Cause and Effect?

[Stickling]

Ive read on this site that, bass you catch in pond ir anywhere make bass populations get shorter. Not dieing but not growing as big is what i mean to say. I know catching bass stress them out but, to a point to where the ystop growing and their offspring doesnt get big? thats rediculus. could some one clear this up for me? ???

[Pond-Pro]

          As far as I understand it, Catching a bass will not hurt it at all unless you ware it out or mess with the gills. Try not to keep a bass on your line for a while to avoid wearing him out. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

[Glenn]

Where, exactly, on this site did you read that?  In these forums?  Can you provide a URL?  Perhaps there's a misunderstanding, so I'd appreciate it if we could see it in context.

Thanks!

[Stickling]

yea on this site, ill have to find it, cant remember exatly where i read it.

[ernel]

If no bass are kept after being caught and they all continue to reproduce, then all the bass will get stunted due to lack of food because of competion amongest themselves. Selective harvesting is as important as catch and release.

[Stickling]

lack of food? sounds unreal. too many critter walkin around the water durin the summer. and you gotta keep in mind that they do die off, either from age, being attacked, other animals eating them.

[ernel]

Yes it will happen! It will happen in a pond or a lake either one.

Here is a link that you can read up on as well:

http://bassresource.com/fish_biology/selective_harvest.html

If man never fishes a lake, then you are correct. Once man starts pulling fish from a body of water, or adding fish then the balance that nature created is not a factor any longer. Then it comes down to us to manage our waters.

One of the biggest examples of this is on lake Powell in Arizona. The striper were being caught in large #s. However there was no size to any of them. They lowered  the size limit that you can keep and people started keeping more of them. After a few years of this, not only has the size of the schools of shad increased, but also so have the size of the stripers being caught today. They are also doing things here to improve the smallmouth fishing in this lake as well.

Here is a link to the marine biologist that is in charge of this lake:

http://www.wayneswords.com/

[Glenn]

Ernel, you're dead-on right.  Selective harvest is just as important as catch-and-release.  In fact, strict catch-and-release can even be harmful to a fisherie.

Remember folks, slot limits play a crutial role in growing lunker bass.  But slot limits only work if people occassionally keep bass, otherwise it's just a plan on a piece of paper that never gets implemented.

[ernel]

Why, Thank Ya!

[Stickling]

Remember folks, slot limits play a crutial role in growing lunker bass.  But slot limits only work if people occassionally keep bass, otherwise it's just a plan on a piece of paper that never gets implemented.  

Im sorry glenn, i dont understand. But nobody really takes large number off bass, most peope do catch and release. what are you talking about slots glenn?

[Stickling]

wow ernal, thanks for the site. i read most of the articles and had no idea. i dont really eat much fish but i might try bass so i dont over populate my fishin holes.

:o

[ernel]

Slot limits are when the area biologist is requesting people to keep all fish that are a certain size, or the legal state limit. Sometimes, it is fish 12" and shorter. Others it is only above 20"

In the state I live in, the state limit is 14" and up, but on all the lakes on the western end of the state the slot limit is dropped to 12" due to over population problems.

Another lake that I fish has had a problem where the smallmouth population has been severly depleated. In order to keep a smallie, it has got to be over 20" and the daily limit is only one. Also on this lake there is a request to keep all 10-12" largemouth that are caught, with no kreel limit. Electro- shock fishing is starting to show a high number of juvenile largemouth.

Slot limit is nothing more than the legal size of the fish you can keep. The kreel limit is the number of legal fish you can keep in a day.

[Stickling]

I read another article on that page u gave me ernal. Does anyone know where to but protein pellets t ofeed your fish  ;D ???

[earthworm77]

I would guess the only way they would stop growing is if they were introduced to cooking oil.

[Glenn]

Here's everything you ever wanted to know about the subject of slot limits and harvesting bass for a healthy lake:

http://bassresource.com/fish_biology/about.html#fish

Start there and keep reading.

[Shad_Master]

There is a private pond that I know of where the rule is any bass 10" or under has to be kept or thrown on the bank.  All bass over 10" have to go back.  This pond is teaming with both bass and blue gill (all the blue gill are supposed be harvested, regardless of size).  There are some really nice bass in this pond for it's size (around 7 acres), but would this rule eventually lead to all of the bigger fish dieing off and there being only stunted fish?

[Glenn]

There are some really nice bass in this pond for it's size

Now you know why.