most dribble removed

"Shawn" wrote in message
...
First of all, it was likely a male, not a female, if there was only one
fish
present. Females deposit eggs the male has built, the male then
fertilizes
the eggs, and takes up watch. The female leaves. Absolutely no parental
care invested by female bass (neither smallmouth or largemouth). The male
stands guard over the eggs as well as the fry once they hatch, keeping
sunfish, minnows, and an assortment of other critters at bay until the fry
get to the size where they being to leave the nest on their own.

So - the second question to ask ...... just how many eggs or fry got
gobbled
up in the 5 to 7 minutes it took for you to play the fish, land it,
photograph it, put it back, and have it return to the nest. Most
scientific
studies show even a short period of time removed from the nest can result
in
drastic fry predation.

Also consider how many lakes get stocked by people, how many fewer people
remove fish from lakes as they can buy food at the local store, and a thing
called "nature". Ignoring all that, I think you _might_ have a point.