OK so as a heads up I will follow up with a paper I just read that will suggest that it isn't required. I am hoping to spark up some conservation about this topic and also hope to understand prevailing ideas and the extent to which they are pervasive. To be sure, only a few short months ago I would have told you that it is absolutely necessary and that low quantities of this size class would greatly reduce growth of fish > 21". The paper I read suggested that a mass size ratio of 100 to 1 of predator to prey (piscavorous relationship) is most appropriate in a sustainable ecosystem. For an 8 lb bass, the corresponding length of BG is between 4 and 4 1/2 inches or between 1/6 to 1/5 the length of the LMB. This 1/6 to 1/5 length ratio is predominate for all LMB weight classes studied (the largest which was ~ 15"). So not much data on trophies but these are rare and hard to collect data on.
Your thoughts and supporting arguments are welcome.
Last edited by jpsdad; 12/04/18 09:11 AM.
