Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum

Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: Hook, Line and Sinker on October 05, 2009, 08:14:33 PM

Title: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: Hook, Line and Sinker on October 05, 2009, 08:14:33 PM
After standing shoulder to shoulder with guys at Haney Wharf over the pink run, I thought it might be nice to get away from the crowds and switch up my target species before I get serious about Coho in the coming weeks.

Headed out to Grant Narrows Park in Pitt Meadows and walked the dykes along the Allouette river where it drains into the system of sloughs up against the mountains.

I was targeting my favourite fresh water prey: beautiful rainbow trout, of course! First cast, and BAM! a small mouth bass took my pink/white/green spinner like a fat kid on a Smarty (I've got some extra pounds around the middle, so I can make that joke, I think).

Next cast, same thing. Landed 6 in 10 minutes. Released 'em and moved on.

Tried 5 different pools around the area, 3 of which produced bass in the first 10 casts. Started driving back to the city and decided to stop at the 3 bridges along the way, each a different arm of the Allouette. Sure enough, 2 of those bridge spots produced hook-ups, and I decided to keep 2 of the bass for tonights dinner.  Not a rainbow to be seen, however. But those bass are sooo much fun - they're aggresive, bite hard and fight like lil' devils.

Fried in the pan with dill, butter and lemon = yum.

Anyway, long story short, it was a great alternative to the big salmon runs and the big salmon crowds of late. I recommend it, if only for the scenery alone - take a drive out to Dewdney Trunk Rd.


On a side note, I met 4 other fishermen while out, but all of them at the bridge points, not along the dykes or in the isolated pools - everyone else was short floating with only mild success. I say use a light weight spinner , stay mobile, and you'll have better luck. It worked for me.
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: bbronswyk2000 on October 05, 2009, 08:17:56 PM
Glad you had such a great day but those fish are most likely largemouth. Do you have any pics?
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: noxcape on October 05, 2009, 08:38:53 PM
it is deffinatly a large mouth bass there are NO smallmouth bass in the lower mainland


i know where he is talkigna bout and i fish there all the time thats also how i know there large mouth
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: Sam Salmon on October 05, 2009, 08:45:59 PM
I've only ever eaten Smallmouth-is there a discernible difference in taste between Smallies and Largemouth?

Whaddaya think?
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: Weatherby on October 05, 2009, 09:21:53 PM
wicked!
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: noxcape on October 05, 2009, 09:37:01 PM
smallies dont taste as muddy as largemouth could be because of the type of water they live in
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: Hook, Line and Sinker on October 05, 2009, 09:54:20 PM
Ahhh - I stand corrected. Large mouth bass it is then.

I took my identification from an old uncle of mine who taught me how to fish. Old uncles are notoriuosly unreliable...

He's the same one who told me: "No, no, girls LIKE it when you admire their sisters."

Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: Matt on October 05, 2009, 10:00:45 PM
LOL... what about if they're identical twins? ;D

Do bass keep actively feeding in colder temps or do they slow down a bit in the fall?
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: bbronswyk2000 on October 05, 2009, 10:12:04 PM
LOL... what about if they're identical twins? ;D

Do bass keep actively feeding in colder temps or do they slow down a bit in the fall?

They slow down allot
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: minsyoo on October 05, 2009, 10:19:16 PM
how big/small are these guys on average? i'm very very intrigued
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: Damien on October 05, 2009, 11:26:37 PM
About a pound and a half is average.  In my experience.  I have caught 4+ pounders from fishtrap, the sloughs that you speak of, silvermere etc.  They make for great eating.  And I THINK, there is no limit on them in lower mainland waters.  GREAT EATING and ever BETTER fertilizer when taken from non "dfo" stocked area. (ie all lowermainland areas)
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: noxcape on October 06, 2009, 08:12:40 AM
there is afour fish limit in the lower mainland and i know some of you dont like this but please try to respect it eh
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: Matt on October 06, 2009, 11:43:49 AM
there is afour fish limit in the lower mainland and i know some of you dont like this but please try to respect it eh


They considered an invasive species, so why the limit?  Is it just so that people don't gather up 30 fish in a bucket and go stock their favorite waters? 
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: Steelhawk on October 06, 2009, 11:58:36 AM
About a pound and a half is average.  In my experience.  I have caught 4+ pounders from fishtrap, the sloughs that you speak of, silvermere etc.  They make for great eating.  And I THINK, there is no limit on them in lower mainland waters.  GREAT EATING and ever BETTER fertilizer when taken from non "dfo" stocked area. (ie all lowermainland areas)

I have been catching mostly 'smallies' (small fingerling size) from shore/dyke. Perhaps guys in boats get bigger ones especially Silvermere. Mostly released but if I catch the big one, it will be cooked like a rock cod. I heard they have similar meat texture ;)
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: Bavarian Raven on October 06, 2009, 11:59:11 AM
on a side note, where exactly were u fishing? i havent bass fished in years and would like to give it a try again. i know the general area u were fishing in fairly well...  8) that is if u dont mind giving away your secret location 8) ;)
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: Rybar on October 06, 2009, 01:16:14 PM
I'd like to know as well. I've caught Smallmouth recently in Osoyoos lake and St Mary's Lake. I love the way they smash the bait and fight like crazy. Very fun fish to catch. I tried eating one from Osoyoos and found it to be not bad at all.
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: bbronswyk2000 on October 06, 2009, 02:51:27 PM
I'd like to know as well. I've caught Smallmouth recently in Osoyoos lake and St Mary's Lake. I love the way they smash the bait and fight like crazy. Very fun fish to catch. I tried eating one from Osoyoos and found it to be not bad at all.

Smallies fight WAY better than largemouth. The fight is not even comparable. Smallies are amazing fish to play. Largemouths not as much. I will still target largies when their really is nothing else to do but they are not one of the better game fish to play.

On another note. We have been fighting that 4 fish limit for a few years now with letters, emails etc but it seems its falling on deaf ears by the government. It should be either no limit or 25/day like other coarse fish.
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: minsyoo on October 06, 2009, 03:31:10 PM
this thread has convinced me to go look for some bass myself.  ;)
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: Hook, Line and Sinker on October 06, 2009, 08:49:31 PM
The spot I had the best success with is a 15 minute walk down the first path to the south at the very end of the parking lot. Look beside the caretakers trailer, in between where the seasonal cafe is, there's a trail heading south, heavily brushed in, that's what you want.

You'll see several small pools along the way, but you know you've hit the best one, on your left, when you see the old retaining wall made of cinder blocks. Room to fish for just 2 guys. The empty dew worm containers are always a  good sign :(

If you have a canoe, there's an even better option: stop at the gate 1 km before the parking lot and launch up the system of sloughs to the south; you'll find it comes out into a large interconnected series of pools that are pefect for isolated fishing with very good results (if you like aggressive sportfish).

Tight lines.

Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: minsyoo on October 08, 2009, 08:08:50 PM
what kind of gear is generally used for fishing for them? do you use baits? or..?
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: Blackgivesway2blue on October 08, 2009, 08:35:26 PM
Yo where in the lower mainland can you fish for bass???? i'm starting to look into it. :)
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: Sam Salmon on October 08, 2009, 09:13:56 PM
what kind of gear is generally used for fishing for them? do you use baits? or..?
Trout spinning gear and various lures, topwater is the most exciting but they don't always go for that stuff.

There's a lot of Bass info here on the Forum if you do a search and on the main page  some articles/videos as well IIRC.
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: ion on October 09, 2009, 05:31:40 PM
Google earth coordinates would be great :)
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: Damien on October 09, 2009, 06:38:10 PM
Hang on, i'll post a picture the lilly pad (with GPS coordinates) that I caught a 5lber under a couple days ago.

 ???

Or you can check out bassfishingbc.com for more information.
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: Preliator on October 11, 2009, 05:26:21 PM
This is great to know. I've only been year about a year, but use to do a ton of bass fishing when I lived in Ontario and often miss fishing them. Prehaps I'll spend my Monday afternoon and evening navigating the Alouette to hook into some of those glorious fish.
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: noxcape on October 11, 2009, 11:10:47 PM
for more info you can also check out the wcba.ca website there is a forum on there and the guys are great guys to talka bout bass with and they will give you alot of help
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: whereismyfloat on October 16, 2009, 08:13:05 AM
noxcape,

the wcba.ca website appear to no longer be working? any idea if it's gone for good or just shut down for a reno?
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: Sam Salmon on October 16, 2009, 09:39:13 AM
noxcape,

the wcba.ca website appear to no longer be working? any idea if it's gone for good or just shut down for a reno?
I swear it was working last week.
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: Damien on October 16, 2009, 09:46:23 AM
bassfishingbc.com is a much more active board.
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: fish fishburn on October 19, 2009, 04:46:13 AM
I've only ever eaten Smallmouth-is there a discernible difference in taste between Smallies and Largemouth?

Whaddaya think?
[/   quote]  Smallmouth are alot stronger in taste then the largemouth. I think its because of there diet. I have eaten both many times and prefer a largemouth bass any day.
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: speycaster on October 19, 2009, 07:35:41 AM
You can also check out bucketbrigade.com, a lot of bass fishers are on there. ;D
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: noxcape on October 19, 2009, 08:07:00 AM
wow thats so funny speycaster you know not all of bass fisherman are bucket brigaders its just liek saying all salmon fishermen are meat fishermen there are a alot of us who have fun fishing for bass and dont condone illegal stocking and are trying to help stop it
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: noxcape on October 28, 2009, 04:14:17 AM
just to let anyone know who wants to know the wcba website will be up shortly the club is going throu some changes as soon as its back up ill let you guys know
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: fishseeker on October 28, 2009, 07:01:20 AM
wow thats so funny speycaster you know not all of bass fisherman are bucket brigaders its just liek saying all salmon fishermen are meat fishermen there are a alot of us who have fun fishing for bass and dont condone illegal stocking and are trying to help stop it
Agreed, bass fishing is a ton of fun.  None of the people I have met doing this condone or promote illegal stocking - most just want to preserve whats already there.
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: speycaster on October 28, 2009, 08:16:48 AM
I whacked a lot of bass this year, dipped in flour and fried in butter is the most appealing thing about them. ;D
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: lapetitebuse on October 28, 2009, 06:01:08 PM
do bass have lots of bones?
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: fish fishburn on October 29, 2009, 04:38:08 AM
The easiest way to tell the difference from smallies and largies is that smallies have red eyes and largies have dark brown eyes.
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: nkj on October 29, 2009, 11:09:10 AM
Hehehe...these bass seem like good times!!!  I always watch people on WFN catch them and have tons of fun with it.  Obviously they are an introduced species?  Are there a lot of other lakes around Lower Mainland that have them aside from Allouette?
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: bbronswyk2000 on October 29, 2009, 02:03:49 PM
Hehehe...these bass seem like good times!!!  I always watch people on WFN catch them and have tons of fun with it.  Obviously they are an introduced species?  Are there a lot of other lakes around Lower Mainland that have them aside from Allouette?

Alouette Lake does not have bass.

Sturgeon Slough
Pitt Sloughs
Walmsley Lake ( Albert Dyck Park )
Hatzic Lake
Fish Trap Creek
Mill Lake
Silvermere Lake ( private and access is tough )
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: scotkemp on October 29, 2009, 05:58:30 PM
well i think im gonna try the pitt medows are for bas fishing this weekend never done it before. just a question about what to fish with im thinking spoons or float with a worm
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: Preliator on October 29, 2009, 08:57:17 PM
The easiest way to tell the difference from smallies and largies is that smallies have red eyes and largies have dark brown eyes.

Once you've seen both it's not hard to see the difference :) Especially that bucketmouth... man I miss bass fishin'.
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: ESF on October 29, 2009, 09:14:58 PM
love bass fishing. salmon not as much... they just are so easy to catch!
invasive? yup. west of the mississippi river. boost for the economy? yup. but hell, we'll just let all the true native fisherman have all the fish.
am I invasive? not as first nation "native"  hey, I should let the natives know that salmon/trout/pike minnow are great as fertilizers!

all kidding aside, all recreational fishing is a blast! bass included!

Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: noxcape on October 30, 2009, 01:14:17 AM
i should feel sorry for all the minnows in deer lake that the "Invasive" Rainbow trout from interior BC ate, minnows in metro vancouver lakes  should be eaten by the original coho or coastal cutthroat ! That's why the Fishery encourage ppl to remove rainbows in Metro vancouver stillwater in their best ability i guess

huh
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: fish fishburn on November 01, 2009, 05:11:35 AM
For everyone who thinks largies dont fight I hope they get an chance to catch a nice hawg sometime. My biggest this year was a 5.6 lber. Im telling you they pull like a tractor and if your not using the proper gear you won't get them in. ie med/heavy to heavy flippin stick with minimum 20 lb test line. I use 50 lb super braid on my flippin sticks because of the no stretch quality, makes it much better for those massive hook sets.
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: CALI 2 B.C. on November 01, 2009, 08:23:08 AM
All i got to say is back in cali ive caught many 10+ pound bass and ive been towed across a lake by a largemouth before they are absolute pigs  so until you personally have caught a big largemouth (5 pounds isnt big) dont knock bass fishing those big hogs fight like a fresh spring.Man im missin california right now thinkin bout them. ;D ive fished systems where ive caught trout,bass,carp,catfish bluegill and salmon in the same day.Sacramento river is amazing did i mention the striper also?shoot runnin late g2g
Title: Re: Small Mouth Bass - A day away from the salmon crowds
Post by: speycaster on November 01, 2009, 08:45:15 AM
All the bass fishermen i have seen seem to spend a lot of time super sizing it at  clown macs.  Must be the reason for those three hundred horse engines. ;D By the way you get far better hook sets with 100 lb fire line. ;D ;D   A eight foot sturgeon rod helps too, keeps those hogs right up on the top of the water where you can surf them right in. ;D ;D