How Well Does a Closed Season Protect Spawning Bass in Ontario?

1. How Well Does a Closed Season Protect Spawning Bass in Ontario? Mark Kubacki, Frank Phelan, Julie Claussen and David Philipp American Fisheries Society Symposium (2002) Chris Carman

2. Spawning Overview • Largemouth and smallmouth bass • Temperatures near 15° C. • Males guard nests and fry • Are extremely aggressive

3. Self-sustaining populations • Closed fishing periods • Catch and release regulations • Length/harvest limit combinations

4. Ontario Regulations • Closed season from Oct. 15/Nov. 30 – last Saturday in June • Eliminate harvest of male bass • Maximize reproductive success

5. How well does the closed season coincide with the full reproductive period? What percent of angling effort targets nesting bass during the closed season? Major Questions

6. Ontario Study Areas • Lake Opinicon • Charleston Lake • Mississippi River (tributary of the Ottawa River) • St. Lawrence River

7. Methods • Monitored reproductive effort • Twice on weekdays, once on weekends • 1990 - 2001 • Assessed angling effort • Twice on weekdays, once on weekends • 1990 - 1992

8. Major Findings • Smallmouths guard broods longer than largemouths • SMB 18 ~ 31 days • LMB 12 ~ 23 days • Fry develop and become independent quicker in waters that warm quickly

9. Figure 1. Annual Variation

10. Table 1. Successful Completion

11. Table 2. Angler Effort

12. Recommendations • 30-40 percent of littoral area designated as a seasonal sanctuary • Duration determined by spawning schedules of resident bass • Remainder of lake catch-and-release

13. As a result… • Cleaner definitions of legal/illegal angling activities • Easier and more effective enforcement • Decreased interaction between anglers and lakeshore property owners

14. Further Studies • Relationships between numbers of adults and size of year class • Measuring if/how angling for nesting bass impacts recruitment

15. Questions