I'm glad this was brought up as it should be every spawn. I've been bass fishing for over 20 years and have seen my share of beds. In my earlier days I'd spend hours on beds unaware of any side effects and would fish and marvel at just being able to see a big fish. Over time I would always wonder why I'd see so many big fish in the spring and later be lucky to catch a few. That's when I started to realize what I was doing wasn't really part of MY belief . I read a few books,talked to local tackle stores,and conversed at club meetings. The one thing that stood out to me was that bed fishing was a bad way of preserving a habitat that is rarely stocked. Long time fishermen and biologists have said "you ever catch a bass and have it throw up? ya that's from stress" or "bass fishermen are one of the few groups of fisherman that intentionally target their spawning grounds" and "Tournament anglers hammer these beds then take the females laden with eggs to weigh-in yes those fish do abort!"

My thoughts are smaller lakes and reservoirs need to close off certain major spawn areas AND enforce them. Big lakes that hold tournaments should do the same and really need to devise a system for certifying a big fish that is caught with eggs out in the field (digital pic of fish on scale w/boat slip?) like I've heard before it comes down to ethics and good sportsmenship.

one interesting question is... how would you all feel if the world record was caught on a bed?