bass fishing

[myurkovicjr]

I've never fished for bass at black lake but everyone I talk to says they do well. Has anyone been getting any bass or is it to early

[Bassbuster]

Not sure where you are from but here in new york bass season doesn't open until the 3rd sat of june. Fishing including C&R for bass outside of season is prohibited. Sorry!

[WalleyeHunter]

Had to double check my regs, after reading Bassbuster's post, thought the state changed the regulations on bass.

You can still fish for bass throughout the year, December 1st - Friday preceding the 3rd Saturday in June is C&R and artificial lures only.

There are special regulations for certain bodies of water though and by the looks of it all of St. Lawrence County is off limits.

Remember, always check your regulations before fishing a new body of water.

[Bassbuster]

Yes you are correct! I should have specifically stated that i was refering to BL for the no pre -season fiahing C&R reg and not the entire state. Sorry for the confusion!

[myurkovicjr]

thanks for the tips. i will have to get over there in the summer

[ragincajun]

I am curious how everyone feels about this no C&R law? I abide by them but wish I could be like our PA friends and be fishing right now for them. Do you think it helps our regions fishing? Just curious how everyone feels about it.

[Bob-O]

I would never fish for LM/SM bass pre-season. The people who do this are really not fishing for sport, the bass nesting will bite anything to protect the nest. When they do pull that bass off the nest it more than likely will be raided. Now is the time to target all the Pike and trout, and then go after the bass in June, when catching them is a sport.

[wildchild]

I like fishing for bass before the season opens. I do not target bedded bass though, I often wonder how much that hinders the spawn. I know lots of people who do it and it is legal here, so as long as they are getting them back in the water quickly I don't have a problem with it. And sorry Bob-O but I have to disagree that a bass will hit anything to protect its nest. I was watching a recent Bassmasters event and one guy spent several hours casting to the same fish before it finally got agitated enough to strike. However that practice seems more like harrasment than fishing, just my two cents worth! Happy fishing all.

[Bassbuster]

I saw a video taken underwater a number of years ago of an actual bass being caught off it's bed and in seconds the sunfish raided it and pretty much devoured everything on the bed. So I don't care how fast you bring the fish and release it the damage is already done. With the large numbers of panfish in BL you know that can't be good. So I believe this law does exist for good reason. I'm not sure why PA chooses to allow this but i think we call agree that we all need to do our part no mater how small to try to bring BL back to the high quality Bass fishery that it once was. I really don't think its that big a deal. If u want to some pre season fishing there's plenty of places to go that are so big that apparently dec feels will have little negative impact ie lake Erie.

[Fishpro]

This past weekend I was up at my camp busy cleaning up the place for the oncoming season. I noted several fishermen working the shoreline near me. One boat in particular had two guys in it fishing. They were catching bass - one after another. Although they released them, they didn't try to avoid catching them. To them it was sport. How I would have loved having a DEC representative on the scene. Now I would like to mention that the people came from Pennsylvania as the sticker on the boat noted. Guess what I leading up to is that all Out of Staters should read the fishing rules of any waters once they come to New York and should abide by them . Let's be honest - not following the rules will hurt the fine fishery that these same people come to enjoy. At the same time the quality of Black Lake or other NY waters will suffer as a result. Catch & Release (If In Season)

[Tori]

"Evil thrives when good men do nothing"
Next time explain the rules to them...??
Tori

[ragincajun]

Thanks for all the input. Mainly I was just curious all the different opinions for and against. I too have seen on ESPN lately, where during bass master elite tourney's, they have spent hours on one fish on a bed. Out of curiousity, how many states believe one way or the other. I presume most southern states allow C&R simply from watching the elite tourney. Is this assumption wrong?

[Fishpro]

Re: Tori Repor concerning expressing the rules on Bass seasons and laws:

In the past I have expressed my thoughts about following the rules concerning seasons on Bass. There was last year when a couple of guys were fishing near my cottage. One caught a large Bass and was holding it so his buddy could take a picture. His buddy having trouble eventually was able to take it. Then the buddy wanted his picture with the fish. The first guy spotted me watching and asked me why. I said that it was a nice fish - too bad its not in the season yet. He looked at his buddy and laughed. I said if he held the fish out of water too long that it would die. Finally he let the fish go. Unfortunity I don't think the fish made it but maybe the gods were helpful and returned the fish back to health and freedom. Some people will never learn or care for that matter. Sad! Catch & Release

[GuidedBassTrips]

I like the closed bass season in St. Lawrence County. The DEC will say it is up to anglers to read the regulations and be aware it is specific to here. But there will be some who won't read them that close and some who just can't help themselves when the catching is easy. But overall, I do believe there are enough anglers respecting the regulation to protect the fishery. And I also believe many of the aggressive bass are pre-spawn and not bedding fish. They are generally more difficult to catch from a bed than when feeding. They also spread out more during the spawn.

Does that mean I condone targeting bass pre-season on Black Lake? No. Because I respect and understand why there is a specific regulation for this area. But this will be an issue every spring and probably continue to be a gray area. And hopefully there will continue to be enough respectful anglers that handle the fish well and release them.

[ragincajun]

Guide, when you say " handle the fish well", you got me wanting to ask another question to the masses. When watching the bass masters elite series, ESPN shows the fishermen throwing the smaller bass back....let's say...withOUT care. Just tossing them. Not that I bend right down and place them back in the water, but on TV, seems very rough. What is everyone's take on releasing fish and the effects of how it is done?