The reports from some friends and what I seen on Green last week they are starting to bed. As of yesterday they were not locked on hard yet.
As far as fishing for bedding fish, I never have had any luck catching them I have tried just never got the nack of it I guess.
I myself have mixed emotions about fishing for bedding fish. Fishing a tournament I would prefer to fish for the pre-spawn or post-spawn fish early in the day and take my chances, then if I got a limit then maybe try a bed fish. I would rather make the casts during the hour it may take to catch that bedding bass that you may not get to hit anyway. I know for a fact a friend of mine fished one hour for a LARGE bedding bass and never got her to hit. How many cast did he miss.
I have read several studies about it and have talked with some guys that should know for sure since that is thier job. According to all of them fishing for bedding fish does not hurt the fish population, but like a friend of mine said yesterday it may not hurt it but it sure can not help it.
They say that the number of adult fish, lets say 5lb plus, from an adult female bass in her entire lifetime is less than 20 adult fish and one study stated 2 or 3 fish total.
One study states in our area of the country 95% of the male bass you catch will weigh less than 3 lbs most averaging about 1.75 lb anything larger is likely a female.
It would hurt more to catch the male who protects the nest than the female since she is on the nest a very short time before or after the actual laying of eggs. Unless you see two bass on the bed at the same time you are most likely fishing for a male not the bigger female she has not gotten there yet or has already left. In either case I myself would rather take my chances ay catching her on the deeper water drop just outside of a bedding area.
I do not know what the answer is I do not know if all of this is correct I just know that is the information I have read or been told. I also know this same disscussion comes up every year, some strongly for it some strongly against it.
It is kind of like Musky in our lakes, some Bass fishermen would love to see them stopped being stocked or a bounty placed on thier head, while some Musky fishermen would love to see a no fishing period placed on them from June thru August to protect them.
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