BEST BASS DAY

[ICE_HOOK]

Had the best day this season Saturday on 12 inches of snow and 2 inches of slush. Hard walking , but with all the flags it was worth it! Caught 12 smallmouths and a brown . Kept 5 , the limit and the brown. Hopefully next weekend will be great also.[

[LoveIce]

AHHHH that just warms my heart  all those dead BASS 

[Pasquatch]

Very Nice fish!

[IceFireman]

catch and release

[LoveIce]

NOOOOOOOOOOO   Keep every BASS  they tast soooooooo good 

[Pasquatch]

He kept the limit, no more, what's the problem with that?

[chrisN]

Nice Bass.

[LoveIce]

some people dont keep fish to eat .They set them FREEEEEEEEE Im all for killing bass  but not more than the law says to 

[fishercat]

Some people fish for food. Some just fish to fish and catch and release  jmho

[SHAMEN]

If you like to release them great...he likes to keep his limit.  Tired of these people who like to bash people who keep some fish.  That's why they have limits.  If you don't want to be able to keep them b***h to someone else not the people following the law.  I C&R 99 percent of my bass but I like to eat one now and then especially through the ice.  I swear they taste better than in the summer...anyone else agree?

[ICE_HOOK]

 Yes I do agree , when I'm hardwater fishing , bass are my favorite fish to catch. They do taste the best in the winter , my wife agree's. She loves fish of all kinds , bass and trout are her favorite's. I released 7 more bass after I caught those because that's what fishing is all about. Fly fishing in the spring brings all the rewards of catch and release. I have been fishing for 45 years and I know when to stop , when my ashes are sprinkled on the mountain streams of Vermont!

[TackleTester]

I have no problem with you keeping your smallies, except that they are a bloody mess and taste like crud (of course, a personal opinion.)  In an In-Fisherman, I saw an article that said not to fish for smallies through the ice because they begin their spawn in January.  If it was June, I would have no problem, but with this a just don't like to see my favorite species lying on a newspaper dead.

Anyway, I can't stop you and you caught those fish so you "deserve" to be able to keep them.......You puti in the time and have every right to eat them (Even though there are hundreds of species of fish that taste better.

That aside, good catch

Catch em up
Brian

[Pasquatch]

Bass (both species) spawn alot later then January anywhere you can catch them through the ice

[ChenBassHead]

Nice fish Ice Hook!! Nothing at all wrong with keeping some bass for the pan, although I'm primarily C&R...I just don't like the taste! 

I agree Pasquatch, bass do NOT spawn under the ice, because the water is far too cold. Smallmouths may begin to spawn earlier, due to a higher cold tolerance than largemouths, however the still wait (generally) for water in the upper 50S to even make their way to spawning habitat. They won't spawn until the water is around 62-65 degrees.

Another thing I have to say is that In-Fisherman wouldn't promote such a ludicrous theory, because one, the goal of In-Fisherman is to provide it's readers with the best methods to employ to catch various species' of fish at a particular time, using FACT. Secondly, I-F is pretty unbiased, and won't tell readers to "not fish for smallies when spawning" as they do this themselves. They aren't promoting fishing the spawn, but they aren't protesting it either.

-Zach

[reubenpa]

I have caught Susquehanna Bass in August that had eggs in them... That bass wasn't even thinking about spawning in Jan and it the River does  freeze....  not fishable freeze but solid MHO

[Pasquatch]

The only place where I've personally ever seen bass spawning in January was during a very warm January in Florida...they were barely even beginning to spawn, too. And I've never icefished in Florida! (that would be cool though,) Also, the farthest South that you can consistently find Smallmouths is in what, Tennessee?

[TackleTester]

In In-Fisherman, it said they begin the spawning process in January and begin finding staging areas.  This would explain why the season is closed in Canada until May 13.  At least where I go it is.Anyway, the article said that you should leave smallies alone until the ice melts

[ice boy19]

nice fish way to go