Decemeber bass

I was out yesterday after a bit of a hiatus due to college and couldn't get over all the fish still around.I picked up 2 bass,pollock 3lb+,coal fish and shed loads of macks.A quick check of the temperatures and the water was still reading 12 degrees.I remember this time last year there wasn't a fish to be seen and it was milder then it is now if I remember right.At this stage the bass wont be gone 2 months before there back in numbers.I thought I had learned a bit about there habits but that all seems to be out the window now.

Anyone have any ideas of reasons why ?
Also on landing one of the bass in the net this body "locked" curved and his gills puffed out almost like he had a turn.This was the second fish that I seen do it this year.I wasn't been unnecessarily rough with him either ,just scooped him up.Anyone know ?

strange year for the fishing alright id say the weather has a lot to do with it. ive had a bass do that before were the gill plates just flare out.

strange year for the fishing alright id say the weather has a lot to do with it. ive had a Bass do that before were the gill plates just flare out.

Strange isn't the word.Will the fish return again the end of February start of march or would they bother leaving at all ? or would it be weather dependent ?

I tried to put the poor fella back but he didn't budge.

Mine went back not a bother once it hit the water it swam away. sounds like yours had a heart attack

[Mozza]

Hi Rick well done getting a few Bass in this cold weather,on the reason why the Bass did what he did when you landed him is i would say a defence mechanism, puffing out his gill plates which are razor sharp and his dorsel fin with its very sharp spikes are all done to protect himself when threatened. I find this very common when i catch bass under 3lb, they seem to do this about 90% of the time but they always swim off as soon as i put them back into the sea. I am 100% catch and release but i did have a bass last year that just died shortly after i landed him, i tried putting him in a recovery pool but he just died.

Last edited by Mozza on Thu Dec 06, 2012 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I was out yesterday after a bit of a hiatus due to college and couldn't get over all the fish still around.I picked up 2 Bass,pollock 3lb+,coal fish and shed loads of macks.A quick check of the temperatures and the water was still reading 12 degrees.I remember this time last year there wasn't a fish to be seen and it was milder then it is now if I remember right.At this stage the Bass wont be gone 2 months before there back in numbers.I thought I had learned a bit about there habits but that all seems to be out the window now.

Anyone have any ideas of reasons why ?
Also on landing one of the Bass in the net this body "locked" curved and his gills puffed out almost like he had a turn.This was the second fish that I seen do it this year.I wasn't been unnecessarily rough with him either ,just scooped him up.Anyone know ?

Hi RicOshay,
This is something that smaller bass often do as a safety reflex. You will notice that their spines are erect and their gill plastes are flared. I suppose it makes them harder to eat if they have been caught by a seal. Normally it only happens with bass under 3lbs. Bass can take a long time to come out of it and have been known to roll in with the surf after being released. If possible try to let them recover in a rock pool or even in a bucket of water if you have one. Not all of them make it.

Thanks for that lads.He was 3lbs on the button and now that I think of it the other fish I got was in or around the same size,I spent a bit of time with him but there didn't seem to be much happening ,hopefully he came round after I left him off but I was watching him for a bit and he seemed to stay belly up.

Also on landing one of the Bass in the net this body "locked" curved and his gills puffed out almost like he had a turn

I had a bass (in the 2.5 lb-3 lb range) do that a couple of years ago, its body curved and it went rigid. I put it into a pool but it did not recover - seemed to me it went into shock, had a heart attack and died.

Also on landing one of the Bass in the net this body "locked" curved and his gills puffed out almost like he had a turn

I had a Bass (in the 2.5 lb-3 lb range) do that a couple of years ago, its body curved and it went rigid. I put it into a pool but it did not recover - seemed to me it went into shock, had a heart attack and died.

Good to know for the future, ill try be keeping stress levels down for the fish, any ideas on why the fish stadyed around so long ? Do you think it's all weather based ?

still catching mackeral well suprised where were you fishing if you dont mind me asking

Dungarvan in Waterford.The water was alive with fish,still plenty of macs braking the surface.There were mostly joeys but still December macs.You cant argue with that.

i,ve had big bass in january in south east wexford big and very healthy ones i think by feb your gonna struggle but if its surfy they can defo still be about ,of course in kerry if its mild they can stay all year ,dec being one of the best for big ones

Dungarvan in Waterford.The water was alive with fish,still plenty of macs braking the surface.There were mostly joeys but still December macs.You cant argue with that.

yeah defo very late for them to be still in shore fair play mate