Importance of Canals for Florida Largemouth Bass: Lake Griffin, Florida

Abstract Canal systems are commonly found across the country and are rarely constructed to increase fish habitat or angling opportunities. From 2009 to 2011, we assessed the benefits of canals to the fishery at Lake Griffin, Florida, by measuring and comparing the Florida Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides floridanus population and angler use to the main lake. We used electrofishing, angler creel surveys, and a high-reward tagging study. Results from electrofishing surveys revealed a high relative abundance of Florida Largemouth Bass in the canals, with similar electrofishing catch rates and size structure to those in the main lake. The canal creel showed that anglers used canals throughout the study, with peak use during the spawning season. The tagging study revealed anglers caught Florida Largemouth Bass in canals throughout the 12-mo study and that Florida Largemouth Bass migrated between the lake and canals. We conclude that the canals support a significant portion of the overall angler effort for the Lake Griffin fishery. Failing to consider the canals at Lake Griffin results in substantial underestimates of fish populations, angler use, and the fishery's economic impact. Our data suggest, however, that monitoring only the lake section still may represent trends occurring throughout the entire body of water, resulting in lowering sampling time and financial requirements. Fishery managers can identify any impacts canal systems or other lake sections may have to the fishery by including additional sections of a body of water into their sampling protocol.

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Balancing Fisheries Management and Water Uses for Impounded River Systems

Balancing Fisheries Management and Water Uses for Impounded River Systems ◽

10.47886/9781934874066.ch31 ◽

2008 ◽

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Largemouth Bass ◽

Suspended Solids ◽

Management Practices ◽

Size Structure ◽

Micropterus Salmoides ◽

Lepomis Macrochirus ◽

Total Suspended Solids ◽

Pomoxis Nigromaculatus ◽

Catch Rates

Abstract.—We evaluated the influence of lake morphometry, water quality, and common carp Cyprinus carpio and largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides population structure on quality black crappie Pomoxis nigromaculatus and bluegill Lepomis macrochirus populations for 20 Iowa impoundments. Growth of black crappie was positively related to growth of largemouth bass. Black crappie catch per unit effort (CPUE) was positively associated with watershed size and alkalinity and negatively related to largemouth bass growth. Size structure of bluegill populations was positively influenced by chlorophyll concentrations and largemouth bass catch rates. Total phosphorus and CPUE of stock-to-quality length largemouth bass were also positively related to bluegill growth. Bluegill CPUE was inversely related to largemouth bass growth. Quality largemouth bass populations were allied with turbid (high total suspended solids and low Secchi disk depth) impoundments that had a diverse shoreline and large watersheds. Largemouth bass growth was inversely related to mean depth, and largemouth bass CPUE was inversely related to alkalinity and total suspended solids. Information from this study will be used to classify and rank impoundments in terms of their management priorities. Based on impoundment morphometry and water quality, managers can then target management practices toward species best suited to a particular impoundment.

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Walleye recruitment success is less resilient to warming water temperatures in lakes with abundant largemouth bass populations

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/cjfas-2016-0249 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 75 (1) ◽

pp. 106-115 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Gretchen J.A. Hansen ◽

Stephen R. Midway ◽

Tyler Wagner

Keyword(s):

Largemouth Bass ◽

Micropterus Salmoides ◽

Degree Days ◽

Large Lakes ◽

Recruitment Success ◽

Annual Water ◽

Catch Rates ◽

The Relationship ◽

Annual Water Temperature ◽

Specific Food

Lakes respond heterogeneously to climate, with implications for fisheries management. We analyzed walleye (Sander vitreus) recruitment to age-0 in 359 lakes in Wisconsin, USA, to (i) quantify the relationship between annual water temperature degree days (DD) and walleye recruitment success and (ii) identify the influence of lake characteristics — area, conductivity, largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) catch rates, and mean DD — on this relationship. The relationship between walleye recruitment and annual DD varied among lakes and was not distinguishable from zero overall (posterior mean = −0.11, 90% CI = −0.34, 0.15). DD effects on recruitment were negative in 198 lakes (55%) and positive in 161 (45%). The effect of annual DD was most negative in lakes with high largemouth bass densities, and, on average, the probability of recruitment was highest in large lakes with low largemouth bass densities. Conductivity and mean DD influenced neither recruitment nor the effect of annual DD. Walleye recruitment was most resilient to warming in lakes with few largemouth bass, suggesting that the effects of climate change depend on lake-specific food-web and habitat contexts.

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Black Bass Diversity: Multidisciplinary Science for Conservation

Black Bass Diversity: Multidisciplinary Science for Conservation ◽

10.47886/9781934874400.ch18 ◽

2015 ◽

Keyword(s):

Largemouth Bass ◽

Micropterus Salmoides ◽

The United States ◽

Environmental Drivers ◽

Minimum Length ◽

Catch And Release ◽

Black Bass ◽

Intensively Managed ◽

Catch Rates ◽

Sport Fish

Abstract.—Largemouth Bass (LMB) Micropterus salmoides is one of the most popular sport fish in the United States and is intensively managed across much of its range. Beginning in 1989, Wisconsin implemented more restrictive harvest regulations for LMB, including greater minimum length limits, reduced bag limits, and a catch-and-release-only season during the spawning period across much of northern Wisconsin. We tested for trends in LMB relative abundance, growth, and angler catch and harvest in relation to LMB management policies from 1990 to 2011. We also tested for potential sport fish community responses to changes in LMB abundances using Walleye (WAE) Sander vitreus as an example. Angler catch rates and electrofishing catch per unit effort of LMB greater than 8 and 14 in increased significantly statewide. Mean length of age-6 LMB decreased significantly statewide. Release rates of LMB increased from about 80% in 1991 and then plateaued at more than 96% from 2005 to 2011. Concurrent with increases in LMB, adult WAE densities declined in lakes containing LMB. Ongoing research is being conducted to test for interactions between LMB and WAE and to test for additional environmental drivers, such as climate warming, that may be associated with increased LMB abundances. Largemouth Bass abundances have increased in Wisconsin, possibly in response to changes in harvest regulations, angler behavior, and potentially other environmental drivers. These increases in LMB abundances have had negative intraspecific effects on growth and may be negatively affecting WAE stocks. We recommend that management goals for LMB consider intra- and interspecific consequences, particularly in water bodies where multispecies fisheries are desired.

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Urban and Community Fisheries Programs: Development, Management, and Evaluation

Urban and Community Fisheries Programs: Development, Management, and Evaluation ◽

10.47886/9781934874042.ch30 ◽

2008 ◽

Keyword(s):

Rainbow Trout ◽

Ictalurus Punctatus ◽

Channel Catfish ◽

Largemouth Bass ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Micropterus Salmoides ◽

White Male ◽

Lepomis Macrochirus ◽

Community Fisheries ◽

Catch Rates

Abstract.-Demographic studies have indicated that, since 1990, Kentucky’s urban population has experienced an 18% increase while its rural population has expanded by less than 1%. These demographic changes, coupled with a decline in fishing license sales, focused the need to develop and increase fishing opportunities in and around urban areas. In 2005, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources initiated a pilot urban fishing program aimed at providing urban residents with high quality fishing opportunities close to home. Five pilot lakes, located within four of Kentucky’s most populated counties, were selected to receive regular stockings of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus, largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides, and hybrid bluegill Lepomis macrochirus x L. cyanellus. Rainbow trout were stocked at each lake in April and October. Channel catfish, largemouth bass, and hybrid bluegill were stocked in May and June. Monthly stocking rates were 202 trout/ha, 34 channel catfish/ha, 12 largemouth bass/ha, and 81 hybrid bluegill/ha. Creel and angler attitude surveys were conducted at two of the pilot lakes from April through August 2006 to determine angler catch and satisfaction. Although fishing pressure at these two lakes was high, most anglers practiced catch and release. Catch rates were 1.03 fish/h at Stein Lake and 0.79 fish/h at Upper Sportsman’s Lake. Angler attitude survey results indicated that the majority of anglers interviewed were not aware of the program and did not know that regular fish stockings were occurring at the lakes. The typical angler fishing these lakes was a white male between the ages of 30 and 49, who was satisfied with his fishing experience regardless of the number or size of fish caught. Further studies need to be completed to compare results from this study, and to refine stocking and marketing techniques used in the program.

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Factors Influencing Bluegill Growth in Small Kansas Impoundments

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management ◽

10.3996/082019-jfwm-065 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 121-129

Author(s):

Ben C. Neely ◽

Jeff D. Koch ◽

Keith B. Gido ◽

Connor J. Chance-Ossowski ◽

Elizabeth A. Renner

Keyword(s):

Largemouth Bass ◽

Size Structure ◽

Growth Parameters ◽

Micropterus Salmoides ◽

Lepomis Macrochirus ◽

Information Criterion ◽

Weighted Averaging ◽

Gizzard Shad ◽

Parameter Estimates ◽

Model Set

Abstract We evaluated growth of Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus in 24 small Kansas impoundments to understand variability in populations statewide. We assigned ages to 1,323 Bluegill, and when combined, growth parameters using the Ogle–Isermann parameterization of the von Bertalanffy growth model were: L∞ = 228 mm, K = 0.25, and t152 = 3.10 y. Growth was variable among the 24 populations and t152 (time to reach 152 mm total length) ranged from 1.56 to 4.87 y. We selected four representative limnological variables (latitude, maximum depth, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus) and four representative catch variables (catch-per-effort [CPE] of Bluegill, proportional size distribution of 178-mm Bluegill, CPE of stock-length Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides, and CPE of Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum) to elucidate mechanisms that explained t152 in Bluegill populations. We fit all subset candidate models using the eight variables to predict t152. Top candidate models (corrected Akaike's information criterion scores within two units of the most parsimonious model) comprised a confidence model set, and we used model-weighted averaging to calculate parameter estimates with 95% confidence intervals for each independent variable present in the confidence model set to develop a single explanatory model. The final model suggested that Bluegill size structure, latitude, and CPE of stock-length Largemouth Bass affected Bluegill growth, whereas a smaller effect was attributed to CPE of Gizzard Shad. Combined, these variables explained 40% of variation in observed Bluegill growth rate. Results from this study summarize Bluegill growth in Kansas and highlight variation in growth rates across small impoundments. Further, they suggest that Bluegill size structure, latitude, and relative abundance of stock-length Largemouth Bass are important factors regulating Bluegill growth in small Kansas impoundments.

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Balancing Fisheries Management and Water Uses for Impounded River Systems

Balancing Fisheries Management and Water Uses for Impounded River Systems ◽

10.47886/9781934874066.ch24 ◽

2008 ◽

Keyword(s):

Food Web ◽

Largemouth Bass ◽

Standing Crop ◽

Size Structure ◽

Prey Availability ◽

Micropterus Salmoides ◽

Adult Population ◽

Fish Prey ◽

Growth And Survival ◽

Southern Florida

Abstract.—Growth and survival of stocked fish are positively influenced by the availability of suitably sized prey fish. We examined relationships among juvenile largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides size structure, occurrence of piscivory, and biomass relative to fish prey size structure and biomass across Florida’s latitudinal gradient to evaluate potential fish prey availability across a broad spatial scale of lakes. We sampled the 2003 and 2004 largemouth bass year-classes and potential fish prey in April/May (i.e., spring) and in June/July (i.e., summer) in six study lakes distributed from northern to southern Florida. Available prey to predator ratios (AP:P) decreased with increased fish size but indicated that prey resources were not limiting at any lake during either year (all AP:P > 8). We used a biomass-based food web model for our lake with the lowest AP:P we measured (~9) to determine if bioenergetics-based predictions agreed with AP:P metric indications of the system’s potential to support a higher standing crop of largemouth bass. Food web simulations showed potential to increase the standing crop of adult largemouth bass population by up to 30% at high stocking rates (i.e., 150 fish/ha), but stocking at high rates resulted in decreases to the natural portion of the adult population. Available prey metrics and simulations can provide information on the potential for stocking success, which could be used to improve the efficacy of stocking programs.

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Hook-and-Line Catch in Fertilized and Unfertilized Ponds

Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin ◽

10.21900/j.inhs.v27.174 ◽

1960 ◽

Vol 27 (1-6) ◽

pp. 345-390

Author(s):

Donald F. Hansen ◽

George W. Bennett ◽

Robert J. Webb ◽

John M. Lewis

Keyword(s):

Largemouth Bass ◽

Micropterus Salmoides ◽

Lepomis Macrochirus ◽

College Of Agriculture ◽

Fertilization Program ◽

Southern Illinois ◽

University Of Illinois ◽

Catch Rates ◽

The University

The objective of the pond fertilization measure the effect of certain fertilization practices on sport fishing for largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides (Lacepede), and bluegills, Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque, in small ponds located in a region of relativelv unproductive soils. From catch records gathered over a 6-year period, 1947-1952, from three fertilized ponds and three unfertilized or control ponds, we have been able to compare the sizes of the fish caught, the annual hook-and-line yields, and the catch rates in terms of fish per fisherman-hour. The six ponds used in the experiment are located at the University of Illinois College of Agriculture Dixon Springs Experiment Station in Pope County, southern Illinois. The fertilization program used at Dixon Springs was of apparent benefit to bluegill fishing but of doubtful benefit to bass fishing; any benefits derived from direct fertilization of ponds were in addition to benefits that may have resulted from fertilization of the pond watersheds. Comparison of yields from the fertilized and unfertilized ponds at Dixon Springs shows that the greater yields of fish from the fertilized ponds were obtained at costs estimated to range from $0.71 to $1.18 a pound. Whether the improvement in the quality of bluegill fishing attributed tofertilization was great enough to be detected by fishermen is questionable for at least two of the three fertilized ponds.

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