Fishing for bedding bass

[mattv-mcfly]

Why is it less frowned upon to fishing for bedding bass than trout on redds?

I personally don't fish for bedding bass because it feels unethical but I feel like the fishing industry indoctrinates anglers to make them think it's okay.

Do anglers who live where black bass are native feel the same sense of conservation that we have for our native trout?

[Darian]

One answer to your first question might be that Bass fisherman are usually casting from a boat or Floatation of some sort, not wading in/on them. Purely speculation on my part but maybe it was seen as being OK because of that circumstance....

Lots of publications/videos by pro Bass fisherman discuss the how to's of fishing Bass while bedding. So maybe you're right that the practice is encouraged. Of course, I've heard the pro's say that Bass are a hearty fish and aren't as easily injured by handling. Once again, it seems to be a personal decision to target spawning Bass.

It seems to me that fisherman where Bass are a native species do think about conservation. If you believe the many videos on Bass fishing that show the fisherman releasing their catch, apparently, they do care. Many years ago pro Bass fisherman/guides started releasing their catch and it's a universal practice, now. Indeed, Bass tournaments changed their rules to apply penalties to fisherman who brought in Bass to the weigh-in that were in poor condition or were dead. Of course, that still leaves the problem of removing the fish from their bed and releasing the fish a lengthy distance from it. Do those Bass somehow find their way back to their bed?? Regardless, all of that seems to point to a conservation ethic on the part of Bass fisherman wherever they are....