Outsmarting the bass boats

[ApS]

Originally Posted by NBR

Accordng to DATA kept by Fish and Game bass catch rates vary slightly by year, over and below a .25 fish per hour rate from 1996 to 2005. The 10 year average has been .26 fish per hour. So the theory that bed fishing results in fewer fish is not substantiated by data...Bass are tough and survive C&R.

1) Was that for Lake Winnipesaukee?

2) I'm seeing more Bass boats using "fish-finders" to anchor neon floats around "structure". Bass-fishing technology could account for the steady numbers.

3) The question of wildlife dependent on numbers wasn't addressed by your answer. How many C&R Bass weighed between 1-and 9-ounces?

Originally Posted by NBR

The life span of smallmouth bass is 6 to 14 years so 10 year data pretty much covers.

1) It would—but you have no baseline!

2) What was the baseline for the overall quantity of Bass in Lake Winnipesaukee at any time earlier?

(That formerly supported New Hampshire's non-game wildlife—as well as fishermen. Consider that before the disclosure of Mercury-sequestration in Bass populations, "C&R" was not a common practice.)