Smallies on ice! harmfull or harmless

[Fishing 24/7]

With the recent debate.

and mikecro.... the mechanic not answering back.

some of us clearly dont think we are harming the smallies.

catching then in shallow and releasing them ASAP.

sometimes instatly.

on the other hand .

some biologist and fisherman SWEAR that this is harming the small mouth bass population.

whats your opinion or experience on this topic.

any reliable source about this fact i can read?

i what to know the truth.

if it is true i dont want to harm smallie population

[Carl]

This is going to be an interesting debate 24/7.

I've been fishing for them for a long time on the QC side. Although I've found them more along the 20 - 30 foot mark, I've never had one blow up their gut coming up and they've all swam away.

I'm no biologist but not sure how this can impact the fisheries as they aren't on spawnning beds. I don't know why their mortality rate would be any greater than any other species that roam our waters in winter.

The only thing I can see is if the fish are more concentrated and you're continuously taking limits out other than that. I'm not sure what the impact is.

Similarly to year round seasons stateside while certain periods remain C&R only. I'm sure there are many studies in the southern states on this but haven't searched a great deal.

As much as you fish and are hitting good numbers, there's just not the pressure where you're at to have an impact. As you've said, you haven't noticed a decline in numbers or in size of the fish over the years... that says a lot in a lake.

Enjoy your time on the ice!

[JZ]

obviously you can't target them because they are OOS however I have not read anything that would suggest that catching bass in the winter causes any problems. In fact most of the information I have read suggests catching fish in the winter time is much less stressful then exposing them to heat during the summer.

[Fishing 24/7]

obviously you can't target them because they are OOS however I have not read anything that would suggest that catching bass in the winter causes any problems. In fact most of the information I have read suggests catching fish in the winter time is much less stressful then exposing them to heat during the summer.

JZ we are talking about Quebec Bass here.

not ontario bass.

but the stressful thing to me makes perfect sense.

[Jimmy_1]

I.....HAVE......NO.......CLUE.....

But I find this an interesting topic nonetheless.....

Hopefully we do see some published facts or studies on it.

That would be neat!

[Jimmy_1]

But perhaps this article may:

Cannot seem to access all of it.

http://www.jstor.org/pss/3627872

But the study was done by a University in Kansas supposedly.

[joco]

like carl said.


cant be worst then hot summer days and all those bass derby in some lake.

if someone catch them in NOT TO COLD days and put it as fast as possible in water they should be ok.

again..to be carefull wit them..good tools..cuting pliers and sutch to make sher you dont loose time out off water.

very cold condition could be harmefull taug..like all other fish..there eye could freez there gill etc...so very cold could be not good for them.

other then that......most if not all those qc lake have no pressur at all. for bass.

good tread.

joco

[uglyfish]

i cant see there being any effect on the bass. no different then catching a pike, or walleye and releasing it back. as stated, they are no where near their spawn yet. look at new yoprk state, they allow fishing year round for bass, and their trophy season starts may 1st. which, depending on the weather, they may be getting ready for their spawn. but we fish for them over there and no one says boo about it being damaging to the population.

24/7 i LOVE ur posts. both here and other boards, it gets me so jealous to see u catching big 'ol smallies in the winter time. i would love that chance here in ontario. u release the fish u catch, so i cant see there being any adverse effect on the bass populoation

[Hookup]

What exactly is the concern with ice-fishing for bass?

Fish with lower metabolism (from the cold) having to fight for too-long and getting tired to the point of death?

Cold water affecting the recovery time after the fight?

I just do not see a single issue with fishing for smallies thru ice... (in QC) but i'm not saying there aren't issue.. just I do not see any.


I know there is a huge debate about deeper water fish and fish-bladder issues as well as fizzing... but that starts at or below one atmosphere (~33 feet) and i'm not even 100% sure SMB are one of the species prone to the bladder problem (recent mag has a list of fish who simply do not have this issue at all as part of the hype-busing around fizzing).

[bradford2]

The only potential harmful effect I could see in ice fishing for bass is over-harvest.

The smallies that I've seen in the winter obviously school up and are generally easy to catch. On a busy lake where they were heavily targetted and limits of fish were consistanly kept I could see a lake getting fished out real quick.

That doesn't seem to be an issue in Quebec.

What I do find ironic is a bass tournament angler commenting on the perils of bass ice fishing

[bradford2]

And just to add I'm quite sure I've done way more harm to bass while fishing them in the summer then I have in the winter......

[riverdog]

I fish smallies non stop during the Zone 20 season my friend and I never target fish in water greater than 30ft as we believe this can be harmful do them when the explode for the surface.
Hookup according to many magazines SMB and Walleye for that matter are prone to rapid atmosphere changes that can cause bladder issues. I believe this same article talked about some of the big fall bass classics that really take place in the fall looking at or changing some rules. If I recall right it was an In-fisherman I'll look through my fishing magazines and find the article but that might take days.
Oh ya I really can't see how fishing smallies through the ice in anything less than 30ft of water could be harmful.

[Hookup]

I fish smallies non stop during the Zone 20 season my friend and I never target fish in water greater than 30ft as we believe this can be harmful do them when the explode for the surface.
Hookup according to many magazines SMB and Walleye for that matter are prone to rapid atmosphere changes that can cause bladder issues. I believe this same article talked about some of the big fall bass classics that really take place in the fall looking at or changing some rules. If I recall right it was an In-fisherman I'll look through my fishing magazines and find the article but that might take days.
Oh ya I really can't see how fishing smallies through the ice in anything less than 30ft of water could be harmful.

You're more than likely very correct. I looked for the mag from my chair... couldn't see it in arms length.. so I gave up for now..

I also do not target fish in more than 20feet of water. As a rule anyhow... but that's cause i'm 90% about the top-water... which is also a big part of why I do not Ice-Fish.. the Top-water action sucks! (and its cold)

[Trophymuskie]

I think the only obvious trouble with ice fishing and releasing fish is the cold exposure. If the fish is released right away I see no problems but if they are exposed to freezing temp it may freeze their fins and eyes.

Unlike muskies where the long fights and trying to sqeeze then through a small hole will be armfull other then the freezing air exposure.

Bass spawn late so in no way can ice fishing affect them as much as when "pike fishing" in May-June.

[Maple]

My recollection from "old-timers" wisdom, is that you can't fish out a bass lake IF you fish them only in season. Start taking them off the nest though, and you'll have recruitment problems.

But what do you mean by "harm"?

Kill them? Nope.
Hurt them? Nope, not given your criteria. Can't see how.
Interfere with nesting? Nope.
Scare them a little? Maybe.

In the summer, I've caught and released the same bass 3 times in half an hour. They don't seem to mind too much.

I think you're OK.

Maple