A STUDY OF FACTORS AFFECTING THE CATCHING OF LARGFMOUTH BASS, {MICROWERUS SALMOIDES) AND SMALLMOUTH BASS. {MI-CROPTERUS DOLOMIEUI) WITH HOOK AND LINE Thais for the Degree of M. S. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Jack GIann Mali - . I962 . LIBRARY Michigan State University S 1.10134; A STUDY OF FACTORS AFFECTING THE CATCHING 0F LARGEMOUTH BASS, (MICROPTERUS SALMOIDES) AND SMALLMOUTH BASS, (MICROPTERUS 90L0M__I_§I_J;) WITH HOOK AND LINE By fin I JACK GLENN MELL A THESIS Submitted to the College of Agriculture of Michi an State University in partial fulf§llment of.the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Department of Fisheries and Wildlife 1962 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis is the result of the efforts of many. Without the help of others, my work could not have been done. A word of thanks to the fishermen who shared the boat with me when making comparison studies. I am also greatful to Dr. G. W. Mouser for encouraging me to keep with the study and his confidence in me when I greatly needed it. My thanks go out to the Sport Fishing Institute who in part, sponsored my research. I Thanks go to Dr. E. W. Roelofa, for keeping me ever mindful of the scientific approach, dispite my frequent tendency to overlook this very important principle, and for the encouragement and the great amount of personal time devoted to the study. ii ABSTRACT A STUDY OF FACTORS AFFECTING THE CATCHING OF LARGEMOUTH BASS, (MICROPTERUS SALMOIDES) AND SMALLMCUIH BASS, (MLCBCPTERUS DCLCMIEg;) WITH HOOK AND LINE BY Jack Glenn Mell For three summers, records were kept on largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, and smallmouth bass, Micropterus dolomieui, caught by hook and line to determine under what conditions bass strike. On each fishing trip, date were collected on the phase of the moon, wind direction, barometric pressure, air temperature, water temperature, water-surface disturbance, color of bait, and sky condition. Most of the data were collected in Diamond Lake, Cass County, Michigan, trolling an underwater lure at night. Over 1500 bass were caught during the period of study. Of the bass taken in Diamond Lake, 319 were tagged and re- leased to check their movement. Ninety-four were sacrificed for stomach analysis. No one stimulus was found to be the controlling factor in causing bass to strike a lure. Tagging experiments showed most bass confined their movements to small areas in the lake. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS IN'I'RODUGTIONOIOOOQODIIIJICOOICCCOOIQIIICIeIaea.cease. METHODS...osones.soaaeaaeaeeeaeaeaseeoflsesststitoetea BAROMETRIC PRESSURE.................................. MOON PHASE........................................... WIND DIRECTION....................................... 'WIND (SURFACE) DISTURBANCE........................... ‘WATER TEMPERATURE......................-............. AIR TEMPERATURE...................................... O mnmeeeaaseeeeOaaassoc-0000.0IGUOiOOIOOOQI'IIIOOII‘QO,IOI STOMACH FULLNESS...............5..a.ao8{Elisaa‘san-guuni TIM 0F.INIGHTIQOIOIIIIQQQIOvtidloiifillOlCI‘I..‘.C._.CIII-..o COLOR OF BAIT...............................J........ TACCINC..................... ..... .................... DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS........................... LITERATURE CITED..................................... iv Page 11 12 13 15 17 18 19 20 25 28 39 LIST OF TABLES TABLE. 1. Number of bass caught under rising,’falling, or steady barometer............................. 2. Analysis of variance for data in Table 1........ 3. Number of bass caught under different phases of the moon..................................... 4. Analysis of variance for data in Table 3........ 5. Number of bass caught under different wind dir.ction.0...l.....COOIOOOUO0.0IOOCOOOIOIOIOOI. 6. Analysis of variance for data in Table 5........ 7. Number of bass caught under different degrees of surface disturbance.......................... 8. Analysis of variance for data in Table 7........ 9. Number of bass caught under different water t.mp.r.tur...0......000000'000...0.000.000.0I0000 10. Analysis of variance for data in Table 9........ 11. Number of bass caught at different air temperatur..I.IIIIIOOOOOCOUOOCO...0......OOIO... 12. Analysis of variance for data in Table 11....... 13. Number of bass caught during the months of May through September........................... 1“. Analysis of variance for data in Table 13....... 15. Number of bass with their degree of stomach inllne‘.........COOCOOOOOOOOOOOCOC00.000.000.00. 16. Number of bass caught during different hours Df th. night...‘........00....‘0.00......0000000 17. Number of bass caught on different colored Shannon.ooeoaO...OOOOOOOCOIIOOOIQOeOeIeoaseeease Page 11 11 12 12 13 13 15 15 17 17 18 19 20 TABLE Page 18. Number of bass caught on different colors of artificial nightcrawlers..................... 2h 19. Summary of bass tagged and recaught in Di.mond Lak.00000IOOOOOIOOOOIOOOOOOO0.0.0.000... 26 20. Summary of bass tagged and recaught in B.rr°n “RQIOICCCOOOIOOIICOIOOOOOOIOOOOOOIIII... 27 vi INTRODUCTION Many explanations for bass behavior by fishermen and professional sports writers are found in numerous publications. Their findings and reasons for the findings often vary to the point of being contradictory. However, many of these explan- ations are based on limited observations, hunch, or faulty interpretation rather than on scientific research. The older methods and ideas of bass fishing have been so widely accepted that few challenged or questioned them enough to try otherwise. For example, many experts have said that evening, night, and early morning are the times bass strike best, so most bass fishing takes place during these periods. We did challenge the old ideas and sayings by. fishihg at various times and under varied conditions to see which if any of the older ideas had any validity. The field work was conducted during the months of May through September in 1959 and 1960, and June through the first part of August in 1961. Only limited fishing was con- ducted in May and September. I The majority of our research was conducted in Diamond Lake and Barron Lake, Cass County, Michigan. Since most of out data were taken in Diamond Lake, the following infor- mation about the lake is included from an unpublished survey report prepared by the Michigan Conservation Department, Fish Division, in November of 1958:' "The area of Diamond Lake is 1021 acres. The maximum depth at the time of mapping was 6h feet. Shoal (water less than 15 feet deep) comprises about 60 percent of the area. The bottom soil on most of the shoal is marl, but there are extensive deposits of sand, gravel, and rocks adjacent to to the shoreline; patches of peat bottom occur close to the small bay at the south end of the lake and in the small bay at the south-east corner. Marl is the bottom soil in the deeper parts of the basin." "---A thermocline (zone in which the temperature drops abruptly at successive depth levels toward the bOttom) oc- cured between 32 and 40 feet. ---Dissolved oxygen in suffi- cient quantity to meet the need of fish occurred from the surface to 30 feet. The supply was sharply reduced at 3h feet, and at 40 feet there was only a trace." "As is characteristic of marl—bottom lakes, the water of Diamond Lake is fairly hard. The methyl orange test for alkalinity gave values that ranged from 135 to 165 parts per million of dissolved mineral salts (mainly lime)." "On the whole, acquatic vegetation is not plentiful in this lake. Floating and emergent types of plants are sparse, while submergents are sparse to medium. Water milfoil (myriophyllum) wild celery (Vallisnerig), and two musk- grasses (92223 and Nitella) are the more prevalent plants." "---The results show that growth of largemouth bass, northern pike, and perch in Diamond Lake is above average; growth of 2-year-old bluegills and rock bass is average, 3 while that Of age classes above 2-year-olds in both species is above average. Good evaluations could not be made for smallmouth bass, crappies, or warmouths because of insuf- ficient samples, but indications are that the growth rates of these fish are also above average. The two 6-year—old walleyes were average." "We have no new fisheries management recommendations to offer for this lake. The water contains goodly numbers of a wide variety of fish with good growth rates. ---It is not known why smallmouth bass are not more plentiful. Spawning facilities appear to be excellent. Possibly this species suffers from competition by other fish." Over 1500 bass bere caught during the period of study. Less than 100 of the bass were smallmouth. With five exceptions, all bass included in this data were legal size, 10 inches or more. METHODS Our basic fishing technique was trolling a Shannon Twin Spinner with an Uncle Josh Pork Frog in Diamond Lake at night. The depth trolled ranged between five and fifteen feet of water, close to bottom, or just over weeds if they covered the bottom. At the beginning of each fishing trip, air temperature, barometric pressure, water temperature, phase of moon, wind direction, degree of surface distrubance, turbidity, lake and location, date, personnel, and time were recorded. At the end of each fishing trip, time, hours fished, bass caught, bass lost, number of strikes, species of bass (largemouth or smallmouth), method of fishing, air temper- ature, barometric pressure, and additional comments on tech- nique used were recorded. Since many of the conditions, wind, barometer, etc. Often vary during the fishing period, it is important to fill out another card, in addition to the starting and ending card. Each time a bass was caught, a card was filled out with the following data; lake and location, date, personnel, species of bass, length of fish, bait, method of fishing, time, wind direction, water surface disturbance, sky condi- tion, phase of moon, barometric pressure, location in lake, tag number, and an estimate of stomach fullness, along with additional comments. When figuring time required to catch a bass, time was deducted for tagging, data recording, or other reasons for having the bait out of water. Other methods include casting and spinning with a variety of lures in lakes in the vicinity of Diamond Lake. BAROMETRIC PRESSURE A change of .01 inches of mercury per hour either up or down was chosen to indicate barometric movement. Baro- vmetric movement of less than .01 inches per hour was listed as steady. The only data used in the statistical treatment were those taken when the barometric pressure was increasing, decreasing, or remaining steady during the entire time it took to catch the fish. For example, bass might be taken throughout several hours of a falling barometer. Then the barometer failed to continue its .01 inch-per-hour drop. The first fish caught after the barometer failed to continue its downward trend would not be used in the statistical treatment for this factor, as we could not be sure at what time the barometer changed in its movement. The number of bass taken under the three barometric conditions (steady, rising, and falling) are listed in Table 1. Table 1. Number of bass caught under riSing, falling, or steady barometer. Barometric Number Total time Minutes to pressure - of bass (minutes) catch one bass .§£gidy“~~ 15h 660A #3 Rising 15 600 40 Falling 72 3386 #7 Total 2&1 10590 “3.92 6 Analysis of variance (Table 2) shows no difference in catch rate associated with the barometric condition studied. Table 2. Analysis of variance for data in Table 1. Source of Sum of Degrees Mean Variance variation squares of freedom? square ratio Barometric pressure 1091 2 5u5.5 .a- .HZHZ Residual 308611 2&0 1285.9 MOON PHASE The phase of the moon was recorded as l/h, 1(2, etc. even when the moon was completely covered by clouds and no light appeared in the sky. Notations were then made on the cards that the moon was present but no light could be detected. Bass caught under these conditions (less than 20) were not included in the data in Table 3. If the light from the moon illuminated the sky to any degree, the bass caught were listed in Table 3 under the corresponding moon phase. Bass caught following a change in the visibility of the moon are not included in the data for that particular condition. For example; Several base were caught with no moon. An hour later a bass was caught after a 1/2 moon had risen. This bass was not included in the calculations, inasmuch as the time at which the moon rose was not re- corded. All bass taken later were recorded as taken under 1/2 moon condition. T8913 3. Number of bass caught under different phases of the moon. . Number Total time Minutes to jMoongphege of bass (minuteg) . catch one bass No moon 192_ A? 8452 4_ 44 ya" g 17 612 A 36 g f 1/2 W 29 155a g g 5L: 3/3 ' 19 904 < ‘ as W ,Epll . 92 4592 50 Total 349 16114 . 46.17 Analysis of variance (Table 4) indicates that the moon phase has some effect on bass fishing success. A variance ratio of 2.37 is significant at the 5% lever and 3.32 at the 1% level. Table 4. Analysis of variance for data in Table 3. Source of Sum of Degrees -‘ Mean, Variance variation squares of freedom square ratio_ ‘Moon phase 26743 , 4 6685.8 4.1174 Residual 565074 348_ ‘ » 1623.8 . wright (1943) found from his study on Fish Lake, Utah, that the phase of the moon had no apparent influenCe on fish- ing success when trolling for rainbow and mackinaw trout. However, fly fishing success decreased significantly at times of first quarter moon when moonlight reached the fish— ing area during the normal fishing hours. At times of full moon, a mountain ridge protected the fiShing area during the hours when most of the sport fishing occurred. His conclusions, then, were that moonlight had some influence on fly fishing success, but had no effect on trolling success. 10 It is difficult to understand the results of our study. If light were the essential factor in determining fishing success, a trend in fishing success from lower to higher light intensity would be expected. Such a trend is lacking in our data. WIND DIRECTION The number of bass caught under different wind directions are listed in Table 5. Table 5. Number of bass caught under different wind directions. ‘Wind Number Total time Minutes to girection of bass (minutes) catch one bass west 53 2468 47 Southwest 16‘ 746 as Sggth 104 4124 40 East 34 1674 49 North 61 3236 53 None (nil) 52 2722 52 Total 320 14970 46.78 Analysis of variance (Table 6) shows no significant difference in wind direction. A difference of 2.21 would be necessary to indicate that wind direction had a significant effect on catching bass. The observed variance ratio was only 1.0306. Table 6. Analysis of variance for data in Table 5. Source of Sum of Degrees Mean Variance variation squares of freedom Sguare ratio Wind 949] s _;899.4 1.0306 Residual 587905 319 1843.0 ll WIND ( SURFACE) DISTURBANCE 'When each bass was caught, the wave height was esti- mated (Table 7). No data are included for waves over one foot as the lake became too rough to troll. Table 7. Number of bass caught under different degrees of surface disturbance. Wind (surface) Number Total time Minutes to disturbance of bass (minutes) catch one bass Less than 2" 150 6770 " ' ‘ as" 2" to 5" wave 80 3460 43 5" to 12" wave 27 1002 37 Total 257 11232 43.70 As Table 8 points out, no significant difference in catch rate can be associated with surface disturbance. Table 8. Analysis of variance for data in Table 7. Source of Sum of Degrees Mean Variance variation squares of freedom square ratio Wind (surface) disturbance 1497 2 748.5 .4602 Residual 416346 256 1626.3. 12 WATER TEMPERATURE Table 9 lists the number of bass caught during differ- ent water temperature conditions. Table 9. Number of bass caught under different water tem- peratures. ‘Water Number Total time Minutes to _;ggperature of bass (minutes) catch one bass 80D - 85° F. 98 4728 48 75° - 79.5D F. 203 9954 49 70° - 74.5D F. an 2314 53 65° - 69.5° F. 24 1104 46 Total 369 18100 49.05 Water temperature by itself did not show any significant effect on bass fishing (Table 10). Table 10. Analysis of variance for data in Table 9. Source of Sum of Degrees Mean Variance variation squares of freedom square ratio Water gemperature 1238 3 412.7 .2326 Rgsidual 653032 368 1774.5 According to Bardach and Bjorklund (1957) who studied several species of freshwater fish, a change in water temper- ature of at least .05°C./minute was necessary for the fish to detect. Because of the slow change in a body of water as large as Diamond Lake (the greatest temperature change for a twenty-four hour period was 2°F.), it is doubtful that any changes occured rapidly enough for a fish to detect l3 14 immediately, and therefore rapid changes in their position or behavior pattern in the lake due to temperature changes seem unlikely. AIR TEMPERATURE The air temperature was recorded at the beginning and end of each fishing trip and the difference between the temperatures was adjusted to give the effect of a steadily changing temperature for the nights fishing (Table 11). The air temperature was then assigned for the time the bass was caught. Table 11. Number of bass caught at different air temperatures. Air Number Total time Minutes to tgmperature of bass (minutes), catch one bass ,§p° P~3“'5° F. 17 752 an 15° - 79.5° F. 9a 3594 38 __ 70° - 7u.s° F. 129 5964 46 65° - 69.5° F. 83 4578 55 60° — 64.5° F. 25 1384 55 Total 348 16272 46.76 A significant difference is indicated (Table 12), inas- much as F.95(4,347) = 2.37. Table 12. Analysis of variance for data in Table 11. Source of Sum of Degrees Mean Variance zpriation squares of freedom square ratio A r temperature 14678 44__ 3669.5 2.3879 Essidual 533232 347 *1536.7 I can see no reason why air temperature should affect fishing unless some unseen factor was operating along with 15 16 it indirectly. Perhaps this is one of the 5% of the times that the observed differences are due to chance rather than air temperature. Our method of assigning air temper- ature to each fish may also be responsible for the variance r.t19s MONTH Although it only took an average of forty minutes to catch a bass in August (Table 13), analysis of variance shows that month alone is not responsible for bass fishing success (Table 14). A variance ratio of 2.37 would be necessary to be significant at the 5% level. gpble l . Number of bass caught during the months of May through September. Number Total time Minutes to N La figtffibgpi A (Ill-115E133 fl - catch on' bass Liar ”-1 9# A §03_; -fi5.7-- g; _ fine 1.- A, A 73:4 aszs 9g q _52 w p A July, ,f ; 151 7836 ‘ fig 52 4 August . 127 f 5342 _ 40 September 15 701 47 Total 375 18310 48.90 Table 14. Analysis of variance for data in Table 13. Source of Sum of Degrees ' Mean Variance variation gquares of freedom square ratio Math A _ fifi - 11263 111 fihwfi _2815.8 _ 1.4886 Residgl 707406 374 g 11 18914; I did notice a difference in hooking. More base were snagged around the south instead of _i__g the month during late June or early July than any other time of the year. 17 S TOMACH FULLNESS Solo say whenever a bass strikes he is hungry, although most will concede some fish are caught defending their territory. A total of 94 bass were opened and the degree of fullu ness was estimated. As table 15 points out, base were tskenwwith every degree of stomach fullness. It would seem that the degree of fullness alone is not the reason for a bass to strike a lure. Due to the digestive processes, by chance alone you would expect to find more bass with empty stomachs than full stomachs. However, it is interesting to note that over half of the bass examined had empty or nearly empty stomachs, indicating that hunger may be involved. Table 15. Number of bass with their degree of stomach fullness. E!LLE£§1,._-- - vaumb rrof E!!! Eliot! ~~~~--~~~~ :7 Trace --——~~~—--—_ 19 1/4 to 1/2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ 13 1/2 to 3/4 -~———~~-——-— 13 all *7”'“"” ————— 1 12 18 TIME OF NIGHT The time of night may have something to do with the success of bass fishing. It should be pointed out that the Shannon Twin Spinner was not as effective during daylight hours as it was at night; hence, trolling usually didn't start until the sun was down. However, some bass were taken effectively when there was still enough light to land the bass without the use of a flashlight. Time was not deducted for data recording when determining the number of minutes required to catch one bass in Table 16. Ilble l . Number of bass caught during different hours of the night. Number Total fishing time ‘Minutes to gppgl_~ of bass (gdnutes) catch gap bgss §_._p,u, - 9 p.m. 16 1120 70 fl _9___p,.m_.L - 10 p.m. 47 3530 74 mm, - 11 p.33. 74 4225 57 11pm,L - 12gp.m. 70 -44065 ._ 58 g .12_a3m. f l a,m. 54 Agg3560 w 66 a, ,Lam. .- 2 a.m. 40 2860 - '72 : 2 .‘..,, :1 3 a.m. 27 12605‘fi , 96 - 3 gal, ~ 4 5.m. 27 ,+1825 .1 70 4 agna— Sam. 13 _ 1150 #81 V Total 368 19 COLOR OF BAIT Several different colored bucktails were tried on the Shannon and no significant differences in catch were apparent (Table 17). Tgble 17. Number of bass caught on different colored Shannons. .Qolor 1g 44;3_s__caught Black bucktail a & . Black ----- ~~ 42 Red,bucktail 1959 & 1960 Red ------- “3 k A _. -44 Black bucktail & Black ------- 28 White bucktail 1959 & 1960 White ------ ~ 33 Black bucktail & White bucktail 1961 White ----—-- 17 Black ----- ~- 23 Only fishermen of equal ability to use the Shannon assisted in this phase of the research. These were friends with.whom I have fished for several years, using the Shannon. Even so, the first time out on the study with a new assistant, the data were taken so the assistant might adjust to the study technique but wan-not used in the analysis. The black-colored Shannon was used as a control and all colors tested were compared with it, i. e., I used one color and another fisherman used black or vice versa. 20 ' 21 Each of us used both Shannon colors during the fishing period. For example: If black and red were the colors be- ing tested, we would exchange baits halfuway through the night's fishing period to prevent differences in fishing ability from influencing the results. However, I am certain any difference, if it did exist, would be negligible. Other Shannon colors and combinations of colors were tried to some extent. Samples taken with other colors were perhaps inadequate, but indications are that color did not play an important part in bass fishing success at night. A chi square analysis did not show a difference between red, black, and white, These color comparisons were made over an extended time and it might be possible that under any specific condition one color might be better than another; but would even out over the entire fishing period as the data show. ‘When com- paring colors, four or five bass might be caught with a bait of one color and none on another, and later just the opposite. Brown (1957) states that refraction, reflection, and absorption of light in the water operate to reduce the » amount of light available to the fish’s eye, especially‘with increasing depth and turbidity. Curtis (19h9) points out "~*~in the clearest water, light travels but a comparatively short distance. The fish's sight is probably as good as ours at close range ~~- certainly movement plays a very important part in attracting its attention." According to Curtis (19h9), ability of fish to dis- tinguish color varies with the color. He says, "In the end, 22 the experiment proved that base could tell red from any other color with the exception of violet, and was almost equally sure of yellow. Green and blues were the hardest for him to distinguish from each other and from black." Brightness was proved to play no part as the bass could tell red from shades of gray. Curtis goes on to say "recent experiments have offered convincing proof that actual color rather than brightness is the determining value for at least one species - the large-mouth black bass." Inasmuch as the Shannon was used at night on or near the bottom, it seems possible that color discrimination would be more difficult than in the daytime. We therefore tested certain baits during the daylight hours. Our use of surface baits (mainly a Creek chub Darter) in the daytime, showed that the action given the lure was much more a factor in fishing success than color. It does seem possible that a color resembling a common forage fish in a body of water might be more successful. we did find one indication of this, but I can not draw positive conclus- ions because of the limited number of lakes in.which I have used the Darter. Personal acquaintances at Heddon Bait Company have noted on several occasions that color in some of their baits made the difference between catching a lot of fish or no fish. In one of the instances, the most effective color or bucktail resembled the color of leech the fish'had in their stomachs. Apparently the fish did associate the' colors because they were not caught on other colors of ~23 bucktail. Accordingly, it would seem quite apparent that this was a case of the fish making an association with the color of lure and natural food. Different colors of artificial nightcrawlers were tried and all were essentially equal in effectiveness when given proper action. ‘We tried them on several lakes and could find no color preferences in any of the lakes. I have had many reports about success of some of my fishing associates in other States and sections of Michigan, where they claim color made a difference between successful bass fishing, mediocre fishing, or no base at all. I have not personally .tested their results. ‘we compared every color of artificial nightcrawler we could find. ‘Most of the color comparisons were made during .the afternoon hours as we caught fewer bass in the early morning and late evening than through the middle of the day. The colors used were black, dark red, natural nightcrewler color, light red, black with white spots, yellow, yellow with black spots, and blue. Black was used as a control- color in comparing all the colors. 'When colors of night— crawler were tested, the same companion and I fished during all the time recorded for that color, and we ex- changed nightcrawlers in the middle of the fishing trip. The results are listed in.Table l8. 2h Table 18. Number of bass caught on different colors of artificial nightcrawlers. Color Bass caught Black -------- 35 Red -------- 36 Black ----—--- 32 Blue -------- 28 Black -------- 21 Yellow with -------- 25 black spots Black -~---~-- 13 Black with -----~-- 10 white spots Color comparisons in Table 18 were all taken from the same lake (Magician Lake, Cass County) from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. TAGGING In 1959 and 1960, 319 base were tagged. Most of our base were caught and tagged in Diamond Lake. Both Diamond and Barron lakes were marked off in zones. Pluses and minuses were used to designate the ends of zones. (See map of Diamond Lake in insert on back cover.) The distance from shore where the base were caught was estimated. See Table 19 for tagging data. The tags were attached by a nylon string just below and behind the dorsal fin in about a quarter of an inch of flesh. The small, one-half by one-quarter-inch red plastic tag had a number on one side and the M. S. U. Fish Depart- ment's address on the other side. Generally speaking, the bass showed very little move- ment. It is difficult to determine exact movements as the normal area of movement of certain fish might be at the edges of our arbitrary zones. Hence, I estimated the bass's maximum movement. The fish bearing tag number 3102 was recovered five days later at the exact spot I originally caught the fish --- at the base of a cement pier. I personally know of bass being caught with tags that were not returned, in spite of efforts to-get the infor- mation on the tag. 25 26 , Table 12. NSummary of bass tagged and recaught 1n DiaMond Lake. Tag Date Area first Area Distance umb r ta a can ht re:ggygh;_, ef travel 1312 79.10.60 11-6—60 ’ Y" to c a nu F Uoo y&.T‘Uoo yds. 1179 A_ 7-11.60 from shore) from shorelg hi] fi"’ M (550 ydi. N+ (TE Ft. 1 less than 212§le 7.15-60 from shore) of water 1 0 ds ‘ a? (TOO ydfiT—W y s. ,3102_ 6-11-60 from shore) from shore) n11 A F (50 vaufT- (20 ft. *" 11g] _]-]1.60 from shore)_ of water)__ n11 A K' (100 van. K- (25 Ft. ‘ ‘v" 2227 “6-3-60 from shore)_ of waterl_ nil‘ , 08 ‘-]59‘0 A+ A+ n11 ‘1 W mo m. :282 5-22—60 from share) from shore) nil 11104 fi‘I-l 1-60 33.6 8-20-22 8-11-59 1129 6-20-59_ J-28-59 z to g- L“ z- n” fl Y' Y' ‘ hi! i Q (75 yfi. Q from shore)_; n11 nil Z ,Z A T NIF (30 yas. 5* I55??. 1ess than . from share), from shore): 2501:“I go - 7-8-59 1190 17-22-59 1128' J-Bréz 3170. 7-11-52 32h: 8-18-59 2;: 6-25-60 0- to 1* 0* to 1* n1] ,4 W” W‘ nil 2‘ to Y 2‘ to Y n41 - . less than 0* 6+ _550 yds, mo 8-15-59 3:65 7-10-60 3712 8-8-60 Tm Wu. c (’75 yJi. from shore 1”to I (1 O 8' yds. from at Ieast 300 yds. share), from shorel A (150 ydfiT to r' (100 from shore) yds. from n11 shprel 27 Table 20. Summary of bass tagged and recaught in Barron Lake. Tag Date Date Days Area first Area Distance number tagged recaptured out cau ht re-cau ht of travei F: 5500 yas. F' {200 yds. “ 329 6-2 -60 6-21-60 2 from shore) from shore) nii 1 i 1" 175 Ft. A- (T60 ft. 3132, 6-26-59 47-19-59 23 from shore} from shore) nil 3 y 8. 32h 6-21-12 1-20-59 2] from shore} nii ase o (exact 3102 6-17-59 6-22959 _5 cement aierl spot tagged) nil V3 75 y 8. S 0 t. *Tess than 2503 6-11-59 6-23-59 6 from shorelg from shore) 100 ydsL NT7§ yds. ’0’(§00 Ft. ’Tess than 2123 6-23-59- J-i9-52_ 26 from share) from shore) 200 xds. Although indications are that bass usually confined their movements to small areas in our two lakes, studies with tags on a very small lake by Bell (l9hh) indicate the bass may be moving over the entire lake. Ball tagged fifty- two bass in a lO-acre lake which had a narrow band around the edge and then dropped down quite rapidly to 55 feet. He concluded, "---seven were returned by hook and line or in nets. The returns indicate that the bass roved over the entire lake and showed no tendency to remain in one location." From his work in Douglas Lake, Michigan, Rodeheffer (l9h0) reports very little movement. He set up artificial brush shelters and kept records of the movements between shelters within the lake. Rodeheffer concludes, "The re- sults of three summer's work at Douglas Lake quite definit- ely indicate that there is little movement of the native game fish from one part of the lake to another. Of all the fish marked at several locations in Douglas Lake and loosed at the point of capture none were retaken in distant parts of the lake. Recaptures were made only in the near vicinity of original capture and release." DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS What causes bass to strike is still a partial mystery to me. Each one of the characteristics tested is a study in itself, and our study did not show any one factor to be re- sponsible for fishing success. Probably a combination of stimuli are operating at all times. Fishing success would then depend on the number of stimuli operating in combination at any one time. I have been fishing and had bass begin to strike as if a signal had been given, and then stop just as quickly. At the same time, this condition was also true of several lakes in the nearby area where some of my companions were fishing. This suggests that some atmospheric or meteorological phenom— enon influences bass fishing. It has been said that bass won't bite during a heavy rain with thunder and lightening. At times this is true, but I have experienced very good bass fishing during a severe electrical storm accompanied by heavy rainfall. I have, however, noticed that bass fishing, trolling the Shannon at night, is generally slower after rains. There was not enough fishing time during periods when the northern lights were showing to draw any conclusions; but both good and poor bass fishing was experienced during this condition. 28 29 The section of the study related to the phase of the moon has left me with many new questions. I plan in the future to look into several possibilities such as how well bass strike various colors of a bait during different phases of the moon, feeding periods in relation to position and fullness of the moon, and others. I would even look more deeply into tides, though, on even the largest inland lakes, they are very small; and rays coming through the clouds at night which are not visible to the eye. I feel the most important factor in catching bass is the individual angler's skill and understanding in the use of his particular lure. I have found that skill in operat- ing a lure is usually far more important than color, or even its shape. LITERATURE CITED Ball, Robert C. 19h9. A tagging experiment on the fish population of Third Sister Lake, Michigan. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 74: 360 - 369. Bardach, John E., and Richard G. Bjorklund. 1957. The temperature sensitivity of some American freshwater fishes. Am. Nat., 91: 233 - 251. Brown,‘Margaret E. 1957. The physiology of fishes. Vol. 2. Academic Press Inc., New York. 526 pp. Curtis, Brian. l9h9. The life story of the fish, his morals and manners. Harcourt, Brace and Co. New York. 28& pp. Rodeheffer, Immanuel A. 1941. The movement of marked fish in Douglas Lake, Michigan. Mich..Acad. Sci., 26: 265 "‘ 2800 Wright, Stillman. l9h5. The effect of moonlight on fishing success in Fish Lake, Utah. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 73: 52 - 58. . M 30 mam USE 0m B.M.=IO0.0-CROSS ON TOP OF CEMENT PILLA I CLAPPERS OF CLAPPERS BOAT A MARINE LOADING PIER. 0 $ .. HOSPITAL WATER SURFACE ELEV.=96.5 ; 2/l4/47 S ‘6‘ INSTITUTE FOR FISHERIES RESEARCH . ' g . \ DIVISION OF FISHERIES MICHIGAN CONSERVATION DEPT. e . % LAKE INVENTORY MAP "'5, 5. I SANDY I BEACH ' I s . DIAMOND LAKE q, ' 's.sll as IIns-IlssIsIIlslssla .a_ ' . s __ _ .=. . -- ' ' e AREA IOZOACRES ,, \ a. ""‘ + ”a - . -=,® \‘ \\ , A ~ . MARGINAL SURVEY AND SOUNDINGS I/24-3I & 2/ L3,6,7,8,I I-I4/47 \‘\ “ ® \\\‘ . 0 \‘ r \\ ,’ e \\ ’/ CASS COUNTY T. 6—7 5.,R. 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