Northwest Fishing Reports

After going through the posts in the C/R thread I wanted to ask: How open are your bassin information. Do you give out information on lakes, spots, lures etc? Due to a couple incidents, I am now much more tight lipped than I use to be and I think that is unfortunate. The Internet is great for sharing information, but that can come back to haunt you. I find that I am more open on Pm's with people that I know are C/R with smallies and largemouth. I am leary of the "meat fisherman" when it comes to bass. What are your thoughts?

Great thread. Considering I don't have much in terms of bass skills. I don't give out any GOOD info,cuz I ain't got it:-({|=
But I can say I would be very understanding why someone would be tight lipped.No sense in giving out great tips if some jerk wants to destroy your fishery. This is happening in the muskie fishery as well,now I only help people I can trust.

I will help out someone if they ask, but i too am leary of meat fisherman. Its hard enough to find a quality lake with large numbers of any size bass, largies or smallies. Everybody has to start somewhere tho, you cant possibly fish every lake just to see if it has a good population of bass. I use the reports just to narrow down new lakes to check out. On a side note, I'm sure most of the true bass fishermen on this website would like to know where all the pigs you flaunt are from.

I agree 100% JWerner. You, as have others, been open with me on tips for plastics and such. I am more than willing to tell what, how, when I caught fish. Giving out the exact spot is different. You don't want every Tom Dick or Harry running out to ruin a great fishery! But If I know someone isn't C&Ring fish, I will not be as open/truthful. W/O sites like this or NWBasser and people like JWerner, Sparky/SM KING, Robberelite, Tag Watson, BBT and BBD; I would not have caught as many fish as I have this season. I appreciate all the help and tips they have given me. I almost wish there were 2 Bass Fishing forums; 1 for C&R and 1 for carniverous, greedy people with poles(not fishermen)!!!

Just dont forget one lil thing.We all buy licenses.I pay for mine like you do.I pay my motor boat taxes like y'all do.I pay my launch fees and buy gas too.If a person wants a nice piece of fish for dinner and has the ability to go catch fresh fish ,why shouldnt they be able to w/o asking y'all permission to keep it and eat it.I C&R sometimes but there are times I want a fresh piece of fried bass or even sauteed.Youre cruel and unfair to call some of us greedy and carnivorous people with poles.I hope a moderater catches your rude comments.Sorry but I get tired of the self rightous fisherpeople.

Large populations of bass are hard to find. If someone wants to protect that, they have the right to keep it a secret. I don't think any of the c&r guys are going out to lakes and harassing guys that want to eat fish. You pay for a liscence, and as long as its within the regs I dont think anyone will give you a hard time about eating it. This thread is not about weather to c&r or not though racfish.

I wouldn't give a person who keeps fish the sweat off my.........well you know. As for tips and locations. I do not know enough to really help anyone. I will spill the beans about a few lures and set ups but there are a few things i do not really speak freely on. As for locations on lakes. I do not think i would ever tell any one my "honey holes" But i also wouldn't expect someone to tell me theirs either. The only reason for this is- If i have been fishing for 20 years and have 4-5 real good spots on say Lake Wa. (Tons of water) It took years to compile these spots and just throw them away so they get pressured real bad to a guy that hasn't done his homework or is just starting out. Its just like a job. You don't get to start out as the president. You have to work your way up.


As for Racfish- I do not really agree with you and i see your point but what i do not get is the guys that keep 4lbers and heavier. This post is stemming mainly from the post of the 8.47 smallie caught. Would you keep that fish to eat?

I would say anything over 2.5lbs should be thrown back. Heck take (2) 2lbers and have a ball. I do not do it or really like it but to kill a fish that has been around for that many years is just plain dumb

Yuk no.Big bass are not as tastey as smaller ones.I do agree that piggys like that should be released.I just didnt like the comment about carnivorous greedy fisherpeople.That I took as a callous remark.As long as rules and regs are followed then its all legal.It may not be ethical in some folks eyes but not everyone fishes for sport only.Some folks fish to eat.I do live on lk Wa and I will tell just about anyone where and how to fish.If they keep em thats up to them.I dont even take 2lbers out of the lake.I keep a fish like that if I ripped his lips off or hurt it in anyway.An 8.4 bass must me majestic looking and deserves to live to a ripe old age.
If you caught an 80 lb king would you release it ? Probably not....

I love bass fishing. In a region where my favorite gamefish is looked down upon in complete disdain by state agencies who until the late '70's did not even recognize bass as a gamefish, I want people to get excited about catching bass. I gladly tell other anglers how to fish, my favorite lures, techniques, etc. But I do keep tightlipped about specific locations on a particular lake, but have no problem showing someone how to find fish and entice them to bite.

As bassing grows in popularity so will our voice when dealing with the state agencies.

I am a firm believer in CPR. Catch-Photograph-Release. And I do not allow fish retention in my boat except in rare circumstances.

As far as meat fishermen on WL.com, keep only what you intend to use and follow the rules for size and limits. Don't take them home for the garden because Burger King is on the way home.

And finally, meat fishermen will never know what it is to catch 20-25 bass in a day. Catch-and-Release means no limits!

I may not agree with you 100% but I love the CPR.Thats great.I cant say that I disagree either.Im not a huge bass fisherperson nor can I eat fried fish anymore.I fish steelies and salmon for the most part.Last Steel season I caught only 4 steelies all were released and none were touched by my hands.All fish last year for me were natives.If they were hatcheries Idve scarfed them down.

First off I'm no good at bass fishing.Tried it and I am getting better at it.I love all the info I can get about Bassin I do not keep bass not because they taste like well lets just say there not that tasty.JMO I tried em when I was a young child living in Oklahoma.Whe more expierenced Bassers give me info I eat it up but don't expect to be told everything like honey spots.I know it takes alot of hours on the water to get a body of water down.Beleive me I know I have spent hundred if not a couple thousand hours getting my local lake down.Not for bass mind you.For trout I just took up bass fishing to fill that spot of time when trout fishing sucks and salmon season isn't here.I love all the info yall give out even if you leave some to alot of the tips.Just for record the only fish I like to keep are of the saltwater variety.So thanks for all the info yall give out.

- Rac- Yep, we all purchase licenses etc and we all have opinion too. Keep what's legal - we all have the CHOICE to do so. We also have a choice of how much information to share with others. I wanted to start this topic to see what others are willing to do. If I choose to not publicly share a bunch of info, that does not make me self rightious, it makes me a person that protects a resourse (which on the west side is neglected by the state IMO) to a certain degree. There shouldn't be anything wrong with that.

Bass Album

I agree with most of the stuff above, but I want to add that I'd discriminate by lake too. A lake like Washington, a couple guys isn't going to make that big of a difference. So I might give them a hot lure or some tips, but not for a secret lake or a small lake. Meat fishermen could completely destroy a couple of my zippers if they tried hard enough.

Generally, I try to help people out, but less so if they're going to keep the bass.

Definatly one in question with me now CHAMBERS in "O" town

JWerner wrote:After going through the posts in the C/R thread I wanted to ask: How open are your bassin information. Do you give out information on lakes, spots, lures etc? Due to a couple incidents, I am now much more tight lipped than I use to be and I think that is unfortunate. The Internet is great for sharing information, but that can come back to haunt you. I find that I am more open on Pm's with people that I know are C/R with smallies and largemouth. I am leary of the "meat fisherman" when it comes to bass. What are your thoughts?

tagwatson360 wrote:Great thread, JWerner. There are several excellent posts with very valid points. Like JWerver, if I am confident an angler will release their trophy bass, I am much more open with information. I have been burned a few times myself. My opinion is that if an angler chooses to keep some bass, keeping the small legal keepers and releasing the larger fish is the most responsible approach.

I feel like I have some good tips to offer for targeting big bass. However, I have become reluctant to share some of this information in an open forum, knowing it could potentially lead to trophy bass being retained. These fish are invaluable to the future of our fisheries.

Have fun and CPR the hawgs!

just like you, we have learned our lesson. there are apples that will always ruin it for the bunch.

nowadays any and all information is kept offline. we have a small circle of friends in which information is pretty much free reign. email and mobile phones is where its at. fyi - i have a love / hate relationship with those 'calls'.

to be honest, the internet is a great resource / tool, but the valuable information is often highly guarded.


throw away the box & keep them wet!

If someone takes the time to ask, I like to think I am open to sharing info.
I have no trouble telling others were and how I fish.
I have even been known to give some folks the baits I use.
Sharing information is one of the things I like about this sport.
If I can help someone get more strikes, then its a good day.
Its up to them to catch the fish.

I am not point people out, just making a statement of my feelings. I have not said any names nor will I. This is a thread called Openness, meaning state your feelings on C&R.

It depends on what I think the person asking has in mind.

For C&R people, I'll totally spill any and all info.

Normal family types, it depends. If I know ya, Im more likly to give more detailed info.

Meat fishers, only if I think you can be trusted and the info gets real general.

Now there is this other type, Mike says we cant use the proper words to describe them, I wont even give a county name. As a specific example... There is a Bulgarian guy I work with, He'd get all of his family and friends and take what they want. This guy tells me stories about the tons of fish (over limit) he's caugth at Rattlesnake with powerbait and such. Since Im a Musky guy, I wont, absolutly will not, elaborate on the lake, bait, technique... nothing. I usually lie and say Lake Washington because its so huge to this type of person.

There is a Selective Gear lake in Yakima, Myron Lake, in which trout are plentiful and the LM population is getting better. I have spent days fishing there w/ barbless single hook, no baits or attractants and get skunked to see some guy and his family walk in w/ bag of powerbait and worms. I have made stated my feelings to them as I am here. They can ruin small lakes.