Dead Bass

[denjac]

06 article on the WalMart series, and these boys know better!!

Published - Saturday, July 22, 2006

POST COMMENT | READ COMMENTS (124 comment(s))

Something's fishy: DNR collects hundreds of dead bass from river after tournament

By DAN SIMMONS | La Crosse Tribune

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More than 580 dead bass have been found this week in La Crosse-area river waters, only days after a major fishing tournament was held in the region, a Department of Natural Resources employee reported.

The DNR’s David Hobbs said more than 98 percent of the 582 bass he collected from Pettibone Beach to Airport Beach were marked with a clipped tail fin — evidence they were caught and released during the Wal-Mart FLW Stren Series Bass Fishing Tournament July 12-15.

David Hobbs, an employee in the Fisheries Management department of the Department of Natural Resources searches for dead fish Friday on a part the Black River he called "Shop Ko" bay. As of 10 a.m. Friday Hobbs had found 432 dead fish over the course of this week, mostly large mouth bass and almost all clipped on the tail by fisherman from last weeks fishing tournament. PETER THOMSON photo

Tournament representatives didn’t return telephone calls Friday.

This year’s die-off marks the second consecutive year of higher-than-normal mortality after the area’s largest and most lucrative bass fishing tournament. Last year, tests confirmed most of the dead fish tested positive for largemouth bass virus, a disease that causes death when the fish is stressed.

Hobbs said nearly all the dead bass he’s found this year have been largemouth, and the stress of being caught, held in a livewell and then released might be a major factor.

As part of an ongoing study, the DNR clipped the tail fins of the more than 2,000 bass caught and released during last week’s four-day tournament, which attracted 400 anglers. The study, conducted by the DNR and fishery biology researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, aims to assess mortality rates in bass-fishing tournaments.

It’s in response to a 2003 Wisconsin law that called for a study of the economic, sociological and biological impacts of catch-and-release programs in bass tournaments. Results are expected to be available in early August.

Longtime tournament angler Ed Stellner, 53, of Onalaska said he and other anglers are deeply concerned but have questions about the DNR study.

“If we are killing the fish, we definitely want to know why,” he said. “However, I also should point out that there’s a bass-fishing tournament in La Crosse every weekend, and when’s the last time you saw this many dead? After last year’s tournament (the first year of the study).”

Stellner said the DNR’s methods of conducting the study may have led to higher mortality rates.

The agency put about 100 fish a day in 8-by-8-foot holding pens near Northern States Power Co. on the Black River. An equal number of tournament-caught fish and fish the agency culled from the wild using electroshocking were kept there for a side-by-side comparison.

The pens didn’t have proper current flow, which may lead to warmer water temperatures and poor oxygenation, Stellner said. In addition, the fish were held there for up to five days, another possible source of stress, he said.

But Hobbs, while confirming Stellner’s account of the holding pens, said the electroshocked fish were not among those he collected because they did not have a clipped fin.

Longtime bass fisherman Bob Wateski, 59, said the die-off probably represents a typical “summer kill” due to low river flow and the recent higher-than-normal temperatures.

“It’s tragic that it happened,” he said, “but we need to learn from it. We can’t point fingers.”

Dan Simmons can be reached at (608) 791-8217 or dsimmons@lacrossetribune.com.

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[Chief Grey Bear]

Ya know, the technology is here to stop this slaughter at once. The money is also there to use the technology.

I say every boat should have a staff of one that is employed by the tournament that immediately weighs and releases the fish on certified electronic scales. This info can then be stored or immediately sent to the "official computer" at the "weigh in". Keep the top 5 weights, add them, done. No fish harmed.

You can still dock an ounce per minute that a boat is late. Beats docking an ounce per dead fish. I think Missouri should step up and demand that any tournament taking place on waters of this state must abide by this or a some similar policy. How many fish must die before something is done.

[jscheetz]

and the stress of being caught, held in a livewell and then released might be a major factor.

Brilliant!

JS

[FishinCricket]

I agree with chief greybear.. It seems like we should definitely have the technology to do something different so that these fish can go right back into the water... Am I wrong? We can put a man on the moon, surely we can catch, weigh and release a fish in moments, not hours or days....

Maybe I am just naive...

[Chief Grey Bear]

No CC, you are not naive. It does appear though as if they don't want to protect the resource that puts the money in their pockets either. I think they are the ones that are naive.

[Trav]

I am kind of known for hair-brained innovations but I have it figured out. How about a scale that links via satelite to a computerized "live-feed" leader board. Fish can be set free right away. Always pair competiting fisherman together to keep them honost with the system.

It can be done!

[Chief Grey Bear]

I am kind of known for hair-brained innovations but I have it figured out. How about a scale that links via satelite to a computerized "live-feed" leader board. Fish can be set free right away. Always pair competiting fisherman together to keep them honost with the system.

It can be done!

That is pretty much what we are talking about. I do think that a netrual party must be in the boat though. I can see some prize money being shared if not. And you may still need something like a "hat cam" to be linked up to view the real time weighing.