The use of bass as bait

[SandTiger]

Hang on, if you are quite happy to eat one then why moan if one is used for bait?

[young fishin neep]

exactly the fish is gonna die or get eaten eventualy but when you use it as bait it happens earlier

[SandTiger]

Well it's about a means to a greater end, neep

[Rockling]

Bait is bait is bait! If it works then anglers will use it. I do not think you can differentiate between bass and other fish species as being suitable or unsuitable, allowable or unallowable, desirable or undesirable for bait. I would use a conger to get a shark! I have used spurdog and LSD's as bait for skate.

I do think that if an angler gets scruples about killing fish or using a fish as dead or live bait then it is time for him to take up golf (fairly non-lethal except to other golfers!). Every one has their own particular set of ethics regarding angling, I rarely use live fish bait but will do so without compunction if fishing for certain species (which generally get returned alive); if bass is better I would use such, assuming I can catch one

Rockling.

[SandTiger]

Fore

[young fishin neep]

hole-in-1

[Jim Roper]

sam-cox:

Yes bass anglers are a special breed,

Sounds like we need a special forum for them!

[Kcrusty]

i was supprised i must admit when the comments about my actions were slated so readily.personally i would never kill a bass for bait,but consideration should be taken to the fact they are food for lots of larger fish ie tope,they dont cruse round shallow water looking for sandeels if they want nice plump bass or mullet. oh i have had mullet in the water too for conger but werent killed intentionally to do it.i found them stranded in a gully on a beach allready dead some were still kicking but were far to gone to return to the water half a mile down the beach.was this wrong to or should the gulls have been left to feast on them? as it happens mullet do very well as fish baits far better than bass even stronger flesh and allot more oil spills out of the fillets.oh i had one of my silver dollers in my aquarium die on me guess what happend to that!the pollock i had on it werent at all fussed

and to be honest if i thought a bass or mullet would fish better than other baits for preditors i probably would use them.at the end of the day is there diffrence between using crab or worm or even squid as bait saying as they have equall amounts of pressure to survive in reallity probably harded for those then the humble bass.never turn up the chance of a good bait what ever it may be with common sence of course.

[guernseybass]

if its already dead i can't see what difference it makes what bait you use. But i wouldn't kill one just to use as bait.

 

I can't think why they would make a good bait as they smell very little - surely mackerel or some other oily fish would be more effective scent wise.

 

it does seem a bit like using lobster instead of peeler crab though.

 

weird.

 

GB

[Salar]

The discussion on this thread about moral issues is fine - but don't think that anglers using small fish as bait is going to have any measurable impact on the number of fish in the sea. If you have ever seen the vast numbers of dead immature bass and other fish shovelled over the side of a prawn trawler as legitimate "by-catch" you would see what I mean