While I'd say bass fishing is more my passion than my profession Sim, I'll
throw my thoughts on this at you.

A lake is either "healthy" or not. "Unhealthy" lakes can indeed be fished
out, but this is more the result of a weak ecosystem than overfishing.

In the case of healthy lakes, the ecosystem is self-sustaining. This means
that the water body is capable of supporting X number of adult bass. The
number of successful spawns can vary from year to year, but the resulting
population will be similar.

There are lots of factors, both natural & man-influenced, that can effect
the bass population in a given water. The fact remains that 95% of bass
caught just about anywhere are now released. Selective harvest is not a
problem, and it's been scientifically proven that harvesting a small
percentage of bass, even during the spawn (when most states' closed season
occurs), will not even put a dent in the resulting population of adults a
few years down the road.

Funny how states will prohibit us from fishing during the spawning months,
yet they'll allow water levels to fluctuate during the same months,
oftentimes wiping out entire year classes of bass.

Politics...

Warren
--
http://www.warrenwolk.com/



"SimRacer" -spam wrote in message
. com...

"go-bassn" wrote in message
...

Bass seasons are strictly to satisfy the radical conservationists. They
really serve no purpose, IMHO.

Warren


I'd like to see some expanded thoughts from you on this Warren, if you get
the time. I certainly am not going to argue with you over it as I mainly
agree. I just need more ammo for my opinions when I run across a
*clueless*
treehugger.

I started thinking about this in earnest when I read or saw some info
released last year on sight fishing (aka bed fishing) and how there was
currently no proof that it affected overall bass numbers when practiced.
Not
that I am a good, or even moderately good sight fisherman, but anything
that
genuinely may hurt the sport/hobby/past-time, should be looked at US
first,
before the radicals jump into the fray.

Anyways, you are the guy out in the field, chasing these things
professionally so I was wondering what your thoughts on this are past your
one liner zing above. I love the outdoors, fishing, bass fishing in
particular and I want to know the facts so I can be a heavily armed (with
knowledge) voice in the wilderness so to speak when the next big round of
PETA or other radical groupa tries to put the brakes on our past-time,
hobby, and in your case, profession.

Thanks.