Bass + Turtles?

[arbogastjunkie]

What is everyones opinion on the way turtles effect bass and consequently bass fishing. The lake I usually fish has some great sunken trees, with limbs breaking through the water. However, one tree in particular, has a ton of turtles sunning themselves on the limbs. When we get to within casting distance the turtles almost always plop off the limb and into the water. Do you think they scare the bass away? Do you think that the bass know that this area has a lot of turtles and stay away from it. The thing is that the tree looks like it could really hold some good fish, but we usually dont fish it much because we dont want to deal with hooking and then unhooking a turtle. Thanks for the help.

[promax]

I think bass are used to um,I hunt also and if i have crows in a field deer are less weary but if them crows take off caw cawing the deer will head for the next state the turtles prob make teh bas LOOK UP for a while but if they go back on teh limbs teh bass will return to normal im sure

[ogrich31]

my experience is that turtles and bass don't mix. and there must be more turtles down there under the limb so i think that bass try to avoid those spots. But you never know until you try, right? and oh yea, the bass don't get scared when the turtles go down, but i think they become aware of things so they don't tend to bite. But you never know until you try, right?

[va175txr]

I have wondered if they live in the same areas. I've heard some old timers tell me that if you see turtles in mass than the oxygen levels are not in the bass's range. Then again, I've heard some say that if the turtles are there the bass are close. I've tuned both out since I haven't seen a significant change in catch %'s either way.

[JayInGrapevine]

I've seen it go both ways. I've caught bass off of trees where I've literally been playing around trying to bounce my jig or t-rig off the turtles shell. I've also come into a cove that always holds fish, seen it covered up in turtles and I can't buy a bite. Come back a day or so later when the turtles are gone and the fish are back. There may be some correlation, but I've yet to see it happen consistently.

[NJBassin]

I have found that turtles usually equals no bass. I found that they usually follow baits especially topwater baits. I think that it is worth a shot casting at the tree though. But my partner rarely likes to cast at the tree, so we usually end up fishing down by a dam that has never produced a fish.

[Greg Gates]

I was just fishing this weekend at a small lake in WI and there were turtles galore. Groups of about 2-3 large turtles and some small ones that loved to chase my jigs. I pulled some bass (2-4 pounders) out of lily cover right around the same area as the turtles.

[SPAZ]

I don't think it makes a difference. I went out to Kentucky Lake and there were sections of turtles on trees, every time we would get close they would go into the water but we still caught fish around the area as well.

[mrgadget]

...my partner rarely likes to cast at the tree, so we usually end up fishing down by a dam that has never produced a fish.

Gadget

[dragon1]

I have always found that a crusing snapping turtle will usually have a bass or two in tow that are waiting for an easy meal to get spooked by the snapper...ie, fleeing crayfish.

BTW, NJbassin, I think I know that dam!

[arbogastjunkie]

I would like a formal apology from NJbassin on due to the number of fish that we caught...or should I say I caught the last time we took the boat to that dam.

[iangler]

turtles love bass eggs guys

[bigpapajim]

I've caught bass with turtle in its stomach

[NJBassin]

While it is true, we have since caught fish out by this dam, I will issue no such apology because of the following two reasons:

(1) He only wants to go near the dam because there is a golf course near it and provides a nice place to take a leak

(2) I never received even a thank you for when we went out fishing in March in 40 degrees and the boat got grounded. The water level was way down, but I manned up and got out of the boat and pushed it about 30-40 feet through the mud. I was up to my mid thigh in mud and he did not even think once to offer to push with a paddle. (Note: I continued to fish all day with raisins and neither of us caught a fish)

[dragon1]

That's some daggum funny sh!T!!!

BTW...I take it your raisins weren't Sun dried?