Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations smallmouth question

some of you are aware that i have smallmouth in my north texas pond. Today i caught my first one on rod and reel.A beautiful 6-8 inch fish that really looked healthy.Only one problem.He promplty died The fight was short, but he was hooked deep enough to bleed just slightly.I remember reading HSB don't tolerate being caught in water over 80 deg. Does the same hold true for SMB? I checked my water temp, and it is in the mid-80's. If so, what should i let my water temp fall to before fishing for them again?
thanks folks,

This is truly a sad, sad day.

Was our smallie hooked down in the gullet?

I'm observing a moment of silence right now (including no typing)..........
.
.
.
...OK.

This sad event will require all B.I.S.A. members to pay a small contribution of $10,000.00 to the Brothers-In-Smallmouth-Association. Just make the check payable to me, or use wire transfer if you prefer.

Sunil,my brother,

Misery truly does love company..just knowing you are hurting too..somehow makes it more bearable...really though, don't you think money would just cheapen the occasion :rolleyes: unless of course it were directed to final expenses associated with the untimely demise of our finy friend

howard, as you may know, B.I.S.A. has been very near insolvency for some time now because of widespread member apathy regarding membership dues.

Accordingly, all funeral contributions have been suspended until further notice.

As an option, may I suggest that we intitiate a scholarship fund in the name of our dearly departed friend?

I think , due to their size and newness I would hold off hooking any until cool fall temps lower the water temps into the low 70s. You can still fish for them just use a lure without a hook. It is still fun to see if you can get them to bite and on what and where. I will check on temp related morts in SMB and post what I find.

How is this for quick info ? FYI 37C = 98.6F.


Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 109:617-625, 1980
Effects of Elevated Temperature on Growth and
Survival of Smallmouth Bass
WILLIAM B. WRENN


Considering that the minimum temperature
was 35 C on 9 days, I concluded that the
lethal limit was greater than 35 C and that it
was probably as high as 37 C. Other studies
support the second conclusions L.arimore and Duever
(1968) reported an upper lethal temperature
of 38 C for smallmouth bass fry, and, basing
their results on laboratory temperature-avoidance experiments and field observations S, tauffer
et al. reported that smallmouth bass could
tolerate 35 C. An upper incipient lethal temperature f
or smallmouth bass, as classically de -
fined (see Brungs and Jones 1977), was not
found in the literature The lethal temperature
of 35 C reported by Cherry et al. (1977) was
derived on the basis of a single death during a
7-day exposure period. This value (35 C) was
used as a reference level In the present study
because it was the highest lethal temperature
reported for juvenile or adult smallmouth bass.....
As a result of the growth and survival of
smallmouth bass in the present study , we found
that the temperature tolerance of this species
is quite broad, which is typical of a warmwater
species. According to the proposed temperature
classification for freshwater fish by Hokanson(
1977), smallmouth bass more closely fits
the category of a temperature theme: species
(including largemouth bass and carp, Cyprinus
carpio) that have an ultimate incipient lethal
limit greater than 34 C and a physiological optimum greater than 28 C.

Howard all fish caught in 85 degree water are subject to stress from angling mortaality, some more than others.

I am curently transferring 1#+ HSB from "grow-out" pond and I have not lost a fish, butI am paying close attention to details.

I am fishing at first light, using a lip gripper and never touchlng the fish, and placing them in a oxygenated live well that has been treated wiith a handfull of rock salt.

We had rain the last two evenings and water is cooler at first light. I'll be on the water shortly.

Ewest has a good idea to fish hookless - have fun getting strikes until cooler fall temps.

Sorry about your LMB loss
I'm a "probationary app[icant to Sunil's SMB club
I love to catch them on Lake Texoma

You know, I think somewhere inside my thick skull i knew i shouldn't have been fishing for those smallies this time of year.Not the first time iv'e read about the heat and fish mortality.I think I'm just one of those kids that won't listen to moma,but has to put his hand in the fire to determine if it's really hot

thanks for the reinforcement folks....

I did that, too. Then I put the second hand in, to see if the first hand was correct.
:rolleyes:

Theo..you are one twisted individual

Can I ask a stupid question here. When you guys are talking SMB - do you mean real smallmouth bass (ie the prize fighting bronze back from north-o-the-mason-dixon fame)??

Or are we talking HSB/Wipers?

I was on the phone with a hatchery the other day and they were talking about "smallmouth" for 10 mins before I figured out they really meant HSB.

SMB means Micropterus dolomieu--the real deal, bronzeback prizefighter.

SMB means the real deal

Micropterus dolomieu Lacep�de, 1802


http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=3382

not a HSB.

Gents, thanks for helping Jeff F. out with those photos.

The first is me when I was in my mid-thirties, and Indian.

The second is me when I was in my fifties, and white.

At any rate, Jeff F., was the hatchery in Georgia?

Readers, keep in mind that the data Ewest provided above (July 11th post) are from laboratory stuides and they did not involve: 1. hooking from angling, 2. bleeding from angling, and 3. stressful excercise to exhaustion causing intense lactic acid buildup in mussle tissue. I think those factors will significantly lower the upper lethal temparature limit for SMB.

I can't stop laughing. Does that make me a bad person, or just make "Mr. Diversity" one?

Yes - it was a Georgia hatchery.

I had no idea that you could do SMB in a texas pond....I figured the heat would be too much. Nebraska...sure....Ohio, PA - yeah got it...but Texas....I just figured the heat would kill em off by June....if they can be raised in TX, I should be able to do it in SC I think.

Are hatcheries in the south producing SMB or do we have to get them from up north and bring em down? Are you guys stocking them with LMB or just using the bronzies as the top predator?

I feel good now...looks like I learned something new today...now I know enough about SMB in hot weather locations to be really really dangerous.