Chuck7

Right here in Florida there are a few reasons why we have less bass.

A, When I came here there were no lakes with slot limits..

B. There were no size limits.

C, You could keep 10 bass a day..

D. BUT the biggest problem was cast netters poaching them by the boats full..

E. Also..The hundreds of tournaments here in Lakeland kill their share of bass as well..

F. Our pollution also kills them..

Bass fishing is diffently not as good as it was when I arrived in FLorida in the 1980s ..
In our region ,the main problem was cast netters..We now have more law enforcers and slot limits . Central Florida prides itself in being the "Bass capitol " of the world.They do everyting they can to provide fishermen with a great opportunity to catch the bass of the life time..Matt took my boat out by himself last Sunday..and hooked into a good one His trusty Power Pro snapped like thread.[8D]he was drifting a rubber worm and split shot rig..He also did well using a Rooster tail..The apple doesn't fall far from the tree..
God bless,
Chuck7

solocamcan

I think at least 80% of this falls in the lapyour state's DNR....Illinois, sucks. But I think it's more because our growing season is shorter than southern states, so they don't put much stock into our bass fishery. Take Texas and California, have any of you guys noticed that California is on the brink year in and year out of breaking the World Record that was set in the 30's....Now if fishing was better 50 years ago, why are they just nowgrowing and catchingbass that are within 1/2-1 pound of theWR? It's because of aggresive stocking and slot limits in effect on lakes or bodies of water capable of producing such a fish. But on the flip side of that, you only have a small window to grow a record class Largemouth, once the lake gets older it starts filling up with sediment and in effect is less fertile, a classic example of this is Lake Fork, in East Texas, in the late 80's into the mid 90's, that lake was on everybody's wish list to fish, the lake was70-80% standing timber and at 27,000 acres, that's ALOT of cover....today I'd say it's 30-40% standing timber, and it's filling with run off, numbers of 10-13 pound bass are still caught every spring, but in it's prime it was 13-17 pounders.

But back to the subject in question, I personally don't keep Bass, they don't even taste all that great compared to Crappie or Walleye. But if a law abiding fisherman wants to keep what he catches, so be it.

121553

There's better eating fish out there than a bass but if thats what you like than go for it, but keeping a bass is frowned on by most bass fisherman. Its considered a sportsfish. Its associated with keeping a Billfish, tarpon,ect., in which you just do not do, at least in the eyes of a sportsman. The fish you kept yesterday is the reason why you didn't catch any today. I do not keep bass.

Bobby

buckhunter14

121553, to each his own and I respect the way sportsman C&R bass. I don't agree with your statement about the fish I caught today is what I don't catch tomorrow. If that was true, then the Natural Resource Dept. would have only C&R for bass. Right?

Also, say there is a "better eating" fish in the water you are fishing, but the population of that fish is less than that of Bass, is it still bad for the environment to keep these fish? Should you then start keep bass?

Also, what if there is an unusual number of 10-14" bass?

Lastly, is their a difference in large and smallmouth bass? I hear of guys the always say they are catch and release bass fisherman, but always take a couple trips to "the big lakes" and keep a few limits of smallies?


I am not saying your wrong, or that I am right. I am just wanting to learn more. Thanks all for the posts!

indianahunter83

Bluegill taste 10 times better than bass and will always be more abundant. If I had the case where one fish tasted better and was rare I wouldn't eat either! Also the statement about the fish you keep today is the one you don't tomoorow is entirely accurate. I have caught the same 3lb bass 3 times this year (I know because he has a large hump on his back) He was a fun fight each time and was release unharmed to fight again another day.

When you take to many large bass out of a fishery you will start to get to the situation with large amounts of runt bass. That is why the use of a slot limit lets the big bass get bigger and keeps a good balance of fish. When you get in a situation with tons of runt bass you can solve it by keeping a few limits and thinning out the herd allowing the remainder to have more food per fish and improving growth rate/winter survival rate.

Smallmouth and largemouth are the same in my book. The only difference about going to the big lakes and keeping a few is that its harder for one person to make a dent in a large fishery... however when a lot of people have that idea you collectively can hurt a fishery.

buckhunter14

I agree with all of your opinions, but for some reason the bass have been tasting great this year.

The crappie and bluegill have been getting a little mushy and warm but the bass are tender and flaky. Rather surprising.

Chuck7

The crappie and bluegill have been getting a little mushy and warm but the bass are tender and flaky. Rather surprising.

Crappie are always mushy..I learned this trick from a friend in New York..
Soak your crappie fillets OVER NIGHT in butter milk..
Then batter and deep fry..
The fillets are no longer mushy .The buttermilk firms them up like Walleyes....I don't know why...but it's amazing..and the taste is wonderful.

Whole bluegills can be moist but if you fillet your bluegills they come out sweet and firm as well..I got 25 more slabs this morning..I filleted the monsters .

buckhunter14

Yessir, them bluegills are great filleted.

I fillet all of my fish other than trout.

And I have got to try that buttermilk idea.

Chuck7

Yes sir..you will be shocked..
Here's the exact recipe..

A. Thaw out crappie fillets in water..
B. Once thawed..dump out the water and cover with butter milk in a bowl ..cover and put in the refigerator over night..

C,Mix up 1/3 portion of corn meal to 2/3 rds white flour..
D, Add a good amount of salt , pepper adn paperika for coloring.

E. Take fillets directly from milk and dredge through the flour mixture..

F, Carefully drop in 1/2 inch deep of HOT peanut oil..
G, Fry on medium high till golden brown..

Totally awesome..zero fish taste and firm as walleyes..

Bluegills...no need for buttermilk..BUT in Florida we soak in salt water till the water is clear..in other words..put bluegill fillets in salt water ..in 3 hours drain cloudy water..Do it one more time..your water should be clear now..and the fish won't be fishy..I learned this from a cook in Florida..the cloudy stuff is what makes the fish taste.....but the salt draws that stuff out and the fish are excellent..

God bless brother,
C7

PS I don't eat bass..BUT if I did, I'd do ther buttermilk with them as well..It also made channel catrfsih taste mild

121553

Buck, I don't pretend to be a biologist. I just stated my opinion on how I feel about personally keeping bass and if thats what blows your skirt than do it, but not me. Everybody of water is different and management does play an important roll ,but they are people far smarter than me making regulations/limits and because of it, we have a supply of fish for future generations. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with eating fish, but some I just don't, but thats just me. I fish for bass as a sport and not as a meal to bring home. If I want to catch fish and eat it will be something worth eating, not a bass. [:'(]

Bobby