Right or wrong???!

[riverdog]

I think people could do more to avoid OOS bass if they really wanted to avoid them...
Use bigger Pike/Muskie lures vs 2-4" popper or bass spinner but hey some folks are just bass guys looking for a place to happen...lol
As for Crappie we seem to catch them on the Larry in deeper water & they seem to always be high in the water column so using a Thrill bobber and keeping the bait high usually means avoiding bass.
In conclusion in my opinion any person throwing a senko or hula popper or bass spinner in prime Bass bed areas this time of the year either only has bass lures or is hoping to catch a bass along with some pike. As RJ pointed out its hard to prove so bass on...I'm mean fish for Pike with your favorite bass lure.

[Mick]

As far as spinner baits go, I more or less use the same baits whether I am fishing pike in the shallows in spring or bass in the summer. Personally I wouldn't think twice about a guy using a spinner bait in a few feet of water early in the season. If I was pike fishing, that's where I would be.

[lape0019]

Well,

I went out last night and threw a 6" hard swimbait as it was the biggest thing I had on my tacklebox. Had one really good top water hit (floating BBZ-1) that got the heart pumping but didn't catch anything.

A few bass were boated by my partner but they all cam off places we did not expect them to be so it was weird.

[TheMaverick]

Anything under the unwritten rules pertaining to sparkly boats?
I was hoping to wear my fishing jersey, maybe i'll just hold off till Bass opener?
Looking at my rods, they say "MegaBass" on them....now these will defenitely be staying home!
Would a buzzbait tied to a 50lb steel leader still qualify as a Bass lure?

I'm so confused

[Oneeleven]

On the Rideau yesterday I too was using spinners, buzz, and chatterbaits, in sunny spots in 4 feet of water for pike, which I caught,but I also caught plenty of bass. A quick release, paying attention to try and release in the same exact spot was all I could do. It's tough. We also were fishing for crappie in some shallows and caught bass. Hell my partner caught a carp. Lol!

Aside from the carp, they like the same things.

Can't wait for a few weeks from now where we don't say 'aw crap, it's a bass!'

[smitty55]

The issue here is if the guys were targeting bass then it's a different story. With Crappie it's pretty obvious what you are targeting by your rig. Not so easy with Pike/Bass.

A little story here in tune with the thread... Last Saturday my bud with his wife and kids go to one of the big creeks along the Rideau. There's this gramps and his 11-13 grandson fishing upstream of the bridge.They weren't catching much in the way of Crappie. So gramps let's the kid put a spoon on and do some casting. Well, doesn't the lad catch a Pike. Alright!. Kid is super happy. So it takes them quite a while to get the hook out and then get ready for pics. Now the fish has been out of water for a long long time bud says and then they finally put it back in the creek. My bud is watching this from a distance. He's not shy when it comes to the regs so he tells the old guy that pike is oos and you can't fish for them. Old guy basically ignores him and the kid keeps casting the spoon. He catches another Pike and same story. Now, my friend is mostly concerned about the poor example that is being set for the kid so this time he really lets into the old guy telling him he is pushing the kid to break the law and setting a very bad example for the other kids fishing there as well. Old guy gets uppity and says what about the bass that the odd person is catching. Buddy says yea, but they're being caught on Crappie jigs, and not being targeted like the kid is doing for Pike. Anyways, the old man packs up and leaves, probably having to answer a bunch of questions from the kid, who of course heard all the discussions.
Now you might say it's only a kid and a couple of small Pike, and I don't know if a CO could even have charged either of them, but to me that old guy is setting a dangerous precedent for that kid, who may grow up believing that the regs don't really matter that much. Not a good mentor, that's for sure. And not right IMO.

Cheers

[CNs]

You might be fishing OOS if:


1) You are in a bass boat
2) you are in a sparkly bass boat
3) Your boat costs more than your house.
4) You are using anything that says bass on it (e.g. megaBASS rods reels lures -if they were meant for pike they would be called MegaPIKE or megaWalleye or MegaTrout, you get the idea)
5) you have a tournament jersey and you are not a "pro"
6) you have tournament jersey and you think you are a "pro"
7) you go after crappie with 50lb braid
you have more than 2 rods - none have a float attached.
9) You are using 1 ounce jigs for perch
10) you took all of this seriously

[Mick]

So Smitty, your friend was really concerned about the poor example being set so what he chooses to do is "really let in" to an old man. You see any irony in that statement?

Maybe that kid will grow up to be an avid angler because of his days as a kid fishing whatever whenever. I know when I was that age I fished all over the place, wherever my parents would let me go. What ever we caught we caught. I didn't know there were such things as fishing regulations. IMHO, if that kid grows up to be an avid angler, my hunch is he'll figure out there is such a thing as fishing regs, he'll read them and respect them.

Now back to that setting an example thing.....I wonder what your buddy's kids think of their father tearing an old man a new one. And if they were all for it...what kind of example is that?

Normally Smitty I find you to be a pretty sensible guy on this site.....but maybe in this instance you could have chosen different words.

[TheMaverick]

So Smitty, your friend was really concerned about the poor example being set so what he chooses to do is "really let in" to an old man. You see any irony in that statement?

Maybe that kid will grow up to be an avid angler because of his days as a kid fishing whatever whenever. I know when I was that age I fished all over the place, wherever my parents would let me go. What ever we caught we caught. I didn't know there were such things as fishing regulations. IMHO, if that kid grows up to be an avid angler, my hunch is he'll figure out there is such a thing as fishing regs, he'll read them and respect them.

Now back to that setting an example thing.....I wonder what your buddy's kids think of their father tearing an old man a new one. And if they were all for it...what kind of example is that?

Normally Smitty I find you to be a pretty sensible guy on this site.....but maybe in this instance you could have chosen different words.

I didn't want to be the first one to reply, for obvious reasons, but i really felt bad for the kid in this situation.
The outcome could of easly been handled differently in order to not leave such negative impact.
Horrible post!

[Bass Addict]

Wrong !!!!!

When I go out fishing....I go out to fish !!!...not to drink beer!...not to horse around!....and also not to look around at what others are doing.

Stop and smell the dandelions once in a while....

[lape0019]

Let's be honest guys, I can see Smitty's side easily.

I never knew about regs as a kid but I did mostly perch fishing. There could have been other ways to handle it but the end result is great.

I try and provide that type of knowledge whenever I can. Some people don't care and I just leave it at that...

[cndbasshunter]

You're getting my input...

Did you leave the area when you caught Bass today? If not, how is what you did any better than what he did?

I can tell you this. After numerous conversations with CO's on and off the water, the targetting OOS fish charge is VERY difficult to prove and rarely levied. Go fish, enjoy yourself and don't stress out about a guy catching a Bass OOS when you've done the exact same thing.

RJ

lol...i caught more bass than walleye yesterday

[fishin mission]

Bass are coarse fish for part time fisherman

[mb_fishing]

Fished Buck Lake this past weekend, trolling with Rapala F18's in the 8 to 20 foot range, water temp 59F. (Look 'em up...they are the big boys of Rapala originals.) Anyway, we ended up catching what we wanted (Pike) but we still caught bass too. So big lures or not and in various depths you will run into them.....

[Oneeleven]

Yesterday I caught a good three pounder on a crappie jig, in a foot of water, my fishing buddy caught a less-than-quarter pounder on a crank that was bigger than it, in ten feet of water...

Bass aren't choosey apparently..