Mixed feelings about bed fishing ??? 2025

Fish Chris reply :

I mean, don't get me wrong, as I have said for a long time, I sure don't think its 'cheating'... or unsportsman-like.... and it's typically not harmful to the fishery....

I'm just saying, fishing for big bass during the spawn, is only good when 1) you can find a big fish to fish for, and 2) it's not freaking WINDY ! I hate wind. Of course even a slight breeze which puts a little ripple on the water is enough to ruin a day of sight fishing.

So my point is, yesterday I went to the lake, and had a pretty tough trip. It was too breezy to effectively sight fish, but the fish were thinking a lot more about making babies, than they were about eating :-(

The whole time I was thinking...... I'll sure be glad when they get done spawning, and start eating again ! {of course had I been able to stick that 15 lb'er while sight -fishing the day before, I'd probably be talking about how 'great' sight-fishing is :-)}

Anyway, I did finally get one bite on a swimbait, and it turned out to be a beautiful 9.5 lb Northern strainer :-) She didn't look beat up, or spawned out, but she wasn't really fat either. Just healthy and clean....... and BTW, she was hooked solidly in the roof of the mouth, with that rigging I showed a while back, but she was able to spit the lure itself outside of her mouth, and then snap her mouth all the way shut ! {a fish which can't close its mouth all the way, because of a big lure, can't run very fast or far... too much drag from that big open mouth} So what I'm saying is, this fish fought REALLY hard ! Couple of big, long, FAST runs, followed by crazy back flips and somersaults :-) Yeee Haaa ! :-)

Peace,

Fish

RecMar8541 reply :

hey bud you really should change your name to MASTER fish lol.....nice job....!!

guest reply :

My first time bed fishing was on the FORK trip I caught this beauty in an inlet called LITTLE SERTA

bigdog reply :

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My first time bed fishing was on the FORK trip I caught this beauty in an inlet called LITTLE SERTA

RecMar8541 reply :

god I hope the jokes get better around here LMAOOOOOO J/K that was serta funny!!

HillBilly Willie reply :

Nice fish!! How much did the one on your avator weigh?

Catt reply :

Chris it's a shame you can't get excided

Lightninrod reply :

GORGEOUS BASS!!!!

Dan

Fish Chris reply :

The fish in my avatar weighed 15 lb 12 oz. She was only 24 1/2" long, but had a 24" girth ! Definately my 'fattest' big bass. And BTW, that fish was caught in late August.... well past the spawn. Do you think she might have eaten her share of trout bars ? :-)

Peace,

Fish

Gotta Love It reply :

That is a beautiful fish! Great color! Healthy! Nice job Chris! I love reading your posts and the pics are fantastic!

Raul reply :

No mixed feelings for me FC, one of the best times to ketch them big mommas is during the spawn, they are there and the ain 't going nowhere, most of my biguns have been caught during the spawn, why I don 't have mixed feelings ? I 'm going to release the fish not very far from it 's nest, now tourneys during the spawn are another different thing, I do not agree on tourneys during the spawn, they take the fish for a ride up and down the lake and they are released in many cases miles away from their nest.

Cigarlover 1 reply :

That's a very beautiful healty looking fish. Way to go! Can't wait to see what you come up with before the year's out.

Bassassasin12 reply :

I find myself hating wind during the whole year, not just druing the spawn. My favorite baits to fish are weightless plastics and I don't think they work as well when there is a fairly strong wind. Wind kind of forces me to fish other types of bait though so it's not all that bad. :

Pa Angler reply :

Awesome fish congrats. It's illegal In PA to bed fish just thought I'd throw that in.

Long Mike reply :

I was bed fishing with Muddy at Lake Fork. I wasn't as lucky as him. All I caught was this:

Fish Chris reply :

hey Raul, I just meant that I hate it when the fish are on beds, and its too windy to sight fish them...... and believe me, the only reason why they don't call my town the "windy city" is because Chicago had already taken that name ! {Speaking of which, do you know why they call PMS, PMS ? Because mad cow disease was already taken ;-)}

Hey PA, yes, I knew that.... and that's probably a good thing in PA, as I hear that because of the shorter growing season, bass spawns are condensed into a much shorter period, and those fisheries are much more likely to be damaged from bed fishing.

I think that in most places where sight fishing might cause problems, that states F&G pretty much already has regulations in place to protect those fisheries.

In Cali on the other hand, as I have said before, "over-recruitment" seems to be a much more common problem, than under recruitment.

Peace,

Fish

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

GO FC!! You need to start a fan club,lol.

guest reply :

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Of course even a slight breeze which puts a little ripple on the water is enough to ruin a day of sight fishing.

I'm really glad to hear you say that. Here on the SE Florida Coast it is ALWAYS windy. Seriously, I have to laugh when I read about guys talking about how 15mph wind ruined their trip. that is a daily occurance in my neighborhood.

My bass have pretty well spawned out, but there are some beds left. I really made an effort to "sight fish" but was frustrated because I was practically on top of the bed before I could see it.

I pretty much know where the main bedding areas are and pitch to where they "should" be, but I stopped doing it because it's pretty much the same as blind casting and it wasn't much fun.

I would love to sneak up on a bed and see a big ole hawg I could pitch a tube to.

Maybe one day.

Great bass by the way.

stroz reply :

Wow Chris another sweet fish! You are the Man ;D

Stroz

Syfer420 reply :

How do you tell what strain that bass is?? im just curious. And BTW did you start your fishing school yet??? ;D ;D ;D

Long Mike reply :

Fish Chris,

To catch a bass of that size must have been sheer bliss. In my prompt congratulations I have been remiss. When you released her I hope you gave her a kiss.

Fish Chris reply :

Well Syfer, I have been told that the only for sure way to tell a Northern strain and a Florida strain apart, is through a DNA test..... However, since the Ca DFG has never planted Florida strain bass in this particular lake, its a pretty safe bet it's a Northern.

Hey Long Mike, I've caught a few fish this big before..... but none the less, a catch like this certainly takes a bit of the pressure off :-) The other thing I have to remind myself of, is that even though she wasn't a 10 plus (my usual goal) she was afterall, a Northern strainer, and from this standpoint, she was probably as big a deal as a 12 or 13 lb Florida strain.

Peace,

Fish

T-rig reply :

You keep surprising me with those beautiful fish of yours! Congrats!

That is a perfect northen strain bass, absolutely!

senile1 reply :

Quote

Quote
Of course even a slight breeze which puts a little ripple on the water is enough to ruin a day of sight fishing.

I'm really glad to hear you say that. Here on the SE Florida Coast it is ALWAYS windy. Seriously, I have to laugh when I read about guys talking about how 15mph wind ruined their trip. that is a daily occurance in my neighborhood.

My bass have pretty well spawned out, but there are some beds left. I really made an effort to "sight fish" but was frustrated because I was practically on top of the bed before I could see it.

I pretty much know where the main bedding areas are and pitch to where they "should" be, but I stopped doing it because it's pretty much the same as blind casting and it wasn't much fun.

I would love to sneak up on a bed and see a big ole hawg I could pitch a tube to.

Maybe one day.

Great bass by the way.

FC, great fish as usual! I don't think we've had a day over the last month on the western edge of Misouri and in Kansas where the wind wasn't blowing 20 - 30 mph. They call Chicago the windy city? Give me a break. Sight fishing? Ha, what is that?

k4phd reply :

Beautiful fish Chris. Anyone can see by the smile of confidence on your face there will be more. We all enjoy the pictures and posts. Your web site is nice too.

Jim

roadwarrior reply :

Wassup with that?

9.5 lb green trout...another "everyday" fish... :

Great fish, but an even better picture. We need a separate section for you and the rest of the Cali guys. For some of us, that might be "This Year's Bass." There are a couple of guys on the Forum that might think that's a pretty good day and I might be one of 'em!

Nice fish, great post.

patbfishing123 reply :

Bed fishing/ sight fishing is where its at. Well atleast when your going for big fish. Its always a good time to rome around the shallows looking for that monster fish then sticking a tube or wacky worm in its face trying to get her to bite. And its gotta be the furthest thing from cheating... its a lot of work to try to get a big fish that you can see to eat your bait. First of all because you can see the fish you get pretty excited so its hard to stay focused with all the excitement and second usually if you can see the fish, the fish can see you. The best thing to do and this a trick that I learn from my good friend steve kennedy from the bassmaster elite series, which is to locate the fish on the bed and to proceed by the fish or back up still realizing the general location of the bed. Get far enough away from the bed so that you cannot see it but still know where it is. Then start casting, but cast sidearm and make sure that you are on the side of the nest where when facing the nest the sun is in front of you so that you do not cast a shadow into the bass's nest.

guest reply :

Fish Cris can give Professor Hannon a run for the money :

bassmaster8100 reply :

First of all Chris thats a really nice fish. I have no problem with bed fishing as long as you are practicing catch and release, let them big mommas get back to that bed and take care of those eggs. What I do have a problem with is people who ****** fish off of beds by intentionally foul hooking em, come on lets play fair. A guy did this in a tournament I was fishing a few weeks ago and they let him get away with it, upset quite a few people including myself.

hi_steel_basser reply :

Quote
First of all Chris thats a really nice fish. I have no problem with bed fishing as long as you are practicing catch and release, let them big mommas get back to that bed and take care of those eggs. What I do have a problem with is people who ****** fish off of beds by intentionally foul hooking em, come on lets play fair. A guy did this in a tournament I was fishing a few weeks ago and they let him get away with it, upset quite a few people including myself.

That guy shoulda been DQ'd instantly. Snaggin's cheatin'. PERIOD. I have never intentionally snagged a fish, or weighed a snagged fish.

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Mixed feelings about bed fishing ??? 2025

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