Spawning Bass

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I have a question about Spawning Bass . Maybe there is a fish Biologist on the board . I am 73 I fish Smith lake Alabama in 1967 . Bill Dance won the first bass tournament in 1970 Major . I have fished the lake every spring ! My question is when the spawning female or male bass is taken off bed to a Tournament weigh-in
will the eggs die ? I also read the university Illinois did a study the report said a high percentage of the bass die after weigh -in ! Does anyone really know . This is a much bigger issue than Forward facing sonar if true . Why can we weigh the Fish at the boat that are spawning and take a picture that weighs the fish . We may not can see the forest burning for the Fish . Anyone have any ideas ? Thank You

[DaveBrabec]

Bed fishing absolutely effects the spawn. As far as I know the male will stay and protect the eggs. If female hasn’t laid eggs yet and is caught and moved it will find another male to spawn with. Yes there’s more fish lost then people realize in a tournament. I’ve ran a live release boat. Most are from guys that don’t know live well management or the well isn’t up to par.

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Thank You

[Championmac]

There are a ton of studies out there on tournaments and bass mortality rates that are easily accessible on the interwebs. There a ton of factors that come into play. It seems like all of the studies only cover a few factors.

[BassinPaPaw]

I would say yes they will die or most likely get eaten. That being said you’re looking at very tiny % of the fish you see spawning. The huge % you don’t even see.

[pabasshawk]

The state limits on bass are set for the legal killing of 5 bass a day per angler. Live release was pioneered by Ray Scott and tournament fishermen. Some bass will die during tournaments but I believe that tournament fishermen take every effort to minimize tournament mortality.

[majatk]

Protecting the resource

Come along way since the beginning though

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[Bjxds]

I don't see how a bass full of eggs can not be negatively impacted. Selective harvest is also very important. If it was hurting the fisheries overall, I would think/hope the game depts would do something about it. Bass Tournaments and recreational fishing brings in a LOT of MOney!

[Smallie_Hawgin]

I have a question about Spawning Bass . Maybe there is a fish Biologist on the board . I am 73 I fish Smith lake Alabama in 1967 . Bill Dance won the first bass tournament in 1970 Major . I have fished the lake every spring ! My question is when the spawning female or male bass is taken off bed to a Tournament weigh-in
will the eggs die ? I also read the university Illinois did a study the report said a high percentage of the bass die after weigh -in ! Does anyone really know . This is a much bigger issue than Forward facing sonar if true . Why can we weigh the Fish at the boat that are spawning and take a picture that weighs the fish . We may not can see the forest burning for the Fish . Anyone have any ideas ? Thank You

So, yes, that individual bed will be affected. Depending on the time a fish takes to be returned to the bed, other nest predators, temperature etc, the individual nest can be a complete failure. All that said, many studies have documented the individual nest failures and survival of fish immediately released. Tournament mortality and certainly cortisol levels in fish during tournament simulations have even been looked at. With spawning bass, there has never been a documented decline in the population from bed fishing. Basically, not all bass nest every year and similarly, not all bass are disturbed in a given waterbody. In most cases, it really only takes a few nests to be successful to allow a bass population to sustain itself and even have the opportunity for density increases. The amount of parental care invested really does allow for an amazing amount of survival at the population level.
On the stress and mortality of tournaments, there certainly can be some. Handling techniques have drastically improved over the years, but generally speaking, measured mortality has been low. Provided temperatures are lower, minimal exposure of the fish to air, oxygenated water, dunk tanks, perforated bags, or in-water weigh-in, returning fish to decent water... All can increase survival percentages. Flopping fish on a hot, dry deck of a boat, keeping them out of water, lots of air exposure, warm water temps, dry bagging etc... All decrease survival percentages. Something to think about is the longevity of the bass tournament practices. Whether they have been done well or not, the bass populations have kept going. Even under intense fishing pressure in some cases. Catch rates may change due to more educated fish, but the bass population as a whole rarely is impacted in the vast majority of cases. Just a few thoughts from a fisheries manager that has worked in three states and lived in a couple more.

[RNKingCx19]

I’ve seen a few transported to a private pond or 2. ( I’m sure there’s a regulation about this??). Healthy looking and released,swam off just fine. Not sure if they still spawned but seemed to survived. Didn’t see them floating in the next few weeks.

[bassfisher444]

People make this out to be a much bigger issue than it is. Lack of new of the year fry is almost never an issue on any lake, less than 10% of the Bass can spawn enough fry to increase the bass population by 5-7 times. A far bigger issues is lakes getting overwhelmed by undersized fish.

[DaveBrabec]

Wih the drought for years. The fish didn’t get a good spawn here. Numbers are down. Not very many baby bass to 12” size in the lake.Rarely catch a fish under 2 lbs in recent years. Hopefully with 2 years of full lake numbers will come back. We have tons of fishing pressure.

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Why thank you Smallie for this information with your long years of working in fisheries I know your a expert thank you for taking the time to answer . So I am going to buy a new live scope . Thank You

[On top]

Hey thank you for your answer ! I was concerned about buying a live scope !