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Home Fish Biology Fish Biology Survival Rate of Angler Caught and Released Largemouth Bass Survival Rate of Angler Caught and Released Largemouth Bass
Author: Brad Wiegmann, Gene R. Wilde and Kevin L. Pope |


Every angler that catches a fish has to make a decision to either keep or release it. There is no harm in practicing selective harvesting when within the state or federal regulations: in fact selective harvesting can improve the quality of fish in some reservoirs. Nevertheless, if an angler releases it what are the odds of it living? One abstract that covers the survival of angler caught and released is A Simple Model for Predicting Survival of Angler-Caught and Released Largemouth Bass, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (Volume 137, Issue 3, 2008, Pages 834 -840. Authors: Gene R. Wilde, Kevin L. Pope).



(Abstract) We conducted a controlled experiment in the laboratory to assess the influence of anatomical hooking location and water temperature on survival of angler-caught and released largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides. Survival was 98% (58 of 59 fish) among fish that were hand-hooked within the oral cavity (including the gills), whereas survival was 66% (33 of 50 fish) among fish that were hand-hooked in the esophagus. Survival of hooked fish was not significantly influenced by water temperature (7-27°C) or the hooking location water temperature interaction. We combined our results with prior research to develop a predictive model of largemouth bass survival, which was 98.3% (SD = 1.87%) for fish hooked in the oral cavity and 55.0% (SD = 9.70%) for fish hooked in the esophagus. The model is valid for water temperatures ranging from 7°C to 27°C and allows one to estimate, with known precision, the survival of angler-caught and released largemouth bass without the need for controlled studies or for holding fish in pens or cages to assess delayed mortality.

The complete article and results can be found at www.fisheries.org or http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/con...1577/T06-273.1 The article contains valuable information that any angler will find useful.


Authors:
Gene R. Wilde, Professor of Fish Ecology, Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University
Kevin L. Pope, Assistant Leader and Associate Professor U.S. Geological Survey, Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

[dave0943]

I'm from the old school Ray Scott days as well. Back in those days many lakes and rivers were over fished and out and out terrible. Through common sense management many lakes and rivers are going strong now. I live in a area in Northern Michigan where you can take fish home and they won't be missed. However, common sense needs to prevail.
First off the bigger breeding size fish just don't taste that good. Also they aren't reccomended for eating because the larger the fish the more mercury and other nasty chemicals they carry. I don't eat to many different species of fish. I eat Walleye, perch, crappie and bluegill. I only take a few for a fresh fish fry for the family once in a while. I don't care for bass at all, no matter how it's prepared. I also take Walleye that are smaller in size. Perch and crappie are good eating size fish.
Fisherman should use common sense. If a area you fish in has a struggling fish population then I would revert back to Ray Scott. You can only hope that others in your area are smart enough to think the same way. Each of us have to be responsible.
Dave