The center of the following image of our natural waterfront shows a typical bass bed. A chunky smallmouth bass had been in that bed for the last couple of weeks when the water temperature reached 16 Celsius. I keep a close eye on nature! I scout that bass bed every time I walk baby turtles to be released in the adjacent marsh.
I checked yesterday and again today. There were no fish to be seen. Smallmouth bass are very aggressive defenders of their nest. They even keep the native northern pike at bay.
Now, consider Bed Bass Fishing. That method of angling actually targets fish while they are on their spawning grounds! Locating the beds in shallow water is easy. The water is typically shallow along the shore... Productive mid-lake shoals might be slightly harder to locate. A couple of fishmen can quickly cover a lot of water using fast-retrieved spinnerbaits.
Bed Bass Fishing means that fish are hooked and hauled off the nests. The thrill of the fight might be exciting for the angler. Perhaps a bit stressful for the fish. Meanwhile, the eggs or fry that were being protected are left quite defenceless. If the bass is boated and quickly and humanely released, it might be just an accidental by-catch of a bass rather than a northern pike or walleye. That is debatable, but that argument provides room for some doubt in court.
If there is time spent grabbing a camera and composing a few pictures of the bass and angler for the family album, that is called "angling". That fish was the target. The added photography time ensures that panfish would have had ample opportunity to clear the bed of eggs and/or fry. The base of the fishery is lost.
Bed Bass fishing is actually widely practiced in the United States, but especially in Florida. Those who practice this form of angling comment, and I paraphrase: "Those fish almost always go back to their beds." Thus no harm done... Oh my...
Smallmouth bass are different from largemouth bass. Research in the northern United States and Canada finds that adult numbers and protection during the spawn may be more important to population size than in southern latitudes. Smallmouth may be more likely to abandon nests when stressed or displaced.
For Fisheries Management Zone 18
Northern pike (and Walleye and sauger combined): Season: January 1 to March 31 and the second Saturday in May to December 31. The pike The bass season opened May 10th, 2025.
Largemouth and smallmouth bass combined: Season: third Saturday in June to December 15. The bass season starts weeks away on June 21st, 2025.
Biologists have also discovered evidence that northern smallmouth bass may not spawn every year, skipping a year or two or more. In those instances, the fish that do spawn are making a larger contribution to the year class. The success of each smallmouth nest is more important.
Bed Bass Fishing Considerations
- The basis of any fishery is the nursery habitat with sufficient food during the fry and fingerling stage.
- Small fish must also have a place to hide and forage. Time is required for the fry to grow large enough to avoid becoming lunch for a larger fish.
- Some empathetic anglers question whether bed fishing is ethical. Bed Bass Fishing involves catching bass when they are especially vulnerable and defending their nests.
- There are concerns about whether bed fishing might harm bass populations or affect their ability to continue spawning successfully. The biology of the fishery still needs much study.
For Fisheries Management Zone 18, the impacts of Bed Bass Fishing, which is illegal fishing before the season begins, can be devastating. I recently missed attending a lecture on this story, where a slide showing the decline of fish on nearby Lake Opinicon was shown.
Frankly, waiting a few more weeks to fish for bass legally is not a big hardship if the health and future of the fishery demands it. The smallmouth bass I was following disappeared, probably through angling, three weeks before the season was due to start.
For me, Bed Bass Fishing is clearly unethical and beyond being just illegal, but I am trying to be diplomatic. A Google search for "Bed Bass Fishing" yields a lot of links showing just how prevalent it is...
Warmest regards and keep your paddle in the water,
Phil Chadwick
