Randall A. Myers

Recent studies have shown that black bass (Micropterus spp.) tournament angling continues to increase. The magnitude and implications of tournament-fish mortality have been studied often; however, the economic value of tournament angling has rarely been assessed. We determined the economic value of black bass tournament angling at Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Texas. A total of 25,396 participants competed in 405 tournaments occurring from November 2007 to October 2008. The majority of tournaments (75%) had <50 participants and required an organization membership (bass club). Lower open...

Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) die-offs attributed to largemouth bass virus (LMBV) occurred during 1998 at Sam Rayburn Reservoir and 1999 at Lake Fork, Texas. We assessed largemouth bass electrofishing catch per unit effort (CPUE), mean length at age 3, relative weight (Wr), and angling success before (pre-LMBV) and after (post-LMBV) fish kill periods to address concerns that LMBV had negatively impacted the largemouth bass populations and fisheries at these two popular Texas reservoirs. There was no decline in angling catch rates, mean length at age 3, or Wr in the post-LMBV...

We assessed the economic contribution of black bass tournament angling to the total economic value of the black bass (Micropterus spp.) fishery from 1 March 2001 to 28 February 2002 at O. H. Ivie Reservoir, Texas, a popular black bass tournament reservoir in rural west Texas. Creel surveys and mail-out questionnaires were used to estimate number of black bass tournaments, black bass tournament and non-tournament angling effort, and direct angling expenditures. An estimated 147 black bass tournaments were held on the reservoir during the study period. Despite the high number of tournaments...

We compared post-release mortality of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) caught with treble hook lures, soft plastic worms, and live common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Also, we evaluated relations between mortality, bait type, anatomical hooking location, bleeding occurrence, and fish total length (TL). Thirty fish were caught with each bait type during each of 2 angling events conducted at Lake Umphrey, Texas, during August 1995, tagged and held for 72 hours in a cage located in the lake. Mortality ranged from 13% to 33% across bait types and angling events and was not related to bait...