Big Indiana Bass

Largemouth Bass and Walleye Simply Don't Play Well Together

Interactions between Walleyes and Four Fish Species with Implications for Walleye Stocking
ANDREW H. FAYRAM, MICHAEL J. HANSEN, TIMOTHY J. EHLINGER

The last two trips out after bass have resulted in a pair of walleyes being caught. This got me looking into more walleye studies related to the pair of fish in question. As I posted a couple weeks back in another study, the evidence suggested that largemouth and walleye don't overlap in diet in many bodies of water. This newer study suggests they simply might not be able to get along together at all. This might be why it seems like it is so tough for IDNR to establish a good walleye fishery in most of our reservoirs. The study in this post from 2005 provides a perfect example of this.

Researchers used a number of different data sets and four criteria to evaluate evidence of competition and predation between walleye, pike, muskie, smallmouth bass, and largemouth bass in northern Wisconsin lakes. Only largemouth bass were found to strongly interact with walleyes:

• Largemouth bass and walleye populations were inversely related - so if you had a high population of established bass, you would end up with a low population of walleye.
• Diets of largemouth bass included juvenile walleyes - It was estimated that as many as 80,000+ juvenile walleye were consumed by bass yearly, and that walleye made up about 5% of the basses diet. On the other hand, it was very rare to find an adult walleye that had fed on any bass.
• Walleye growth was positively related to largemouth bass abundance - Since more bass equaled less walleye, the remaining walleye that did survive exhibited good growth due to lack of competition for food resources with other walleye.
• Largemouth bass abundance increased as walleye stocking intensity increased, and survival of stocked walleyes was negatively related to largemouth bass abundance - It seemed like the more walleye that were stocked, the larger the bass population got. The theory extended was that the extra stockings of walleye became and additional (previously unhad) food source for the bass population allowing it to expand with the increase in food options. Likewise, the larger the bass population, the less the likelihood of stocked walleye survival.

There are other possible explanations for some of the findings, such as the type of waters that support good largemouth bass populations may be different enough from a morphological standpoint that they become poor environments for walleye survival and populations. Still, the research findings in this paper match nicely with several other studies that suggest the exact same inverse relationship between the two fish species. The researchers even went so far as to conclude,

"Given the seemingly strong predatory interaction between walleyes and largemouth bass, management of both species in the same water body may be difficult. In addition, walleye stocking may be ill advised in lakes with even moderate abundances of largemouth bass, given their potentially large impact on survival of juvenile walleyes."

I'll further look into more walleye research since IDNR continues to stock many of our impoundments with walleyes. I might even spend more time fishing for them next year as a change of pace. Haven't decided exactly what my fishing goals are yet for 2012. Still, I've gone ahead and added a new category (Walleye/Sauger/Saugeye) on the lefthand sidebar of the site and have added this file type to all older posts I've come across related to walleye for those that might be interested.

Indiana IDNR Walleye Updates

For anyone who might be interested in what went on with the walleye program this year in Indiana, here's the latest from the DNR on Patoka Lake and others:

Patoka: The first walleye stocking since 1978 occurred in 2008. In 2008 and 2009, there were 5.3 and 8.4 million walleye fry stocked. A total of 20 walleye were sampled that ranged in length from 5.3 to 11.6 inches. All were assumed to be age 0. The catch rate was 10.0/electrofishing hour, while in 2008 it was 18.0/hour. Catches in 2009 would probably have been higher if the lake had not been high and turbid. The stocking can be considered a success as it met the 7.0/electrofishing hour success criteria.

In 2010, a total of 13 walleye were collected. They ranged in length from 6.1 to 14.4 in. Eleven of the walleye collected were age 0. The age 0 electrofishing catch rate was 6.2/hr. The catch rate in 2009 was 10.0/electrofishing h. The catch rate most likely declined due to the reduced number of fry stocked. In 2010, 3.7 million fry were stocked compared to 8.4 million in 2009. The stocking can be considered successful, even though it did not quite reach the 7.0/electrofishing hr success criteria due to the reduced expectations with only 3.4 million stocked compared to a normal stocking rate of 8.8 million.

This year (2011), during the fall evaluation of the walleye stocking at Patoka Lake we collected 7.0 young of the year/hour and 6.0 age-1 walleye/hour.

Lake of the Woods: Evaluating a drop in the stocking rate from 100/acre to 50/acre for fingerlings. The walleye population looked great, as we collected 4.8 fish/hr 18.0 inches and larger.

Lake Maxinkuckee: Evaluating the walleye stocking and our findings indicate we are in need of a change. Therefore, more intensive walleye work is scheduled for next field season.

Fall walleye shocking at Sylvan and Winona lakes: After 8 years of stocking fall fingerlings at 20/acre, we dropped the rate to 15/acre for a 3-year period from 2009 through 2011. Next year and beyond, we’ll drop the rate, most likely for good, to 10/acre. Eventually – we’re talking many years - we may finally know whether there is a connection between fall fingerling stocking rate and adult density.

Monroe: We collected 62 walleye 6.5 to 27.3 inches. YOY catch was 2/hr. PSD15 was 53 and RSD25 was 3. There were 42 WAE fingerlings/acre stocked in 2011. The normal stocking rate is 50/acre.

Cataract and Eagle Creek: IDNR didn't get a chance to do fall sampling on either this year. They suspect EC went well, but don't know for certain. Not sure what might have happened at Cataract. That said, Cat did get stocked with fry again this spring, and EC got its dose of walleye fingerlings, so the fish were put in. Got a report last week of 3 more keeper eyes coming out of EC vertical jigging on the lower end, so they're in there.

The Largemouth Bass - Mercury Contamination Link

There has been a lot of good discussion over on the In-Fisherman blogs recently (See Matt Straw and Ned Kehde posts respectively) about the value of eating fresh fish now days vs. possible health risks from contamination. On the research front, several new papers were released this year concerning mercury concentrations in largemouth bass, mercury being one of the more widespread environmental toxicants along with PCB's and a couple others. While the trends seem to be for the better overall, it is still an obvious issue of concern for those who plan on eating wild fish on a regular basis. Locally, you should consult the Indiana Fish Consumption Advisory web page for all pertinent information regarding which waters and species of fish are affected. For those interested in the 2011 research, bibliographies are below with a brief highlight or two from each piece.

 

Monson BA, Staples DF, Bhavsar SP, Holsen TM, Schrank CS, Moses SK, McGoldrick DJ, Backus SM, Williams, KA (2011) Spatiotemporal trends of mercury in walleye and largemouth bass from the Laurentian Great Lakes Region. Ecotoxicology 20:1555–1567

• "The results showed a generally declining temporal trend in fish-Hg for the region (1970–2009), with spatial trends of increasing Hg concentration from south to north and from west to east across the region."

Wadlington JM (2011) Mercury concentrations in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), white bass (Morone chrysops), and white crappie (Pomoxis annularis) from six Dallas-Fort Worth area reservoirs. TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY, 22 pages; 1491015

• "For all species Hg concentrations were positively correlated with total length. Hg concentrations of each species were significantly different between reservoirs, indicating that some reservoirs were more contaminated with Hg than others. In the majority of reservoirs Hg concentrations in largemouth bass did not differ from Hg concentrations in white bass and white crappie."

Goodchild S, Gerstenberger S (2011) Mercury Concentrations in Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) Collected from Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Nye County, Nevada. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 60:496–500

• "Mercury concentrations were significantly correlated with both fish mass and condition, but were lower than national human health and safety standards."

Karouna-Renier NK, Snyder RA, Lange T, Gibson S, Allison JG, Wagner ME, Rao KR (2011) Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and striped mullet (Mugil cephalus) as vectors of contaminants to human consumers in northwest Florida. Mar Environ Res. 72(3):96-104

• "Largemouth bass were found to contain high levels of total mercury at all sampling locations (0.37–0.89 ug/g) and one location exhibited elevated total PCBs (39.4 ng/g). All of the samples exceeded Florida fish consumption advisory trigger levels for total mercury and one location exceeded the U.S. EPA SV for total PCBs. As a result of the high mercury levels, the non-cancer health risks (hazard index–HI) for bass were above 1 for all locations."


Walleye-Largemouth Bass Competition

INTERACTIONS BETWEEN WALLEYE AND LARGEMOUTH BASS IN A WEST TEXAS RESERVOIR

TIMOTHY WILLIAM SCHLAGENHAFT, B.S.

Lots of bass anglers fret about the stocking of walleye in many of our Indiana reservoirs, sometimes feeling that there is competition for similar resources between the two species. This study utilized ultrasonic telemetry to track largemouth bass and walleye in Lake Mackenzie, TX. Similar to our reservoirs, Lake Mackenzie stratifies in the summer, restricting available habitat of both species. The fish were tracked year round, and at various time points from dawn until dusk, and habit overlap was documented. Habitat classifications included brushy coves (BC), steep brushy shorelines (SBS), steep rocky shorelines (SRS), sloping sandy shorelines (SSS), and open water (OW).

As might be expected, largemouth bass were heavily cover oriented, in this case wood/brush being the predominant option. Even though it only represented 5.3% of the available cover, bass utilized brushy coves 61% of the time on a year round basis. If you add steep brushy shorelines as the next most utilized cover option (22%) by largemouth, you account for 83% of all largemouth spottings. To the contrary, walleye utilized steep rocky shorelines 49% of the time, and open water another 41% of the time.

On a seasonal basis, in the winter and spring, brushy coves accounted for 71-72% of all bass locations, with steep brushy shorelines accounting for another 20-21% of locations. In fall, bass used brushy coves (53%), steep brushy shorelines (27%), and steep rocky shorelines (14%). In summer, this changed to BC-30%, SRS-28%, SBS-19%, SSS-13%, and OW-10% of the time. In summer, bass were very spread out and utilized all cover types to a more even degree.

Comparitively, walleye in spring used OW-73%, and SRS-25% of the time. In summer, this changed to SRS-77% and OW-9%. Fall found walleye relocating a bit back to SRS-50% and OW-44%, while in winter, it again changed to OW-73%, and SRS-25%. It would appear that in this study, walleye avoided the same woody cover areas that bass preferred to utilize, instead selecting strongly for open water and steep rocky shorelines when available. During the summer when deeper water wasn't available due to thermocline limitations (oxygen availability), this forced many of the walleye into steep rocky shoreline areas.

In total, overlap rarely occurred, scoring 0.12 in spring and 0.20 in fall, and 0.09 in winter. Only in summer (0.51), when warmer waters restricted overall habitat use of all fishes was there much overlap. In those cases, it's still possible that diet differences would reduce actual competiton between the two fish species. Yearly overlap average score of 0.2 would again suggest not much competition between the two species over the course of the year.

Gaston Tourney Now Has a Bass Division

One of the longer running benefit tourneys, and probably the largest walleye tourney in the state, "the Gaston" held annually on Brookville Res. has traditionally been a 2-division tourney, one for cats and one for walleye. This year they are expanding and adding a bass division to the event. As I understand it, once they hit a combined 100 boat field, registrations will close.

If you're on the east side of the state and looking for a good open tourney to fish, check out the link to their home page for all the specifics...and be sure to register quick. The event is coming up in just 2 weeks.

13th Annual Richard T. Gaston Walleye/Bass/Catfish Tournament

Relative Hooking Mortality among Walleyes

Another study involving barbed and barbless hooks, this time in walleye, and arriving at a very similar outcome to previously reported studies. Anglers used leeches fished under bobbers on either #4 Gamakatsu octopus hooks, some with the barb intact and others with the barb crimped down, as well as a 1/16-oz. Northland Gumball jighead with #4 hook and barb intact.

> Damage from hooks was correlated to mortality after adjusting for holding density and water temps. The greater the damage to the fish caused by hooking, the more likely a fish was to die.

> When comparing any specific level of hooking damage, holding mortality was not related to the type of hook that was used to catch the fish.

> Factors that caused greater mortality included water temperature (warmer is worse), cage density (the more fish that are put in a single holding apparatus, the higher the mortality), bleeding level (greater bleeding means it's more likely that the hook has damaged a vital organ or artery), and hook location (the deeper in the mouth the hook lands, the greater the likelihood of collateral damage to vitals).

> There was no correlation to mortality for either angler handling time (time to unhook and get fish in a livewell) or fish length.

> Barbed and barbless livebait hooks caused equal damage, and both were worse than the barbed jighead. It is believed that the larger jighead relative to the size of the walleye caught didn't allow for deep ingestion, thereby diminishing potential lethal damage to vitals located further back in the mouth/throat of the fish. Thought of another way, it doesn't matter whether a hook point has a barb or not if that hook penetrates a liver or other vital organ in the process of hooking the fish, as the permanent damage has already been done irrespective of whether the barb was present or not. In these instances, smaller and lighter weight hooks fished on slack line, are more likely to be ingested deeper into the mouth cavity or esophagus, and thereby increasing the possibility of accidently piercing a vital organ or artery.

The authors summarize, "This study...adds to the body of literature indicating that the removal of barbs from hooks does not increase fish survival."

 

Reeves, Keith A. and Staples, David F. (2011) Relative Hooking Mortality among Walleyes Caught on Barbed and Barbless Hooks and Barbed Jigs, North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 31:, 32-40, First published on: 09 March 2011 (iFirst)

Timing of walleye spawning demonstrated to be related to climate change

Note: Bass spawn late enough around here that we probably won't see much difference over the years, but the science is interesting for those more cool water fish such as walleye, pike and trout.

Climate change and the timing of ice-out can have pronounced effects on the timing of walleye spawning in Minnesota, reveals research written by Krystal Schneider, Raymond Newman, Virginia Card, and Sanford Weisberg of the University of Minnesota, and Donald Pereiraof the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, recently published in the journal Transactions of the American Fisheries Society.

The researchers used existing walleye spawning records from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and Minnesota ice-out records from the Minnesota Ice Cover Database, the Minnesota Historical Society, and the Cook Herald News for their analysis. For 3 of the 12 spawning locations, the researchers used ice-out data from the same lakes where walleye spawning data was collected.

The research found the timing of walleye spawning runs can be used as a biological indicator of climate change because it has a strong relationship with ice-out. Both annual walleye spawning and ice-out in Minnesota seem to be occurring earlier over time. The relationship between walleye spawning and ice-out was also cited, as it may provide information about how climate change could affect walleye populations. One potential consequence of earlier spawning may be a mismatch in the timing of larval walleye abundance and peak prey availability, assuming that prey populations do not respond to climate change by hatching earlier.

Further research investigating lake and river characteristics is needed to identify factors that could be influencing the relationship between the timing of walleye spawning and ice-out. The information would be useful for developing models to predict the timing of walleye spawning, and would also be useful for creating a universal climate change model instead of several models that vary based on individual locations.

Full Citation: Schneider, K. N., Newman, R.M., Card, V., Weisberg, S., Pereira, D. L. "Timing of Walleye Spawning as an Indicator of Climate Change", Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, Volume 139, pp. 1198-1210 doi: 10.1577/T09-129.1

See also:

• Climate changes could disrupt walleye reproduction in Minnesota lakes, Great Lakes
• Forecast: Warmer Waters: How will Minnesota fish, anglers, and fisheries managers adapt to warmer lakes and streams?

Lake Cumberland: A Quick Lesson In Fish Biology

I received this notice from Kentucky's DFW concerning an emergency regulation now in place on Lake Cumberland. It gives insight into what happens when you have high water temperatures, restricted thermoclines, low dissolved oxygen and cool water fish species. We occasionally have similar instances here on our Indiana waterways, most notably, I remember, was a large walleye kill on Monroe many years back when the exact same physical conditions listed below presented themselves. Beside all the reservoirs stocked with walleye in Indiana and similar to the reports below, we do have a couple reservoirs that have striped bass stocked in them (Brookville, Raccoon), as well as a tailwater trout fishery (Brookville) which could easily suffer a similar fate.

Emergency Regulations in Effect

The emergency regulations mean anglers may only catch two striped bass over 22 inches. Anglers must not catch and release striped bass over 22 inches, as these released fish are likely to die. After an angler catches two striped bass over 22 inches, the angler must stop fishing for striped bass. However, a licensed angler may catch two and net or hand grab three additional striped bass over 22 inches that are floating on the surface. Licensed anglers not fishing for striped bass may harvest five striped bass over 22 inches net or hand grab that are floating on the surface.
     
For all other fish species in Lake Cumberland, existing size and creel limits will remain in effect; however, dying fish may be harvested by a licensed angler using a landing net or by hand grabbing.

Deteriorating Water Conditions

State and federal officials have been closely monitoring water conditions for walleye and striped bass in Lake Cumberland throughout the summer.

Biologists noticed a number of striped bass were either dead or dying due to high water temperatures and low dissolved oxygen levels. With continued hot weather forecast, water conditions will likely continue to deteriorate. These conditions are particularly stressful to cool-water species such as striped bass and walleye. Fisheries biologists expect the occurrence of dead or dying fish to continue during the next three to four weeks.

The record summer heat and two major rainfalls since spring have raised water temperatures and reduced dissolved oxygen in Lake Cumberland to levels that cool water fish species like striped bass and walleye cannot tolerate for extended periods. Fish species that are more tolerant of warmer water, such as smallmouth and largemouth bass, crappie and bluegill, are not as affected by the current conditions.

"We hope that the cooler nights will alleviate some of the problems by dropping the water temperature", said Brooks. "We're keeping a close eye on this situation and monitoring the impact on the fish."

Lake Cumberland is being kept below its normal summer pool while repairs are ongoing to Wolf Creek Dam. The lower lake levels mean it cannot store as much cool water below or above the thermocline where there is enough oxygen for the cool-water fish.

Walleye and striped bass are especially susceptible to higher water temperatures. The increased stress on walleye and striped bass caught by anglers during the hottest weather conditions can lead to higher mortality of these species.

"Anglers catching these species should not release or attempt to cull legal fish at this time," Brooks said.

"We are seeing mortality of mostly stripers this week," Brooks continued. "We believe those fish succumbed to a combination of factors, but primarily from prolonged poor water conditions. A few had likely been caught and released by anglers during the past day or two. Most of the fish were in areas of the lake where conditions were very poor and caused additional continuous stress that they could not overcome."

Continued Monitoring

In the meantime, officials will constantly monitor the lake temperatures and oxygen levels at the various depths and locations in the lake and quantify the fish kills occurring.

"Lake Cumberland is an important fishing destination and tourist draw for this region of the United States," Brooks said. "We are concerned about this situation and will continue to keep a close watch on the lake."

Tailwater conditions for trout, at this time, are favorable. Conditions in the lake's tailwater are slightly better this year than in the past two years.

"The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates Lake Cumberland's Wolf Creek Dam, is working closely with other agencies to monitor water conditions in the lake and its tailwater. Corps officials are also continually adjusting the flow of water from the dam to help support the tailwater's trout fishery and maintain favorable conditions in the Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery," said Bob Sneed, water management chief for the Corps' Nashville District. The hatchery draws water for its operation from the lake and the tailwater.
    
"We're cooperating closely with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife and the employees of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery to find the best solutions within some of the constraints that we face," Sneed said.

It's Time - Hydrogen Peroxide Livewell Guidelines

It has been a hot year so far in central Indiana. June averaged over 4 degrees warmer than normal with 5 days at 90 or above. We're only half way through July and we're already averaging a high of 87.7 with 6 days so far at or above 90 degrees. These temps have the corresponding water in our lakes and reservoirs much warmer than we're used to seeing for this time of the year. Surface temps on many of the smaller lakes, and even the coves of the larger reservoirs are running into the upper 80's. I had 88-89 all over Waveland today, and a friend reported 92 degree surface temps in the back of Allen's Creek on Monroe Friday.

This is putting a serious stress on our fisheries, and making it difficult to keep bass alive over the course of a tournament day. Livewell care should now be at the forefront of everyone's mind, and I've got some advice to help out.

It's time to pull out the hydrogen peroxide. It's a pretty controversial subject, with anglers and organizations on both sides of the issue, for and against, but I'm seeing and hearing of enough dead bass at weigh-ins and at the ramps that I believe it's the right thing to do. I'm going to make it real simple for everyone so you don't have to get fancy with calculations or measuring. First though, some additional info on hydrogen peroxide you won't find on any other fishing site, at least not that I've ever come across.

• Different species have different tolerances to hydrogen peroxide. Some, like walleye are extremely sensitive to even small amounts. Don't use it except for keeping bass alive in a tourney situation. Fortunately largemouth have a better tolerance for it than many other freshwater fish, including other members of the sunfish family such as bluegills.
• Different life stages of a particular fish changes it's ability to handle doses of hydrogen peroxide. Eggs can withstand the highest concentrations, while young adults have the lowest tolerances. Data suggests that there is a slight uptick at the end of the downward curve with older adults usually able to tolerate slightly higher concentrations than younger adults.
• Water temperature matters. The warmer the water, the less hydrogen peroxide a fish is able to tolerate.
• It's a balance between dose/concentration and time. Bass can tolerate a higher amount for very short periods of time, but require a considerably smaller concentration if they are going to be exposed to the chemical for a longer length of time (24-96 hrs.).
• Warmer water can not hold as much oxygen as colder water. Saturation point at around 90 degrees is slightly less than 7.5 ppm oxygen. This is at sea level. At higher altitudes your rate will be lower. The amount of peroxide I recommend adding has been shown to raise oxygen saturation by between 1.0-1.5 ppm for the typical livewell volume.
• At a certain point, overdosing leads to guaranteed mortality. More is not better! Unless you want to risk a livewell full of dead bass, don't add more than what I recommend.

Most sites, video and advice have you calculate some form of measurement for your livewell, then add a corresponding amount in ounces for so many gallons. Problem is many livewells are weirdly shaped, and some people just don't want to try and calculate exactly how big their well is. Plus, what you need is the volume as relates to how much water you will actually have in the well, and that will depend upon how high you can fill your well before things like overflow valves start draining the excess out. This can be difficult to calculate.

Newer boat models typically have the volume stated online at the manufacturers website. Many older model boats you won't have a clue. Still, the large majority of bassboat livewells regardless of model fall between 12 and 22 gallons. So we'll keep this very simple. If it's not simple, guys won't do it. Here are the basics.

1. Fill your livewell when you catch your first bass, or even before if you'd like. At that point, keep the drain valve closed and don't allow new water to be added. New water dilutes everything and will defeat the purpose of doing this. Turn off the timer system if you have that feature and only run recirculation pumps (if your boat is so equipped). Don't worry if you don't have recirc pumps. Leave everything off in that case after filling and follow the next steps. Your bass will be fine. 
2. Add ice and cool the water temperature in the livewell down to the upper 70's given current surface temps. You're basically going to take out about 10-12 degrees of heat from the water. Buy a cheap digital or handheld kitchen thermometer at the grocery store or through BPS that you can keep in a boat compartment just for this purpose. This will only cost you about $10-$20 - Do It! You'll automatically add (about 1.0 ppm) to the waters ability to hold oxygen with this simple step. Remember, cooler water holds more oxygen, and bass are easily able to handle this level of temperature adjustment. Your fish won't go into cold shock. Also remember the cooler the water, the safer the level of peroxide addition. Adding ice is a very important step.
3. If you have a livewell additive such as "Please Release Me", "Catch & Release" or "Rejuvenade", add the recommended amount now.
4. Finally, Add 1/3-cup of hydrogen peroxide to each separate livewell. NO MORE!...unless. If you have one single very large divided livewell in your bass boat, then add two (a second) 1/3-cupfuls. Stop there. This will be right around recommended dose on smaller wells, a little less on larger wells. Either way you'll be fine, you won't have to calculate and you'll have no excuse for not doing this - very simple!

As for the measuring cup, steal one (from your kitchen), borrow one (from the wife) or buy a simple set of plastic measuring cups so you'll have it. Keep this, along with the bottle of 3% hydrogen peroxide (found at any grocery or drug store), your temperature gauge and your livewell additive in your boat compartment together. Buy a small Tupperware container that will hold all these things the next time the wife drags you out shopping.

If you're fishing a jackpot or week night tourney (<5 hrs), you won't have to do anything else at all. If you are fishing an 8 or 9 hour all day (or all night) tourney, you'll want to drain off or livewell pumpout about half of the water in the well halfway through the tourney to eliminate excess fish waste and related chemicals, then refill, add more ice, livewell additive and hydrogen peroxide as stated above. Doing this two or even three times is even better.

Once surface water temps at the lake drop back below 80 degrees, you won't have to add hydrogen peroxide. At that point just the ice and livewell treatment, along with recirulation if you have it are all you need. This is the exact setup I use in my jon boat livewell the few times I've held summer fish in it (along with the Triton when I had it). I've researched and tested this and know it works without harming the bass if followed as I state above. Take care of the bass out there this summer so we can all catch them again later.

When Bass and Walleye Compete, Who Wins?

Recent studies and geophysical change would seem to suggest that bass, both largemouth and smallmouth will most likely come out on top. Of interest, the following research paper:

• Interactions between Walleyes and Smallmouth Bass in a Missouri River Reservoir with Consideration of the Influence of Temperature and Prey

Also tackling this issue in the most recent publication (June 2010) of the Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine:

• Sustaining a fishery or fighting natural change?

In the latter article above, a host of factors including behavioral, climate related, water level and clarity, current regulations as well as catch-and-release trends with each given species are the most likely culprits.

The Bass Anglers Library: 5 Essential Reads

There have been tons of articles and books written on the subject of fishing. I've read a lot of them over the years. I was sitting in my office and browsing through some of the many I have stored in my library when I got to thinking about which ones were the best. It kind of ties in with the post I made a couple days ago about articles I like, but goes one step beyond. Which ones do I consider essential reading, the basis or foundation upon which all others merely add to. I whittled it down to 5 "must haves":

The Secret Teachings of In-Fisherman Angling Wisdom & Knowledge:

That's a pretty lofty title, but my #1 piece of writing is a little 60 page handbook. Inside, the complete details of the In-Fisherman F+L+P=S formula are spelled out, still the one essential piece of knowledge upon which all fishing is based upon (IMO). Also included are chapters on calendar periods as well as the classification of natural lakes, rivers and reservoirs. Copyrighted in 1987 by Al Lindner, if you could only have one piece of literature on your coffee table, this is it.

The Old Guide's Secret Calendar of Fish Activity - Seasonal Rhythm and Response:

(ISBN 0-929384-68-7) Another small handbook by the folks at In-Fisherman, this time from 1995. It takes the smaller subtopic of calendar periods from the previously mentioned book and goes into much greater detail. As they state in the introduction, "Seasonal and even daily changes in weather and water temperature affect fish far more than they affect birds and mammals. Their feeding activity, digestion, metabolism, and growth rate are influenced by season and water temperature, in accordance with their genetic makeup. Angling success depends to a large extent upon understanding seasonal activity of various fish species."

Essential piece of reading material #2, it then goes into great detail about the calendar periods of 6 major fish species, including seperate sections for largemouth and smallmouth bass.

One thing I like about both of these books is that they are smaller handbooks as opposed to larger reference books. This makes the information direct and immediate, something that can easily be covered and digested in a matter of hours as opposed to days. That said, if you prefer more robust reading material, you could substitute my first two suggestions with " Smallmouth Bass: An In-Fisherman Handbook of Strategies" (ISBN-10: 0929384504) - 246 pgs. and "Largemouth Bass: an In-Fisherman handbook of Strategies" (ISBN-10: 0929384113) - 336 pgs. and be perfectly fine.

Essential piece #3 is actually 2 magazine articles authored by Paul Prorok. The first, written back in 1987 (In-Fisherman Book #72) is without question, in my mind, the best magazine article ever written on the subject of bass fishing. "Rick Clunn's Seasonal Patterns for Bass (Narrowing Down the Options)" is an absolute gem of a piece on Rick's system of breaking down a lake and applying seasonal patterns to your aproach when bass fishing. Bassmaster and others wrote similar lengthy articles on Rick and this subject later, but none captures the process better than this original piece.

The second, "Rick Clunn's System for Finding Bass (Eliminating the Alternatives)" came in 1989, a few years after the original piece. Detailing how Rick goes through his process of eliminating alternatives for bass once a particular seasonal pattern is generally established. Lots of specifics are given as Rick fishes and wins a B.A.S.S. tournament on Bull Shoals Res. during the spring period.

In the #4 spot, another magazine article, this one appearing in the January 1986 edition of Field & Stream. "Bass, Professionally Speaking"  gives insight into Rick's thought process on the many smaller details of catching bass. As the author leads, "Rick Clunn will catch bass when you can't. The difference is in how he thinks, and you think." Twelve 'lessons' are given in this great little piece offering insight into the man voted by bass fans as the "world's greatest angler".

Finally, #5 is a book, but more specifically just one chapter in said book. "Mind Over Machine: The Power of Human Intuition and Expertise in the Era of the Computer" by Dreyfus and Dreyfus (ISBN-10: 0029080614 - 231 pgs.) published in 1988. You hear lots of talk and discussion about 'fishing intuitively' or 'going with your gut feeling'. Nothing else written that I've come across covers this particular subject in more depth and clarity than chapter 4 of this book, entitled "Expert Systems Versus Intuitive Expertise".

According to the authors, there are 5 basic steps which everyone proceeds through when trying to move from the most basic understanding stage of learning and performing a task (novice) to the most advanced stage (expert). This piece breaks each step down in great detail, and gives easy to understand examples that allow you to assess exactly where along the process line you fall with your fishing ability, and what characterizes the behavior of people at the more advanced stages. A fascinating read when applied to the task of catching fish at the highest levels.

My absolute favorite fishing quote comes from professional walleye angler Mike McClelland. " 

“It’s like the trunk of a tree. Magic baits, secret lure colors, stuff like that are the tiny outside branches of the tree. Most fishermen dance on branches. They can’t see the big picture for the tiny branches. They worry about changing colors before they know if they’re over fish. The average fisherman spends his time reading about, worrying about, and trying to deal with fine-tuning presentation. Fine-tuning is important. But most people don’t catch fish because they don’t find fish.”

If you want to understand the big picture and be one of those people that catches bass because you can find them, most any time on most any water, the 5 pieces of writing above will get you there.

Live From Cataract, With Today's Special Guest

The cold front continues to descend upon us here in central Indiana. The breeze was up a bit more than I'd like for the tin machine, but we tried not to let that dampen our enthusiasm. I say 'we' because I got the opportunity to share the boat with someone I had never fished with before, Dustin Kelso,or 'Big D' as he is known by on the Internet. Dustin fishes with the White River Bassmasters. He and I decided to try our luck out on Cataract Lake this afternoon. Fortunately Dustin likes to sleep in as much as I do :)

We met shortly after 11:00 at the ramp and could see right away that the NW wind would be a bit troubling. There is really no good direction for the wind to be coming out of on that lake because of how it just whips around the hills and hollows, somehow always finding you no matter how hard you try to hide. Still, we wanted to give the deep, open water a shot as that type fishing was something Dustin hadn't had a chance to do much of. And a valiant effort was made on our parts, as well as by my little trolling motor and battery.

We popped around on some points and breaks, trying to work the wind as best as we could. It was slow going at first, a peck here and a nibble there along with a short fish or two. Dustin finally got one for the well with a nice chunky fish caught out off a main lake point and sitting textbook on a stump. He had pulled his jig over an isolated piece of wood and the bass whacked it the minute it dropped over on the other side.

That was it for a while as we slowly motored around the lake checking out spots. We found some great looking topwater spots for first thing in the morning. Also found some nice shallow cover which is a rarity on much of that lake. It was looking like the front would win out as we neared the final hour of our alotted trip time. Pulling up on a new spot, I get a keeper on the first cast with the deep crank. Hopes arise, and another fish helps salvage the afternoon.

Dustin adds a bonus fish to the well with this 14" walleye. Cataract is a pretty decent walleye lake, though it hasn't fished so well for them the past few years. Still, there are quite a few of them running around in the lake if you can figure them out.

We decide to fish one last area due to congestion we can see at the boat ramp, and what I had mentioned to Dustin earlier in the day comes to be. These open water fish are largely hit and miss, and you have to keep covering water while you bide your time, hoping that you pull up on the right spot at the right time. Our last spot proved to be just that. We smack 4 more keepers on the deep crank in the last 30 minutes, including a camera shy fish between 3 and 4 pounds that comes unbuttoned within feet of the boat. Still, a pair over 16" and another just over 14" makes their way into the boat, completing our limit and putting grins on our faces for persevering and ending the afternoon on a good note.