Comparison of Bass-Club Tournament Reports and Creel Survey Data from Texas Reservoirs

Abstract

Voluntary tournament reports collected from bass clubs by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department provided the opportunity to evaluate the effects of bass-club tournaments on populations of largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides and assess the utility of these reports for monitoring the fishing success of nontournament anglers. Among six reservoirs having bass-club tournaments and creel surveys in 1985, tournaments reported by bass clubs accounted for 7–50% of the weekend daily fishing pressure and 6–80% of the daily harvest. Significant differences in harvest rates and mean weights of bass were not detected between tournament and creel survey data from within-reservoir comparisons for the six reservoirs. Annual statewide fishing pressure and harvest reported by bass clubs were less than 2% of the statewide creel estimates during 1978–1985. Statewide bass-club tournament and nontournament harvest rates showed similar trends during 1978–1985. However, statewide bass-club harvest rates were significantly higher than those of nontournament anglers, as was the mean weight of bass harvested in bass-club tournaments until 1983. Bass tournaments may concentrate fishing pressure for brief periods, but direct comparisons showed that bass-club anglers and nontournament bass anglers were equally successful. Therefore, tournament data may be useful for monitoring harvest rates for reservoirs lacking creel surveys.