Were the Good Old Days Really Better?

Similarly, the size structure of bass populations on many waters offers anglers a good number of quality-size bass. Voluntary catch-and-release probably has contributed to fish surviving to grow larger. And various length-limit regulations are in place on many waters.

In lakes where recruitment is low or harvest is high, these regulations can increase bass abundance. But in most waters, harvest regulations are intended primarily to improve the size structure of bass populations. This is especially true on lakes with protected slot limits intended to reduce over-abundant, small to medium-size bass and thereby increase the growth rate of the survivors.

In this analysis of 35 years of tournament results, catch data and biological assessments send the same message: Bass catch and bass populations haven’t changed much.

The Catchability Catch-22

Relatively stable angler catch rates and average size of bass might be expected, given relatively stable bass abundance and efforts to improve population size structure. Indeed, an axiom of fishery management is that angler catch follows fish abundance. When abundance increases, we expect catch to increase. When abundance falls, catch should follow. This basic premise assumes equal catchability—the proportion of a population captured by a certain amount of effort doesn’t vary.

Biologists often assume equal catchability in biological assessments because the efficiency of electrofishing, gill-netting, or other sampling methods is relatively constant. But can we say the same about angling, especially bass angling?

Today’s fishing equipment is designed to increase catch rate. Bigger, faster boats greatly reduce travel time and allow anglers to fish in a variety of conditions. Sophisticated depthfinders mark fish, and GPS mapping units help anglers find prime structure quickly and return to the same spot without searching. Technological advances in rods, reels, and lines, an endless stream of new lures and presentations, and plenty of advice on how to use them in multiple media outlets should give anglers an edge. Given a relatively stable number of bass, the apparent increase in fishing efficiency should yield increased catch rates unless bass catchability declines.

Fish learn quickly in response to reward or punishment, and memory retention is lengthy. Declines in catchability with repeated angling have been demonstrated for several species and observed in captive bass and in semi-controlled fishing situations. Moreover, it’s been shown that individual bass vary in catchability and that this characteristic is hereditary. Thus, harvest of highly catchable bass in the decades before catch-and-release caught on may have contributed to less gullible bass.

If we assume that new technologies available to anglers do, in fact, increase catch efficiency, we have little choice but to conclude that bass catchability has decreased. It’s possible, then, that some bass populations are larger than in the past but fish are harder to catch, so fishing quality remains rather constant.

Is bass fishing as good as it was 20, 30, or 40 years ago? If “good” is measured by catch rate and fish size, the simple answer is “yes.” Would I like to turn back the clock even further to fish virtually unfished waters filled with large, highly catchable bass? You bet, but only if I can bring my electronics, boat, and tackle. n

*Dr. Hal Schramm is Leader of the Mississippi Cooperative Fishery and Wildlife Research Unit at Mississippi State University, and is also an avid bass angler.