What’s going to kill all of the bass next? 2024

Tennessee Boy reply :

I’ve been bass fishing a long time. This is a list of the things that I’ve heard over the years that were/are supposed to be an iminent threat to bass. Did I miss anything?

Angler hunger

Lack of vegetation due to spraying

Lack of vegetation due to grass carp

Soft plastics

LMBV

Angler’s touching fish and harming their slime coat causing infection and death.

Zebra mussels

Common Carp

Asian Carp

All of these threats and the lakes I fish still have bass.... well except for Kentucky Lake.

Efishin reply :

Great post. Pollution is another thing that can harm the fish.

WRB reply :

The only item listed threatening Bass survival is the virus mentioned.

Over harvesting is difficult because bass spawn every year.

Water chemistry and dissolved oxygen levels are important and pesticides, industrial waste can threaten specific eccosystems, not the overall bass population.

Acid Rain wasn't on your list and considered a threat back in the 70's-80's until the EPA reduced smoke stack pollution.

The real threat to survival is another mega drought cycle that occurs irregularly every 2 to 5 hundred years where annual rain fall is less then 4 to 6 inches over a 100 year period.

Last recorded was about 850 AD to 1100AD and 1200AD to 1350 AD along the Pacific coast. If a mega drought develops we are in trouble.

Tom

the reel ess reply :

J Francho reply :

Sankeheads

EU milfoil

Curly leaf pond weed

Round gobies

Quagga mussels

Assorted cichlid species

Lawn fertilizer

Jumping carp

Damming

Drought

Acid Rain

Body piercing

Tatoos

Kale

Legalization

Cable TV

EVs

Samsung

Wildfires

Sharknado

Spinner rims (Sprewells)

Crocks

Socks that don't match

Tofurky

BassinCNY reply :

I would say the reduction in acid rain is one of the great environmental success stories in this area. I remember when some of the Adirondack lakes and ponds were totally fishless due to the problem.

Something that was seen as a threat to bass but seems to actually be a boon is the goby. Instead of them eating all the bass eggs the bass are eating them.

WRB reply :

Bass predators haven't reduced the population significantly over centuries.

man

coromrants

Herons

osprey

otters

turtles

bass

gar

pike

musky

catfish

Man tops the list, we are their worst enemy.

Tom

the reel ess reply :

Fishing tournaments

MN Fisher reply :

Over Management.

PETA

TnRiver46 reply :

Gloom and doom from bass fishermen is their greatest threat

Tennessee Boy reply :

On 1/14/2020 at 2:56 AM, J Francho said:

Crocks

Man you got me thinking now. I bought my first pair of crocks for fishing in 2018, right when the decline in the Kentucky lake bass population seemed to start. Could it all be my fault?

Choporoz reply :

What about Salmon Huggers?

Vilas15 reply :

On 1/14/2020 at 12:42 AM, Tennessee Boy said:

I’ve been bass fishing a long time. This is a list of the things that I’ve heard over the years that were/are supposed to be an iminent threat to bass. Did I miss anything?

Angler hunger

Lack of vegetation due to spraying

Lack of vegetation due to grass carp

Soft plastics

LMBV

Angler’s touching fish and harming their slime coat causing infection and death.

Zebra mussels

Common Carp

Asian Carp

All of these threats and the lakes I fish still have bass.... well except for Kentucky Lake.

Just because the bass have not gone extinct doesn't mean there are things that can harm them or hurt a fishery. I dont see why investigating and trying to improve the quantity and quality of fish is a bad thing. I'll say that stuff like this can be overblown by TV, etc. and if thats your point ill agree with it.

On 1/14/2020 at 3:17 AM, WRB said:

Bass predators haven't reduced the population significantly over centuries.

man

coromrants

Herons

osprey

otters

turtles

bass

gar

pike

musky

catfish

Man tops the list, we are their worst enemy.

Tom

Youre right here, but we could wipe them out if we tried. See the Yangtze river 10 year fishing ban. Bass are lucky we've got regulations and even more so that catch and release is so prevalent.

WRB reply :

It's possible to kill off every fish in a specific waterway and happens from time to time by fishery management to remove unwanted fish including bass.

California's plan is to remove Black* bass and Strip bass from the San Joaquine delta and river system because they are non native species threatening the salmon and steelhead smolt population.

Politicans are a threat to bass survival.

Tom

* Black bass are the family of fish including Largemouth , Smallmouth and Spotted bass in the Delta's world class fishery.

Ratherbfishing reply :

Y2K. Oh wait, that was YEARS ago. Y3K, then.

galyonj reply :

On 1/14/2020 at 4:30 AM, Tennessee Boy said:

Man you got me thinking now. I bought my first pair of crocks for fishing in 2018, right when the decline in the Kentucky lake bass population seemed to start. Could it all be my fault?

You monster. I hope you're proud of yourself.

slonezp reply :

When all the bass are dead, there is bound to be a zombass apocalypse

Tennessee Boy reply :

On 1/14/2020 at 5:35 AM, Vilas15 said:

Just because the bass have not gone extinct doesn't mean there are things that can harm them or hurt a fishery. I dont see why investigating and trying to improve the quantity and quality of fish is a bad thing. I'll say that stuff like this can be overblown by TV, etc. and if thats your point ill agree with it.

For everything on my list, I could have written a paragraph or more about the serious conversations I’ve had over the years with fishing friends and fellow bass club members about how these things were going to ruin fishing. Some of the things on the list still could I guess. The point I think needs to be made is fishery’s are complex and we really don’t know how they will react to changes. Most of the things anglers were panicking about 30 years ago turned out not to be a problem. At one point people were afraid that evasive aquatic vegetation was going to destroy Lake Guntersville. Twenty years later the bass fishing community went ballistic when there was talk of trying to kill it all. Sometimes what we think is harmful turns out to be helpful. I have released every bass I have caught in the last 30 years but I’m not sure if that helps the fishing or contributes to overpopulation. It probably depends on the fishery. Something has had a major impact on Kentucky Lake in the last few years. Most people are blaming Asian Carp. I’m sure they haven’t helped but I don’t know how much they are to blame. The experts are not say they are the only cause. Some people around here are saying they need to kill everything in Kentucky lake and start over. That’s crazy on so many levels and it’s impossible. I try to listen to the experts and follow their recommendations and the regulations that are implemented based on their findings. I also try to not to panic when some pro says the Ned rig is killing thousands of bass.

WRB reply :

Bass populations fluctuate in cycles depending on recruitment of the bass and their prey fish spawn. Water levels dropping during the spawn leaving beds dry for example tends to kill off the spawn. Extreme prolonged cold weather during the spawn can have a impact to a year class and abundant successful spawn tends to recover a lost year class.

Bass populations going undiscovered for several years tends to boost the population and over harvesting smaller bodies of water can impact the population.

It's usually a combination of events the drops the bass population, not a single factor unless man gets involved.

Tom

J._Bricker reply :

On 1/14/2020 at 5:50 AM, WRB said:

It's possible to kill off every fish in a specific waterway and happens from time to time by fishery management to remove unwanted fish including bass.

California's plan is to remove Black* bass and Strip bass from the San Joaquine delta and river system because they are non native species threatening the salmon and steelhead smolt population.

Politicans are a threat to bass survival.

Tom

* Black bass are the family of fish including Largemouth , Smallmouth and Spotted bass in the Delta's world class fishery.

I resisted the temptation Tom, unsuccessfully. California State Parks, Division of Boating and Waterways continues its distribution of herbicides throughout delta waterways to remove cover for black bass. The removal of non-native game fish from the delta came courtesy of a rider Diane Feinstein attached to the Federal Clean Water Act in response to the Flint Michigan water crisis.

The good news (sic) is China is likely to purchase $2.5 billion worth of California nuts in a year as part of its phase 1 trade deal with the US when it gets signed.

The pressure on the fishery is immense..

TnRiver46 reply :

On 1/14/2020 at 5:35 AM, Vilas15 said:

Just because the bass have not gone extinct doesn't mean there are things that can harm them or hurt a fishery. I dont see why investigating and trying to improve the quantity and quality of fish is a bad thing. I'll say that stuff like this can be overblown by TV, etc. and if thats your point ill agree with it.

Youre right here, but we could wipe them out if we tried. See the Yangtze river 10 year fishing ban. Bass are lucky we've got regulations and even more so that catch and release is so prevalent.

There are lake trout in the western US that humans have tried to wipe out in a few areas with gill nets. There are still lake trout thriving there

Bluebasser86 reply :

I heard the Ned Rig was going to kill them all?

A-Jay reply :

On 1/14/2020 at 12:20 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

I heard the Ned Rig was going to kill them all?

Me too ~

It's a conspiracy I tell ya.

A real life conspiracy.

:bull:

A-Jay

J Francho reply :

On 1/14/2020 at 5:58 AM, Ratherbfishing said:

Y2K. Oh wait, that was YEARS ago. Y3K, then.

You'll laugh, but there are some smaller, lingering issues from this, affectionately call "Y2K20" lol.

MAN reply :

I think they will be just fine here in the U.S. with current laws and environmental standards. I think it will only get better as we continue to clean our waters and air and evolve to more eco friendly fishing tackle.

CaptMikeStarrett reply :

Ned rig.. hmmm OR Maybe the furbit frog will be the real killer this year.

Capt Mike

TriStateBassin106 reply :

The only thing that's going to end up killing bass is if we mutate some hybrid bass and other fish species like they did with the T-rex in jurassic world and the new predator only feeds on normal bass.

Bass aren't going anywhere, I hear so many people say that the common carp are going to wipe them out but this is only a half truth and depends on the body of water.

IMO If a pond/lake has a huge carp population and if they just started to stock bass in the waterbodies odds are the bass won't do well.

(We have a Carp Pond here in my town in NY that they tried stocking bass and bluegil in and the bass haven't really been doing well in there. You'd be lucky to catch one at all.)

IMO if a waterbody introduces carp to a huge bass population they actually work pretty well together. Carp clean up on the excessive vegetation and can open up more body structure for bass to hang out in such as channels and humps.

BassNJake reply :

On 1/14/2020 at 2:56 AM, J Francho said:

Spinner rims (Sprewells)

Leave my rims out of this, ain't never hurt nobody

Logan S reply :

Dang, page two and no one has mentioned livewells or bed-fishing yet? ????

Tennessee Boy reply :

On 1/15/2020 at 2:13 AM, Logan S said:

Dang, page two and no one has mentioned livewells or bed-fishing yet? ????

Good catch. I also forgot.

Using a net to land fish

and

Not using a net to land fish

kdubracing reply :

I live 3 blocks from the Illinois River. It is overrun with Asian carp. The fishing on this river is ridiculously terrible due to them.

Columbia Craw reply :

State Fish and Wildlife Management

JediAmoeba reply :

Has anyone mentioned plastic straws? I heard they are systematically wiping out all the wildlife.

MickD reply :

On 1/14/2020 at 4:12 AM, TnRiver46 said:

Gloom and doom from bass fishermen is their greatest threat

How does gloom and doom threaten bass?

I think in MI the biggest threat is the proposals to allow tournaments during the spawn. This not immediate release, but the traditional "take em to a distant weigh int tournament."

LadiMopar reply :

On 1/14/2020 at 3:52 AM, MN Fisher said:

Over Management.

PETA

I've been a member of PETA my whole life....People Eating Tasty Animals ???? ????

Bluebasser86 reply :

On 1/15/2020 at 6:14 AM, kdubracing said:

I live 3 blocks from the Illinois River. It is overrun with Asian carp. The fishing on this river is ridiculously terrible due to them.

It's weird how they've overrun that river like they have, but they're in the Mississippi, Missouri, and Kansas rivers, have been for a couple decades now, but the fish populations have learned to live with them (see also, eat them). Can't find many shad anymore, but man is everything in the river fat and happy and packed full of baby Asian carp (or adult carp in the case of big flatheads and blue cats).

Bassguytom reply :

The 2 things that are responsible for the decline of my bass fishery are the Banjo Mnnow and the Helicopter Lure.

kdubracing reply :

On 1/15/2020 at 8:45 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

It's weird how they've overrun that river like they have, but they're in the Mississippi, Missouri, and Kansas rivers, have been for a couple decades now, but the fish populations have learned to live with them (see also, eat them). Can't find many shad anymore, but man is everything in the river fat and happy and packed full of baby Asian carp (or adult carp in the case of big flatheads and blue cats).

The only thing I can think of is

1. there isn’t anything to eat the eggs and

2. The predators aren’t big enough to eat any carp of some size.

Whatever the reason is, it’s a huge problem in this river.

TnRiver46 reply :

On 1/15/2020 at 6:43 AM, MickD said:

How does gloom and doom threaten bass?

I think in MI the biggest threat is the proposals to allow tournaments during the spawn. This not immediate release, but the traditional "take em to a distant weigh int tournament."

Because humans tend to panic and intervene, typically making things worse. Like introducing kudzu to control erosion, turns out it only contributes to the problem

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