Eat More Bass

[HoosierDon]

"Bass are great table fare, I caught 45 bass in 3 hours on Sunday in the soupy rain and cloudy cover. They will be eaten this weekend when the temps drop a little bit. Caught them all on a Fat Free Shad in Citrus Green color, it definetely was the color, nothing perked them up like that lure did. Caught them in very clear water, and they were very willing to come up and strike it on about the first 3 or 4 cranks."

topwater

Dang, Topwater, that sounds like a confession. I hope you didn't mean that you kept all 45 bass. There is a limit on bass and I don't believe it's 45......just a thought.

As far as Ray Scott is concerned he's just a loudmouthed, egomaniac salesman that came up with a good idea. Then he did his best to kill the goose that layed the golden egg......you guys that eat bass go ahead and eat them and I'll keep releasing the ones that I catch. That should make everyone happy......

[Moose1am]

Light rain and low light conditions can bring the bass to the surface or into shallow water. I guess there is a reason why this occurs. Maybe the lower light levels help them hide and ambush the prey fish easier. Also when the fish are shallow it's easier for the fishermen to reach them. I you eliminate all the water deeper than 8ft you can eliminate a lot of the water.

Congratulations on the fine catch Don. You are going to have to show me how you do that someday! LOL

Where you fishing the Ohio River? And if so was the River falling, rising or pretty stable? I suspect it was falling or stable since you said you were fishing in relatively clear water. That is if you were in the river. Maybe you fished a creek that joins the River?

Don't want you to give the exact area or any secrets out but general information about the River would be appreciated.

I will use it for catching slab crappie. I caught 21 crappie at Blue Grass Fish and Wildlife Otter Pit last week. I now have enough small fillets for a good fish fry with me and my neighbors. Went out to Wal-Mart tonight in the rain and got me some more fish breading. I like that New Orleans Zatarains fish breading mixed in with some flour and Corn Meal Mixture. 1 to 2 ratio. I also add some Cayenne Pepper and Salt to flavor the breading mix. I soak my fillets in a beat up egg and then dip them into a bowl of the breading mixture to coat the fillets good. Then I deep fry them in 170 deg F Peanut Oil
for about 6 minutes or until they are done. They will float when done and the meat is white and firm. Drain them in colander with some paper towels to absorb the excess oil and then put them on Whole Wheat bread and make a sandwich out of them. I like to add some mustard, Miracle Whip Salad Dressing and horse radish to the sandwich to add even more spices. Man I can eat two of these easily and then some. But one will fill most skinny guys up. LOL

Regards,

Moose1am

[crappie66]

I believe he owns these strip pits, he can keep 1000 fish if he wants. I bet his pits produce some very nice quality fish, because of the selective harvesting of the fish.

[Topwater2004]

Don,

It was one of my pits, that has too many bass. You can keep what you want out of your own lake. I kept all bass over 8" long that I caught that day.

The Ray Scott comments on harvesting bass were speaking of smaller lakes and ponds for private management. I just seen him this year with Jimmy Houston talking about the subject.

topwater

[Slowretrieve]

Fortunately, we have excellent conservation officers to manage our waters.

[Viper201]

Its really hard not to say something about the last post concerning the c.o.'s,i'm bitin my tongue really hard on this one!

[Celten]

Oh, go ahead and speak your mind. Everybody else on here seems to. :)

[Moose1am]

Management Policies are set by the Fisheries Biologist who have a bachelor degree in Wildlife Biology or Fisheries Biology to be more exact. That is a four year accredited University degree program. Purdue University has a good program that many but no all the Wildlife Biologist working for the State of IN DNR attended.

A Conservation Officer (CO's)is not usually a Fisheries Biologist but they could be perhaps. The CO's are more the enforcers of the policy set by the Biologist who work hand in hand with the property managers.

The CO's are law enforcement officers that have to go though the Law Enforcement Academy just like a regular city or state policeman does. They are trained in law enforcement operations have have the same arrest powers as a policeman does but they specialize in wildlife enforcement. They do a lot more than just enforce the wildlife and fishing regulations. Not all the CO's have a four year college degree.

Generally the CO's just are out there enforcing the game rules and regulations. They are the guys that check your fishing licence and your catch to make sure that you are not over the limit of keeping short fish. Generally they are very professional and do a good job. Now there will always be some instances where others may not agree with this statement. Those that break the rules and regulations and get caught in the act and have to pay a fine will not generally thing much of the CO that caught them. Other's that get caught breaking the law may learn something positive from the experience.

It does pay to be up on the DNR hunting and fishing regulations before going out in the field.

It also really helps to understand who the fishery biologist go about doing the fish surveys and why they make the policies that they do for each lake in IN. There are going by professional guidelines that other DRN State Biologist also may use.

Maybe you guys should go to www.purdue.ed and look into what it takes to become a fisheries biologist. You might better understand what these guys study before that start working with the Indiana DNR. Better yet take some biology and chemistry classes and then take a few classes in Ichthyology and Limnology and then maybe you will better understand why the rules are made.

Regards,

Moose1am