Study finds how East Texas anglers can more accurately target largemouth bass

TYLER, Texas (KETK) — Biologists from the Texas Parks and Wildlife completed a study that tracked the movement of largemouth bass at Toledo Bend Reservoir and Lake Fork to learn about fish behavior and help anglers be more effective when they target bass.

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Anglers reported a decline in catch rates in 2018, and many attributed the decline to a decrease in fish populations. Despite the reduced catch rates, TPWD said electrofishing data that biologists gathered on fish populations remained consistent.

Biologists then explored if an increase in fishing activity impacted fish behavior, which could be the reason why anglers reported less catch rates.

The multi-year long study at Toledo Bend and Lake Fork focused on seasonal habitat use, movement and home range of largemouth bass and how it impacted angling activity.

Biologists monitored the movement patterns of largemouth bass ranging from 16 to 24 inches in length. They reportedly used radio transmitters into 43 fish at Toledo Bend and 38 fish at Lake Fork to track them over two years.

“Some of the biggest surprises were the small home ranges that these fish actually had and how little of an area they occupied throughout the course of a year,” said Jake Norman, Inland Fisheries Division Tyler District Supervisor. “I think most anglers and even biologists, expected to see more seasonal movement, especially of individual fish. Overall, we just didn’t see that happen on a larger scale. For example, on Lake Fork, the average total home range these fish occupied was 60 acres or less over the course of the entire study, and the average core use area was just over 10 acres.”

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Norman said a bulk of the fish have home areas and did not migrate throughout the lake and that the time of year, weather or lake levels did not have a major impact on their movement.

The study also focused on how bass reacted to boat noises such as hearing a motor.

TPWD said biologists found that 59% of all the relocated fish reacted to boat noise with fish size being a factor

The study also indicated 59% of all relocated fish reacted to boat noises. The size of a fish was a contributor to how likely they were to react. Fish over 20 inches were more likely to react to boat noise. Biologists also found that fish that were in vegetation reacted more often.

The study provided a deeper insight on how to target fish.

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“A big ‘take home’ of this study is how important it is to be as stealthy as possible when fishing for largemouth bass,” added Norman. “When anglers are sight-fishing and see a fish on a bed, they should do everything they can to make a cast to the fish before it knows they are there. Truthfully, that should be the angler’s mindset throughout all the seasons no matter if they are fishing in a foot of water or 30-plus feet of water. Doing everything you can to be as stealthy as possible will increase your chances of catching the fish you are targeting.”

The study was funded by the Sport Fish Restoration Program with matching support from Texas freshwater fishing license funds. For more information on the findings, people can visit TPWD’s website.

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