Anyone have any pet bass? 2025

bass-turd reply :

Does anyone here have any pet bass or any other wild caught fish?

I have a largemouth bass, a full grown bream, and a few small crappie.

roadwarrior reply :

Yes. I keep my pet smallmouth in the Tennessee River.

I try to exercise them on a regular basis. Otherwise, they get fat and lazy and turn into largemouth.

I keep my pet largemouth in ponds around town.

Will reply :

I have had alot of pets including bluegill, perch, catfish, bass, crappie, crawdads, snapping turtle, and frogs. Unfortunately we had a smaller aquarium so when they got 6 inches long it was time to let them go. My favorite was a bluegill that we actually had trained, we tapped the top of the tank everytime we fed him, and he learned when we tapped the tank to head to the surface for food. Unfortunately I cleaned the rocks with purified water and when we put the rocks back in the tank the chemicals from purified water killed him.

Cephkiller reply :

Does anyone else think the user name of the starter of this thead is in poor taste? If so, is there anything we can do about it? This is one of the few web destinations I am able to read with my small children and I would like to keep it that way. BTW, I was young once and probably would have found that funny myself, so no hard feelings, OK?

P.S.

I have had pet bluegill in the past and they did pretty well in my 55 gallon tank. The only problem I had was that they would only eat live food (worms, minnows, etc.). They wouldn't touch the pond food I bought so I had to let them go as a matter of convenience and economy.

srv1990 reply :

Quote
Does anyone else think the user name of the starter of this thead is in poor taste? If so, is there anything we can do about it? This is one of the few web destinations I am able to read with my small children and I would like to keep it that way. BTW, I was young once and probably would have found that funny myself, so no hard feelings, OK?
While it doesn't offend me I suppose a more appropriate name could have been chosen. I also have two small children and, while they don't read this site I'm sure I would get some questions if they did and saw this user name. 'To each, his own', as they say, but I guess it's up to the moderators to decide.

TC

Hula_King reply :

My neighbor's kid has a bluegill in a 10 gallon tank. He's kept it now for about two years. I figured it would have died long ago, but he transfers it to an outdoor pond/fountain thing during the summer. I remember watching some fishing show this fall where some professional fisherman, I think, had a huge aquarium inside his house with bass in it. They filmed him feeding goldfish to the bass; it was pretty cool to watch them.

GobbleDog reply :

I'm not sure if it's legal in Florida, but a friend of mine once kept a largemouth bass in his 30+ gallon aquarium. When he caught it, the bass was only about 6" long. By the time it died (from cleaning the tank complications), it was about 15". I think he had it under a year.

He went down to the local pond every couple days and scooped up minnows to feed it. The main problem with the bass was the tank needed to be cleaned about once a month. But it was pretty cool. Verocious little sucker.

RoLo reply :

RoadWarrior

That is a riot, I've got to remember that one ;D

In 1992 I had a home built on 10 acres in Rico, Georgia. I had the bulldozer operater

scoop out a tiny pond about 25' x 50' x 3.5' deep. In that tiny landlocked puddle,

I placed several bass to 3 pounds that I caught in neighboring farm ponds.

They cut a meager existence on insects, frogs, snakes, etc that occured naturally in my yard.

About twice a month I'd purchase 3 to 4" minnows, and my wife and I would toss them

into the pond, one at a time and watch as each minnow was busted by the bass.

One time an impatient bass hit the clear plastic minnow bag with such force

it drew blood from my thumb. Then during a warm spell I walked out to the pond

to count noses and a 13" bass was missing. My immediate thought was a raccoon,

but then I noticed the tail of the 13-incher still protruding from the mouth of an 18-incher

Bass Hammer reply :

I have had pet bass most of the past 20 years.

When I was younger I loved to study them.

I would learn about their habits and watch them grow.

It is amazing to see everything they will eat. It's a job in it'self feeding one.

When they finally get too big I release them and start over.

Shad_Master reply :

I have a pet bass in a pond near my home -- it is a private pond and I don't have "official" permission to fish there, so I used to sneak out every evening around dark-thirty. I would walk out to the same spot turn to my right and cast a crank bait and he would bite. Now lots of people have told me it isn't the same fish, but I believe it is because I know I am the only one fishing there and after several weeks, this little guy had several holes around his mouth where he had been hooked. After the Sherrif finally told me that would haul me in if they caught me there again, I moved on. But I still wonder if that little guy is still there.

cajun1977. reply :

i dont have a pet bass but i do own some bass toys to let the little tikes play with

Upnorth reply :

My parents live on an inland lake in the Detroit area. My mom has a bass she calls Buster, about 2 pounds. He has stayed in the area of their dock for the last 2 years. When he hears you step on the dock, he comes running along with a huge pack of bluegill. You can lay on the dock and feed him worms by hand. He will even follow you as you walk between the two docks. I had him eating baitshop minnows last summer, it was cool to see him dart and catch them. She had to stop feeding him because the lake was starting to freeze up in places and he was still around shore. If he doesn't come back next year, she will be crushed.

tipptruck1 reply :

I once had a pet blue gill. I dont even rember how we got it. Also had a albno shark pink eyes and all. It was worth aover 3k. Then we got some wal mart fish and it died

guest reply :

I caught a seven pounder WAY back in the day. I took him home and put him in the bathtub. He swam around for a couple of days before he started to look a little grey around the gills, and I released him. The kids loved it, the ole lady was different story but I traded her in for a sleeker model anyway. ;D ;D

PS. I don't think that bass-turd is an especially appealing name, but not wanting the kids to see the site because of it is IMHO a bit excessive. Many of the names people use don't really mean anything. I would think that with all the blatant sex in TV advertising, and print catalogues, and the vulgarity heard daily on the radio, that "turd" would be pretty mild stuff.

preach4bass reply :

Avid, I don't think cephkiller is worried about kids reading the word "turd". I think he's looking at how the whole name "bass-turd" has an amazing similarity to "wretched". I certainly understand cephkiller's concern. This is an amazing web site that is clean enough for bass fishermen of all ages. There are always people who like to push the limit of cleanliness. If "wretched" is the norm today, what will it be in two months? Cephkiller is just like a lot of us, he dosn't want this site to go the way of a lot of good things and be taken over by filth. I know we don't have to worry about Glenn or any of the moderators allowing that, but I certainly understand his concern.

P.S.

We all remember being in the second grade and someone asking us to spell "I cup". We would do it and then they would giggle because we had just said, "I see you pee." We've all been immature before.

Upnorth reply :

I personally could care less what someone chooses as a user name. I do however find it ironic that someone with the word "Killer" in his title would be bothered.

guest reply :

Avid, I don't think cephkiller is worried about kids reading the word "turd". I think he's looking at how the whole name "bass-turd"

I was a little slow on the uptake here. Now I got it. Still no problem with it, but I got it.

Cephkiller reply :

Allow me to explain. "Ceph" refers to cephalosporin, which is a popular class of antibiotics. Many people are highly allergic to cephalosporins. Because of this allergy, the pharmaceutical company at which I work needed to remove all traces of cephalosporins from their equipment before using the equipment to produce anything else. My job was to ensure (via laboratory testing) that the cephs were gone after the cleaning process was completed so that my plant site could move ahead to manufacture another product. Unfortunately, that process was halted by corporate and I am now working in a different capacity. I thought the name was enigmatic and unique, however, so I chose to keep it.

Also, as I explained in my original message, I can see the humor in the double meaning. I thought my complaint was very reasonable and not at all inflammatory. I was just trying to make my opinion known. I certainly didn't demand immediate action from the mods. I just wanted to foster the debate.

guest reply :

Let's get back to the thread, which I think is kina funny. So my kids brought all their friends in to see my "pet" bass. One of the kids asked if he had a name. I wish I could remember what my son said. Maybe 'll ask him because I recall that it was kind of funny. I know he remebers the bass in the bathtub becasue we have talked about it a couple of times, I doubt if he remembers the name (this was about 25+ years ago) but I'll ask him.

What would you name your pet bass? ;D

roadwarrior reply :

Big

Bigger

and

Biggest

bass-turd reply :

Alright I'm sorry about the name, I'll change it. But lets not worry about the name and get back on the topic. I dont want to cause an argument and get everyone mad each other to cause any trouble for the moderators and our friendship as members of the site.

Anyway, I dont have a name for any of my fish, but I couldnt think of one if I wanted to.

Oh, and I wanted to tell you guys about the time my friend had a bass of about 12" that jumped out and swallowed his entire hand when he tried to give it a worm. I've never seen anyone so shocked in my life. ;D

RoLo reply :

Yes, bass are certainly an aggressive lot, ya gotta luv'em.

Higher on the scroll I related to a similar experience.

I occasionally fed wild bass that I captured and placed in my backyard pond.

Quickly they got to know the drill. While I was taking a minnow out of the plastic minnow bag

with one hand, a bass zeroed in on the underwater thumb of my other hand

that supported the minnow bag. He hit that thumb with a resounding "Whomp",

spraying water everywhere, and actually drew blood from my thumb. This is just more living proof

that bass adapt quickly to new and unfamiliar situations. Fishermen need not anguish over

matching the hatch. Sometimes it's better to throw something they've never seen before.

That way they cannot identify it as an imposter.

Fisher of Men reply :

I remember seeing video footage of one pet bass in particular. The "owner" would kneel down on the end of the pier and feet it balogney. He would hold the balogney out over the water and the bass would jump up out of the water and ****** the balogney.

Fisher of Men reply :

I saw a video once showing a pet bass who ate balogna. The "owner" would kneel down at the end of the pier and the bass would jump out of the water and take it from him. It's just like Pavlov's dog. All animals can learn to respond to a stimulus. Many folks I have known would ring a little bell before feeding their catfish. The fish associated the bell with chowtime. When fishing, you could ring the bell, and the fish would come up and take your line. Not very sporting, but convenient, if you wanted a fresh evening meal.

Fisher of Men reply :

Sorry for the two posts. I'd swear the first one dissappeared. When I went to re-post, there it was.

bassdocktor reply :

I had a bass that I kep with one or 2 ciclids until it died. Unfortunately he didn't last that long. It sure was funny to watch it eat because it would eat pretty much any goldfish I put in there and when it was done several tail would stick out of its mouth.

Currently I do have a black bullhead. I was fishing with a friend and we noticed a ball of them right by the shore. We caught three about an inch big and now only one has survived. After finnally finding the right food it's about 5.5" long. Seems like it grow evertime I go to feed it. Even though it's only 5.5" that fish is pretty fat.

bassdocktor

RoLo reply :

Fisher of Men

Yes, and after seeing that footage, I decided to "match the hatch".

When no one is watching, I'll sneak to the end of a private dock,

then scribe figure-8s in the water with a fresh Oscar Mayer.

Ain't caught nothing yet, I think the alligators are scaring them away

JUST KIDDING!

It's funny...I didn't think that this thread would go anywhere,

but it seems like everyone has a real interesting story.

Cephkiller reply :

Would a largemouth be able to survive without feeding it live bait regularly? I've always wanted to keep one to observe, but after my experience with bluegill, I don't want to kill it with an insufficient diet. I would, of course, like to feed it worms, minnows, etc. to watch it's feeding habits, I just don't want to have to feed it live food constantly.

roadwarrior reply :

You don't have to feed fish everyday. Put a dozen minnows or goldfish in the tank and see how long they last. I suspect a dozen once a week will be sufficient. You can adjust the number after a couple of weeks and your pet fish will be fine. I had a friend that kept a bass for a long time and he only fed it when we wanted to watch it feed. The fish seemed to stay happy and healthy.

bassdocktor reply :

I had some floating ciclid pellets that I fed mine when I couldn't get live food. While I was feeding it those it did continue to grow. It also depends on the size bass you are talking about. However it did seem to grow slightly slower when it only got pellets but it still was very healthy. Again it really depends upon the size of the bass.

bassdocktor

RoLo reply :

Cephkiller

If you live in the woods, you will not be burdened by regular feedings (absolutely not).

If you put bass in the swimming pool of an urban development, that's a different story.

I lived in the woods in Rico, Georgia, and my bass often went months without my intervention.

In truth, I fed those bass more for my own enjoyment than out of necessity. I never grew tired

of watching them bust grasshoppers, worms, minnows or anything tossed into the pond.

I'm not really sure what they ate, but I know my backyard was lousy with frogs, toads, crickets,

skinks, anoles, aquatic insects, dragonflies, grasshoppers, scorpions and whole lot more.

Despite the excitment caused by Doug Hannon's Snakehead Lure, the bass in my pond

instinctively avoided snakes. I've thrown several snakes in the pond and they'd always

let the snake reach the other shore unharmed. Everything else however they lambasted.

Do it Cephkiller, you will have a ball because bass are exceedingly fascinating creatures.

Incidentally, I've never had the urge to cast a hookless lure into that pond,

because the result was so obvious. Like taking candy from a baby, it didn't light my fire.

Fisher of Men reply :

Quote
I would, of course, like to feed it worms, minnows, etc. to watch it's feeding habits, I just don't want to have to feed it live food constantly.

The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens, Texas has many bass in outdoor ponds with a glass side that can be viewed from inside. On one visit there one time, a couple of guys who worked there told me they would observe the bass inside the tank/pond to watch their behavior (top/bottom, relating to cover, etc.). They fished on Lake Athens which is less than a mile from the hatchery. They claimed watching these bass helped them catch more in the lake.

Bass Hammer reply :

Quote
Would a largemouth be able to survive without feeding it live bait regularly? I've always wanted to keep one to observe, but after my experience with bluegill, I don't want to kill it with an insufficient diet. I would, of course, like to feed it worms, minnows, etc. to watch it's feeding habits, I just don't want to have to feed it live food constantly.

Don't be mistaken. That fish will eat more that you could imagine.

Like I said earlier I have had 20+ years of bass in aquariums. As they grow it becomes a much bigger and more expensive job keeping one fed.

Nothing like dumping a 100 feeder goldfish in the tank and having them all gone in a few days!

Of course it is affected by the water temp.

You can slow them down by cooling down the water.

All that being said, it's fun to study them and watch them grow.

Rolo

If I'm in the mood to even be around a snake most bass I've had will tear'em up!

Maybe the difference between one in an aquarium and one in a pond.

Throw one in and get ready to wipe the walls down!

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

When I lived in VT, there was a pond full of 3" stunted bass.

I took one home and put it in the 30 gal tank I had along with 30 feeder fish(small goldfish) They were all gone in less than 10 mins and he was all puffed up and fat. 2-3 hrs later, he was skinnier than a toothpic again.

I did this again tyhe next day with the feeder fish and same thing. Did that for about a week when I realized that this would be way too expensive to keep as a pet (never mind illegal) A special lisence is required to maintain a gamefish in a private setting.

Now this combined with the fact that this fish will never get bigger than 7-8 inches in a 30 gal. tank, convinced me to let him go back at the lake.

Cephkiller reply :

Quote
Did that for about a week when I realized that this would be way too expensive to keep as a pet (never mind illegal)

I used to think it was illegal as well. I read the state game laws and talked to a conservation officer, however, and I found out it was fine here in Indiana as long as it is a legally caught fish. So I suggest checking your local laws.

Minuteman reply :

I sorta had a pet bass. About 20 years ago I caught a one-eyed 8" largemouth in a small creek near the area I had moved to. I thought it strange that it was in such a small stream and except for an occasional Smallmouth mostly there was just Rock Bass, Sunfish and Chubs in the creek. I could catch "ole one-eye" anytime I wanted that summer from the area above a small dam in the creek. He was skinny and half blind and looking back now, I should've kept him and released him in one of the farm ponds near by. A year or two later, I caught a 7 1/2lb Largemouth w/both eyes in private lake that the same stream ran into a mile downstream, hopefully he made his way down there and had a normal life.

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