Tweet
I was out fishing today (milford lake, northern kansas). I wandered over to the shallows in an inlet 1-2ft deep and saw quite a few large mouth, some carp, and something else I couldn't identify (maybe shad) running in small groups. I threw everything I had for two hours and could barely get a bite. I ran mostly rubber baits, crawfish, leaches, a few different color swim baits, even dragged a worm on a hook but they weren't having any of it. I got a few bites from some bass but didn't have a tail hook on my lures so they got away. It was driving me nuts seeing an 18" large mouth 2 feet in front of me and not being able to get it. I broke down a time or two and threw some rocks off the shore but all that did was scare them away. So the rock clubbing method was tried and failed. Any suggestions? I was thinkin of cutting out of work a little early tomorrow to try and hit up the same spot after a trip to the bait shop.
-
-
sunnies
bring a kid equipped with toy pole and tiny hook. kid catches tiny sunfish, you use the sunnies for bait. trebble hook through small sunnies back. -
Suppose dynamite and electrical charge are out of the question. Among other things take a hunk of Velveeta cheese with ya next time. I've seen it work, but more so on trout than bass.Comment
-
This time of year is usually good for pulling largemouth out of shallow water (50-60 degree water), so I would definitely try again. Live minnows and gitzits are likely choices for bait.
You have to be patient in this endeavor. Females are hard to entice if they are bedding. Males are much more likely to hit your minnows.Comment
-
Minnows shouldn't be a problem to find, I've got some colby from the dairy bar here on campus will that work instead? Don't have a little kid with a pole to bring and appropriating a kid to bring along would probably keep me from fishing for 15-30 years so we'll avoid that one, but what are gizits? gizzards or something else? I spent a few hours there yesterday but I'm gonna head out of work here at 2:30 once I get this project done. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to add.Comment
-
gitzit is just a brand name for my favorite lure. The best "Gitzit" for largemouth bass is called Mother of all minnows, but Gitzit makes a lot of well balanced tubebait lures. Most fishing supply stores have them.
One other thing is that you need to cast lightly or just pitch your bait out. You don't want a lot of surface commotion.Comment
-
Still no luck today. A lot of them were comin up to the shore in pairs of two so they are still spawning. I accidently pulled a gar out which got the boot back into the lake. I did have some luck with crappie though. I've been casting to the opposite end of the shallows and pulling the lure back across so hopefully I'm not makin too much commotion. I think they are just preoccupied with pursuits other than feeding right now, but I'll keep tryin. Wednesday is supposed to be nice out so that's my afternoon.Comment
-
Spawning
When bass are spawning, use a soft bait like a large worm or other soft bait, and drop the bait carefully into the nest they have scooped out.
They will usually strike the bait. Good hunting!Comment
-
cheating?
Isn't casting into their nests during spawning cheating? They'll strike at just about anything to defend the nest. Growing up we always steered clear of the nests since we wanted more fish in our lake, not less!
My experience has been that if you can see bass in shallow water, then they're generally not very interested in eating. Except for that one time I got a whopper of a largemouth in less than 12" of water on a lucky cast that almost landed on the shore.
Have fun!Comment
-
It is a personal decision on the methods used in taking fish and game. If you aren't comfortable with that method, then don't use it.Originally posted by monkeymissile View Post
Taking game during breeding season is a regular part of hunting.
Seasons set by the Fish and Game department are most often set during breeding season to make hunting easier and thereby increase the numbers of animals harvested to balance the population.
The enclosed picture is an example of game taken during a managed hunt during the Spring breeding season. These Eastern Wild Turkeys were taken by two hunters hunting together.
Fish and game populations are managed to protect the habitat and at the same time provide a recreational opportunity for sportsmen.Comment
-
I had the same question for many years, but I’ve since learned that bass management isn't dependent on the fish taken during spawn.Originally posted by monkeymissile View Post
Whether taking a spawning bass off the bed is ethical, or not, is a personal thing. Contrary to some beliefs, a bedding female is not easy to catch, particularly the big females. It is the smaller male that we catch this time of year.
Obviously, taking a spawn-ready female from the bed will reduce the numbers of young bass produced. However, nature has a very definite way of insuring the survival of enough of the young to maintain the population at the level it should be. This is why most states don’t have a problem with fishing the beds.
If a guy is really in question about the ethics, he can stop by the DNR office and talk with an officer about the fish management in a particular lake.Comment
-
Catch and Release
If you practice catch and release, it won't deplete the spawning female population in the lake.Comment
-
So no luck, spawning seems to be over in that part of the lake. We did have some luck with pulling small and a few large mouth out of the same inlet where the water is a little deeper but nothing legal for pulling out (all under 15inches). So I think we're going to have to find another spot. However we did find a bunch of carp in another shallow spot so I may be looking into a bow and adding a reel to it for some bow fishing. We'll see though, pigweeds are up in the fields so I gotta get to work counting and managing the next few weeks, then its time for forage harvest, then wheat harvest. Oh how the summer flies by......Comment
Comment