Bass on the beds

[Eskimo]

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Imagine you're sitting in a bar and twelve midgets decide to fight with you. Your best course of action would probably be to back up to a wall so they can't get behind you and fight them off from the front and sides.

That is why a simple structure called a "spawning bench" increased the number of bass fry in pond where it was installed. It took a while for biologists to figure out why it worked, but they eventually concluded it simply gave a flat wall for the male bass to put his back to when he was defending the nest.

Watching a bass on the nest get harassed, it's amazing to me that any bass survive at all. The sunfish surround the nest and keep inching closer and closer. When the bass rushes out to chase off the closest sunfish, the other sunfish dive into the nest and start picking off eggs and fry. Eventually the male bass returns to the nest and chases them all off. Then the sunfish re-assemble and start the process all over again. This doesn't stop until the fry are all gone or fast enough to get away.

This is why I'm not a big proponent of sight-fishing bass on their nests.


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