It's Bushes fault! It's Bushes fault!
Posted on 07/25/2006 8:03:45 AM PDT by girlangler
A fish kill involving more than 580 dead bass that coincides with a recently completed FLW Tour event in the La Crosse, Wisconsin area, has Department of Natural Resources Officials at a loss to explain. Especially since it's the second consecutive year there's been a higher-than-normal incident of dead bass following the area's largest and most lucrative tournament.
Last year, the fish autopsied following the die-off were found to have been suffering from largemouth bass virus. That disease causes death in bass, especially if they're stressed.
According to sources in Wisconsin, more than 98 percent of the bass collected from the lake area were marked with clipped tail fins. That clipping is one way FLW Bass Tournaments mark fish that have been captured and released.
That marking, however, isn't enough to lay the blame at the doorstep of the FLW event. As you might imagine, fishing tournament organizers at virtually all levels to go extreme lengths to keep their promise of catch-and-release. Both the FLW Tour and BASS go to extreme lengths to assure the safety of all caught fish, and spend considerable amounts of money on the study of catch-and-release tactics and equipment.
The marking of the 2,000 bass caught and released during the four-day FLW tournament was, in fact, part of a study being conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and fishery biology researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. A study intended to measure the mortality rates in bass-fishing tournaments.
When The Outdoor Wire contacted the FLW regarding the fish deaths, we learned that the study, although designed to accurately determine mortality rates might, in fact, have contributed to the high mortality.
"We're concerned," says Dave Washburn of FLW Outdoors, "and we all know we have a lot to learn about fish care, and that's the reason for these studies."
"The fish were healthy when they were caught, weighed-in, and released," he continued, "we're still studying this whole process - and funding other studies, including one for walleye." FLW Outdoors tournaments include the nation's largest walleye tournament circuit.
The studies of the two FLW events haven't done anything to clear up the questions of the effectiveness of catch-and-release. The first study last year pointed to fishery problems with the bass virus. This year, there are already questions regarding the ability to determine whether collected bass came from the tournament or the control fish.
All the study would be required, regardless. A 2003 Wisconsin law calls for a study of the economic, social and biological impacts of catch-and-release programs in bass tournaments. The results are expected in mid-August.
Ed Stellner, an Onalaska tournament angler, says he and other anglers are deeply concerned about the fish kill, but they also question the DNR study. "If we're killing the fish," Stellner says, "we'd definitely want to know why. But there's a bass-fishing tournament in LaCross every weekend - and when's the last time you saw this many dead bass? After last year's tournament - the first year of the study."
In effect, Stellner, and others are questioning the methods of the study. It may be, the anglers say, the study is impacting the fish, too.
For the control in the study, approximately 100 fish per day were put in 8-by-8 foot holding pens on the Black River. Those fish, however, weren't caught using hook and line; they were caught using electroshock. Anglers say the fish didn't have proper current flow in the holding pens and were kept there for up to five days.
The Outdoor Wire spoke with several experienced tournament anglers and officials yesterday afternoon regarding the LaCrosse tournament, and the pair of studies point out that the number of bass taken in tournaments represent only a tiny fraction of the fish that are actually in the fishery.
And in another fishery-related development, the Delaware River's West Branch is receiving a significant infusion of contaminated water and raw sewage from flood damage to the Deposit, New York sewage treatment plant. Consequently, the Friends of the Upper Delaware River (FUDR) is requesting release of water from New York City's watersheds in order to "flush" the West Branch.
No word yet on whether NYC officials will authorize the increased flows from six watersheds that could be used for to flush the effuse out of the West Branch.
Add this conservation effort to the long list of failures. When man tries to influence the balance of nature, nature rarely responds in the desired way.
It's Bushes fault! It's Bushes fault!
;-)
I want that bumper sticker. Do you mind if I use it as a tagline?
Don't mind at all - sounds like a perfect fit. ;-)
I know tournaments are catch and release but that fish gets stressed if taken out of his environment for a while especially in the summer when water temps are high.
There is no need to keep a trophy anymore. If you have the measurements of a trophy and the weight that is all the taxidermist needs.
"Bass die-offs being investigated"
For the sake of Paul McCartney and John Paul Jones I hope an investigation into the deaths of John Entwistle and Leon Wilkinson will prove helpful and informative.
What about Chris Squire?
The clearest example yet! I was going to post that!
(Rapala Rules!!)
The bass community as a whole will benefit from a through investigation.
"Bass die-offs being investigated"
One hopes that this ailment will not spread to the tenors.
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