Catch & release?

[Star1pup]

I've been fishing the same 150 acre lake for 4 years now.  There are tons of 14" bass, but they must be released.  I am of the opinion that when every bass you catch is 14" that there are too many and might not grow much larger.  I catch bass no matter what species I'm fishing for.  They just seem to bite easily.

How about some opinions about this.  I know that some think keeping a bass is a sin, but I think we should thin them a bit and let other fish have a chance to grow.

[btmidwest]

       I'm curious, what is the minimum for your state and is that lake's min. different than the state minumum?  14 inches is a nice fish - not big but nice.  Is the lake fished very hard?  I've caught a lot of similar sized bass.  There are alot of variables out there on the waters we fish.  For me I've had to trust my sonar more and explore away from the shore to catch bigger fish.  Our State min. is 12 in. on rivers and 14 in. on lakes but I fish one lake that has an 18 in. minimum.  I've only caught 1 legal fish on that lake so far but I also had one of my best days fishing there.  Do you adjust tactics with the fish - that is so hard for me.  Finding the fish; finding what they want. 
      If the fish are not getting any bigger than 14 in. you should see signs of it in the ones you are catching - signs of stunted growth.
Has the DNR done any surveys on that lake, if so what did they find?
      One thing in your favor if you have fished it very hard for the last 4 years and explored it, you probably know that water better than most out there.   
      What I've done is try to find good fisherman and pick their minds and try to understand why they do what they do, then hit the water.
Hey - stay legal, look at your tactics, look at other area lakes - you may need to change or add something.  Regards,   BT











 

[Star1pup]

BT - I'll try to answer a couple of your questions.  This is a private lake so we set our own rules.  The problem as I see it, and this is completely unscientific, is that bass fishermen thing no bass should be taken and that can be a detriment to the quality bass fishing they want.  I've read a couple good articles on bass websites that say I'm right.  Our size limit here is 15", but hardly anyone ever keeps a bass regardless of size.

I know this lake very well as I fish nearly every day during spring & summer.  I fish mainly for walleye and crappies, but I catch an estimated 6 largemouth bass of 14" for every other fish.  I catch none over 14 1/2".  To me that says we have too many 14" bass and they are stopping growing at about that size.

The ODNR cannot d anything to help because this is a private lake.  It's a nice place to live.  You can Google Lake Tomahawk, Negley OH, and see the place.
Bill

[btmidwest]

Star1pup,  Sometimes slot limits have seemed to work better than minimum limits.  Those are definitely a good eating size.  If they are over populated you should see a decline in their health in the coming years, which would be a shame.  To me it would be wiser to harvest some mid-range fish if needed and release the bigger ones for others to enjoy.  It sounds like they are already doing the releasing.  With it being private you may have a different situation than with much of the public water out there.  Have they mentioned a model they are working off of?  Of course that's no guarranty of success as every body of water is different.  Yours is a special situation. Hopefully in a year or two you will have a lot of fifteen inch fish to choose from.  Where I fish, as for most of us, I do not have that kind of luxury.    Regards,   BT

[rockbilly]

If you are catching mostly 14 inch fish then you are likely over populated.  This may also be a result of insufficient food source (minnows, shad, crawfish, etc.).  What I would recommend is taking some out, go ahead and enjoy the table fair, the 14 inch eat well.

Small impoundment can become over stocker very rapidly and you have too many fish competing for available food. We had a tank that we had thye same problem with, I spent one summer taking pout as many small fish as I could, putting anything ove 18-20 inches back.  Today the little tank has some good fish in it.  You may also look at stocking additional shad or bait fish.