeting nesting
bass under the guise of fishing for other species,”
Ridgeway says. “When the researchers went under
water to count the number of bass with visible hook
wounds, they found in the most heavily targeted lake
that nearly 100 % of the nesting males had been
caught and released. If the bass season had been
open, every nesting male could have been killed.”
“Fishing for smallmouths on the beds is a bad
idea up here. I don’t know of any serious biologist
working with smallmouth bass in the northern tier of
states or provinces that would recommend fishing for
bedding smallmouth bass.”

http://www.wisconsinsmallmouth.com/Newsletters/0805.pdf