Eat More Bass

[Slowretrieve]

That's the title of an article in the new Field & Stream. Actually, the complete title is "Eat More Bass; Why Ray Scott Says You Should Kill Some Fish."

Thank you, Mr. Scott. For years I have been thinking the bass population would be better served by selective harvesting. I applaud Mr. Scott's concern for the fishery and his willingness to speak out when he sees ways to improve it.

[crappie66]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jun-21-06 AT 01:16PM (EST)[/font][p]Exactly what I have been saying over and over, about time someone puts it in print in the media. Maybe now some of the strictly catch and release people will follow this mans guidance, just as they did with all the articles on catch and release many years ago.


Moose "Unless Mr Scott is a fisheries biologist with intimate knowledge on managing fish populations then I think he is someone that I would not care to listen to. I'll continue to listen to the Professional State Game and Fish Biologist who are schooled and paid to manage the fisheries."

The fisheries biologists are basically telling you the same thing, selective harvest, that is why they have limits, some lakes have minimums some have slots. If they thought all fish should be released they would have zero possesion limit.

[idbefishing]

I'm sure that Ray Scott is talking about selective harvest in a PRIVATE POND. This concept is nothing new in pond management. Pond: small body of water, limited food source, privately owned. Way, way different then public reservoirs, lakes that are large with more baitfish then all the predators in that body of water can eat. The size limit is 14" and up, which mean to take fish that are big, totally contrary with what Ray freaking Scott said. Selective harvest is to take out smaller fish so bigger one have more food to eat. There are not a single lake in Indiana that I'm aware of that have a slot limit. So if you're going to eat every fish longer then 14" then you'll end up with nothing but dinks which would be not what you wanted Crappie. It's not fair for our future generations to not able to catch sizeable fish in public body of waters because a few individuals wanted to catch bigger fish now. All of this talk is spawned from someone who stated that it harm the bass to hold it by the gill. Those fishes were caught and photographed on lake Guntersville. If all bass are catch and release until eternity on lake Guntersville, it wouldn't hurt a teeny tiny bit.

[DSPCHAMY]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jun-21-06 AT 04:57PM (EST)[/font][p]what a crock did you read the article?

""Id rather hear a 40-year-old man say he'd never eaten a bass in his life than have everyone taking their bass home to the table," Scott says. But in certain fisheries - farm ponds, especially - regular havesting actually benefits the fishing."

Field and Stream pg. 34 ph2 lines 10-15

I am sure these points were just left out of the discussion as an oversight, right?

Eating bass is not a taboo, but taking fish from public waters should be, as far as tournaments go they do damage the fishiries, but they also generate a lot of money for the economy around the lakes as well as for the lake itself. The fees that are paid to hold these tournaments go back to the DNR coffers to help pay for stocking and lake reserection projects.

There was a post on the KY site a few months ago about keeping fish alive in the well. It pointed out that fish do die, but even if you release a fish immediatly after it is caught it can die. So to use that as an argument you might as well say, lets not fish.

The point of the article is taking smaller bass is good, but your really can't do that from our lakes in Indiana. There just arent enough quality fish out there to do it.


I posted the following on the Spinnerbait article, well I will amend it to make some of you happy:

Just like Marie Antoinette said let them eat cake. Well let them eat panfish, or bass from private waters.

[Slowretrieve]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jun-22-06 AT 11:39AM (EST)[/font][p]"It'll probably shock a lot of people to hear me say this," he admits. "Well, I'm sorry, but we're not going to hell for filleting a bass."

Scott, Ray. "Eat More Bass." Field & Stream; July 2006: 34.

[DSPCHAMY]

>[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jun-22-06
>AT 11:39*AM (EST)[/font]
>
>"It'll probably shock a lot of
>people to hear me say
>this," he admits. "Well,
>I'm sorry, but we're not
>going to hell for filleting
>a bass."
>
>Scott, Ray. "Eat More Bass."
>Field & Stream; July 2006:
>34.


Hence my statement about eating bass is not taboo. This article is not telling everyone to go out and eat bass. Further more it is not telling you to stop catch and release activities, if anything it is reiforcing the message. Which is not what the initial messages were stating. To alot of the posters points this is about selective harvest and pond management. Not resevoir management.

For the most part the title of the article was to get a reaction and get people to read it. With more than 50% of the article being about the taste and best ways to cook it, I can hadly think it was a knock on catch and release fisherman.

Eat all the bass you want I dont give a ****. There is just no reason to go throw a 20+ or hell 16+ bass in the fryer or to lightly pan saute it as the article suggest.

Go bend a rod and have some fun

[Topwater2004]

A lot of the postings have some good points here.

I have about 14 strip pits to fish with an abundance of bass. The only ponds that have a good population of big bass are the ones that are fished and harvested, reasonably.

That being said, I also agree that when fishing a public lake, such as Waveland, or West Boggs, where predators are at a premium, it would be in the best interest of the lake to release your fish.

A lake the size of Monroe, with all the pressure that it gets from tournaments, I doubt that keeping the bass would hurt because many of them caught in tournaments will suffer a death due to being handled all the extra time in the hot weather. Some of the highest quality tournaments try to do a good job with their handling system. I am sure B.A.S.S. and FLW have a much higher success rate than your average club tourney.

The DNR recommends releasing bass immediately in the types of temperatures seen typically from June through August.

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

[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......

[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

[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.

[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

[MikeAxsom]

This is an old argument that never seems to get resolved. For some reason this has become an almost entirely emotional issue to many bass anglers, and often has very little to do with the realities of fisheries management. All our size and bag limits are founded in concepts that encourage and allow the "harvest" of the resource, while protecting populations to ensure they remain viable. Somehow, these arguments seem to always become polarized to the point that some folks take the position that anglers should keep no bass, and others seem to think they should keep them all. Neither position is correct. But taking a bass home on occasion, provided it meets legal requirements, is not a problem from a management perspective. Furthermore, if you or someone you know enjoys eating fresh fish, taking home a legally caught bass that has suffered some trauma and thus may well not survive anyway, is a more responsible use of the resource that throwing it back to be wasted. The bottom line is that practicing catch and release does not mean you can't keep one now and then, just as keeping some does not mean you have to keep them all. If you can't discern the difference, the regulations are there to help you determine what “enough” is. Fishing is supposed to be fun, guys. Chill out a little and enjoy your time out there.