Catch 'em or leave 'em?
The age old question: to fish bedders during the spawn (if even allowed by state regs) or not?
There are a couple theories you’ll frequently hear concerning bass recruitment into a population. One is that the fewer bass left in a lake, the more likely they are to try and overcompensate for the deficiency (‘recruitment compensation’ is the scientific term used), kind of a way of nature taking care of her own. Along those lines, another is the suggestion that fishing pressure or even harvest during the spawn reduces the success of nesting, and potentially hurts the overall population of fish. This most recent study* took a close look at those issues.
Researchers evaluated this by stocking six 1-acre hatchery ponds with adult densities ranging from 6 to 40 fish (per acre) over 2 years. Ponds were drained each October, and the number of juvenile bass recruited to the population at that point counted. Interestingly, the study found no relationship between stock abundance and recruitment; ponds with low adult densities produced nearly as many recruits as the higher-density ponds in some cases. Recruit abundance was highly variable both within and among all density groups tested. Other findings included a reduced prey abundance with increasing density, as well as slower growth, both results that you would traditionally expect to see.
As such, the results seem to indicate that reducing the number of effective spawners regardless of angling practice would not reduce recruitment over a relatively large range in stock size. While researchers suggested you might expect to see some effects at the most extreme levels not tested in this study, the results potentially become a very important piece of data in discussions surrounding the impact of angling during the spawning season, including semi-restictive or closed season scenarios.
* Allen, M. S., M. W. Rogers, M. J. Catalano, and D. G. Gwinn. In Press. Evaluating the Potential for Stock Size to Limit Recruitment in Largemouth Bass. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society.
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Chad Keogh
October 3, 2011 at 10:59 am
My least favourite is:
“Wind from the east, fish bite the least.
Wind from the west, fish bite the best.
Wind from the south, blows the bait in the fish’s mouth.
Wind from the north, don’t venture forth.”
My feeling is that the best time to go fishing, is any time you can go fishing. And, the fish are always biting, so just go figure it out regardless of wind direction.
Rich Arnold
October 4, 2011 at 9:06 am
I think that conducting these studies is a good thing. The study will either confirm or deny if a practice is hurting our fishing resources. Some states are taking this scientific approach to improve the quality of the fish too (not just numbers). Texas is a perfect example with their shared lunker program. What I don’t like is when these biologists make silly assertions and don’t test them. Then with no factual evidence to support their case, they protest and influence liberal legislators to inact stupid laws that infringe upon anglers and do nothing for the resources.