The Impact of Catch-and-Release Angling on the Reproductive Success of Smallmouth Bass and Largemouth Bass

Abstract

Current management strategies for black bass Micropterus spp.—specifically, largemouth bass M. salmoides and smallmouth bass M. dolomieu—sometimes incorporate regulations with closed fishing seasons during reproductive activities. Our field study investigated how well anglers were complying with Ontario's closed black bass fishing season, and how illegal preseason catch-and-release angling was affecting black bass reproductive success. Study areas were composed of 2-km stretches of shoreline in two lakes and two rivers in southeastern Ontario. Experimental procedures involved visual assessment of angler activities, visual monitoring of black bass reproductive success, and experimental angling of individual male black bass. Our results demonstrate that there is substantial preseason angling for nesting male black bass in at least some waters covered by the closed season. Results also indicate that this illegal activity is substantial enough in some waters to decrease fry production. The question then remains, will a reduction in black bass reproductive success reduce recruitment at the population level? Long-term monitoring efforts are underway to answer this question, but in the meantime, experimental angling studies have identified some of the factors that contribute to nest abandonment following capture and release, thereby suggesting ways to minimize the negative impacts of this activity on black bass reproductive success.