A new study is about to be published concerning the habits of tournament caught bass after release. Dispersal of Tournament-Displaced Largemouth Bass and Spotted Bass in Lake Martin, Alabama looks at radio-transmittered bass under 3 conditions: control fish implanted and released where captured, tourney caught bass brought to weigh-in and then transmittered and released, and simulated tourney caught bass that were captured in the same area as control fish, but were transported and released (after implanting) from the tourney site. Several studies have been done over the years similar to this, and this one adds more info to the growing wealth of information.
One of the larger concerns among state fishery personnel is the potential stockpiling of bass at release sites, especially on waters where the majority of tournies are headquartered out of a single location throughout the year. Some of the findings from this research include:
- Transported fish (simulated and tourney caught) moved significantly more (frequency and distance) over the first few months after release than control fish.
- Spring tourney fish moved more than fall tourney fish. After 2 weeks, 53% of the spring bass remained within 1 mile of the release site. After 1 month, only 38% were left within 1 mile and by 2 months, only 12% were left. After 3 months, none of the original released bass were within 1 mile of the release site.
- Fall tourney bass didn't vacate the release area to the degree of spring bass, possibly due to cooling waters and a general pattern of inactivity through winter. After 2 weeks, 75% of fall bass were located within 1 mile of the release site and this figure only dropped to 67% and 57% after 1 and 2 months post tournament release respectively. A full 50% were still within 1 mile after 3 months.
- Over the course of the year nearly 7,000 black bass were estimated to have been released from this single tourney site (Wind Creek S.P.) increasing the concentration (biomass) of bass by an estimated 50-100% at any given time within 1 mile of the ramp.
Bass Fishing As I Believe It
Part of the fun and interest of running this website has been (re)evaluating my perspective on bass fishing , both as it applies to chasing and catching larger bass as well as numbers (good vs. great days). Some of this stems from discussions we've had on this site and the opinions of others, and a lot of it comes from my own beliefs and observations. So right or wrong, the following chart represents my current view of the bass fishing world.
At either end of this chart line you have what I feel are the two most controlling factors that contribute to great catches (big fish or numbers). These are the fishery you are on at the moment and an anglers ability. Ability might not be the exact term I'm looking for, but I mean it to encompass a range of factors that I feel lead to above average catches on any given day, things like knowledge, experience (time on the water), patience (as it relates to specific techniques), outside-the-box thinking, some form of above average ability as it pertains to a technique (perhaps skipping ability as a shallow water example or understanding electronics as a deep water example, or simply an overlooked bite), etc. Basically something or some combination of things that not many people have or have figured out. All these things greatly increase your odds for having an above average trip.
On the other end though, many of those factors can be easily overcome or equalled by a great fishery. Your ability and knowledge level can pretty much suck, but if you have access to a great fishery you can still come out looking pretty darned good. I've often remarked that everbody is a pro at Lake Waveland here in Indiana. That was especially in reference to the fishery about two years ago before the bass kill. Another example that many of you will be familiar with is the West Boggs fishery of the 90's. This could also include access to unpressured waters or even a recent national example, Falcon Lake. When most everybody goes to a lake and catches a limit of bass, it is not necessarily related to angler ability. You've probably just hit a good fishery on a good day.
These chartline areas are the rare exceptions, the ends of the spectrum (bell curve) if you will. For the majority of us, we all fall inside the purple circle, sometimes being located to the positive side of the halfway mark, sometimes going toward the negative side. This represents where ability is largely equal to a degree, or is similar enough that it can be easily offset by good decisons or good timing. You see this all the time when you're out fishing, or even at a tourney. We all tend to have the same good equipment, and we all tend to have the same brands of lures in our boxes. Most everyone can pitch a jig, or toss a spinnerbait, or work a worm. So differences in outcome on any given day come down to decision making and timing - not how many patches you wear, how many sponsors you have or what model boat you fish out of (sorry guys). And your relative position on the chartline will vary from day to day. Some days you make the right calls, whether that be location, bait choice or even color/action choice, other days you don't. It's why an angler will blank or place near the bottom one month in a tourney, and then place high or even win the next.
This also takes into account the guys who go most everyday (a timing factor). Some days are just flat out better fishing days than others, but you can't always quantify or identify when those days will be. I believe it ties in with local weather and water conditions, as well as biological factors such as forage availability or bass life stage (pre-spawn, spawn, summer, fall, etc.). The guys who go fishing the most are setting themselves up to be on the water when one of these "great" days happens, and subsequently looking good when it all comes together (timing). It's not that they're any better of an angler, it's just that they're putting the timing factor into their favor (shifting to the right of center on our chart). I believe John Geirach once wrote to the effect that the wrong bait fished long and hard enough, eventually becomes the right bait, even if only for a short while - that's timing.
I could probably go on and on with various examples, and perhaps we will in discussion, but I think this gives you a pretty good overview of where I stand "mentally" at the moment. The more things you can do to shift that timing/decision making/ability apsect into your favor, the more likely you are to come out on the good side of any particular fishing trip. And if you tend to fall to the left half of the chartline for whatever reason, don't lose hope. Instead, just spend more time focusing, researching and hopefully accessing potentially above average fisheries and you'll end up catching your share.
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