Last October I got rather unpleasant news from electroshock survey: My bigger CNBG & BG were covered in fungus! Not the small guys, not the RES, not the LMB: Only big CNBG/BG.

Fishery biologist said that something unusual had happened, though uncertain exactly what caused the problem. One possibility: fall spawn interrupted by very severe cold front, stressing the larger CNBG. Smaller CNBG, RES, LMB were not spawning, so were not nearly as affected.

This year I definitely have fewer big CNBG. Biggest I've seen might push 8 inches, whereas last year I had some close to 9 inches. My long term plan to catch 1 - 2 lb CNBG took a major hit.

On the positive side, I have tons of small forage fish this year, probably due to transfer of forage mini pond fish to main BOW. So the LMB are doing just fine!

I'm thinking about this fall. If I don't want to risk losing my big CNBG, could I discourage their spawning? Specifically, what if I draw down my main lake several feet to leave most spawning areas high & dry?

I have a constant inflow of water, maybe 2 to 3 gallons a minute under normal conditions. A mild drawdown would make forage fish (including TP I will get stocked this week) more available to the LMB. Winter is wet season around here, so I have no real fear about replenishing the water.

What do you PBers think about this strategy? Is it totally crazy, or are there good points? What should I consider before possibly doing it?

If the females are not allowed to spawn will they just reabsorb their eggs? Will this be more stress than letting them spawn?

I don't know. Just asking.

Another thought: A mild drawdown would also facilitate habitat improvement. I should have put in more points, humps, and brush in the first place, but you can't think of everything & I was a little skittish about making it too easy for poachers to fish from shore. So far, that has not been an issue.

Good point! I don't know either. Seem to recall experts saying that BG which don't spawn put their efforts into growing bigger so they can better compete for limited spawning area next time.

So maybe by limiting spawning area, CNBG/BG growth would get a boost. At least, those that survive increased exposure to bass. I'll bet larger panfish have a better chance!

I don't know but am wondering about the same thing at my place. Due to being stuck in the D/FW metroplex working on a rent house for a couple of months, I haven't been to go to my place very often. I missed Spring in the country this year. But, when I have gone, the big BG haven't been caught. Nice fish but not the big ones. Cormorants/poachers might have visited but I wouldn't have known it.

I've seen no indication that I even have any bass left. I've fished for them with lures and with small BG's. I haven't seen them picking off BG's when I feed. Nothing! This really concerns me. The symbiotic relationship between bass and BG's is well documented. Without bass, the BG over populate and I wind up with an O2 problem. Seen that on my forage pond. Unseasonably early hot weather and water pretty well keeps me restocking bass or even HSB.

Poachers might have hit big BG, but hard for them to take out all the LMB. Maybe cormorants, especially if your BOW is on the shallow, clear side.