Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Pro bass angler: Bass harvest unnecessary

Pro bass angler Randy Blaukat makes the case that anglers do not need to harvest LMB for a healthy fishery. He bases this not only on his years of fishing, but also his management of a 40 acre private lake.

Interesting, as Blaukat contradicts everything pondmeisters are told here. Trying to keep an open mind, but it's hard for me to buy what he's selling. Anyway, here's his video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AV0AWuUA54

As you know I strongly support harvest in private water. But public water presents challenges because other than length limits nothing truly manages harvest. In private water we often are working with length limits to but also with harvest weight objectives. This is easily controlled in private water ... but not so easily in public water. Public water can be over harvested. If you were able to listen to the last few minutes (beginning about 14:36), I think you might agree with him as he provided context that he thought limited harvest could be practiced. For some reason the video started midway so I didn't get the part of his private water management but if he applies harvest discipline like he mentioned in the latter part of the video ... it seems reasonable depending his objectives for the water.

While I highly encourage harvest all the time ... I never practice it with LMB in the public water I fish around here. There are so many people keeping LMB that the numbers are truly insufficient to maintain quality fisheries either for BG or LMB. They really get dinged so I release all of them and fish for them for the sole purpose of hoping I am helping to make them hook smart. I keep reasonable numbers of small BG just to help with BG predation and to snack with my kids.

Sorry, my original post started in the middle of his video. Corrected.

He said that natural harvest, via birds, otters, other fish, turtles, etc is sufficient, even on private water. When he managed 40 acre lake, he also increased cover & supplemented with forage fish & feed, I think.

Maybe I'm wrong to try to discourage cormorants. At least, if they eat undersize LMB they may do more good than harm.

He might have a different perspective of what quality fishing is. I don't think he minds catching bass in smaller sizes and I don't think he is necessarily really trying to grow very large bass. That he has 40 acres is very forgiving. If he were to try that in <3 acres he would soon be overrun with runt bass. I do agree that his experience isn't a good reference plan for folks with smaller water.

Sorry, but I do not agree with what was said about smaller waters being overrun with bass. I learned one thing here and that is every pond is different. I might even some of the guys here (from their post) might overharvest their smaller bass. Goes back to it depends. If we looked at my pond at 3.14 acres per google earth, I never had to remove bass smaller than 14". Why? Because they were fed on by preditors from all around the pond. My HSB, along with the larger LMB did a good job of removing them. An 18 to 21" Lmb or HSB can easily eat a small 10-month-old 10" LMB because they are slimmer than let say a 7" BG. And the Cormorants(which I dislike) also contribute to reducing smaller LMB of 14". The Otters and even a few gators add to the mix and let us not forget the Bald Eagles and the Osprey that fly around the pond on most days. Another big reducer of overpopulation of lmb is when there are high numbers of BG that reduce lmb fry survival. That can be a good thing because the overabundance of Bg provides good forage numbers to grow large lmb and HSB. I will go back again and say every pond is different and that starts from the day you stock your first fish in the pond.

What? No Piscivorous Chupacabra or Bifurcated Transphibian predation?

If you don't have a 40 acre pond, disregard what Randy said. His experience with one pond doesn't mean he's an expert on pond management. I occasionally look at his YouTube channel, but I never seem to finish the videos. I'll leave it at that.

Your Attention Deficit Disorder/ADD manifesting itself again??

I watched that video a few days ago. Made me wonder if ol boy has ever considered the damage done by tournament anglers.

Flopping their fish onto the boat deck, weighing and sticking a cull pin in their jaw, tossing em in the deadwell, hauling em around
all day, then stuffing them into a bag for the big weigh-in spectacular. Top that off with turning them all loose in the cove the
tournament ran from. None of that stuff is good for a fish, and I'm sure that it causes a great deal of post-release mortality.

Tracy,

I think I recall you mentioning that it was several years before you got any LMB recruitment. I am inclined to think this was primarily due to the abundant BG which prevented most and possibly all swim up. If so, this is powerful factor that led to absence of LMB recruits that you would have otherwise needed to cull.

I do agree that every pond is different but I also think that small ponds are more susceptible to LMB over-recruitment than larger ponds.

I also saw the same video or a similar one a few days ago, I think they said 68% did not do well. I have seen similar reports over the years where the death was not so high. Some even said the bass went back to the area where they were caught after release. I do like the MLF fishing weighing over the Bassmasters weigh-in.
MLF platform is more likely a higher survival rate.

Theo, I did not mention the Bigfoot either that are seen in the area.

japsdad, you are correct about lmb reproduction in my pond, it was 4 yrs before i saw just a few 12 to 14" lmb. And I have seen several of Randys videos and i am not a big fan but I do like his partner in some of the fish-the-moment videos.

My 2 acre pond is doing just like Tracy's is. After about 4 years I am finally catching some 10-11 inch lmb. I only stocked 50 4 inch lmb originally but have always had a ton of cnbg!! I believe my lmb are finally catching up and I'm finally having fun CATCHING them this year!!! Some of my lmb now are hitting 8 pounds. maybe larger and just have not caught one!

Manifesting itself again? No. In full bloom? Yes. I've been packing all morning for a fly fishing trip that got cancelled. You know, just in case.

I hate it when those Transphibians get Bifurcated.

One thing is certain and proven in hundreds of studies and observations - maintaining balance in a natural pond or lake (unmanaged) over time with BG and LMB + others is highly unlikely. Balance in those situations is the aberration. There are no set in stone rules for every pond or lake as each is different. However the normal status in unmanaged LMB/BG ponds is the unbalanced state.

How many years has he managed that 40 acre lake?

Decades, according to the video. Of course, most of his pro bass experience has been on large lakes which get hit hard by anglers. He's convinced that the best bass fishing is up north, largely due to more limited fishing pressure caused by severe winter weather and state restrictions during spawning season.

What is "best" bass fishing ?

Most of the tournament records (not single biggest fish) are in southern and Calif locations.

I wonder what Ole Randy thinks about his tournament friends who bed fish, catch the fish and take it 5 miles down the lake to a weigh in, is this supposed to preserve the fishing for future generations?? Come on Randy.

To his credit, he explicitly condemns bed fishing. He prefers the FLW system whereby fish are measured & pictured when caught, then released on site. He also wants tournaments shifted away from spring & summer to fall & winter to reduce mortality issues.

Blaukat measures fishing success by how the average angler does, rather than just the super experts. When people who finish near the bottom of tournaments still manage to catch a limit, that's good fishing. That doesn't happen nearly as often down south as it does up north, according to him.

I can say without fear or favor that if you have otters, you do not need to harvest bass. They will clean you out in short order. I manage a 50 acre lake. We have almost no harvesting, although we allow it. We buy bass and stock fingerlings every year. For two years our catch rates went down hill, and our typical 7-10 pound fish were scarce. We took out 9 otters this past winter and are now rebuilding. Also, if you fish, you will kill a number of bass without trying. Most will survive, but deep hooked fish are anybody's guess.

I'm so sorry to hear that, Ross. Unlike cormorants, otters seem to kill for fun, and target the larger fish.

Yes they do. We just brought in 230 bass weighing 303 pounds from Ed Cox's lake near Athens. We donate to TPW hatchery program as compensation. Ed is a past TPW board member.

I'd love to see them have a winter tournament up here in Jan or Feb!

Bed fishing is controversial even between bass fisherman. My understanding is it does not take but a few bed fish to replenish a lake. And lmb beds can be in a lot of different water depths, So they're not bed fished. Those beds can't be seen in the deeper waters in most lakes here with our fertile waters here in Texas. It's not like the clear waters in the northern states.

There are a number of studies on LMB/SMB bed fishing and there are big differences by location. Bed fishing up north is much more of an issue in the studies - in the south not so much on a whole population basis. Also water fertility is a factor - highly fertile waters (productive) are less at risk with bed fishing. In ponds that tend to be LMB crowded bed fishing for LMB can be a good tool for reducing the LMB population. So it depends - and that is why I am not overly concerned with one pro bass fisherman's opinion of "best fishing" or what is good and bad wrt private lakes/ponds.

same thing is going on in the whitetail world - "experts" saying culling does no good at all - defies common sense and my experiences with ponds and deer management over my 68 years

Agree Tim.
I can guarantee that it doesn’t affect hogs. Nothing does.