Pete Thomas Outdoors

Bass tries, and fails, to eat another bass of similar size (video)

Largemouth bass are sometimes referred to as bucket-mouths and have been known to consume prey half their size. This includes fish, of course, but also frogs and birds.

But the accompanying footage may surprise even bass anglers who thought they had seen it all. It shows a fairly large bass with another of bass similar size half-swallowed and protruding from its mouth.

Both were still alive and the angler probably saved their lives by scooping them up, gently pulling them apart and setting them free.

 

The video was posted Tuesday on the Field & Stream website by blogger Tim Romano, who said it had been sent to him by a friend. The catch was made at a Lake Austin, presumably in Texas.

Romano wrote about the season heating up and the various methods being used by anglers and added: “You know it’s all good and really warm weather is on the way when Mr. bucket-mouth starts chomping.

“That’s why I had to share this video one of my friends sent me the other day. I’ve seen bass eat some crazy things, like birds, snakes, obviously other fish … but this one has to take the cake.”

No argument there.

--Pete Thomas

Is it legal to catch lobster with a noose?

In support of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Pete Thomas Outdoors, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly California Outdoors Q&A column:

Question: Is it legal to catch lobster with a noose? I want to make a sort of noose of PVC pipe and an elastic band (from the sling of a sling spear). This would not at all harm the lobster if caught in the noose. (Anonymous)

Answer: No, this is not legal. The only approved methods for sport take of lobster are by hand or with hoop nets (California Code Regulations Title 14, section 29.80).


Q: One of my friends has a large aquarium and is interested in putting some largemouth bass in it. I would like to know what the regulations are for catching a largemouth bass in a local lake and then transporting it live to his tank. It would never be released into a different body of water, and it would be taken legally. (Azure C.)

A: Transporting fish alive from the water where they are taken is prohibited (California Code of Regulations, section 1.63). Laws allowing certain species of live fish to be maintained alive in closed-systems do not authorize possession in home aquariums. Your friend can legally buy bass for his or her aquarium from a licensed aquaculturalist, as long as he or she does not release it into the wild.

Q: I live in Washington State and need some help with a question that
pertains to California rules. I have a friend who lives in California that wants my old mounted bear head for his cabin. It is about 60 years old, been in the family for years and passed around from one member to the other.


I tried reading the rules on the Internet about taxidermy things and got confused.


I don’t want to get in trouble if I send it to him, and I don’t want him to get in trouble for having it. It’s not for resell, just for his personal use. Would we be breaking any laws if I send it to him? (Sue N.)

Can 'Alabama Rig' be used for freshwater fishing in California?

In support of the California Department of Fish and Game and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Pete Thomas Outdoors, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly California Outdoors Q&A column:

Question: A recent innovation on the pro bass-fishing trail is something called the "Alabama Rig" which is similar to what is called an "Umbrella Rig" by saltwater anglers. The Alabama Rig consists of five or six lures [usually plastic grubs or small swimbaits] radiating from a central attachment point by wires, imitating a school of baitfish. It looks very similar to a "mobile" that you might suspend above a baby’s crib. Since all the lures have hooks in them, would this rig be legal for inland/freshwater fishing in California for bass or other species? (Steve C., Chico)

Answer: With the amount of money available through tournament fishing these days, anglers are constantly looking for the next big thing to help them catch more and bigger bass. We have received a lot of questions recently regarding the "Alabama Rig" and whether they are legal to use in California. Unfortunately, regulations in California differ from those in Alabama and this type of fishing tackle is not legal.

According to competitive bass angler and Department of Fish and Game game warden Tim Little, the traditional "Alabama Rig" (see photo at right) is not legal to use because it contains five separate lures each with a hook. California law allows for a maximum of three lures to be used on an individual line (whether the lure has a single hook as shown in your photograph or uses three hooks as allowed by law.)

In California, "all fish may be taken only by angling with one closely attended rod and line or one hand line with not more than three hooks nor more than three artificial lures (each lure may have three hooks attached) attached thereto" (California Code of Regulations, section 2.00).

To legally use the Alabama Rig in California inland waters, the rig must be attached to one rod with one line and no more than three of the attached lures containing hooks. Those lures containing hooks may have no more than three hooks attached to each lure. The other two could have hookless teasers. Some people locally have even developed a modified three wire rig (now called a Cali-rig), which is legal.

Q: I live in Southern California and maintain private fish tanks for my clients. I have a client that has a 5,000-gallon shark tank with a black tip reef shark. After hearing about other Requiem Sharks being seized (CCR Title 14, section 671 (c)(6)(A)), my client would like to know what he can do to have permits or if this shark has been grandfathered in as he bought the shark in 2008 with verifying receipts. Please let me know what we can do regarding this matter. (Ryan C.)

Giant bass caught for second straight year at Texas lake

This year it was Sean Swank who caught the giant bass at Caddo Lake in Texas. Whose turn will it be next year?

Swank used a jig to entice the 16.07-pound largemouth bass off her spawning bed last Friday. It's the heaviest known bass to be caught in Texas this year.

Last year, on March 20, Keith Burns landed the same female bass in the same area on the lake, near the Louisiana border.

Biologists with Texas Parks & Wildlife are sure it was the same bass because they'd implanted a microchip in order to be able to identify the bass if it were caught again.

Interestingly, the bass was slightly heavier last year (16.17 pounds), because she was more laden with eggs.

Biologists reportedly will use the lunker for hatchery breeding purposes before delivering it back to Caddo Lake. Next year at this time she'll probably be back on a shallow nest, ready for another spawning season, tempted by more tasty-looking jigs zooming through the water.

-- Pete Thomas

Image of Sean Swank and the 16.07-pound bass he caught is courtesy of Texas Parks & Wildlife

Twitter: @Pete_Thomas

Suspicion lingers in wake of Mike Hart bass-fishing scandal

Three weeks after the scandal involving Mike Hart, the pro bass fisherman who admitted to cheating during last month's WON Bass U.S. Open at Lake Mead, a cloud of suspicion still hovers over the many anglers Hart had been paired with over the years.

Whether any of them were complicit if Hart had cheated during previous competitions might never be known.

But at least one of Hart's past partners -- Bill Siemantal of Castaic, Calif. -- volunteered recently to participate in a polygraph test offered by officials with the Western Outdoor News bass-fishing circuit.

Harvey Naslund, director of WON Bass, said Sunday that Siemantal, who last year was inducted into the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, passed the test "with flying colors." Naslund, however, added that Siemantal so far is the only pro to have accepted the offer by WON Bass to take a similar test and "clear their name."

Hart, who lives in the Southern California community of Winnetka, was banned from future WON Bass competitions and likely witnessed the end of his career after he was found to have stuffed lead weights into several bass he caught during the $100,000 U.S. Open at the sprawling reservoir on the Colorado River near Las Vegas.

Officials discovered some of the weights early in the three-day tournament -- inside the few dead fish Hart had weighed in -- but waited until the final day to confront Hart. All five of the fish Hart checked in after the final day contained weights. Naslund said Hart, who has made more than $200,000 during his career, admitted to cheating.

Hart had been paired with a different lower-tier Triple-A partner during each day of the Open. They fished from the stern while Hart made casts from the bow while driving and steering with a foot-controlled trolling motor.

Naslund said Hart's partners, who were questioned after the event, told officials they were asked at various times by Hart to trade places so he could rig tackle and check on the fish kept in a live-well used to keep them healthy until they could be released after the weigh-in. Neither of his partners were implicated in the scandal.

Polygraph tests are used on a limited basis to guard against cheating after some competitions, including the prestigious Bassmaster Elite Series. Because of the episode involving Hart, pros on regional circuits such as the WON Bass tour probably can expect their use to become more widespread.

-- Pete Thomas

Photos: Mike Hart (top, center) during the final-day weigh-in at the U.S. Open. Bottom photo shows one of the lead sinkers removed from a bass caught by Mike Hart during the prestigious tournament at Lake Mead. Credit: WON Bass