Population and Fishery Characteristics of White Bass in Four Large Missouri Reservoirs

Abstract

The population and fishery characteristics of white bass Morone chrysops were determined for four large Missouri reservoirs to help establish meaningful objectives for white bass fisheries. The growth of white bass in Table Rock and Bull Shoals lakes was faster and a higher proportion of fish were larger than 380 mm than in Pomme de Terre Lake and Lake of the Ozarks. Age-4 white bass exceeded 400 mm at Table Rock and Bull Shoals lakes and averaged about 370 mm in the other two. When gender differences in growth could be examined, female white bass grew faster than males in Pomme de Terre Lake and Lake of the Ozarks and were 12-20 mm longer than males for ages 3 and older. Mean relative weights were at least 90 in all reservoirs and exceeded 100 in Table Rock and Bull Shoals lakes. The age structures of white bass populations were similar among all four reservoirs; fish up to age 7 were present, but there was a sharp decline in abundance after age 4. Variable recruitment strongly affected size and age structure in all reservoirs. Total annual mortality, calculated from consecutive years of gill netting, was about 40% through age 4 and 80% thereafter. Tagging studies at Pomme de Terre Lake and Lake of the Ozarks indicated that angler exploitation rates varied annually, ranging from about 15% to 35%. Creel surveys indicated that anglers released most white bass less than 230 mm and that white bass were first harvested at age 1 toward the end of their second growing season. When compared with fish in other reservoirs in southern states, the white bass in these reservoirs exhibited good growth and had moderate rates of total mortality and exploitation. *

Frequency of Strong Year‐Classes: Implications on Fishery Dynamics for Three Life History Strategies of Fishes

“…Therefore, fishery objectives for short-lived species may focus on maximizing the harvest of quality-length individuals. Previous studies evaluating size structure of popular white bass fisheries have reported PSD values greater than 60% in Nebraska (Bauer 2002) and Missouri (Colvin 2002). Our modeling results indicate that similar PSD values could be achieved while minimizing harvest reductions if strong year-classes of white bass occur every 3 years.…”

“…We selected three sport fishes with contrasting life histories to examine how the frequency of strong year-classes affects fishery characteristics. White bass Morone chrysops represented short-lived species, for which typical longevity is less than 5 years (Muoneke 1994;Colvin 2002;Guy et al 2002;Lovell and Maceina 2002;Willis et al 2002) and annual mortality is high (≥50%; Muoneke 1994;Colvin 2002;Schultz and Robinson 2002). We used largemouth bass to represent species of intermediate longevity, characterized by a typical life span of up to 10 years (Heidinger 1976;Carlander 1977) and mean annual mortality between 30% and 50% (Allen et al 2002;Bulak and Crane 2002;Driscoll et al 2007).…”

Self-imposed length limits in recreational fisheries

“…crappie, white bass, and yellow perch. The self-imposed length limits corresponded to sizes observed in other studies that assessed sizes of harvested fish (e.g., Colvin, 2002;Paukert et al, 2002;Isermann et al, 2005;Holley et al, 2009). For example, Isermann et al (2005) found that the mean minimum length of yellow perch harvested by anglers ranged from 21 to 26 cm, depending on the South Dakota lake assessed.…”

White bass population demographics in a northwestern South Dakota reservoir

“…In southern US, waters maximum age apparently is near age 7 (Colvin 2002;Lovell and Maceina 2002), although fish older than age-4 are rare (Muoneke 1994;Colvin 2002). Furthermore, white bass growth was below the statewide average at age 2 (Table 2), although direct comparisons are tenuous because we collected our SR sample in August, when the bass had completed a partial year of growth beyond age 2.…”