Spotted Bass Expansion--- Intentional and Otherwise

Largemouth bass on the left and spotted bass on the right. Photo by Robert Montgomery

Four species of black bass --- Florida, largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted --- vastly expanded their ranges during the late 19^th and 20^th centuries. Resource managers were responsible for much of that, as they intentionally stocked nonnative fish to establish and/or enhance fisheries. For example, Florida bass went to California and Texas, and smallmouth bass to the Northwest.

Sometimes, though, dispersion occurred naturally or inadvertently, especially for the smaller spotted bass, which wasn’t identified as a separate species until 1929 and still not recognized by many as distinct until the 1940s or later.

Missouri provides a perfect case history of this unintentional expansion with unforeseen consequences. Once confined to lowland ditches and streams to the southeast and west of the Ozarks, they “went everywhere” as reservoirs were built during mid century, according to Jeff Koppelman, a fisheries biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Today, they’re a prominent species in fisheries such as Table Rock, Bull Shoals, and Lake of the Ozarks, among others

How did they get to the latter, an impoundment on the Osage River, which is a tributary of the Missouri and geographically separate from the spot’s native range?

“It all gets back to us,” said Koppelman.

In 1941, about 90,000 bass --- largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted --- were collected from streams during the low water of summer and taken to hatcheries. They then were released in the fall. Possibly spotted bass were taken to and released from a hatchery in the Osage River drainage.

Additionally, spotted bass were stocked in streams north of the Missouri River in an attempt to supplement the limited fishery.

Today, spotted bass make up about 18 percent of the bass population at Lake of the Ozarks, according to electrofishing surveys. That’s down considerably from the early 1990 and 1991, when they outnumbered largemouths. Most interesting, though, a 5-9 spotted/smallmouth hybrid was caught there in 2012, even though bronzebacks aren’t thought to be in this impoundment that’s more than 80 years old.

Smallmouths, however, do share the water with spots at Table Rock and Bull Shoals, and, in both of those, they occasionally cross-breed, resulting in a fish popularly known as the “meanmouth.” At Table Rock, largemouths make up about 74 percent of the bass population, according to electrofishing surveys. Spots account for 25 percent, with smallmouth and meanmouths the additional 1 percent. Lake record for the latter is 5-10.

Spots there likely migrated into the impoundments from tributary streams after dams were built on the White River. How they managed to get into streams on the east side of the Ozarks is another matter. Did they move up the Mississippi or migrate east from the Osage and Missouri systems, where they were introduced?

Whatever the cause, “20 years ago, we were panicking,” Koppelman said.

Resource managers and anglers alike feared that spots would crowd out and/or heavily hybridize with resident smallmouths in streams such as the Big, Gasconade, and Meramec. And, indeed, some hybrids have been collected in the lower basins of the two latter rivers.

Liberal regulations --- no size limit and no bag limit --- to encourage harvest of stream spots had no biological impact, Koppelman said, since few bass anglers keep fish.

Thus, far, though, eastern Ozarks smallmouths have retained some of their traditional range. Today, the biologist explained, spots seem strongest on the edges of the eastern Ozarks, where the region either borders big rivers or the prairie to the west. Conversely, spots and hybrids are not often found in streams with large springs and high gradients.

For a time after its recognition as a separate species, the spotted bass was considered comparable in fisheries value to the smallmouth and even largemouth bass by some resource managers. That no longer seems to be the case for this smaller, more aggressive, and generally more adaptable fish.

“I don’t know of anyone who wants spotted bass,” Koppelman said. 

(A version of this article appeeared originally in B.A.S.S. Times.)

Spring Seasons Don't Harm New York Bass Fisheries

Do spring catch-and-release or limited harvest seasons hurt bass populations in northern waters?

For New York fisheries, the answer is no.

“We found no impact to production,” said Randy Jackson, a biologist with the Cornell Biological Field Station on Oneida Lake.

Jackson and his associates compared survey data both before and after the spring seasons were implemented for New York’s portion of Lake Erie, as well as the inland waters of Oneida and Canadarago.

In New York, the season begins on the third Saturday in June and extends until Nov. 30. Traditionally, it then remained closed until the following June. That was because many resource managers believe bass populations in northern waters are more fragile than those in southern due to a shorter spawning time and growing season, as well as less fertile water. Consequently, the general wisdom goes, bass on the beds need protection from anglers.

But in 1994, New York decided to try a spring season on Lake Erie, allowing harvest of one 15-inch fish (size limit now is 20 inches). Then in 2007, it went with a spring catch-and-release season in most of its inland waters.

On Erie, researchers found a year class index of 3.0 for smallmouth bass (aged 2) in gill net surveys conducted for 15 years before the spring season. For 17 years afterward, the index was 6.0.

At Oneida, young-of-the-year smallmouth average catch per trawl haul for six years before a spring season was 0.4, but 1.8 afterward.

“Both of those are statistically significant,” Jacksons said. “What we found at Canadarago was not.”

At the latter, young-of-the-year largemouth per hour increased from 15.6 to 27.8 in electrofishing surveys after the season was implemented. Smallmouth declined slightly from 1.2 to 0.6.

In other words, bass production was not harmed in any of the three fisheries. Most interesting, though, it actually improved, a change that hardly can be credited to allowing anglers to fish during the spawn.

Jackson attributes that to more hospitable conditions for New York bass in general, with these three fisheries providing a reflection of those changes.

“The water has been warming for the 47 years that we’ve been keeping data here (at Oneida),” he explained. “No one can argue that the lake is much warmer than it used to be.”

Additionally, filter feeding by zebra and quagga mussels has cleared the water at Oneida, Erie, and other fisheries. “That favors bass, which are visual feeders,” he said, adding that young bass are better protected from predation because of more vegetation in the clearer water.  

(This article appeared originally in B.A.S.S. Times.) 

Discovery of New Black Bass Species Revealed by FWC

Scientists collected this Choctaw bass from Florida's Holmes Creek in February 2012.

Those interested in the “big picture” regarding fisheries will be excited to learn that Florida scientists have discovered what they believe is a new species of black bass. It’s very close in appearance to the spotted bass, which probably it never was recognized before.

Recognition of this new species won't make much, if any, difference for recreational fishing, but it does suggest that we still have much to learn below the surface, not only in far-away and exotic places such as the Amazon, but right here at home.

“We didn’t set out to find a new species,” said Mike Tringali, who heads the genetics laboratory at the Florida fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. “It found us.”

Scientists have proposed naming the new species the “Choctaw bass” and recommended the scientific name of Micropterus haiaka. The American Fisheries Society must approve the proposed scientific name for it to take effect.

The discovery was made when researchers noted a DNA profile that did not belong to any recognized species while testing a bass specimen from the Chipola River in 2007, as part of a broader genetic study of bass.

They then searched for the DNA profile in bass caught in nearby rivers to determine the species’ range. They found that the Choctaw bass inhabits coastal river systems in Alabama and along the western Florida panhandle, including the Choctawhatchee River.

“We chose the name ‘Choctaw bass’ because the species’ range overlaps the historic range of the Choctaw Indians,” said Tringali. “As for our recommended scientific name, Micropterus haiaka, ‘haiaka’ is a Choctaw word that means ‘revealed.’”

For more information, go here.

Analysis Confirms Economic Importance of Recreational Fishing

Sport fishing advocates have long made the argument that recreational fishing in our oceans is just as valuable economically as commercial fishing, while having a much smaller impact on the resource.

Now there’s a first-of-its kind analysis confirming that assessment.

“Comparing NOAA’s Recreational and Commercial Fishing Economic Data, May 2013” provides an “apples-to-apples" comparison of recreational fishing and commercial marine fishing from an economic perspective, using NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Services (NOAA Fisheries) 2011 data, according to the American Sportfishing Association.

 “It’s something we’ve suspected for some time, but NOAA’s own data clearly shows that recreational saltwater fishing needs to be held in the same regard as commercial fishing,” said ASA President and CEO Mike Nussman.

“The current federal saltwater fisheries management system has historically focused the vast majority of its resources on the commercial sector, when recreational fishing is found to have just as significant an economic impact on jobs and the nation’s economy.”

Findings in the report prepared by Southwick Associates include the following: 

• Anglers landed just two percent of the total saltwater finfish landings compared to ninety-eight percent caught by the commercial fishing industry.
• Saltwater landings by anglers contributed three times more to the national gross domestic product (GDP, or value-added) than commercial landings.
• The recreational sector added $152.24 in value-added, or GDP, for one pound of fish landed, compared to the commercial sector’s $1.57 for a single pound of fish.
• Within the jobs market, the recreational sector made up fifty-four percent of all jobs, both recreational and commercial. This amounts to 455,000 recreational jobs compared to 381,000 on the commercial side.
• For every 100,000 pounds landed there were 210 recreational fishing jobs but only 4.5 jobs in the commercial fishing industry.

 “We’re not releasing this report in an effort to demean commercial fishing,” Nussman added.  “Commercial fishing is very important to our nation’s economy.

“Our goal is to highlight the importance of recreational fishing to the nation. As our coastal populations continue to grow, along with saltwater recreational fishing, significant improvements must be made to shape the nation’s federal fisheries system in a way that recognizes and responds to the needs of the recreational fishing community.”

The executive summary and full report are available here.

Lake Erie Smallmouth Fishery Remains Strong Despite Goby Invasion

 As the population of invasive round gobies exploded in the mid to late 1990s in Lake Erie, resource managers feared trouble ahead for the smallmouth bass population.

“Agencies (all around the lake) went into protective mode for smallmouth bass,” said Kevin Kayle, a biologist with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources at the Fairport Harbor Fisheries Research Station.

They did so by implementing restrictive harvest regulations during spring. By reducing angler effort, they hoped, aggressive male bass wouldn’t be as likely to be pulled off nests, leaving eggs vulnerable to goby predation.

Fortunately, those fears have proven unfounded. Gobies have not damaged the smallmouth population, and likely they wouldn’t have even without protective spring regulations. Instead, bass have benefitted, as the small, exotic fish is now a dietary staple.

“Where we see the change is in growth of young smallmouth,” said Kayle. “They still top out at about 20 inches. But for the first three years, we’re seeing advanced growth.”

Why is this happening?

Gobies spawn late, while smallmouths spawn early. Thus, young-of-the-year bass can eat nutrient-rich fish --- larval and juvenile gobies --- during their first summer and fall.

But the goby invasion has damaged forage species that bass traditionally depended upon. “We’ve seen a decline in sculpins and darters because of gobies,” Kayle said.

For bass, meanwhile, spring storms seem to be the biggest limiting factor for abundance, the biologist added. Especially with a northeast or northwest wind, waves up to 15 feet go crashing into the near-shore areas, where bass spawn in waters of 20 feet or less.

“That storm surge jostles around the eggs and can force adults to abandon their nests,” Kayle explained.

Upwellings in the Central Basin during late summer and early fall also can harm bass, as well as most other species. Several days of wind out of the north or south pushes the surface water in one direction, while bottom water moves in the other. This churning action forces oxygen-depleted water to the top.

“When this anoxic water comes close to shore, we can see fish kills,” the biologist said. “Some years, it’s drum. But in the worst years, we see smallmouth too.”

Blooms of blue-green algae that die and then decay in deeper water feed the problem. “Bacteria down there decomposes the dead algae and uses up oxygen,” he said. “And no oxygen can come in (from above) because of the thermocline.”

Despite these naturally limiting factors, though, the smallmouth population of Lake Erie is doing well. “Long-term catch rates are relatively good, while total effort has gone down to what we saw in the 1990s,” Kayle said. “We’ve had more young fish in the last few years, after a dry spell in the mid to late 2000s.”

(This article appeared originally in B.A.S.S. Times.)