Daniel A. Garren

Trophy Largemouth Bass Abundance and Harvest in a Central Virginia Impoundment: Implications for Restrictive Slot Limits

Briery Creek Lake is a 342-ha impoundment in central Virginia that has become widely recognized as having Virginia's premier trophy largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) fishery. We estimated largemouth bass density (fish/ha) using a multiple census mark-recapture technique along a 3.2-km section of shoreline and by using the Leslie catch-depletion technique in a 4.1-ha cove. An access point creel survey was conducted in 1999 and 2000 to estimate angler catch and harvest. We used a dynamic pool model to simulate the effects of a newly imposed 356-610 mm protected slot limit with respect...

Seasonal Movement and Distribution of Smallmouth Bass in a Virginia Impoundment

We described seasonal movements of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) in Lake Moomaw, a 1,024-ha western Virginia impoundment, using ultrasonic telemetry in combination with a mark-recapture tagging study. Documentation of lake sections occupied over the course of a 2-year period was used to assess the extent and magnitude of spring migrations of bass to the headwaters of the reservoir. Fish using the headwaters during the spring were drawn mainly from adjacent areas within 9 km of the headwaters, although fish from as far away as the dam were recovered in the headwater area. Use of...