San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

In the small-medium size lake (3-400 acres 60ft deep) with the main forage is shad, and catch and release is very common,Would culling other species benefit bass growth?

In the lake I fish used to have plenty of 10lb bass, from what I’ve been told and from 2009 die off pictures which lots of DD bass up to 12lb. I myself only witnessed one over 10lb caught plentiful of 4-6lb biggest I caught is 8.5 lb.
On the other hand from my own experience, there are abundant of huge channels catfish (never seen blue or flathead) plenty of 15-18” crappie have been caught every years during spawning time, plus 8-10” bluegill that can be catch almost all year round. Would these fish complete with bass for shad.
I’m not worried about crappie because I’ve seen so many targeting them for food but rarely seen one targeting just bluegill and a lot fish for catfish but released afterwards.

A ten inch Bluegill is a good meal for a larger Bass. They suck them right down. That is the food source for larger Bass.

Not really, at one point I found a nice size bass with either 5-6” crappie or bluegill struck in its mouth. Luckily my friend and I able to get that fish out and bass swim away. Maybe 10lb bass can swallow 10” bluegill?

Right, the bass that try to eat adult gills are the ones you find floating. It’s the small ones that get eaten. If big bluegills were regular meals for bass the fish at Barrett would be much healthier

Then what about the Bass I catch on large Bluegill while Flathead fishing at the river? Bass eat big Gills all the time. Sometimes they choke on them, I’ve seen Bass dead Bass with Coots stuck in their mouths. They will try and eat anything that they can fit in their Big Mouths, yet we rarely see dead Bass.

Bendopole,
I’ve watched big bass on beds, protecting the nest trying to run off ducks as well.
I’ve cut bass to fillet and there’s small catfish in them crawfish you name it .
Finding them is a small part, seeing what there eaten works too.
I’d rather feed them what there eatin, then watch videos
On the newest great bait.

Daddy said that’s marketing son. !!!

bendopolo 44+ wrote: Sat Jun 01, 2024 3:41 pm Then what about the Bass I catch on large Bluegill while Flathead fishing at the river? Bass eat big Gills all the time. Sometimes they choke on them, I’ve seen Bass dead Bass with Coots stuck in their mouths. They will try and eat anything that they can fit in their Big Mouths, yet we rarely see dead Bass.

Yes I agree, I have caught bass with half of baby catfish in its gut. Trout is another species that good for big bass food source. Even small bass itself can be good big bass food. Bluegill on the other hand not slender type fish plus long dorsal fin on 6-10” bluegill might be a little too hard for bass to swallow whole.
I might be just looking for an excuse to bring bluegills home to friend and family. I don’t eat bluegill nor catfish, even crappie that I haven’t had one the last couple years.

Can’t imagine these size bluegill in bass mouth.

I’ve caught a catfish in the Mississippi River with a Kansas license plate in its belly.
That was before cell phones , wish I had a picture.

Stringbean wrote: Sat Jun 01, 2024 5:26 pm I’ve caught a catfish in the Mississippi River with a Kansas license plate in its belly.
That was before cell phones , wish I had a picture.

Yeah someone really giving too much credit for fish brain, especially bluegill that will strike anything like slim Jim or bread on plain hook, try to come up with some special design unnecessary.

They just crush them. I have landed Bass at Lake Martinaz where the Big Bluegill looked like a Fish Meatball. The ones that choke on them were timid. I have seen Bass explode on nesting Bluegill violently. Just scales are left swirling around. Trout are softer but at Mission Viejo lake there were regularly large Trout sticking out of the mouths of Bass as they cruised by in the gin clear water.

I saw a nearly 5 lb bass in lake mittry with a close to 3-4lb bass wedged head first in its mouth floating dead. That was wild. Bass are nuts. A big one would try and inhale that bluegill above. Just gotta be head first

Just_Bass wrote: Sat Jun 01, 2024 5:11 pm

bendopolo 44+ wrote: Sat Jun 01, 2024 3:41 pm Then what about the Bass I catch on large Bluegill while Flathead fishing at the river? Bass eat big Gills all the time. Sometimes they choke on them, I’ve seen Bass dead Bass with Coots stuck in their mouths. They will try and eat anything that they can fit in their Big Mouths, yet we rarely see dead Bass.

Yes I agree, I have caught bass with half of baby catfish in its gut. Trout is another species that good for big bass food source. Even small bass itself can be good big bass food. Bluegill on the other hand not slender type fish plus long dorsal fin on 6-10” bluegill might be a little too hard for bass to swallow whole.
I might be just looking for an excuse to bring bluegills home to friend and family. I don’t eat bluegill nor catfish, even crappie that I haven’t had one the last couple years.

Can’t imagine these size bluegill in bass mouth.

Ding ding ding we have a winner. Bass are aggressive and opportunistic in certain moments but big ones aren’t stupid. The profile of the food makes a huge difference. To say they actively seek out giant bluegills is goofy to me. River fish also eat baby stripers, tilapia. An occasion anecdotal fish on a big bluegill would never tell me they target them. There are literally no small bluegill at Barrett. Zero. Sure are a ton half pound and larger. The fish are not eating those

From what you guys are saying, maybe I should start throwing something really big for bass. Maybe a disgusting rat lure like https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Savage_ ... SG3DR.html . Sounds like a lot more fun than finesse.

I remember years ago at Barrett, I was reeling in one of those big bluegill that had bit a dropshot rigged for bass. Just before getting the bluegill to my float tube, I see a giant bass chasing the bluegill from the depths. But he turned away at the last minute. Felt like my heart stopped for a moment. So there are bass at Barrett that will at least think about eating a big bluegill.

StinkyPinky23 wrote: Sun Jun 02, 2024 4:15 pmThere are literally no small bluegill at Barrett. Zero.

So they go from eggs to one pounders in an instant?

Now, I will say that they sure do grow a lot quicker than bluegills in other lakes, but to say that no small bluegill exist?

They are all over in the weeds and grass. Perfect bait sized gills. Did I say bait? Woops

That’s what you gathered from my statement?! They eat all the SMALL ones, and once they get to a certain size they are food for 1% of the bass in the lake. My point is giant bluegills might get eaten once in a blue moon but that’s not what bass are hunting on the regular. You’ll catch far more bass using small females than you ever will on big purple and orange spawning males

It’s not like havasu bass are growing to epic sizes eating giant fatty redears. Or are they? Just not the regular food source

camobass wrote: Sun Jun 02, 2024 6:11 pm They are all over in the weeds and grass. Perfect bait sized gills. Did I say bait? Woops

Perfect time to finesse or BFS if you want casting weightless worm around weed/grass or when you see boiling of bass on school of baby bluegill.

Gotfish? wrote: Sun Jun 02, 2024 4:38 pm From what you guys are saying, maybe I should start throwing something really big for bass. Maybe a disgusting rat lure like https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Savage_ ... SG3DR.html . Sounds like a lot more fun than finesse.

I remember years ago at Barrett, I was reeling in one of those big bluegill that had bit a dropshot rigged for bass. Just before getting the bluegill to my float tube, I see a giant bass chasing the bluegill from the depths. But he turned away at the last minute. Felt like my heart stopped for a moment. So there are bass at Barrett that will at least think about eating a big bluegill.

I was once caught a 4-6” bluegill on ultralight rig. About 5lb grab that bluegill right under my feet and run. I know my #8 hook not gonna pass through bluegill mouth onto the bass, so I just hold on and play with that bass. It was almost 20-30 second where I got the bass in about 5-10’ away and she just let go of the bluegill.

Hey, it is a bass fishing you gotta do everything from big 6-8” swim bait down to tiny crank for more fun, right?

I’ve caught fish under 4lbs on 8” hudds. Go throw a full size deps bullshooter at any of our lakes for an entire day and report back how many fish you catch