1998 BAIT Report B.A.I.T.
Bass Anglers Information Team
1998 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 1998 B.A.I.T. annual report marks the thirteenth 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 1998, we have summarized 5,787 tournament reports. B.A.I.T. team anglers have spent 1,446,283 hours collecting data for this program. They have contributed data from 334,332 bass that weighed 566,831 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 560 tournament reports during 1998, a small decrease from last year’s 586 reports. Club representatives did an excellent job filling out the cards and few reports were rejected due to incomplete or erroneous information. Fifty-two clubs or tournament organizations provided data in 1998. Two hundred and eighteen 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. 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 1998, tournament reports were received for 32 bodies of water that were fished 121,491 hours. B.A.I.T. anglers caught 22,161 bass (12 inches and larger) that weighed 39,159 pounds (Table 1). A total of 196 bass five pounds and larger were reported for an overall catch rate of one bass 5 pounds or larger for every 594 hours of fishing. The number of bass over 8.0 pounds decreased from 17 in 1997 to 8 in 1998 (Table 5). The largest bass weighed 9.19 pounds and was caught in Martin Reservoir. Weiss Reservoir has again produced more bass (32) 5 pounds and larger than any other reservoir.
Statewide catch rates in 1998 for number and pounds of fish per angler-day declined (Figure 1). This gradual decline in recent years has been partly due to the imposition of size limits. However, the 1998 catch of 1.82 fish per angler-day was the lowest catch rate since the program began in 1986. It appears that the 1998 data reflects relatively poor fishing statewide. Nine lakes improved in overall fishing success, 16 lakes recorded declines and four lakes remained about the same (Appendix A). The weather was unusually cold in the spring of 1998, which certainly impacted fishing. The significant downturn in success was probably related to these abnormal spring climatic conditions rather than a statewide decline of bass fisheries. Standardized bass sampling surveys that were conducted by Alabama fisheries biologists supported this explanation.
Of the 52 clubs or tournament organizations that submitted data during 1998, 33 submitted five or more tournament reports. Seventeen clubs submitted 10 or more reports. Ten contributors submitted only one report as compared to 6 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 1998 B.A.I.T. report is presented in Table 4.
More tournament reports were received from West Point Reservoir (64) than from any other location. Weiss (58) and Martin (53) followed in second and third. Eufaula, Harris, Lay, Logan Martin, Millers Ferry, Mobile Delta and Neely Henry each had 20 or more tournament reports (Table 1). A total of ten lakes were represented by 20 or more reports in 1998. A good distribution of reports provides more representative catch statistics from which meaningful summaries can be prepared.
Of the 32 reservoirs from which reports were received, 25 had five or more tournament reports (Table 1). The following comments deal with these 25 reservoirs which are ranked by quality indicators in Table 2. The percent of successful anglers (those with one or more fish) ranged from 34 at Eufaula to 85 at Martin. The average weight of bass caught ranged from 1.04 pounds at Smith (13-16 inch slot limit) to 2.73 pounds at Eufaula (16-inch size limit, Table 1). The statewide average weight for all reservoirs was 1.77 pounds. Catch rates expressed as bass per angler-day ranged from 0.49 at Eufaula to 2.97 at Martin. Catch rate as pounds per angler-day ranged from 1.33 at Smith to 4.83 at Mitchell.
Overall, Weiss Reservoir accumulated more quality-indicator points (94) than any other reservoir in Alabama, replacing Demopolis from last year. Wheeler (93) placed second and Mitchell (92) 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. For example, look at the rankings for the top three reservoirs. Weiss Reservoir received the highest "Overall" ranking, but there were only 2 points separating Weiss from Mitchell. The ranking differences between these three lakes were the result of fractions of a point. The average weight of bass from Weiss tournaments was 1.89 pounds and from Wheeler tournaments was 1.85 pounds. If bass from Wheeler averaged just 0.05 pounds more (less than 1 ounce), Wheeler Reservoir would have ranked first. Therefore, Weiss should not be given the label as the "best" just one of the best. Of greater importance to most tournament anglers are pounds per angler-day. Mitchell Reservoir, for the first time in the B.A.I.T. program, ranked first in this category.
As more Alabama bass populations are managed with length limits, the effects of these harvest restrictions are expressed in the B.A.I.T. report. Length limits are imposed to increase the number of fish below a minimum length or within a specified length range (slot 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 pounds. However, those fish weighed in will be larger (longer) by virtue of the minimum length or slot limit. In the B.A.I.T. report, length limit lakes should rank high for average weight and near the bottom for percent success, bass per angler-day, and pounds per angler-day. For instance, bass per angler-day averaged 1.82 statewide but Wilson and Eufaula were low with 0.74 and 0.49, respectively. Statewide, average weight in 1998 was 1.77 pounds for all 32 reservoirs but at Wilson, Demopolis, 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 1998 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 Wilson’s bass harvest indicated that the minimum length limit at this time has not resulted in a positive trend. However, as has already been discussed, poor fishing conditions may be masking an accurate assessment of the state’s bass fishing in 1998. Additional sampling and more B.A.I.T. information will be needed to determine if the length limits at this reservoir will be effective.
The bass population of Demopolis Reservoir has completed its third year of protection under a 14-inch length limit. Quality indicators were lower than last year and the bass population is continuing to adjust to the length limit during these first few years. Fishing as measured by the quality indicators at West Point and Eufaula revealed a declining condition. It could be argued that this is a reflection of poor fishing conditions as suggested previously, however, standardized sampling data seemed to reflect the same trend. This information has Georgia and Alabama biologists discussing possible management options for the future. Lewis Smith’s bass population showed improvements from earlier years. It appeared that the slot limit has had a positive effect on distributing the bass population into the larger size groups. 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 as quickly. 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 black bass fishing is among the best in the State. The 14-inch minimum size limit on smallmouth bass has aided in sustaining one of the best smallmouth bass fisheries in the nation.
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.
Good luck in 1999 and 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 1998 B.A.I.T. Program.
Table 2 - Ranking by quality indicators for all reservoirs with five or more tournament reports in the 1998 B.A.I.T. program.
Table 3 - Tournament summary for all bass clubs participating in the 1998 B.A.I.T. program.
Table 4 - Clubs Supporting the 1998 B.A.I.T. Annual Report
Table 5 - Bass eight pounds and larger from 1998 B.A.I.T. tournament reports. |
