Humpbacked Smallies

[denjac]

Since this spring I have caught 5 or 6 smallmouth that were humpbacked. I have caught them in years past but this year seems a little extreme. I have read electo shock, parasites ect can cause this. Any thought on the matter? I had 1 that weighed 3 pounds and was around 14 inches. If I had whopped him in the spine with a hammer he would have been 17 inches.

[Quillback]

I see it every once in a while with spots and LM's also. Genetics?

[Champ188]

Maybe they got their backs broke by "pros" deploying their Power Poles.

[powerdive]

See that with walleyes too, esp. on Stockton. Did catch one 19 incher at Baxter a couple years back. Pretty sure it's a genetic deformity--but I like your suggestion, Champ!

[5bites]

Maybe they got their backs broke by "pros" deploying their Power Poles.

Just wait. Someone will claim that. Don't forget boat flipping and big rods with heavy line too.

[Quillback]

Maybe they got their backs broke by "pros" deploying their Power Poles.

A new way to spear fish?

[mojorig]

Most of the time, the humps are due to birth defects or injury during early life. We do not use high enough power while electrofishing to break backbones of walleye or bass. Our goal is to get a measurement and release them so you all can enjoy them.

Edit: I forgot to include this picture from another website that we visit. This is a filleted crappie with an injured backbone.

[Iclass]

Maybe it was just the shock of seeing a guy in a fishing jersey....wait never mind that was some of you guys

[merc1997 Bo]

Most of the time, the humps are due to birth defects. We do not use high enough power while electrofishing to break backbones of walleye or bass. Our goal is to get a measurement and release them so you all can enjoy them.

they do not all get released as i have witnessed the arkansas fish and game shock up in kings river, and below beaver dam, and remove the walleye, and put them in containers. true, they use these for their eggs, but it really is not fair to the state of missouri that stocked the walleye to begin with. there was a time that lots of big walleye could be caught up the kings in the spring, but not anymore since so many of them have been removed. why do you not release them back into the lake they came out of?? just asking since i have watched with my own eyes different.

bo

[mojorig]

True, there are times when we don't release some of the fish. The main reason in D-2 that we don't release some of the fish is for age and growth purposes. That is not an annual thing and when we keep fish it is usually less than 10% (likely closer to 6-8%) of the yearly sample. The walleye question did come up on this thread in the Beaver Lake page (). Also, the AGFC stocks Table Rock with walleye. We have stocked close to 70,000 walleye fingerlings per year for the last 10 years. Stockings have occurred at Cricket Creek or Romp Hole.

Here is the D-1 biologist response that over sees those two AGFC projects that merc1997 mentioned. We also have started helping the MDC with their walleye project below the Powersite Dam on Bull Shoals Lake.

Questions: At the end of the write-up there was a short paragraph that stated the following: "We completed the walleye spawning project on the Kings River and Beaver Tailwater this spring". Does this mean that AGFC collected brood fish from these areas for the hatchery?

Answer: We collect adult walleye from the Kings River just above Table Rock Lake. We normally put in at the Romp Hole Access and motor downstream to collect a few bigger fish for spawning. We also work on Beaver Tailwater around the Highway 62 bridge, if water levels are right. We normally need about 20-30 females and around 30 males to complete the spawning project. Fish are spawned on the bank, if the females are free flowing eggs. If the fish are not free flowing, we take them back to the hatchery and Charlie Craig Hatchery personnel monitor them 24 hours a day until they can be spawned. Once the fish have spawned, the hatchery takes the brood fish back to the Kings River and Beaver Tailwater. The eggs hatch and the hatchery raises them to fingerlings. The fingerlings are then stocked back into Arkansas waters, including Beaver Lake.