Bass tournament

[cookie129]

wow watched the weigh in yesterday and man were they raving about such a great lake .  I 'm surprised there no  one talking about it on here?

[Mike #1]

Me too, I was watching it live Thursday and Friday and went out on the lake to creep on the fishermen Sunday.  The weigh in was great and they all raved about the lake, they told us to take care of it and some mentioned how they could not keep the walleyes off the lures.  I am located on the east side and sorry to say but a lot of people don't get it when it comes to bass fishing, they were whining how the smallmouth - and muskies are eating the walleyes  

It is sad that nobody uses this forum anymore, a couple of years ago we would have six pages of comments. 

[ozzie]

I wonder if it is that bass fishing isn't as popular in MN as it is in the southern states.  Also most anyone that fishes in MN seems to know that Mille Lacs is a smallmouth mecca so to have them say it is something special doesn't surprise me in the least.

  I really would like to know the survival rate of the fish that get caught and weighed at this event.  To me to hear them say "take care of this lake and fishery" and then to let them take 20-25lbs of fish daily across the lake to wave in front of spectators is kind of a joke as I am sure there has to be a certain percentage of fish that die because of the stress that is caused on them.   

[thatoneguy]

The event was fantastic - a winner for everyone in the area (except for maybe the poor benighted folks determined to hate smallmouth bass). Great fishing, great turnout for both the weigh-ins and Saturday's expo, great comments from the Elite Series guys about the fishing and the hospitality, and best of all, LOTS of urging both citizens and the DNR to PLEASE take care of what is probably the best smallmouth fishery in the world right now.

I have a hunch the Elite Series will be back on Mille Lacs before too long.

1 minute ago, ozzie said:

I wonder if it is that bass fishing isn't as popular in MN as it is in the southern states.  Also most anyone that fishes in MN seems to know that Mille Lacs is a smallmouth mecca so to have them say it is something special doesn't surprise me in the least.

  I really would like to know the survival rate of the fish that get caught and weighed at this event.  To me to hear them say "take care of this lake and fishery" and then to let them take 20-25lbs of fish daily across the lake to wave in front of spectators is kind of a joke as I am sure there has to be a certain percentage of fish that die because of the stress that is caused on them.   

You should have come to the event and seen the system they have for taking care of the fish. Yes, it's inevitable that some fish probably don't make it. But B.A.S.S. has put years of research and a lot of money into making sure that the vast majority of them swim away to fight another day. It's not anything close to a joke - this is serious business for them.

[Kettle]

For what it's worth, some may believe it and some may not but according to the bassmasters website they released 99.6 % of fish alive and that was with 730 some fish caught.  From what I heard on bassmaster live is that the DNR was present during weigh in for handling of the fish as well as on the "shimano" release pontoon.  There is a thread in the BASS forum on the AOY tournament.  I fished the lake quite a bit this year for walleyes, in regards to sheer numbers this is probably my best year in the past 5 years, the majority of these fish were 13-17 inch fish.  I think a lot of people forget that in the early 2000's there were tons of large walleyes caught like there was from 2010-2013.  From around 2004-2009 there was a definite lull in the lake.  It is going to have up years and down years.  I fish the lake for the nostalgic purpose as it is where I learned to fish

[cookie129]

Ya Mike # 1 face book has totally changed the fishing forums in my opinion.  As far as taking care of the fish If its my understanding the dnr opened the small mouth limit to 5 with one over 21 inches. They might want to tighten that up asap. Lets say a launch goes out with ten guys 4 hours and they keep 50 fish one launch make 3 trips a day 150 fish harvested? In one day on one launch.

[Mike #1]

You are right cookie they need to tighten up the limit, the scenario with 10 guys/50 fish launch does not happen, I am located on the east side and I know that Hunters and Fisher's encourage C&R bass fishing and they kept records with very few bass kept.  Last year Twin Pines took lots of heat with photos of customers holding dead smallies in front of their sign but angler protest got them to quit posting the photos and I am not sure if they are still killing them.

It is true that it will always be considered the walleye factory but this might turn on some lights with the resort owners and fishermen to encourage the DNR about the bass limit.

 

 

[ozzie]

I in no way am trying to start a bashing on the tourney what so ever as I think it is pretty cool to get national attention to our area...I was just wondering what the stats are for those fish dying.  Amazing to hear the release alive rate is so high!  I personally feel the walleye hooking mortality is a BS figure but I suppose there is no real way to tell what the effect of that interaction is and they have to lean on the side of caution to sustain the fishery.

[delcecchi]

There have been a number of studies where fish are caught, bass or walleye, and kept in a pen in the lake for a week or so to see how they do.  I think dnr is doing one on Mille lacs.  But a few minutes on Google ought to turn up some of the studies, if you are interested.

[delcecchi]

I have a few minutes, so decided to take a look  Unfortunately, some of the scholarly articles are in journals with outrageous prices for access.   Some however are available on state or private sites.  

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1577/1548-8675(1989)009<0081%3AHMOSBC>2.3.CO%3B2

Hooking Mortality of Smallmouth Bass Caught on Live Minnows and Artificial Spinners

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1577/1548-8446(2002)027<0006%3ACRF>2.0.CO%3B2?src=recsys

Canada's Recreational Fisheries: The Invisible Collapse?

Data from four high profile Canadian recreational fisheries show dramatic declines over the last several decades yet these declines have gone largely unnoticed by fishery scientists, managers, and the public. Empirical evidence demonstrates that the predatory behavior of anglers reduces angling quality to levels proportional to distance from population centers. In addition, the behavior of many fish species and the anglers who pursue them, the common management responses to depleted populations, and the ecological responses of disrupted food webs all lead to potential instability in this predator-prey interaction. To prevent widespread collapse of recreational fisheries, fishery scientists and managers must recognize the impact of these processes of collapse and incorporate them into strategies and models of sustainable harvest.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1577/1548-8675(1995)015<0621%3ALBMARC>2.3.CO%3B2?src=recsys

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Thomas_Kwak/publication/250016906_Largemouth_Bass_Mortality_and_Related_Causal_Factors_during_Live-Release_Fishing_Tournaments_on_a_Large_Minnesota_Lake/links/54f8e4810cf210398e96ccde.pdf

Largemouth Bass Mortality and Related Causal Factors during Live-Release Fishing Tournaments on a Large Minnesota Lake

We quantified initial and delayed mortality of largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides during live-release fishing tournaments and identified probable causes of death in order to provide a biological basis for refining tournament guidelines and regulation. Mean estimates for two tournaments on Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota, were 1.42% weigh-in mortality, 3.35% 3-d delayed mortality, and 4.72% total mortality. Catch and total mortality rates during a May tournament were both over 1.5 times those of a September tournament, the difference presumably being related to reproductive behavior and condition.

And for you mille lacs walleye guys...

http://www.jeffsundin.com/Articles Pictures/Mille Lacs Hooking mortality.pdf

Factors Influencing the Hooking Mortality of Walleyes Caught by Recreational Anglers on Mille Lacs, Minnesota

Recent implementation of size-based regulations in recreational fisheries for walleye Sander vitreus have led to more released walleyes and presumably to more losses of released fish. We conducted this study to estimate hooking mortality in Mille Lacs, Minnesota, and to determine factors that influence the survival of released walleyes. Volunteers and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources employees sampled walleyes with common angling methods in 2003 and 2004 on Mille Lacs (n = 1,246). Simple hooking mortality rates ranged from 0% (95% confidence interval = 0–1.8%; n = 204) in May, when lake water temperatures were less than 20°C, to 12.2% (9.2–15.9%; n = 392) in the July–August period, when lake water temperatures were at least 20°C. We used logistic regression within generalized linear or additive models to determine influential variables. Hooking mortality was most associated with water temperature, bleeding, fish length, hook location, and fish floating upon release. Mortality increased as the water warmed above 18°C and was higher for fish that bled at temperatures less than 24°C but similar for both bleeding and nonbleeding fishes at temperatures of 24°C or more. Fish hooked in the throat or stomach died at higher rates than fish hooked in the jaw, inner mouth, or gills and those that were externally foul-hooked, especially when they were smaller. Although fish of medium length (300–600 mm) were more likely to be deep hooked, they died less frequently than walleyes of other lengths. Cutting the line did not significantly improve survival in deeply hooked fish. Mortality was similar between live bait jigs and live bait regular hooks. Most observed hooking mortality was caused by damage to major internal organs. Hooking mortality is minimized when anglers fish in cool water, use active fishing methods, and catch medium-length walleyes.

 

The articles go on and on....