That 21.9 seems a little low to me. If you are keeping 3 fish out of 10, that is 30%. Be that as it may, the number should be 0.0.
I think I would shy away from the springs too. Well, that is if you believe the science.
Hope Dodd, of NPS, and MDC’s Mike Siepker, conducted a fish telemetry study at Big Spring along the Current River to document the use of springs by smallmouth bass and the timing of their movement into and out of springs. Their group tagged and tracked 30 fish for a year, documenting the temperature and habitat used by smallmouth bass within the river and the spring.
Dodd said the telemetry study data will help biologists understand the timing of movement and use of springs and river habitats by smallmouth bass, a fish species whose distribution and abundance in the Ozarks has declined due partly to increased water temperatures over the years.
“Combining the temperature data with the SMB telemetry work, we can assess the importance of springs in regulating water temperatures in the river and determine the importance of springs as refuges for fishes that require cooler temperatures,” Dodd said.
Findings from all three studies are extensive.
From the temperature data, the group found that each spring has a relatively constant temperature throughout the year, but not all springs have the same average temperature. From the telemetry study, they found that timing of movement from Big Spring into the river was influenced by temperature. Smallmouth bass inhabited the warmer water of Big Spring in late winter, and moved into the river once river temperatures warmed to similar temperatures of the spring. By late fall, when river temperatures cooled below that of Big Spring, fish began returning with five of 12 fish returning to Big Spring by the end of the study, Dodd said.
So only 12 out of 30 used the spring. And the next winter, only 5 of the 12 used Big Spring.
And did anyone catch the other very telling information that pointed to one aspect of smallmouth decline??