Legal Size for Bass in Michigan

Discover a story about Michigan`s perch fishing boom. Found in most of the country`s lakes and streams, yellow perch are at the top of the food chain in many of these waters, feeding on many types of minnows or smaller fish, as well as crayfish, frogs, leeches and just about everything. It is not uncommon to find strange objects – even small birds and turtles – in their stomachs. Although high-quality table food – especially small mouths – perches today are valued more for their sporting qualities than as food. The vast majority of self-proclaimed fishermen say they always release their catch. Since bass are an effective predator, there is evidence that the greater size limitation of bass has helped improve panfish dynamics. This is especially true for blue gills, which can be prone to stunting (individuals remaining small) when their populations become excessively large in a body of water. That`s because anglers can now fish both bigmouth and smallmouth perch species year-round in Michigan, as long as they release them immediately until the “possession season” arrives later this summer. Page 23 -23 – Table 6. — Yield per 1,000 pounds of recruits for largemouth bass at four different operating rates and minimum sizes Minimum utilization rate 0.20.1 0.35 0.55 0.70 (inches) (1/2 p) (1 p) (2 p) (3 p) 8.0 2.446 2.808 2.820 2.898 10.0 2.461 3.137 3,590 3.987 12.0 2.187 2.990 3.675 4.207 14.0 1.243 1.933 2.781 3.458 16.0 731 1, 188 1,815 2,343 18.0 166,287,468,621 V Current mortality per fishery p, equal to 0.581. Page 22 -22 – Table 5.

— Lake F Permanent Harvest Hours and Fishing Years Regulations (lbs/crop size (acres)). Size (hectares). acre) (lb/acre) Pro acre Regulati 1 2 Fife (619) V 1946-53 0.9 3.7 V 86 Closed season 10-inch height limit 1954-58 0.9 77 110 Sugarloaf Mountain (180) 16-inch size restriction 10-inch height limit in closed season 1946-53 6.4 6.6 1954-58 2.5 109 16-inch size restriction 10-inch height limit in closed season Duck (630) 1946-53 4.7 111 1954-58 5.0 125 No size limit Fine (320)V 1946-53 2.4 157 Season closure 10-inch size limit 1954-58 2. 7,111 No size limit Pontiac (585) 1946-53 5.4 209 Closed season 10-inch height limit 1954-58 8.4 137 Whitmore (680) K/ 1946-53 2.9 8.1 93 No closing season Closed season 10-inch height limit 1954-58 4.3 96 No closing season Season closure 10-inch height limit Bear (1,740) * 1946-53 1.4 33 1954-58 2.5 45 Lower Loch Alpine (12.5) V Haut-Loch Alpine (10.9). 1950 1951 6.5 30.2 0.2 12.2 19 7 No closing season Season closure 10-inch size restriction Season closure 10-inch height limit ff Creel census data from unpublished manuscripts of K. E. Christensen, 1962. V Estimates of tagging and catches of legally sized fish for Lake Fife, 1950; Sugarloaf Mountain, 1948-50; and Whitmore, 1953 (Cooper, 1952; Cooper and Schafer, 1954).

a Ernte- und Standkulturdaten von Lagler und DeRoth, 1953. The catch-and-release season for largemouth bass and black bar is open year-round in almost all waters (unless fishing is closed). Page 17 – 17 – The barrier limit seems to be ineffective in general to limit catches or to ensure a more even distribution among fishermen, but in a recreational sense it offers an objective to be achieved. The closed season has the potential to limit catches, as does the minimum size limit. Although yellow perch are easily caught in the spring, apparently more easily than during the rest of the year, there is no evidence of depletion of bass populations at the extraction rates existing at the time of the experimental seasons. In the model, which essentially simulates a spring season that opened on June 1, biomass appeared marginal as a spawning stock only at very high catch rates. Perhaps a seasonal restriction combined with minimum size restrictions would be desirable if exploitation becomes extreme at some point in the future, or as an alternative to a size restriction if hook losses prove significant. Page 19 -19 – Table 2. — Mortality reported for largemouth barch Mortality Water author Total Natural Fishing a v u Sugarloaf L., Mich. Whitmore L., Mich. Jewett L., Mich L. Fort Smith, Ark.

Millerton L., California Clear L., California Sutherland Res., California Folsom L., California Merle Collins Res., California L. Berryessa, California Folsom L., California Ridge L., Ill. Shoe L., Gordy L., Ind. Gladstone L., Minn. Dryden L., N.Y. Norris Res., Tennessee Norris Res., Tennessee. South Holston Res., Tennessee Watauga Res., Tennessee. Brown`s L., Wise.

Cooper and Latta, 1954 Cooper and Schafer, 1954 Patriarch, 1958-196 1, 1963 Cole, 1966 Fisher, 1953 Kimsey, 1957 La Faunce et al. , 1964 Rawstron, 1967 Rawstron & Hashagen, 1972 Rawstron & Reavis, 1974 Rawstron & Reavis, 1974 Bennett, 1954 Ricker, 1942 Gerking, 1952 Maloney et al., 1962 Green, 1973 Eschmeyer, 1942 Manges, 1950 Chance, 1955 Chance, 1955 Mraz & Threinen, 1957 0,70 0,35 0,35 0,42 0,20 0,22 0,38 0,06 0,56 0,70 0,89 0. 71 -0.92 0.35 -0.40 0.60 0.61 0.40 0.36 0.34 0.49 0. 11 -0.56 0.05 -0. 11 0.24 0.47 0.26 0. 08 -0.47 0.32 0.20 0.20 0.36 0.40 0.36 -0.65 0.58 0.47 0. 25 -0.30 0.20 0.36 0.14 0. 14 0. 18 0.

18 0,41 0,42 0,24 0,12 0,12 Seite 31 -31 – o-Michigan (Clady,1970) *-Maine (Kelley, 1962) e-Minnesota (Vessel & Eddy,1941) 80 – 70 0 a) 11 E LL CD 00 On 00 (-. 0 0 — 0* 60 50 * 0 0 e 40 0 30 e 0 e O O e 0 ~O 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ~e o e~ 0 0 *0 20 0 c2 0 10 h 0 e 0 o IK 0ir 0 I I I V 10 12 14 16 18 20 Gesamtlänge der Fische in Zoll Abbildung 2.