Catching bass after a tournament release

[jooleyen]

When a large quantity of bass are released after a tournament, do they just go to the nearest cover or what? Any tips?

[walkeraviator]

I would say they just go to the nearest cover or structure and are SUPER spooked for a while...but i am just guessing..

[CMorg]

I think they all party like its 1999...


Sorry , the heat is getting to me. Mowed 6 acres in temps that feel like 109 degrees according to the weather man.

[BassFeverJohn]

Originally Posted by jooleyen

When a large quantity of bass are released after a tournament, do they just go to the nearest cover or what? Any tips?

I have been an aquarist for nearly 20 years. Having kept many species, many of which were native species. Of these several were largemouth bass. I caught these fish myself using normal spinning rods and lures. I placed them in a bucket of their lake water with a small amount of methylene blue, which has a sedative effect on fish, upon catching them and took them home immediately. The only thing they did for the first week, give or take, was hide.

I realize the situation is a bit different, however the stress levels would be about the same I would think. Maybe even more on a tourney bass, with the live well, sorting, weighing, and release. I would be willing to bet no bass that is caught and released in a tourney is going to bite for quite sometime.

I have seen bass caught, released, and recaught within minutes. However, after all that, not a chance.

[jooleyen]

It's odd you guys say they'd be spooked because I've always heard that you can catch loads of fish after they've been released in large quantities. Hmmm.

[walkeraviator]

Being spooked in an aquarium is different than spooked in a lake... i heard somewhere that a fish forgets being hooked in about 15 minutes... but dont know how true that is after seeing mythbusters... in a tank, they are constantly freaked out by unfamiliar surroundings... Id say they are spooked for a few hours maybe half a day... but again all just a guess...

[rrw4258]

Speaking from experience here....

After some of the BFL or Northern Open events here in Sandusky on Lake Erie, they usually release the fish off the side of the dock into the Sandusky Bay. Alot of the fish, especially largemouth and a few smallmouth go right to the dock poles and floating docks, and just chill there for a while. The fish are quite easy to catch as their are loads of them under the docks. Sometimes it takes some finesse, but most times in the evenings the fish seem to move out from under the docks and feed on the baitfish that move shallow. When they are doing this I see, to catch more on a spinnerbait and a crankbait than anything else.

So yeah, released fish from tourneys will bite again soon, sometimes in a couple of hours, and sometimes in a day or two. They will stick around for a while.

Ryan

[3dkicker]

Two spots on the Potomac river are known to hold released fish, the rocks at Leesylvania and the grass at Smallwood. You can fish these two areas and catch tournament fish pretty much all year long because many fish are released every weekend.

I'd spend a little time and watch how people fish the areas if they are high traffic areas. Then I'd look for the little things that most don't notice and get less pressure. Mickey Bruce taught me that lesson in my first big tournament as a co-angler.

[Jigger]

Originally Posted by rrw4258

So yeah, released fish from tourneys will bite again soon, sometimes in a couple of hours, and sometimes in a day or two.

Ryan

I disagree with this statement and I speak from experience as well. After you've fished for awhile you can tell how fresh a hook wound in a fish's mouth is and although I do fish ramps where fish are commonly released at tournaments, I rarely (read almost never) catch one with a fresh hook wound. Most of the released fish I catch have hook wounds that have healed or are well along in the healing process. Although I have caught the same fish on two consecutive days from time to time, these fish are fish I caught and immediately released. I doubt I've ever caught a fish the next day that's been hauled around most of the day in a live well, bounced in a boat, handled half a dozen time by me and the tournament director, weighed in a basket without water in it, put back in a bag and dumped back in a place miles from its home and then catch it "in a couple of hours" of its release.

If you were a fish, do you think, given the conditions I've described, that you would bite within a couple of hours of release

[BassFeverJohn]

Originally Posted by Jigger

I disagree with this statement and I speak from experience as well. After you've fished for awhile you can tell how fresh a hook wound in a fish's mouth is and although I do fish ramps where fish are commonly released at tournaments, I rarely (read almost never) catch one with a fresh hook wound. Most of the released fish I catch have hook wounds that have healed or are well along in the healing process. Although I have caught the same fish on two consecutive days from time to time, these fish are fish I caught and immediately released. I doubt I've ever caught a fish the next day that's been hauled around most of the day in a live well, bounced in a boat, handled half a dozen time by me and the tournament director, weighed in a basket without water in it, put back in a bag and dumped back in a place miles from its home and then catch it "in a couple of hours" of its release.

If you were a fish, do you think, given the conditions I've described, that you would bite within a couple of hours of release

Yes. This guy gets it. Thank you.

[Jigger]

Originally Posted by BassFeverJohn

with the live well, sorting, weighing, and release. I would be willing to bet no bass that is caught and released in a tourney is going to bite for quite sometime.

I have seen bass caught, released, and recaught within minutes. However, after all that, not a chance.

Ditto........