Relative Weight and Culling - 05/06/04 01:56 AM
I have been conducting relative weight studies on my 80 acre lake in Southern California. The bass I have been catching for the last 10 months have an average length of 13.5", avg. weight is 1.25 lbs. and the average relative weight has been 1.01 (lows have been .82 and highs of 1.29) Fish lengths have ranged from 11.5" to 15.75". Most are 12" - 13". No one has caught a fish better than 16" for almost a year now. In the past years when we had a giant shad population we caught a fair number of 3 - 5 lb. bass. I fish a lot of lakes and catch lots of fish over 7 lbs. in other lakes (wish I could say that about my lake), so I am not lacking in ability to target and catch big fish if I had them in my lake.
I have been trying to remove all bass under 16" throughout the year. Since August we have removed 1,240 bass under 16" - this equates to approx. 15.5 lbs. per acre removed so far to date (in 10 months). Is the right approach I am taking? Keep culling to get more larger fish in the lake?
My question is should I continue removing as many bass as possible (under 16") even if the RW is averaging better than 1.0? My understanding from what I have been reading at this site is to remove a minimum of 10 lbs. regardless of a high RW. Best I have read is to remove 20 lbs. of bass from a lake annually to produce more better than 16". Is this right?
I think we have too many bass in the lake and lack an adequate population of bluegill. I am waiting to see if we still do in fact have any thread fin shad population as we have not seen them now for 2 years. Generally the shad are running the shore and spawning in the great years of the past. I have not been metering any shad, nor seen any in shallow water or on the surface in deeper water. The loons that used to be thick on the lake didn't even come around this year - no shad - no loons I figure.
Currently the water temp in the lake is 70 degrees and water visibility ranges from 24" to 36". I have not fertilized the lake this year or in the past. The bass are finishing their spawn right now and there are only a few bed fish left. There is lots of fry around in the trees that extend out to about 5 - 10' surrounding the lake. I rarely if ever see a bluegill in the lake until they spawn and then there are only a few groups of them in only a few locations. The bluegill in the lake are all giants with most in the 6 - 9" in length.
Thanks all!
Dave
I have been trying to remove all bass under 16" throughout the year. Since August we have removed 1,240 bass under 16" - this equates to approx. 15.5 lbs. per acre removed so far to date (in 10 months). Is the right approach I am taking? Keep culling to get more larger fish in the lake?
My question is should I continue removing as many bass as possible (under 16") even if the RW is averaging better than 1.0? My understanding from what I have been reading at this site is to remove a minimum of 10 lbs. regardless of a high RW. Best I have read is to remove 20 lbs. of bass from a lake annually to produce more better than 16". Is this right?
I think we have too many bass in the lake and lack an adequate population of bluegill. I am waiting to see if we still do in fact have any thread fin shad population as we have not seen them now for 2 years. Generally the shad are running the shore and spawning in the great years of the past. I have not been metering any shad, nor seen any in shallow water or on the surface in deeper water. The loons that used to be thick on the lake didn't even come around this year - no shad - no loons I figure.
Currently the water temp in the lake is 70 degrees and water visibility ranges from 24" to 36". I have not fertilized the lake this year or in the past. The bass are finishing their spawn right now and there are only a few bed fish left. There is lots of fry around in the trees that extend out to about 5 - 10' surrounding the lake. I rarely if ever see a bluegill in the lake until they spawn and then there are only a few groups of them in only a few locations. The bluegill in the lake are all giants with most in the 6 - 9" in length.
Thanks all!
Dave