Tournament Angling

Jake Koebernik
2/23/2011

Tournament Angling Affecting Largemouth Bass

Fishing is one of the most popular hobbies in America. It is by far my favorite sport and I spend most of the summer tournament fishing for bass. For those that do not know, the object of a bass tournament is to catch five bass and weigh them in at the end of the tournament. The goal is for your five bass to weigh more than anyone else’s catch. The fish usually must be fourteen inches or larger, depending on what lake the tournament takes place. The individual who weighs in the five heaviest bass is the winner. During the tournament, when a fisherman catches a bass and it is of legal size, the bass is placed in a livewell. A livewell is a holding tank on the boat that circulates fresh water and oxygen to keep the fish alive and healthy. Livewells have come a long way in keeping the fish as healthy as possible, but there is a new threat to largemouth bass and tournament anglers.

In 1991 the Largemouth Bass Virus (LMBV) was found in Lake Weir, Florida. Then four years later, a fish kill of approximately 1,000 fish occurred in a South Carolina lake infected with LMBV. Now the virus has spread all across the Eastern United States and has come as far north as Wisconsin. The virus is spread by largemouth bass coming in close contact with each other, and this occurs during every bass tournament while the fish are in the livewell. The bass can be in the livewell for the duration of the tournament, possibly up to eight hours. This gives ample time for the virus to infect the healthy bass that are in the same livewell. When the virus infects a fish, the fish will be fatigued, weak, and has the potential of death. Not all bass that become infected die but many do, especially the older, larger fish. Studies have shown that largemouth bass are the only species affected by this virus, which is interesting to me. How can a virus specifically affect one species when there are so many other fish species, including a very close relative of the largemouth, the smallmouth bass? As I already mentioned, the virus is relatively new and studies are still being done to learn more about the physiology and effects of infected bass.

This virus truly scares me. I love to bass fish and don’t want to see huge numbers of bass dying because of tournament fishing. However, there are some solutions on the horizon to elude this problem causing virus. For some of the larger tournaments in the Southern United States the tournament format has changed. Instead of keeping fish in the livewell all day until the weigh in, there are “marshals” that ride along with the fisherman and record what they caught. After the fish is recorded, it is immediately released. This is a great way to avoid spreading the disease, but there are so many smaller tournaments across the U.S. that doing this for every tournament would be impossible. Another way to avoid this problem is to have “big bass” tournaments, where the angler brings in one fish to the scale, it being the biggest fish they caught. This type of tournament is becoming more popular across the country. The only way to hinder the spread of this virus is to keep the health of the fish and fishery in mind when fishing or boating. Hopefully LMBV will be controlled better in the future with the cooperation of anglers and tournament directors, while educating the public on the issue.

References:
“Largemouth Bass Virus (LMBV) and Its Effects on Largemouth Bass Resources in Florida.” Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. 23 Feb. 2011. http://research.myfwc.com.