Improving Bass Fishing

Justification

    Lake Eufaula has historically been a popular location for holding many organized bass tournaments. This reservoir has large access and ramp facilities, and lodging and restaurants in the nearby town of Eufaula can serve many anglers. In 1992, a 16-inch minimum length limit was placed on bass to protect young fish because harvest rates were over 30% per year. However, biological conditions have since changed and the population is no longer conducive to this high length limit. Accordingly, angler catches and size of bass declined over time, and the number of tournaments held on Lake Eufaula decreased throughout the late 1990s.

Leader board and interested public during

bass angler tournament weigh in

Objectives

  (1) Assess and analyze the status of the bass population and fishery in

       Lake Eufaula.   
  (2) Make recommendations to state fish conservation agencies on the

     merits of the current 16-inch size limit and evaluate alternatives.

                                                             

Research                                                                

   Scientists in the Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures compared biological data on the bass population that was gathered in the late 1990s with data gathered in the early 1990s. These data included growth, survival and production of young fish, harvest and catch-and-release rates, and anglers' attitudes towards length limits.
   They found that bass are now growing slightly slower and the survival of fish has not changed even though fish less than 16 inches had to be released. In addition, most bass anglers release the fish they catch and harvest rates have declined from more than 30% to less than 10%.
   The scientists recommended to the Georgia Department of Wildlife Resources and the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fish, who jointly managed the fishery in Lake Eufaula, that the 16-inch minimum be reduced to 12 or 14 inches. A decision was made to change the minimum length to 14 inches and this went into effect in November 2000.
   A new Windows-based population dynamics computer model (Fishery Analyses and Simulation Tools-FAST), developed by the Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures at Auburn University, enables scientists to predict the effects of changing length and bag limits on angler catch, size of fish caught, and numbers of fish. Using the FAST model, the scientists predicted that angler catch rates  would improve by 60% with this change.           Largemouth bass held by a professional

                                                                                 bass angler

Anticipated Impacts

   In 2001, catch rates of fish weighed in during tournaments increased nearly 80%, which was near the prediction of 60%. In addition, the number of tournament anglers doubled compared to 1999. In the spring of 2002, two major bass tournaments with 300 participants were held on Lake Eufaula.
   Communities such as nearby Eufaula greatly benefit from these types of tournaments which can infuse more than $0.5 million into the local economy.

Principal Investigators

Mike Maceina

Professor

Auburn University, Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures

maceimj@auburn.edu

Affiliated Institutions

Bass Angler Sportsman Society
Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fish
Georgia Department of Wildlife Resources