Largemouth Bass Management Plan
Largemouth bass are among the most popular sportfish nationwide and in Kansas. The most recent Licensed Angler Survey reported that largemouth bass is the single most sought-after species among resident anglers. The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks has developed a draft plan to guide future management of the species.
Three primary needs led to development of the plan: (1) To ensure that the best scientific information available is used to make management decisions concerning largemouth bass, (2) To capture the knowledge of current KDWP fisheries staff, many of whom will be retiring in the next few years, and (3) To develop a document that provides anglers information on how and why management decisions are made.
To view or download the draft plan, click here. Your comments are welcome.
posted by KDWP @ 3/29/2007 10:39:00 AM
40 comments
40 Comments:
This may seem like an imposing document at first glance, but let me point out some areas that may be of particular interest to the general bass angler.
Population Sampling (page 4) and Population Assessment (page 5) explains how KDWP gets a handle on each lake's bass fishery.
Largemouth Bass Culture and Stocking (page 8) explains the current role of the hatcheries in bass management.
Harvest Regulation Guidelines (page 13) establishes length and creel limit options that can be used to improve bass fishing.
Bass Management in Reservoirs (page 15) discusses the special concerns facing bass management in the large federal reservoirs. These aging lake are a difficult challenge for a fisheries biologist.
Research / Resource Needs (page 23) lays out the future direction for bass population improvement. This may be the most interesting section for most readers.
One final thought, the Governor's budget contains dollars for construction of a new bass spawning facility at the Meade Fish Hatchery that will allow some of the proposed research and improved stocking techniques to be possible. That money should allow construction to begin in July 2007 and we hope to have the building ready for next spring's spawning season. To learn more about that effort, take a look at page 23.
This plan is still in draft form and we are wanting to hear from you. Let us know if we are on the right track.
Thanks in advance for helping ensure the future of bass fishing in Kansas.
DougNygren
Fisheries Section Chief
KDWP
I didn't read the plan-but I wanted to comment on the bass fishing in the strip pits in cherokee county-in my view the bass fishing is poor. I've converted to fishing the rivers and driving to the lakes because the fishing in the pits is so poor.
When you say the fishing in poor in the pits what do you mean? I was planning a trip down there soon.
Too few fish caught, too small, etc.
The private pits are still good...the public pits arent so good.
First of all, thanks! I am excited about the direction that you folks are considering.
I am a displaced Kansan now residing in Nebraska. I do get down to Kansas about 3 times a year to chase bass in a few of the public reservoirs (Sabetha-Pony Creek, Geary County, Pottawatomie #2, Waubansee, Wilson, Sebelius)...I make it a point to purchase a season, out of state permit...my fishing is primarily relegated to tournament efforts (paper tournaments-no keep)...
I think what you folks are doing is great...and I look forward to the results that focus will bring.
A couple of points I'd like to bring up:
1. Typical/historical sampling methods I think under-represent the larger specimens in the population...
2. Propagation of fish (very good dicussion of FLMB vs NLB by the way) would be interesting if it could focus/target those 'sports' out there...those fish that grow very large, very fast and morphologically speaking 'have the frame to hold the weight'...
3. Would be interesting to conduct tracking studies (radio telemetry) looking at the habit differences between 1-3 pound fish vs 5-7 pound fish and 'possibly' larger?
Whatever you folks decide, I am very excited about the discussion and plans moving forward...
Thanks again.
I believe it is absolutely retarded that they allow tournaments to have a "Bass Pass" to keep under length bass. If you cant get a bass over 15" in your lake maybe you should have the tourney somewhere else.
The Bass Pass allows, under controlled situations, tournament anglers to weigh in fish over the statewide length limit of 15" but less than the posted special length limit (usually 18").
Catch rates at many reservoirs for fish over 18" are so low that few if any anglers have a chance to weigh in a bag even close to the limit of 5/day. Therefore many 18" lakes were passed over by weigh in tourneys.
The Bass Pass program is under evaluation, but it is possible that it will help spread the tournament pressure among more lakes. Without the Bass Pass, weigh in tournament organizers only had a handfull of reservoirs with 15" length limits.
Those lakes, like Cedar Bluff, were hosting the majority of weigh in tourneys and putting tremendous pressure on the fisheries.
We will be evaluating the program over this coming year and reporting back to the Commission and Secretary Hayden on the impact of the program.
Doug Nygren
Fisheries Chief
KDWP
Some of us were hopeful the bass pass would indeed spread tournaments across the state, but regarding Milford it is my understanding that it will have more tournaments this year than last. The smallmouth fishing there has declined dramatically over the past 5 years and I suspect that tournaments have contributed to the decline. I have a young family to support and with the price of gas I can't afford to travel long sitances to bass fish. It is really frustrating.
In my view KDWP SHOULD PUT THE RESOURCE FIRST and the anglers wishes farther down the list-instead-cater to them-why? Economics I'd speculate.
I would like to see KDWP put more efforts into enforcing their regulations and quit making excuses for not doing so. Some of our lakes could dudtain good bass fisheries if length and creel limits were actually enforced.
I believe enforcement needs to be an integral part of any bass management plan.
A recent scientific survey of Kansas anglers asked "In 2006, did you have your fishing license checked by a Kansas conservation officer?". The response was "yes" by 23.7% of those surveyed. Of those that answered "yes" 68% said their fish were checked. So, while it is statistically possible to fish for many years without being checked, chances are you will be checked in one out of four years.
Doug Nygren
Fisheries Section Chief
3 of us fished 398 days in 2006 and we never were checked, in fact, never say a conservation officer. Most of those trips were bass trips on small public lakes. We have fished 61 days this year and have yet to see a consevation officer.
The issue isn't whether a high percentage of anglers have their license checked during the year. The question is whether there are a sufficient number of conservation officers to protect the resource. Perhaps one way to evaluate is to look at lakes which were the subject of creel surveys: compare the number or citations issued for illegal harvest to the number of short fish reported to census-takers.
Did you read the plan before you posted? Looks like the plan addresses compliance and concludes there probably aren't enough game wardens to force compliance. From the plan "Regulations should be as few and as simple as possible and
should be standardized to minimize confusion within the angling public. They should not be
implemented unless they can measurably improve the quality of angling or the affected fish
population. For any regulation to work, a high degree of voluntary angler compliance is
necessary."
Since protecting existing quality fisheries I imagine would be of paramount importance, perhaps employing more enforcement personnel should be a consideration. Hire more enforcement staff. Maybe this would reduce the need to renovate lakes as often as you do.
Call the govenor and tell her to allow KDWP to have more staff! That is the only way to get more people out there checking for violations.
Again, if you cant catch legal fish for that lake too bad. I wish for once the KDWP would quit prostituting our wildlife and actually manage a resource for the people of KS...oh wait they dont care about the average in state fisherman. KDWP caters to anybody other than KS residents.
It is possible to reassign duties using existing staff. If those peoplwe wanted to do provide better enforcement there are ways to do it and they know it. They are more interested in selling licences.
How many would be enough? Twice as many? Hmmmm.... You would be checked once every two years instead of four. How many would it take to check everybody every time they went fishing? Ya that's the ticket!
Creel limits do more than just limit fishermen from harvesting too many fish...they also help folks understand the value of those fish...
Setting limits and selling licenses with that information available is an educational process. Folks are going to 'exceed the speed limit' or not based on their own assessment of whether or not they'll get caught.
Biggest challenge out there is to change/challenge attitudes. Large fish of any species, whether catfish, crappie, bass or whatever, ought to be kept in the population as much as possible.
As anglers, whether tournament, fun or harvest oriented, we all apply pressure to a population and as a consequence, shape it...keeping big fish or trophy fish takes important genetics from the pool...it also becomes a self-fulfilling profacy...I'm sure we've all heard 'fishing isn't as good as it used to be back when'...
I have to say I've been fishing for over 40 years now and it's as good or better than ever...even in the face of more and better educated folks who fish.
I like what this program is working on doing and laud the KWDP for it's effort and foresight.
As for checking licenses, it can be done...just get ready to spend more on your license...how much would you like to see it increase?
While not a perfect system now, I do believe the 'catch all you can, can all you catch' crowd is dwindling...
Again as they hae done with hunting in Kansas, the KDWP is marketing a resource it does not have. For hunting they have no land and WIHA opened upthe flood gates of out of state leasing and now fishing is at the buisness end of KDWP's stick nd it is about ready to get......
The only reason BASS is the most sort after fish is cause everyone wants to be the guy on TV.
Brain washed is what you all have been.You see them fishing the best waters with the best gear that they get for free to try and sell to you the hard working Joe.
Plus you need do more catch and release of all the bass to make it work.
Cause of Airtime on TV thats why bass is #1 its just a advertisement that sells.
you're wrong. Bass fishing is popular because once you try it, no matter why you're trying it, you're hooked. Bass tournaments aren't on TV every Sunday like football and they aren't even a good spectator sport. The only people I know that enjoy watching tournament fishing are
people that fish for bass already. I have never met a bass fishermen who
started because he saw it on TV and you haven't either.
I think Doug and the KDWP are on the right track. If we can get the brood stock to spawn earlier and stock larger fish into reservoirs, the survival rate should increase and help recruitment. Recruitment is the main problem on alot of our waters. Take the western kansas lakes that had an explosion of bass after the floods of 93. Why did they explode? Alot of flooded habitat for the fry to hide in and that led to great recruitment. Now the lakes are down and that habitat is out of the water. Recruitment is now down. That tells you that recruitment is down because there is not enough habitat to "hide" the fry. It takes alot of man hours and money to try and get enough habitat put into lakes. I think it needs to be done, but increasing the size of the stocked fry would help immensly.
Alot of people say they want more parks officers but then always complain about license costs. They will also complain when they get stopped all the time while they are fishing.
Its funny to hear peoples comments on this, as well as the large number of comments that have absolutely nothing to do with the original question. I am very appreciative that kdwp is willing to try some new things. To continue doing the same thing year after year and expect different results is the definition of insanity. Like it or not, much of the state's funding for manangement of our resources come from anglers by way of special taxes paid when buying fishing tackle/equipment. If bass fishing is the largest segment of fisherman accross kansas, then it makes sense to target that segment for growth and in return, the amount of monies from taxes increase and benefit all species more.
Hey wouldn't it be great if the resources would manage themselves?? If everyone would be honest and not take more fish or wildlife than they are supposed to?? Unfortunately neither happen so we must fund resource management. WE as outdoorsman have to foot alot of the bill. We buy licenses to help pay for this and we spend money on equipment which also goes towards it. KDWP only get so much money and they have to figure out the best way to spend it to get the most bang for the buck. Some people aren't going to like it, but hey majority rules in everything we do. There is no way to have a KDWP officer at every single body of water or hunting area. They are assigned to an area and sometimes you see them and other times you do not. You will see them on larger lakes but sometimes rarely if ever see them at a small county lake. Wherever the majority of people are is where you will see them. That after all makes sense. If you see someone breaking the law, call them and report it. Just griping about it, won't do anything. Walleye tournaments are gaining popularity and you see them alot at Milford. Guess what, they catch smallies too !!
off the subject..sort of. My son and I have a 12' jon to fish our state lakes. i can;t offord a big boat with 4 children to support. we sure wish theyd put a no wake regulation on these lakes. why does someone have to go 60 mph on a 100 acre lake? It's dangerous for us and others in small boats. Please consider this. Thanks.
Doug / KDWP Staff,
I just read with interest the draft LMB Management plan. I throughly enjoyed the in-depth discussion on the two prominent strains (NLMB / FLMB) and the outcome of stocking FLMB in La Cygne. I usually fish this Lake several times each year and can attest to its prominence as a premier Bass Fishery in Kansas.
I must admit I was confused on what exactly constitutes an F1 Hybrid vs. an Fx Hybrid? Can you expalin this bit further?
Additionally, I was shocked to see the evidence that pointed at larger growth rates of NLMB vs. FLMB and the high mortality rates of FLMB in the cooler waters of the North.
I also enjoyed the discussion on length limits and the science behind when and where they should be applied. I personally believe we should move to a larger slot limit on trophy Lakes. Something that allows for taking a "true" trophy fish (> 22) along with anything under 13 inches (to cut down on overpopulation).
Thanks for publishing the Plan, it was well worth the read!
I just read the Large Mouth Bass Management plan. I think this is an extremely good idea, and I applaud the KDWP for taking the steps to improve the LM Bass fishing in Kansas. When we got stationed at Ft. Riley, I expected to find some of the best bass fishing in the country. I was wrong. In Pennsylvania if you ask someone where you can find bass, they don't just tell you which lake; they tell you which out-cove, corner, or which dam. When I have asked people here, no one seems to know. I hope that your plan will increase the number of bass in the area, and make bass as easy to find here, as it is on the east coast. I don't know anyone who doesn't enjoy catching LM Bass, over any other fish. I hope I can leave here and tell my family and friends that Kansas has the best Bass fishing in the country.
Dan,
I’m sorry I neglected to explain what is meant by F1 and Fx Hybrids. We’ll fix that situation before we release the final version of the Management Plan.
When two individuals from different subspecies mate, their offspring are what geneticists refer to as F1 Hybrids. The “1” refers to the first generation. If two F1 Hybrids mate their young are considered F2 Hybrids etc. etc.
If you have a population that contains both the original parental stock – in the case LaCygne Reservoir northern and Florida largemouth bass- and their hybrid offspring, after a few years you’ll have a number of generations present. Genetic testing will detect hybrids but it will not be able to determine to which generation they belong. In that situation geneticists refer to all hybrids present as Fx Hybrids. In this case the “X”, simply, means some unknown number.
Ron Marteney
Fisheries Research Biologist
Glad to see Kansas is taking action to improve the bass fishery. Truthfully, we are about 20 years behind the curve. We tried to preserve water level of Cedar Bluff by purchasing the water rights so it could not be sucked down. Somehow, the lake level has dropped tremendously. No one seems to have an answer to how that happened. I hope the state is serious in this endeavor.
Regarding the hybrid bass; I don't think most fisherman want to catch bigger bass as much as they want to catch more bass. To me, we should target stocking a fish that can reproduce, especially with our limited financial resources. Let's not get too tricky. Stock fish that can reproduce, improve habitat and try to maintain water levels in the spring of the year. As a serious tournament fisherman, I also feel we should limit the number of tournaments on our lakes. Many lakes have two to three tournaments weekly. I probably sound really negative, but I want to see us be more proactive in our approach to bass management. Let's not just fold our arms and say that's just how it is. I'm glad to see that we are getting started.
I can explain where the Cedar Bluff water has gone. It is called evaporation !! I live in Central Kansas and the evaporation rate here can be up to 4 feet per year. I believe western Kansas is probably higher. So if you take last year for instance, we did not have much rain. Losing at least 4 feet of water should be expected. Just for a test, take a bucket of water and stick it in your back yard. Mark the bucket at the water level. After a week look at it and see where your water level is. The water in your bucket will fall at the same rate a lake will fall. So if your bucket has gone down 2 inches in that week, the lakes in your area will be the same. While it is true that KWDP bought the water rights, Russell still has rights to the water up to a certain depth. We all need to take a week off and go to Cedar Bluff and do a rain dance for a week.
I understand the water cycle. The bucket example works well for a body of water with no inflow and small surface area, such as a pond. However, Cedar Bluff has an inflow and a surface area of 6000+ acres. If the dam is letting out 0 cfs, then lake will either rise, or it will drop less significantly. All of this depends on the ratio of evaporation to inflow. No doubt the inflow rates have decreased.
If Russell has the rights to a certain depth, then that answers the biggest part of my question. My understanding at the time was that the intense water management districts would not play a role in drawing down the lake. That KDWP would be able to manage this lake with a fish first mentality. Clearly there was some fine print in this deal I didn't know about.
It sounds like we need more lakes. That's an easy fix:) Thanks for the information.
Cedar Bluff 2006 Evap Tot,In. by Month 5.37 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 8.02 10.46 11.69 13.59 10.84 6.92
Inflow Cubic feet per second
CFS by month
-552. -806. -286. -8123. -413. -251. -679. -558. -744. -1240. -793. -587.
I wish Cedar Bluff had the inflow that Kanapolis has had this year.
Ron,
Thanks for clarifying the differences between F1 - Fx hybrid LMB. To bad there is no visual queue for distinguishing the differences between the two subspecies.
Thanks
Dan
I'd like to see more bass..so would my teenage grand children. They like lots of bites and lots of action.
Staff:
I haven't had time to read the entire plan, but have you ever considered moving to a slot limit? Most of the lakes I've fished have a great deal of sub-legal fish, and the action is fair to good, but the quality is simply not there. I've taken a few fish out of Clinton/Wakarusa that are in the 5-6.5# size, but it's a bit of a rarity.
The domination of sub-legal (8-12") fish seems to point to a lack of forage base of the population. I know this program has had some success in other states, but I was curious as to the KDWP consideration/opinion on slot limits.
Thank you for all of your work.
Why Largemouth Bass Should Be Stocked in Clinton and Perry Lakes, and How It Can Be Accomplished
On Oct. 1 and 2, 2005, Topeka received nearly 4 inches of rain and as much as 12 inches fell on areas north of the city in Jackson and Jefferson counties. Mother Nature’s deluge washed an untold number largemouth bass into Perry Lake. Consequently, in the spring of 2006, bass angler began catching scores of 1 ½ - to six-pound bass, and that great bass fishing lasted until May of 2007. Even during the winter of 2006-07, when the surface temperature at Perry registered 38 degrees, some bass anglers caught as many as 34 good-sized largemouth during a four-hour outing. Throughout 2006 veteran crappie anglers were astonished by the number of largemouth bass that they inadvertently caught at various coverts across the reservoir’s main-body. What’s more, crappie anglers who plied upper reaches of the reservoir in the Delaware River several miles downstream from Valley Falls reported catching an unusual number of largemouth bass.
From this experience and similar ones in decades past, it is obvious that a stocking program similar to the volume that Mother Nature rendered in October of 2005 could be replicated by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Park.
This could be accomplished by adroitly managing several dozen ponds that are stocked with largemouth bass that are fed and cultivated until they are two and three years old. It is essential that the largemouth bass are stocked as adults rather than fry and fingerling because white crappie predation would quickly destroy a stocking of fry and fingerling in Clinton and Perry.
A minor program of this kind has recently occurred at Melvern Lake, and several bass anglers report that it has worked well.
On a much larger scale, Chinese fishmongers and fish farmers have shown the world that it is a relatively easy task to raise largemouth bass. Consequently since the turn of the century, an incredible number of largemouth bass have graced the fish markets and the culinary plates of Chinese citizens in Hong Kong and eastern China.
If the Chinese fish farmers can efficiently and economically raise largemouth bass, why can’t a group of Kansas bass anglers, bass clubs and the KDWP join forces and finances to build ponds where bass can be cultivated for several years and then stocked in Clinton and Perry, as well as similar reservoirs that don’t have appropriate nursery areas for recruitment of largemouth bass?
In addition to the pond-raised largemouth bass, the KDWP, with the assistance of groups of bass anglers, could periodically transplant largemouth bass from community and state fishing lakes that have become overpopulated with bass.
Because largemouth bass recruitment is so paltry at Clinton and Perry, a regular stocking of adult largemouth bass is the only way that Kansas anglers can consistently experience enjoyable and fruitful outings for this delightful and much-pursued species.
The stocking of adult largemouth bass would parallel the KDWP’s trout stocking program, and it would complement its stocking programs for catfish, wipers, walleye, sauger and saugeye.
Such an addition to Clinton and Perry will not only delight bass anglers, who are the most numerous and ardent anglers in eastern Kansas, but it will likely spawn a new generation of bass anglers and draw anglers from elsewhere to relish a bonanza similar to the one that unfolded after the flood of October of 2005 along Perry’s watershed.
I moved here from Tennessee about 4 yrs ago. I have fished for bass out at lake shawnee ever since I moved and although the catch rate for bass is high the size of the fish is a big letdown! In that time I have caught a few over 3 lbs and only 1 over 4 lbs. I am confused as to why this lake has a minimum length limit of 18 inches when so few are available! I have fished other lakes that have had slot length limits say keep anything under 12 inches and anything over 15 inches and these lakes seem to have lots of fish and also an abundance of fish over 15 inches. It seems to me that this would be more reasonable!
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