long pt. bass and eggs

Blastr

Well-Known Member
Site Sponsor
lots of bass in the inner bay now. fish were caught everywhere. each fish I cleaned had eggs still in them. Would have liked to have seen the opener on the last saturday of june to give the fish a chance to get the spawn done and over with. just saying. Did really well on worms and leeches drifting.

Blastr
 
I agree also with you Blastr,unfortunately,it has never changed that I know of,that a June with 5 Saturday`s in it,it always still stays the 4th Saturday in June,for Opening Bass Season.I am looking forward to getting out soon,for my first Bass Bite of this Season.:)
 
Ironically - of our 2 man ticket, I only found 2 with eggs still......HOWEVER, no doubt - I would support the last Saturday in June versus the 4th.
 
I recall when it used to be on Canada Day, at least in some zones. I was afraid with this delayed spring, the bass might be sitting ducks. I'm always glad to see that everyone on this site practices good conservation for all sport fishing and encourages others to do so.
 
lots of bass in the inner bay now. fish were caught everywhere. each fish I cleaned had eggs still in them. Would have liked to have seen the opener on the last saturday of june to give the fish a chance to get the spawn done and over with. just saying. Did really well on worms and leeches drifting.

Blastr
Why not just practice C&R and eat perch instead?
The amount of bass killed on opener in Long Point makes me queasy. It has to be the single biggest bass slaughter in Canada. You are well within your rights to keep them, but just remember that the reason bass fishing is as good as it has been in the last 20 Years is because of people that have taken up the cause and promoted C&R, not because of government limits and seasons.
 
Good point 'Bucketsoff'. The other point to be made is ,depending on the weather, that early openers usually produce good catches since the bass are protecting their eggs from other fish. They are drawn off their 'beds' chasing trolling baits as well . This puts extra pressure on the hatch. Responsible 'c&r' and 'last saturday in june openers' helps the future years population.
 
last sat. in June would makes things a lot simplifier for all . Even better for the fish. we threw back the bigger spawners and only kept the smaller ones to eat. better eating anyways. I agree with Bucketsoff, time to catch perch again.

Blastr
 
We only found eggs in 3 of our catch on Opening Day . I do think C&R is a great thing to do but I believe that the Inner Bay Sanctuary that is in place from May 15th to 4th Saturday in June is the reason there is such a good bass fishery in Long Point Bay.
 
We only found eggs in 3 of our catch on Opening Day . I do think C&R is a great thing to do but I believe that the Inner Bay Sanctuary that is in place from May 15th to 4th Saturday in June is the reason there is such a good bass fishery in Long Point Bay.
Not just the bay, but likely the entire eastern basin! This little gem we have supports a large population of Erie's spawners, as you can see by the seasonal summer migration from bay, to Bluff/Normandale, Dover, Nanticoke and eventually Crystal Beach in the fall. Some resident fish stay on deeper structure nearby, but I firmly believe that a lot of the smallmouth make a long journey to get there.
I know that pulling bedding bass away can put pressure on the eggs, or fry if the male is protecting. I don't believe that bass will chase a trolled bait a long way away from the bed, if you've ever watched them shoo gills away it's a quick chase and circle back to the spot. They will hit a bait that they feel is an inruder that gets too close or wont leave. But every fish removed from the population not only likely guarantees failure of spawn that year, but for the rest of it's potential life. Even we made a bit of a blunder and started putting fish in the well for pictures. When we got to the 4th or 5th big smallie, we looked at eachother and said "what the heck are we doing?". The excitement gets the better of most of us.
I have fished openers in a lot of places, and sometimes LP just makes me shake my head. 90% of the people out there won't see the water the rest of the year. They put 6 people in their boat and kill 36 fish. I know most of the bass fisherman value the sport and are out there with not only today, but the rest of the season and the future of the population in mind.
 
Last Saturday in June is the fourth Saturday just thus year there are 5 the fishing that was done and the fish that was taken will do absolutely nothing to the population come on guys quit crying and enjoy this awesome fishery u are talking about one day of the year Sunday there might have been 100 boats out
 
Outa the 18 we caught only 2 had eggs.We caught 3 nice size bass 1 was around 5lb and the other 2 around 4 they went back in the water.
 
I believe fishing is for anyone with a valid fishing license. They can fish one day or every day of the year, and if they decide to catch their limit kill them and eat them that is their legal choice. Our group on Sunday caught over 60 smallmouth bass , only kept 14 that were hurt. Shaking my head up and down.
 
I believe fishing is for anyone with a valid fishing license. They can fish one day or every day of the year, and if they decide to catch their limit kill them and eat them that is their legal choice. Our group on Sunday caught over 60 smallmouth bass , only kept 14 that were hurt. Shaking my head up and down.
No one is arguing and in fact you are just repeating whats already been said.
The point is that C&R has been a grass roots movement, and a wildly successful one at that. Its' effect on the fishing world has been profound, and only because people took it upon themselves to do more than the minimum, more than the law requires. It's easy to say, "I'm allowed to keep my limit" and you are within your legal right. But the populations of fish we have today are in large part due to people letting them swim to fight another day.
 
Have fished the bay for 50+ years. Some years the fish had some eggs in them.
This year most were spawned out.
I agree 100% with catch and release,but there seems to be a lot of feed for a lot of fat fish. I don't see how keeping a few now and then will hurt this amazing fishery.
The fishing now is the best ever and not due to to just catch and release.
I also seem to recall articles that say if you take bass off the nest and return them by the time they get back(if they do) the fry are already "toast". So I don't think catch and release has much benefit to the fry.
I would suggest stay away from the beds if one is really concerned. A lot of bass are caught off the beds in advance of the opening by perch fisherman.
I stay away from those areas and do practice catch and release .
 
Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Advertising is what keeps Channel 6-8 on the air. To this end, please take a moment to disable your AdBlocker. If you would prefer an ad-free experience, but would still like to help support site operations, please consider making a donation.

I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks