[Dick]

First, the VAST majority of bass tournaments held on Winnipesaukee (and other water bodies as well) are small bass fishing clubs with typically 6 boats or less. These are more social/fun events than anything . . . maybe everyone throws $5 in the pot for the biggest bass.

From ice out until May 14, there is a limit of just 2 bass that can be held in a livewell or taken home for dinner. From May 15 until June 15, Fish & Game regulations permit fishing for bass, but all must be immediately released. then from June 16 to June 30, the limit is just 2 bass. From July 1 on to ice-in the daily limit of bass is 5 fish.

A big female bass can lay as many as 10,000 eggs in 1, 2, or 3 nest sites that males have prepared. Now, there is no way in the world that the lake can support that many new fry so Mother Nature must have had something else in mind by providing this super abundance of eggs. Mother Nature intended that many of these eggs would provide protein for the panfish (that will spawn after the bass and often use the old abondoned bass nest sites).

Adverse weather conditions during the spring spawning period can also have a negative impact so Mother Nature arranges that some bass spawn early, most spawn during the May 15 to June 15 period, and some spawn late.

There is such a super abundance of bass depositing millions of eggs in Winnipesaukee that from a biological and scientific standpoint it does not make any overall difference to the bass population if some of them are temporarily removed from the nesting site area. Remember, during the prime spawning period (May 15 - June 15) all bass must be immediately released. As a result most of these bass quickly find their way back to the nest they were guarding.

There are only a very few bass clubs that have "paper" tournaments from May 15 to June 15. In these events, bass may be caught, quickly measured, and then immediately released back into the water.

In all of our Southern states there is no closed season on bass and they are fished and temporarily held in a livewell until weigh-in time or harvested during the spawning period. There has been no adverse impact on the overall bass population over all these years. Bass are tough, resourceful, and prolific.

It sounds like some folks who own lakeshore property and a dock that is out in the public water can see bass beds and have almost emotionally adopted these bass as pets. I understand how they might feel. Many bass anglers also feel that it is unethical to catch bass during the spawn even though they might known that there is no overall harm done to the bass population in general. If a bass is caught and harvested during the May 15 to June 15 spawning period, that angler is in violation of F&G regulations.

Hope this helps . . .