I gut hooked a bass early this morning before work. After I finished cleaning I checked stomach. Head of pogie w/my hook in it, a green crab and a bunch of small shrimp. This fish was 31” and the belly was nearly empty. This has been the case w/many of the bass I have taken home this year. I keep a log that includes bait present and stomach content of dead bass or puked up baitfish.

37.9# – 3 intact scup, 1 full pogie plus my pogie.
36# - pieces of scup
34# - pieces of scup, plus my pogie.
34# - tiny shrimp
34# - scup, and big silversides/spearing
33#- mantis shrimp, squid
32#-tons of squid, plus my pogie
31# - squid, shrimp
31# empty
31# 1 intact mantis shrimp
30# crab/lobster
28# 3 BIG squid and 1 scup.
27.5#-1 big squid

15-25# fish most had crabs, spearing, mantis shrimp or squid. No pogies.

So many pogies in the bay but not in the belly. I see fish puking up small bait, never pogies. 1 bass w/ a full pogie in belly.

These results are consistant with the past 5 or so years. Never find eels, herring and only 1 pogie.

What are your findings?

Please shed some light on my experience.

Here's a pic of a fish that was supposed to be loaded with herring.Thing is, nobody told the fish that. I caught it in the canal a while back. I've posted this pic before, but its pretty cool if you haven't seen it. Had this one sea robin in its belly.

This week my race pt. bass were LOADED with sand eels, LOADED. (and yes I recycle the less digested ones back onto a hook)

Last weeks plymouth bay fish had crabs in their belly.

Every keeper I have caught has come from the PTown area, beach and boat. Everyone of them had calico crabs stacked up inside. Only a couple had sand eels. Nothing else...

lobsters crabs squid bunker fluke herring.scup mackerel sand eels

I got a 20 pounder saturday night 3 rock crabs 2 scup 1 fluke 1 pogi my eel and a partridge in a pear tree in it's belly.

everything around here is crabs and clams and various other bottom creatures. last i knew not a single fish had been taken with any sort of fish in their belly(from shore). i think that's gonna change soon though, as they have started hitting assorted chunks this week. where as until this week they wouldn't take anything but clams.

while on the topic of fish filled with crabs. is there a way to rig crabs? i attempted it the other day, just out of curiosity, with great failure.. figure if that's the bulk of their diet might as well try it.

No herring?

jezuz man, and im still looking for my first for the grill.

There is rubber crabs made by power bait and i think gulp baits never tried them but it might be worth it.

had a 28# fish 2 weeks ago that had a 13 inch schoolie in it. Always here a story about a guy that knew a guy that heard from a guy that found a bass in a bass' belly. Well I got picks....amazing. I'll try and post em some time