1999 BAIT Report
B.A.I.T.
Bass Anglers Information Team
1999 Annual Report
by
Stanley F. Cook and James J. McHugh
Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
INTRODUCTION
The printing of the 1999 B.A.I.T. annual report marks the fourteenth year of the B.A.I.T. program. The objective of the program since its inception has been to gather information on bass populations by combining the efforts of bass club members and state fisheries scientists. The B.A.I.T. program summarizes catch data already being collected by participating clubs on reservoir bass populations. These results are used by state fisheries scientists in combination with data from other sources as a basis for fisheries management decisions. Bass anglers use the report to establish future tournament sites or to locate a reservoir that provides a particular type of fishing action.
Through 1999, we have summarized 6,425 tournament reports. B.A.I.T. team anglers have spent 1,574,377 hours collecting data for this program. They have contributed data from 360,574 bass that weighed 609,407 pounds.
METHODS
Every year we attempt to maintain the support of the previous year’s clubs and to enlist the support of new clubs through public meetings, news releases and letters. Participating club officers or tournament directors are sent the previous year’s annual report, with tournament report postcards to be completed following each tournament. Clubs are assigned individual numbers to insure confidentiality. As tournament cards are received, they are checked for accuracy and entered into a computer database. Club officers are contacted when data are suspected to be erroneous. We compile and analyze the data following receipt of December tournament reports. Statewide tournament results are sorted by reservoir and by club.
To rank reservoirs, five "fishing quality" indicators were used: percent of successful anglers (percent of anglers with one or more bass at weigh-in), bass average weight, number of bass per angler-day, pounds of bass per angler-day, and hours required to catch a bass five pounds or larger. Since the length of a fishing day varies between tournaments, an angler-day is defined as 10 hours of fishing effort. A minimum of five tournaments for an individual reservoir is considered necessary for minimum confidence in each reservoir dataset. Reservoirs with five or more tournament reports are ranked for each of the quality indicators. Values are assigned to each rank and an overall rank is determined for each reservoir by summing the values of the five quality indicators. This ranking system is intended to be a quick reference for club tournament site selection. It does not constitute a "best and worst" list of Alabama reservoirs and should not be interpreted that way.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Bass clubs submitted 638 tournament reports during 1999, a large increase from last year’s 560 reports. Club representatives did an excellent job filling out the cards and few reports were rejected due to incomplete or erroneous information. Fifty-three clubs or tournament organizations provided data in 1999. Two hundred and fifty-one reports from Alabama waters were received from Dr. Carl Quertermus of the University of West Georgia, who summarizes tournament data from the Georgia B.A.S.S. Federation and 24 reports from the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency that Tennessee clubs provided from Alabama reservoirs. Without their support, several Alabama reservoirs would not have been well represented in the quality indicator rankings (Table 2). Once again we must stress that reports from more locations increase the capability of the summaries to reflect actual fish population conditions and not just a good or poor day's fishing by one or two clubs.
In 1999, tournament reports were received for 31 bodies of water that were fished 128,094 hours. B.A.I.T. anglers caught 26,242 bass (12 inches and larger) that weighed 42,575.61 pounds (Table 1). A total of 153 bass five pounds and larger were reported for an overall catch rate of one bass 5 pounds or larger for every 837 hours of fishing. The number of bass over 8.0 pounds decreased from 17 in 1997 to 8 in 1998 and to 6 in 1999 (Table 5). The largest bass weighed 9.5 pounds and was caught in Harris Reservoir. Guntersville Reservoir has again produced more bass (32) 5 pounds and larger than any other reservoir.
Statewide catch rates in 1999 for number and pounds of fish per angler-day slightly increased (Figure 1). The imposition of size limits in the 1990s explains some of the variability in angling success between the 1980s and 1990s. The 1999 catch of 2.05 fish per angler-day is an improvement over 1.82 fish per angler day in 1998. Thirteen lakes improved in overall fishing success, eight lakes recorded declines and eight lakes remained about the same (Appendix A*).
Of the 53 clubs or tournament organizations that submitted data during 1999, 39 submitted five or more tournament reports. Twenty clubs submitted 10 or more reports. Only five contributors submitted one report as compared to 10 contributors last year. All club representatives should understand that every tournament report is important if this program is to continue to be successful. A list of clubs contributing tournament results for the 1999 B.A.I.T. report is presented in Table 4.
More tournament reports were received from Logan Martin Reservoir (60) than from any other location. Weiss (56) was second and Guntersville and West Point (53) tied for third. Eufaula, Harding, Harris, Jordan, Lay, Martin, Mobile Delta, Neely Henry, Pickwick and Wheeler each had 20 or more tournament reports (Table 1). A total of fourteen lakes were represented by 20 or more reports in 1999. A good distribution of reports provides more representative catch statistics from which meaningful summaries can be prepared.
Of the 31 reservoirs from which reports were received, 21 had five or more tournament reports (Table 1). The following comments deal with these 21 reservoirs which are ranked by quality indicators in Table 2. The percent of successful anglers (those with one or more fish) ranged from 51 at Lewis Smith to 84 at Martin. The average weight of bass caught ranged from 1.02 pounds at Harris (13-16 inch slot limit) to 2.47 pounds at Guntersville (15-inch size limit, Table 1). Catch rates expressed as bass per angler-day ranged from 0.78 at Wilson to 2.91 at Martin. Catch rates as pounds per angler-day ranged from 1.46 at Smith to 5.57 at Jordan. The statewide average weight for all 31 reservoirs was 1.62 pounds.
Overall, Jordan Reservoir accumulated more quality-indicator points (90) than any other reservoir in Alabama, replacing Weiss from last year. Lay (86) placed second and Jones Bluff (79) came in third. Readers should note that the primary intent of Table 2 was not to determine the overall "best" reservoir, but to characterize the fishery of each reservoir. An angler should first review the quality indicator that is most important to them. The overall rating would be used to narrow choices. For example, if an angler felt that angling success was the most important indicator, then Martin would be the first choice, however, Mitchell which is second has a better overall ranking and should provide high success combined with other higher ranked qualities.
Bass data as expressed in the B.A.I.T. report from reservoirs with harvest restrictions or length limits will be biased since the data is a function of the restrictions. Length limits are imposed to increase the number of fish below a minimum length or within a specified length range (slot limit) which should eventually result in a stabile supply of bass above the limit. Because all minimum lengths and length ranges will be above the 12-inch limit fished in most tournaments, the restrictions will reduce the total harvest in numbers and possibly pounds. However, those fish weighed in will be larger (longer) by virtue of the minimum length or slot limit when the restriction has become fully functional within the bass community. In the B.A.I.T. report, length limit lakes should rank high for average weight and near the bottom for percent success and bass per angler-day. For instance, bass per angler-day averaged 2.05 statewide but Wilson and Eufaula were low with 0.78 and 0.86, respectively. Statewide average weight in 1999 was 1.62 pounds for all 31 reservoirs but at Wilson, Guntersville, and Eufaula average weight was over 2.0 pounds. These average weights were higher only because the fish weighed in are larger due to the imposed length limits.
Length limits remained in effect during 1999 on Eufaula and West Point (16-inch minimum on largemouth bass), Wilson and Guntersville (15-inch minimum on black bass), Demopolis (14-inch minimum on black bass), Pickwick (14-inch minimum on smallmouth bass), and Harris and Smith (13 to 16-inch slot on black bass). Quality indicators from Demopolis and Wilson’s bass harvest indicated that the minimum length limits at this time have not resulted in a significant positive trend. Additional sampling and more B.A.I.T. information will be needed to determine if the length limits at these reservoirs will be effective. Guntersville does appear to be reflecting a positive response in the bass population from implementation of a length limit. Fishing as measured by the quality indicators at West Point and Eufaula continued to reveal a declining condition, which is also indicated by standardized sampling data. Georgia and Alabama biologists have discussed various management options and will evaluate possible changes. Lewis Smith’s bass population has improved from earlier years. It is very important that anglers continue to harvest largemouth and spotted bass under 13 inches. Efforts to remove bass under 13 inches at Harris Reservoir are not progressing very quickly. Harris anglers are beginning to make an impact on the bass population but quality indicators remain low in pounds per angler-day and average weight per angler-day. These indicators should improve as the slot limit takes full effect. Pickwick Reservoir’s smallmouth bass fishing is among the best in the nation.
A disturbing fact has been discovered through analysis of the B.A.I.T. data. There has been in 1998 and 1999 a large decrease in catch of bass over five pounds from reservoirs throughout the State. The average number of hours to catch a five-pound or larger bass has changed from 265 in 1996 to 291 in 1997 to 594 in 1998 to 837 in 1999. This trend is occurring regardless of the river system, reservoir size, reservoir location, or type of management. A similar trend has been seen in Tennessee and Georgia. Therefore, this phenomenon is at least regional in scope. What has happen to cause such a response from bass populations is unknown at this time. All fish populations cycle to some degree. Most reservoirs have good bass spawning every year. The strength of a year-class of bass is determined not by the spawn but by the condition or state of health of bass as winter approaches. Bass fingerlings in poor condition or with low body fat experience high mortality and many do not survive their first winter. This dynamic process drives bass cycles up and down and directly affects the number of quality size bass available in four to five years. Our sampling data does not indicate a statewide failure of bass year-classes in the nineties. Also, B.A.I.T. data does not support that a problem has occurred with bass below age 3. This is indicated by the high rate (71.43%) of angling success in 1999, as there has been every year. So we can eliminate early recruitment years as the problem. This would mean that the problem or mortality is occurring at a later time such as at three or four pounds. Mortality is divided into angling and natural components. To suggest that harvest or delayed angling mortality has for some reason increased greatly in the last two years does not seem to make sense. We do know that angling pressure is increasing so angling mortality can not be completely dismissed at this time. Could it be natural mortality? Natural mortality can be contributed to predation, old age, parasites, diseases, pollution and environmental conditions. The only problem that has been identified regionally in the last few years is the largemouth bass virus (LMBV). Not much is known about this virus, however, it has been found in bass populations throughout the southeast and has been attributed to bass kills in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas and Louisiana. Adult bass two pounds and larger seem to be the most susceptible. Regardless of the cause, the trend is disturbing and we are conducting research to examine this situation. Please report any unusual bass die-offs to your district fisheries office.
Graphs in Appendix A provide you with a historical record of how your favorite waters have performed in the B.A.I.T. program since 1986. A few words of caution, these graphs are not restricted to bodies of water with five or more tournaments. Data points for some years may be represented by only one tournament or are completely absent in some cases. However, those situations are restricted to those water bodies that generally have not been included in the quality indicator rankings in Table 2. Secondly, when comparing water bodies, be aware that the scale on the vertical axes have maximum ranges that vary. You can use these graphs to predict 1999 fishing by looking for trends.
Don’t forget to take a kid fishing. They are our future anglers and stewards of Alabama’s resources.
Table 1 - Statewide summary of tournaments for bass clubs participating in the 1999 B.A.I.T. Program.
Table 2 - Ranking by quality indicators for all reservoirs with five or more tournament reports in the 1999 B.A.I.T. program.
Table 3 - Tournament summary for all bass clubs participating in the 1999 B.A.I.T. program.
Table 4 - Clubs Supporting the 1999 B.A.I.T. Annual Report
Table 5 - Bass eight pounds and larger from 1999 B.A.I.T. tournament reports.
This report is also available in .PDF format. To download this 1999 Annual B.A.I.T. Report in .pdf format, CLICK HERE.
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