Big Indiana Bass

White River’s rebound continues after 1999 fish kill

The White River has received its cleanest bill of health since a major fish kill in 1999.

During a fall 2011 fish survey, Indiana Department of Natural Resources biologists collected 7,128 fish from 57 species at sample stations between Anderson and Indianapolis. This was the greatest number of species collected since the fish kill, and further proof that the river has recovered.

In December 1999, an estimated 4.3 million fish died as a result of a fish kill that started at the outfall of the Anderson Waste Water Treatment Plant and stretched 55 miles into downtown Indianapolis. The kill was traced to an industrial discharge from the Guide Corporation in Anderson.

A $6 million settlement overseen by the DNR, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was used to restore the river. A 10-person citizen’s advisory committee assisted the agencies.

“The fish community is healthy and an increase in darters and minnows is an indication of improving habitat and water quality” said Sandra Clark-Kolaks, a DNR fisheries research biologist.

Game species have also recovered since 1999, providing ample angling opportunities. Black bass, rock bass, saugers, crappies, and channel catfish were collected in plentiful numbers.

A total of 154 smallmouth bass ranging from 2.6 to 19.9 inches long were collected, and the number of smallmouth bass greater than 17 inches increased since 2007. A total of 223 largemouth bass ranging from 2.3 to 17.4 inches long were collected.

Of the 186 channel catfish collected 31 percent were longer than 14 inches and 19 percent were longer than 20 inches, with most being collected in the Lake Indy pool. Crappies were most prominent in backwater areas with several black crappies in the 10-to-12-inches size range. Six saugers were collected in the Landings Pit area and ranged in size from 17.5 to 21 inches.

In addition to fish, the White River is home to an abundance of other wildlife. During the fish survey, biologists noted bald eagles, great blue herons, foxes, and white-tailed deer.

“Thanks to fish stockings, monitoring, habitat protection, public access improvements and public awareness, the White River is an excellent recreational opportunity for Indianapolis residents,” said Bill James, DNR chief of fisheries.

James says groups like Friends of the White River and the White River Watchers have also had a major impact on the White River by organizing annual trash cleanups and improving public access.

A list of DNR-managed fishing access sites can be found at the DNR “Where to Fish” finder at http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/3591.htm

A copy of the 2011 White River fish survey report will soon be posted to http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/3352.htm

Carp In 'Keep Sacks' - Say That Fast 3 Times

Influence of Retention and Air Exposure on Physiology and Behaviour of Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio L.): A Field Study
Tobias Rapp

"Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport!"

OK, so I'm not that good, but this one doesn't necessarily fit the standard bass fare that I normally cover, either. Still, it's interesting to me. I'm not certain how many anglers are familiar with the enthusiast carp scene, or for that matter the bank angling crowd (competitive). Regardless, I know several people involved in both, and have spent several hours talking to a couple World Champions in this area (Mick Thill and Tony Forte). Plus, you might not know that Indianapolis hosts one of the largest competitive carp tournies in the country courtesy of Jim Donlan and West Side Bait & Tackle.

Anyway, one thing you'll commonly see at all these events is what is referred to as a "keep sack", a  collapsible mesh bag made of synthetic fibre cloth that is used to hold your catch alive until weigh-in. In the research paper mentioned above, they studied the physiology of carp held in these keep sacks ("carp sacks" as they referred to them) for periods of up to 9 hours, and then also looked for recovery times as well as delayed mortality following a 10 minute additional air exposure time to simulate the weigh-in and picture taking that might occur.

As you might have expected, carp are pretty tough characters. While blood chemistry did show signs of being in a stressful situation, and there was some short term (<12 hr) differences in behavior, all fish returned to normal within half a day, and none were lost to delayed mortality. Part of the conclusion as excerpted from the paper;

"From a fish population perspective which is interested in survival endpoints, the short-term impacts of retention in carp sacks and air exposure associated with handling and photographing are of minor concern as carp showed high resiliency to these stressors and suffered no mortality and limited behavioural alterations."

So if you ever come across anglers on your home waters with a holding contraption that looks like a small tent staked to the shoreline and protruding into the shallow waters, you'll now know both what it is you're seeing as well as the minimal risks they pose to our "rough" fish and similar minnow species.

Summer fish kill on St. Joe pinned on pathogens

An investigation into the cause of a summer fish kill on the St. Joseph River near Elkhart and Mishawaka has concluded the cause was a combination of fish pathogens.

“Our test results show pathogens, and not pollution, were the primary cause of death for several hundred common carp,” said Bill James, chief of fisheries for the Department of Natural Resources.

The fish die-off, which occurred in July and August, triggered a joint investigation by the DNR, the State Board of Animal Health (BOAH), and the Elkhart County Health Department.

The Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Purdue University tested tissue samples and found that in addition to bacterial and parasite issues, the carp were suffering the effects of a pathogen know as Koi herpes virus (KHv).

Unusually warm weather also is believed to be a contributing factor.

“The carp that died were pushed beyond their normal defense limits by rapidly rising water temperatures, bacteria, parasites, and ultimately the Koi herpes virus,” James said.

Indiana State Veterinarian Dr. Bret D. Marsh said, “The pathogens involved in this case are specific to selected species of fish and are not an imminent health threat to other fish in the river. Neither are they a source of health problems in people if fish taken from the river are eaten.”

Marsh added that the Koi herpes virus was not identified previously in Indiana waters but was found in many of the fish collected in this case.

The investigation shows the dynamic nature of life in rivers and the uncertainty for stable and apparently healthy fish populations. KHv is on the world watch list because it is known to cause significant losses in wild populations and captive environments where specially bred carp, commonly referred to as Koi, are used in the aquarium industry.

The bacteria and parasite identified are common in the aquatic environment and by themselves normally don’t cause fish die-offs. However, when fish are stressed heavily by a virus, such as KHv, these other common pathogens can contribute to losses.

The new Great Lakes fish virus–viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS)–was not  detected.

James said the situation is a reminder to boaters, anglers and other watercraft users that they can play an important role in preventing the spread of unwanted organisms from one body of water to another. The DNR advises boaters and anglers to clean, drain and dry all equipment when moving from one waterway to another, and only release fish into the body from which they came.

For more information on keeping Indiana lakes and rivers healthy, visit www.invasivespecies.IN.gov [ http://www.invasivespecies.IN.gov ] on the DNR website.

Show a little carp and catfish love

My apologies to all you hardcore bass anglers out there, but I just can't help but apppreciate practical scientific studies that relate to fishing no matter what the species. So this piece deals with some interesting research related to carp and catfish, which I do maintain a category on this site for, even if it's not heavily utilized. Read on though, as there are some interesting findings that may have a lot in common with bass populations.

Exploitation of specialised fisheries resources: The importance of hook size in recreational angling for large common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.)

• Small #6 hooks caught more and larger carp than bigger #1 sized hooks, and they did so at a very similar catch rate overall
• Small hooks caused less tissue damage to angled carp than larger hooks
• There were no differences in the rate or amount of bleeding caused by hook size
• Neither hook used resulted in any deeply hooked fish, which might be due to either tactic or hook style

Effect of Hook Style, Bait Type, and River Location on Trotline Catches of Flathead and Channel Catfish

• Cut bait was most effective for channel cats, catching 3.5X more channels than flatheads
• Live bait (bullheads) caught 28X more flatheads than channel cats
• O'Shaughnessy and modified circle hooks caught more catfish of both species compared to sea-circle hooks
• The greater the habitat variability on a given river, the better the chance of finding differences in trotline catches between habitat types

Analysis of angling vulnerability of common carp, Cyprinus carp/0 L., in catch-and-release angling in ponds

• Warier carp became much more difficult to recatch after just one experience with being hooked
• Similar to previous studies on bass, there was quite a bit of variability to being caught among individual fish
• Carp that were more vulnerable to angling showed better growth than carp that avoided the hook after a hook experience
• Carp that were more vulnerable to angling showed better growth than carp that avoided the hook after a hook experience. This is pretty interesting in that it suggests that the carp with the fastest growth are the carp that feed the most, or at least with the least abandon. Would the same thing be true of a bass population? Are the largest bass in a population the most aggressive feeders? If so, what is the trade-off between aggressive feeding and the risk of being captured and removed from the population (eaten)? We generally tend to think that the largest bass are the most cautious feeders, but perhaps in a pressured fishery, that is because all the larger, aggressive feeders have already been removed. And if that were the case, would a catch and release only lake tend to have a much higher proportion of larger bass, since those more aggressive feeders would be guaranteed safe release back into the population, where they could continue to outcompete other bass?
• Finally, it took about 1 year of not fishing the pond before all individuals were again susceptible to being caught, whereby when they were recaught, they relearned the avoidance behavior and couldn't be caught a second time.

What Does A Flathead Eat? Anything It Wants To

An interesting piece we've discussed before, this being the dominance of flathead catfish as an apex predator consuming not only largemouth bass, but largemouth bass prey in some waters. This report is from Jordan Lake, N.C. where the flatheads, though native to large parts of the U.S.,  are considered an invasive species.

Biologists try to stem flathead dominance

Science Friday

Here's a look at the latest fishery research about to be published:

• Sex Ratios of Black Crappies Harvested during Spring Fisheries on Two Minnesota Lakes: Are Males in the Majority?; by Isermann, et al.
• Common Carp Distribution, Movements, and Habitat Use in a River Impounded by Multiple Low-Head Dams; by Butler & Wahl.
• Timing of Walleye Spawning as an Indicator of Climate Change; by Schneider, et al.
• River Impoundment and Sunfish Growth; by A.L.Rypel (full document)

Lessons From Fishburne

One of my favorite bass fishing TV shows from years past was Fish Fishburne's "Go Fish" show. Don't think it was on for many seasons, and it was easy to get lost in all the crazy stuff that he did, but if you got past that part and actually looked for the learnings, there were plenty. One of my all time favorite's that has served me very well over the years is this little nugget of information:

"Do not panic! The line is very, very strong."

I got the perfect opportunity to live the lesson this weekend. I was out on Sunday fishing the home reservoir for bass, and decided to play with a shakey head worm for a few hours. I had been out for about an hour and had picked up 3 bass when I tossed the little worm on to a little rock secondary point and let it fall to the bottom. Thing is, it never really made it there. My line jumped...not your run of the mill sissy bass thump, I mean my - line - jumped!

I immediately thought "cool" and reared back and set the hook. The pole doubled over and the fish barely moved, and for a few brief seconds I thought I had a real good bass. But only for a few seconds. I kept some pressure on the fish and felt head shaking and then it slowly started to move down the point a bit. It didn't take long to figure out what I had hooked. For the first 15 minutes it was a fun diversion. For the next 15 minutes it was a matter of just wanting to see the fish to confirm my suspicions. After fighting it for an hour it became a goal to get it up to the surface once and get a quick camera shot for the website.

Finally, after 1 hour and 42 minutes, in 90 degree heat in the middle of the day

• after taking me into 6 different brushpiles, and over several hundred yards out to the middle of the lake and back into the cove again;
• after running under the anchor rope of a pontoon boat in the middle of the lake with 6 people swimming in the water and me trying to apologize to them for running around them;
• after having to pull the line all the way under the water enough to clear the entire length of the pontoon boat, the lower unit of their big engine and under the dangling feet of the 6 swimmers milling around the boat;
• after having boat upon boat stop and ask me if I have a fish on, many of which watched for a while, some for as long as half an hour before tiring and leaving;
• after making 3 calls to the security team to get a net and find me and help me land the fish:

A 44.600 pound flathead catfish caught on a Med. action St. Croix spinning rod spooled with 8# test Seaguar Invis-X fluorocarbon and fishing a 3/32-oz. shakey jighead and worm.

More commentary/specifics to follow...  

LMB Competition With Stocked Channel Cats?

Another fun study set to be published shortly, this time looking into interactions between channel catfish, bluegill and largemouth bass. Investigating Interactions between Channel Catfish and Other Sport Fishes in Small Impoundments by Leonard, et al. Some of the major conclusions were as follows:

• We found little evidence of channel catfish abundance negatively affecting bluegill or largemouth bass populations in the small impoundments in our study.
• No evidence was found to suggest that channel catfish and bluegills were competing in focused sampling study lakes.
• Predation by channel catfish on bluegills appeared to be relatively rare. While 82% of identified fish in the diet of larger channel cats were Lepomis spp., their estimated annual consumption of 32.1 kg/ha is considerably less than the estimated bass consumption rate of 241 kg/ha., of which 77% by number were Lepomis spp.
• No evidence was found to suggest that channel catfish and largemouth bass were competing in any but one of our study lakes.
• Latitude was negatively related to channel catfish growth. In other words, the farther north the lake, the slower the growth.
• Current channel catfish stocking rates in most ASPF lakes appear to be maintaining densities below a level at which they would negatively affect bluegill and largemouth bass populations.

A New Perspective On An Old Issue

Carp get fingered for a lot of negative aquatic issues, but a new study about to be published takes a new look at one particular aspect of an old issue. "Effects of Common Carp on Reproduction, Growth, and Survival of Largemouth Bass and Bluegills" by Wolfe, et. al. (see related studies) took a look a what happens in these interactions on a larger mesocosm scale (600 m>2). As expected, turbidity was substantially higher in enclosures containing common carp than those without. What was unexpected though was successful spawning by both bluegill and bass at rates equivalent to non-carp enclosures. In fact, survival of juvenile largemouth bass was higher in enclosures with carp than in those without, and larval abundance of both bass and bluegill were equivalent to non-carp enclosures. This suggested little if any feeding by carp upon the eggs or nests of both species, a commonly accusatory phenomenon. Higher survival rates of larval and juvenile largemouth bass were theorized as possibly attributable to the increase in turbidity making young fish less susceptable to predation as they might have used that turbidity as a form of cover or camouflage.

That said, the news wasn't all good. While survival of larvals was equal to or greater than non-carp enclosures, and growth was also equivalent in that age group, growth of older juveniles suffered strongly. While they couldn't pinpoint a specific reason, theories included either elimination of a specific food source or type required at a critical stage of development due to turbidity or vegetative removal, or possible intraspecific competition between juveniles due to an increased survival rate and a potentially limited food supply.

Ultimately, researchers summarized, "Although common carp did not directly reduce reproductive output or initial survival of largemouth bass and bluegills, the reductions in observed growth of juveniles may have long-term implications for centrarchid population abundance and size structure", and that "negative effects of common carp on centrarchid populations may persist over several generations, eventually impairing sport fisheries and making improvements to population size structure difficult."

Grass Carp, Hydrilla, and Santee Cooper Res.

The Aquatic Plant Management Society (APMS) produces their own scientific journal entitled "Journal of Aquatic Plant Management". It has the most up-to-date research available on all aspects of aquatic plants, most of which is documented on their website. While you can keep in tune with studies being released and published in their journal via contents listing on their site, unless you are a member you can't access the full articles except on time delay. There is an approx. 3 year delay between publishing date and full public access. They just released their 2006 archive and there are two papers which should be of interest to anglers.

A Review of Grass Carp Use for Aquatic Weed Control and its Impact on Water Bodies is a thorough review of most all studies to date involving the effects of grass carp on various water bodies, as well as the biology of the fish itself.

Management of Hydrilla in the Santee Cooper Reservoirs, South Carolina: Experiences from 1982 to 2004 looks at the history of hydrilla treatments of lakes Marion and Moultrie, and the positive and negative effects on the various user groups and entities associated with the reservoirs. No surprise that the bass anglers in general were very dissatisfied with the elimination of the hydrilla, though there were some benefits documented from both a shore anglers perspective as well as an interesting habitat modification (anoxic dead zones). Also interesting is that waterfowlers were unhappy with the resulting elimination of hydrilla.

From the report:

Hydrilla beds may have improved habitat for certain species such as largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). The benefit of hydrilla to largemouth bass and the role of aquatic vegetation in largemouth bass production is somewhat conflicting (see articles in this journal by Maceina (1996) and Hoyer and Canfield (1996). However, fisheries managers generally agree—aside from impoundments managed for balance (Swingle 1950)—that an intermediate level of aquatic vegetation is optimal for largemouth bass (Durocher et al.1984, Maceina and Reeves 1996).

In summary, hydrilla had both positive and negative impacts upon angling. Despite large areas of anoxic water during summer months and difficulty in boating access, all categories of anglers agreed that hydrilla had been beneficial to fishing effort (Henderson et al. 2003).

Rawhide - Done Carp Style

 

I'm sure some of my carp fishing friends might not appreciate this story much, but the science is interesting and the application is worthy of note. This story takes place in Minnesota where they have just completed a carp roundup of sorts. I'm generally not in favor of such things, but this one is a little different. Scientists have know for quite a while that carp tend to aggregate into very select locations during winter. It is not unusual for a majority of the adult carp in a lake to be found in such areas. Research published as far back 1977 documented this seasonal movement:

Winter Aggregations of Carp (Cyprinus carpio) as Revealed by Ultrasonic Tracking
PETER B. JOHNSEN and ARTHUR D. HASLER

In this particular study carp during the winter on Lake Mendota congregated in 2 distinct wintering areas. These aggregations were found by use of radio telemetry, following a few tagged fish that ultimately led them to the "mother load". Commercial netters wre brought in and were able to harvest over 100,000 pounds of carp from the lake. Fast forward to a more recently published article (July 2008) documenting the same scenario:

Seasonal Distribution, Aggregation, and Habitat Selection of Common Carp in Clear Lake, Iowa
Christopher R. Penne and Clay L. Pierce

Understanding the ecology of common carp will be critical to the success of future control efforts. Our study demonstrated that common carp exhibit distinct, repeatable seasonal distribution and habitat selection patterns that render the fish potentially vulnerable to a number of different control techniques, including mechanical harvest by netting (Fritz 1987; Pinto et al. 2005), water level manipulation to disrupt spawning (Summerfelt 1999), exclusion from spawning areas (Lougheed and Chow-Fraser 2001), localized piscicide application (Meronek et al. 1996), and electrical and behavioral barriers (Verrill and Berry 1995; Chick and Pegg 2001). In Clear Lake and other lakes with nuisance common carp populations, choice of appropriate control techniques will require consideration of efficiency, cost, and safety as well as social acceptability and prevailing regulations (Bomford and Tilzey 1997).

Back to the Minnesota story just updated Tuesday in the Star Tribune. Again using radio tracked carp, scientists were able to find a giant wintering congregation and ultimately remove what they belive to be 90% of the lakes overall carp population in a single day using seines and commercial harvesters. A really nice video as well as a bunch of good pictures are llinked into the story which can be found below:

Carp roundup is a net gain for Minnesota's lakes

One Last Set

I have one last set of links to access more info from Hal Schramm. He wrote a series of columns this year for Mississippi Sportsman online magazine. There was a total of one each month. Some apply directly to MS waters, while others take on generalized subjects applicable everywhere such as cold fronts, fishing license fees, exotic invasives and trophy catfish management. You can find all articles at the following link:

MISSISSIPPI SPORTSMAN