Bass tournaments before June 15th ??

[thmyorke1]

In reality how will a total bass closure be handled here? All of our waters have bass in it, it seems. How do other states that do a strict/total closure and not just a CnR season handle it?

[acabtp]

Originally Posted by thmyorke1

In reality how will a total bass closure be handled here? All of our waters have bass in it, it seems. How do other states that do a strict/total closure and not just a CnR season handle it?

I'd guess the same way they handle the other closures. Shad dart they assume shad fishing, salmon eggs looks like trout fishing, 8" senko or 12" power worm probably bass fishing.

My bigger issue for fishing for bass this time of year is that it's like shooting fish in a barrel. They are protecting their nests and will hit anything that comes close just to keep it off the eggs... Not as sporting as enticing a feeding strike other times of the year, IMO.

[AndyS]

The big question for me was you are having a bass TOURNAMENT during a closed season. Thus targeting these fish. Paper weigh in or not I feel it should not be allowed.

[Eskimo]

Originally Posted by thmyorke1

Good point. I thought the harvest restrictions are pretty strict. Would you say they should be stricter, how so? I think it depends on water, for bass. Ponds are totally different from the Raritan river for example

Bass are strictly catch-and -release from April 15 to June 15. The current creel limit law is 5 bass over 12 inches after June 15 which is a lot!

Imagine if everybody fishing your favorite lake or river killed every bass they caught that was over 12 inches up to five fish. How long would that lake be worth your time to fish?

Personally, I release every bass I catch because I want to conserve the resource. I want other fishermen to experience the same fishing I did and I want that bass to grow bigger and lay lots of eggs. In my opinion, people who kill bass are selfish jack-offs who ruin the fishing for others - and themselves.

Bass grow slow. At this latitude it takes a Largemouth 3 or 4 years to reach a legal size of 12 inches and 8 years to reach 18 inches/ 3 pounds (which is where I consider a bass to be big).
http://www.fishandboat.com/Fish/Penn...Management.pdf

When someone catches an 18 inch bass on public water, they aren't 'special' and just discovered something no one has ever touched before. They are catching a bass that was caught many times during its eight year lifetime and was released by the sportsman who caught it. They can either release it to grow bigger and for other anglers to enjoy - or they can kill it. What would an ethical sportsman do? What would a selfish jack-off do?


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