Here is more data on my Bass. We started using Fishtagger.com in August of 2006. We tagged 11 fish in 2006. Of these 11 fish, we caught 5 of them again in 2007. Here is a summary of the data on the last catch in 2006 vs. the first catch in 2007. I am an engineer so I love data.

Bass #2500 (up 16 oz and 1�)
09-30-2006 (3 lbs 8 oz; 19�)
03-08-2007 (4 lbs 8 oz; 20�)

Bass #2503 (up 9 oz and .25�)
08-28-2006 (4 lbs 7 oz; 19.75�)
06-02-2007 (5 lbs 0 oz; 20�)

Bass #2506 (flat)
09-01-2006 (5 lbs 0 oz; 22�)
09-01-2007 (5 lbs 0 oz; 22�)

Bass #2511 (down 2 oz; same length)
09-28-2006 (5 lbs 2 oz; 21�)
06-02-2007 (5 lbs 0 oz; 21�)

Bass #2501 (down 7 oz; up 1�)
03-30-2006 (3 lbs 11 oz; 19�)
06-04-2007 (3 lbs 05 oz; 20�)

Of the five fish, two gained weight (16 and 9 oz), one was flat, and two lost weight (2 and 7 oz). Is this data typical of an overpopulated pond? I would assume in a perfect world you would be expecting all the Bass to get bigger.

On all the other bass we have caught multiple times, I have also notices a downward weight trend as the summer passes. Is it common to see a downward weight trend as the summer passes? This could explain the reason for the two fish that show a weight gain. The 2006 catches were in Aug and Sep while the 2007 catches where in Mar and June. Same for the one that lost the most; 2006 catch in March and the 2007 catch was in June. The one fish that was flat was actually caught on the same day in 2006 and 2007 (Sep 1st is Bass #2506 unlucky day).

I am trying to justify (to my self) my decision to remove a certain amount of bass 12� and under. I am thinking of going with 360 lbs of bass removed (12 acres * 30#/acr) instead of 500 lbs, until we get an electrofishing survey to better define the population distribution. Even 360 lbs of 12� bass is going to be hard to do with a line and pole. That is two 12� bass a day for 6 months. That adds up quick. I am also going to start removing all crappie (both by fishing and if and when I do an electrofishing survey).

Another fact I am using in my justification is that on average (41 catches over 3 lbs) we average 85.9% of the Standard weight. Is this percentage of standard weight an indication of over populated bass? I am using Length^3/1600 for my standard weight calculation. Of course this is data is only on our larger Bass. We will start this year on gathering data on all bass caught. Is this the correct formula for Standard Bass weight? Should we start recording girth?

I am just getting started in the Lake Management for big Bass. For the last 1-1/2 years we have been released all bass. I also just ordered the �Raising Trophy Bass� by Bob Lusk. I am looking forward to reading it.


12 acre lake in NE Oklahoma