was on the river the other day, and caught multiple 3+ pound Bass. These fish were fat as hell and when I gutted them found there stomachs full of crayfish and shad and one even had a turtle and another a snake. My question is why are these fish hitting bait (I was drifting live shad on a bobber with the current) with full stomachs? is it just instinct, or will they eat till there stomachs rupture?

You gutted a bass???

CATCH AND RELEASE ........MAN

Opportunistic feeders

Was it succulent?

They are gluttonous pigs.

he can do what ever he wants as long as it is lawful. So chill.

+1

Why did they "hit" your bait with all that in their belly?

1) Bass gourge when feeding and when food is available
2) Reaction strike
3) Mad - Multiple casts in front of a Bass can make them want to kill it just to be rid of the annoyance.

Did you use a rock to put them out of there misery? J/K. I think even when Bass are full they still will be opportunist and you must have worked your bait in way they could not refuse.

I caught one that had a baby squirrel in it's gullet, not even finished swallowing that and he hit a wacky worm. When the bite switch gets flipped they eat anything and everything.

We catch them and the other "bass" regularly when they have their gut so full the shad are falling out and they still hit a bait with fury!

BigDozer66

Love me some bass for dinner! I don't see the big deal with eating a legal fish...

Grawdads,shad, snake..Huuuum... What to throw ???

All Bass that were put on the stringer(which was 3 for my consumption over the camp fire)were 15+ inches the rest were released to fight another day. It angers me to see people take undersized game fish out of the water to take home. I try to educate them (and most people dont know about the legal size and bag limits) and most are understanding and release the fish the that dont usually have the Game Warden called on them.