Legal and ecological questions about relocating a Bass

[Pkfish49]

I fish in a small, private, residential lake.  I catch and release Largemouth bass in the lake.  Just past a dividing wall, there is a canal which I believe feeds the lake, as I see drainpipes and what appears to be a release valve.  If I catch a largemouth Bass in the canal, would it be illegal or ecologically wrong to release it into the lake?  

 

I know nothing about the history of the lake.  I don't know whether the fish were once stocked, or if they are continually stocked.  I don't know if Bass are are deliberately put in the lake from the drainpipes, or if the small ones accidentally get there.  What I do know is that Bass never leave the lake.  Other than myself, only one other person fishes there and we both release everything.

 

Would it be illegal, or ecologically wrong for me to relocate a canal Largemouth bass into the lake?

 

Ty

[12poundbass]

If it feeds your lake I’d say no. Any DNA, microorganisms, species, etc in the stream  “should” be in your lake. 
 

Don’t take what I say as gospel because I’m not a marine biologist. 

[MN Fisher]

Unless the canal and the lake are connected in a way that doesn't inhibit transfer of water between them, I'd steer clear of introducing any 'new' micro-organisms from the canal into the lake. There could be a disease or parasite existing in the canal population that the lake population has never been exposed to and has no defense against.

 

I'm also pretty sure that Florida's Department of Fish and Wildlife requires a permit for any transplanting activities.

[slonezp]

23 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

If it feeds your lake I’d say no. Any DNA, microorganisms, species, etc in the stream  “should” be in your lake. 
 

Don’t take what I say as gospel because I’m not a marine biologist. 

Ok George

 

 

[BrianMDTX]

“The canal was angry that day, my friends!”

[amoss]

Should be fine, the only real issues are extreme conditions with bass relocation, (river to lake, or from down south to up north).

[WRB]

Legal read your states regulations. Ethical is between your ears.

Tom

[Bluebasser86]

You're here questioning if you should or shouldn't, I think that probably gives you the answer you need.

[Pkfish49]

Thanks for all the replies.  I'm not going to be relocating any fish into the lake.  

 

I know that people catch huge Bass in a lot of the nearby canals and I thought it would be a fun idea to relocate some lunkers into the lake to catch again.  It's a precious lake and I realize it's not appropriate to take even the tiniest risk to harm it. 

[the reel ess]

Everything upstream ends up in the lake. If you had a pond, and upstream there were other ponds, you probably wouldn't need to stock yours. If you've ever fished a spillway, you know what I mean.

 

The only way I'd see this as unethical is if your lake didn't already have largemouth. I find that highly doubtful in So. FL. legal could be a different story.

[Bluebasser86]

It isn't just about the microbes that could be introduced. You're adding X number of large, predator fish to food chain. How many of those can you add before the balance is thrown off and there aren't enough prey to feed them? Now you have a formerly healthy lake with an unbalanced food chain. Skinny fish aren't as healthy and more apt to succumb to illness that healthy fish can survive as well as the rigors of spawning. It sounds good on paper, but the negatives outweigh the positives in this case imo.

[slonezp]

On 2/4/2021 at 10:16 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

It isn't just about the microbes that could be introduced. You're adding X number of large, predator fish to food chain. How many of those can you add before the balance is thrown off and there aren't enough prey to feed them? Now you have a formerly healthy lake with an unbalanced food chain. Skinny fish aren't as healthy and more apt to succumb to illness that healthy fish can survive as well as the rigors of spawning. It sounds good on paper, but the negatives outweigh the positives in this case imo.

There's a semi-private lake I fish that is managed by the village it resides in. They change creel limits and c&r regulations quite often because there isn't a whole lot of forage. It's loaded with skinny bass and the crappies I've caught tend to be cannibalistic. That, along with having to buy an annual user pass and $25 ramp fee is a turn off. Needless to say I don't fish there often, and when I do fish there it's early or late season after the patrol boat is off the water.

[lynxcat]

How much time, energy, concern you put into this is a personal decision. If you want to put a couple large bass in it, then I wouldn’t be concerned. If you are wanting to put large numbers of new fish into the pond, then there will be introducing an unbalanced equation.