What's in your bass' belly?

[Namron]

Hi guys,

When I gut my bass I always open up their stomach to take a look at what they have been munching on. Kind of sick really but always interesting and it think that it helps to know for future hunting.

Most recently I have found the following:

*Sandeels - a couple semi-digested in a 5lb bass
*Crabs - one broken in to a couple of large pieces in a 7lb bass.

What have you found?

 

[glowworm]

A good way of finding where the fish have been feeding.Most of the 5lb plus bass i've shot or seen gutted have had peeling spider crab inside them.Recently someone found a wrasse in the stomach of a bass he had shot.I always see a lot of sand eels when spearfishing and small smelt like fish but haven't found any in the stomach contents yet.Maybe we'll have to keep this thread going and compare.They may change their diet as the season progresses?

 

[grahamfoster]

Round here (gower) the bass feed on:
early season - crab
middle season- crab
late season - crab
big bass- crab
small bass- crab
Very occosionally there is a small fish in there but mostly its crab crabedy crab on the menu! Nearly allways seems to be shore crab - not allways peeling just gulped whole

 

[portinfer]

Small fish - sandeels - crabs mainly - most noticeably crabs as they take longer to digest.

Personally I don't get too stuck into the belly thing but I know that Charlie has a good rumage around !

 

[Pekka]

I find that bass here at budleigh have fish more often than crab in them.. this particular one (5lb) had fish so big that the tail was still sticking out of its mouth...

Some of the smaller ones have had little crabs but mostly pollack..

Pekka

 

[DeepThought]

Kewl! You cought two fish with one shot. Were they both tastey?

 

[dave]

Depends where they are caught. Inshore it is mainly crab, but on the offshore reefs mainly mackeral and pilchard.
I have a friend who used to fish in an area where trawlers tied up overnight, he used to find all sorts of leftovers inside bass; chicken bones, roast potatoes, all sorts of stuff that had been thrown over the side. I have also heard of rats being found inside big bass caught in harbours!
cheers
dave
www.spearo.co.uk