Sight fishing can create problems

Guide Joel Richardson said sight fishing for bedding bass at Randleman Reservoir is difficult because “you can’t see much farther than two feet down in the water,” but anglers often find bass beds if they fish the right areas.

Problems may arise if they catch spawning fish and keep them.

“It’s not that anyone’s eatin’ a lot of the bass they catch,” he said. “I think a lot of bass are going to people’s ponds.

“I don’t think it’s good to keep a male bass for any reason, because the longer a bed is left unguarded, the mortality of (bass fry) is gonna go up.”

Bream are notorious for hanging around bass beds, trying to eat bass fry.

“If you pull a male off a bed and leave it unguarded, the bream will eat up (bass fry),” he said.

At a stained-water lake such as Randleman, Richardson said anglers fish bass beds all spring even though they don’t actually see the beds.

“If you’re fishing the spawn, you’re catching bass off their nests,” he said, “and guys who do sight- fish can hurt bass. If you take out a female, you’ve stopped her from laying her eggs; if you take a male, the nest won’t be guarded”

Richardson, who has fished tournaments all over North American, said bass populations are at their best in northern states that don’t allow anglers to target bass during the spawn.

“The season opens June 24 in New York,” he said. “It’s the same in Vermont, Minnesota and even Canada.”

Richardson said those states set buoys outside spawning areas to keep out bass anglers.

“You go inside those buoys, and you better have your rods rigged to catch walleye,” he said, “or you will get a BIG fine and lose your fishing license.”

Richardson predicted that some day, state fishery management agencies may ban sight-fishing.

“Eventually, tournament fishing is gonna see a day coming if you’re sight-fishing and your partner is your observer, and he sees you catch a bass off a bed, you’ll be disqualified,” he said.

Richardson also said he’d like to see a stricter slot limit at Randleman, similar to Shearon Harris Lake. He said he told the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority, which manages the lake, that it should make Randleman a trophy lake — “But they didn’t do it,” he said. “Maybe they’ll believe it when the crowds stop coming.

“I think Randleman Lake is the No. 1 bass lake in the state, so (PTRWA) should take care of the bass in the lake.”