Big Indiana Bass

Quite possibly one of the coolest things I've come across and posted in a long time. Dr. Hal Schramm is leader of the U.S. Geological Survey Mississippi Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and professor in the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries at Mississippi State University. I have posted several research studies on this site that he has been involved with. This weekend I also found out he has made a series of short (2-3 minute) videos on a number of fishery related subjects, many of the topics being ones we've covered on this site. I searched the WWW to find as many available videos as I could. Here is what I was able to come up with. Grab a hot cup of coffee and sit back and enjoy.

• Big Bluegill
• Back Waters
• Shoreline Development
• Climate Changes
• Logs
• Catchability
• Catfish Management
• Stocking 101
• Fishing Biology 101
• Slot Limits
• Striped Bass
• Stocking Walleye
• Bass Metabolism
• Fishing Pressure
• Scented Plastics
• Circle Hooks
• Yellow Perch

I'll have more of Dr. Schramm in the next few days. I found other good stuff while tracking down the videos.

Here is a seminar I'm looking forward to. Can't wait to see what it looks like - perhaps a Mars land rover? Who wouldn't want one of these cool toys to scope out the bottom of their lake?

"Autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) water quality mapping in Indiana lakes"

Cary Troy, Sultan Ahmed, and John Newton

Abstract: We describe the use of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to obtain detailed spatial maps of water quality parameters in Indiana lakes. The vehicle is a fully-autonomous underwater vehicle capable of measuring temperature, dissolved oxygen, blue-green algae, turbidity, chlorophyll A, pH, conductivity, tracer dyes, and bathymetry to depths of 200ft. The vehicle can provide detailed spatial maps of algal blooms, thermal discharges, and turbidity plumes, allowing for the correlation of hydrodynamic features with water quality observations. Possible survey profiles include constant-depth and variable-depth modes. Preliminary survey results are presented from Lake Maxinkuckee in northern Indiana, and we discuss planned 2009 deployments for Lake Michigan and other Indiana lakes in the context of longer-term efforts to model and measure water quality in Midwestern lakes.

"Temporal variation of the fish community in White River, 1983 - 2007"

Andrew Holloway, Jason Doll, and Richard Conrad

Abstract: In the early 1970s White River in Muncie, Indiana was experiencing unregulated industrial discharge. This with the addition of agricultural run-off and stream modification damaged the stability of the White River. The Clean Water Act established in 1972 set a goal of restoring the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waterways. Tolerant and sensitive species have a predictable response to water quality. As water quality improves the proportion of sensitive species in the total biomass increases. The objective of this study was to quantify temporal variation in the fish community of White River. Fish were sampled from White River with a boat mounted Smith-Root Inc. 5.0 GPP unit beginning in 1983 and continuing variably until 2007. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) was used to detect temporal trends in proportional species abundance using the Relative Euclidean distance measure. A total of 55,666 fish was sampled from up to eight sample zones each year totaling 140 sampling events. The ordination produced decadal clusters for the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. The decadal clusters became more precise and increased on axis 1 and 2. Axis 1 of the NMDS explained 60% of the data’s variability while axis 2 explained an additional 30%. Many of the 45 species in this study showed an increase or decrease overtime. The most notable changes were found in tolerant and sensitive species. Tolerant species such as the Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and Green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) decreased in proportion while sensitive species such as Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) and Golden redhorse (Moxostoma erythrurum) increased in proportion. Many things can be attributed to the improvement of White River and subsequent changes in the fish community. Public knowledge on the status and improvement of the waterway along with regulated standards for water quality allow White River’s monitors and managers to continue striving for the desired goal of the Clean Water Act.

Lots of conference material floating around right now. Over the next week or so I'll start posting some of the abstracts that apply specificially to Indiana. The first one below deals with a major study of bass populations in our natural lakes over the past (nearly) 30 years. Have changes in regulations, pressure and tournies affected things for the better or the worse?

"Change in largemouth bass populations associated with minimum size limits at Indiana natural lakes"

Jed Pearson
IDNR Fish and Wildlife District 3 Fisheries Biologist

Abstract: Largemouth bass were sampled by electrofishing at 59 Indiana natural lakes from 1980 through 2007 to assess changes in bass numbers and size associated with changes in bass fishing regulations and promotion of catch-and-release fishing. Angler effort and catch estimates from 101 creel surveys conducted at 47 Indiana natural lakes were also used to examine bass fishing trends. Densities of 8-inch and larger bass ranged from 1 to 69/acre and averaged 18/acre. Electrofishing catch rates ranged from 6 to 370/hour and averaged 101/hour. Based on linear regression, densities of stock-size bass doubled from 13 to 24/acre and electrofishing catch rates increased 78 to 123/hour. Size structure shifted to larger fish and larger bass were generally associated with larger size limits (12-in, 14-in, 18-in). Angler interest in bass fishing has been constant since 1980. Decreases in harvest and increases in catch occurred in response to more restrictive limits. Based on linear regression, overall harvest rate decreased 99% to less than 1 bass per 100 hours of fishing. Harvest rates of 14-inch and larger bass stayed constant at 4 bass per 100 hours. Angler exploitation of 14-inch and larger bass decreased from 49% to 28% by 2007, although the current exploitation rate at large lakes (>500 ac) is 54%. Largemouth bass are now more abundant in Indiana natural lakes, exhibit better size structure, and provide greater catch rates to anglers.