Initial and Delayed Mortalities of Largemouth Bass Captured in the 1973 National Keowee B.A.S.S. Tournament

Tournament-caught largemouth bass were compared with hatchery bass to determine survival rates of bass injected or uninjected with oxytetracycline. Significant mortality rates occurred only in injected tournament-caught bass held in plastic pools. Hatchery controls, uninjected tournament bass and injected tournament bass held in hatchery ponds exhibited mortality rates similar to each other. Survival was best in hatchery ponds, but not significantly better than in pools except for injected tournament-caught bass.