On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 06:57:54 -0600, "Joe Haubenreich"
wrote:

Is it just my poor memory, or are bass scarcer now than thirty years ago?
You might think with the emphasis on catch-and-release and more
sophisticated fisheries management practices that bass would be abundant,
but that's not the case. I'm convinced one reason for low catch rates has to
do with the numbers of bass caught and released in bass tournaments.
Fish caught and then immediately released have very high survival rates. Not
so, unfortunately, for those caught, confined, and then released after rough
handing in tournaments. (snip)
Even today, many club tournaments have not adopted measures needed to keep
fish healthy. Mortality rates are hard to measure and are usually higher
than we realize. Too many bass (around 50% in the warmer months) die and
sink to the bottom and are eaten by turtles before they have a chance to
float back to the surface in the classic "fish kill-off" scenario.

I think most fishermen that care for the sport go out of their
way trying to figure out why certain fisheries decline and how we can
do better to preserve the sport. Millions of dollars are spent on
studies...hundreds of people with animal biology degrees theorize on
potential problems. Many new products are brought to the market
saying that they are the savior to the problem.

Within reasonable limits, I'm all for speculation, studies, and
the new products. To this day, I still speculate as to why a certain
fisheries struggles and study why certain things happen with our fish
populations. However, I've come to the conclusion that there are
some things that happen in the water that we just don't understand and
perhaps never will.

Most definitely, I'm not impressed with the results of our modern
day "sophisticated fisheries management practices" and the zillions of
regulations that have been dreamed up by some well or not-so
well--meaning angler/biologist/politician/lake-owner. In fact, I'd
speculate that some fisheries might even be better off without
regulation.

Heh heh...last time I was down on Okeechobee (shiner fishing for
bass 1 day and crappie fishing the rest)...we caught a 12 lb. 4 oz.
bass (huge even for Okee standards) and I lifted him up and showed him
to a fellow angler who was practicing for an upcoming BASS tournament
and I got the response: "It's you people that are killing this lake!"
Now, I didn't take much offense to the statement bc I figured the poor
guy had been out all week and was struggling to find fish on this
massive lake and just had lost perspective. I mean...the lake is 30+
miles long by 30 some miles wide...and just a tad short of a 1/2
million acreas!

--
Dwayne E. Cooper, Atty at Law
Indianapolis, IN
Email:
Web Page: http://www.cooperlegalservices.com
Personal Fishing Web Page: http://www.hoosierwebsites.com/OnTheWater
Favorite Fishing Web Page:
http://www.hoosiertradingpost.com/FishingTackle
1st Annual ROFB Classic Winner