Steven M. Sammons

Increasingly, new innovative management approaches are being used in small ponds that contain largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) to increase the quality of largemouth bass fisheries. One approach is to stock additional forage fish. Threadfin shad (Dorosoma petenense) were stocked into two small Alabama ponds (1.9 and 5.3 ha) in 2007, 4 yrs after renovation and restocking with largemouth bass and bluegill (1:15 stocking ratio) to improve largemouth bass relative weight (Wr) and length distributions. Threadfin shad inhabited these two ponds for about 2...

Lewis Smith Lake is an 8,853-ha recreational fishery within the Black Warrior River basin near Jasper, Alabama. A recent study found that striped bass Morone saxatilis do not significantly impact largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides and Alabama bass M. henshalli through competition and predation, though many anglers still believe this to be true. Costs incurred by the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries annual striped bass stocking efforts on Lewis Smith Lake are compared with the regional economic gain from the existence of this fishery. The objectives of this study...

Juvenile largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides; approximately 50 mm total length) were stocked into four ponds (0.9 to 5.3 ha) at a rate of 248 fish ha⁻¹ in late May 2003. Ponds were sampled the following spring to determine population characteristics. Largemouth bass survival ranged from 39% to 57% and appeared to be inversely related to pond size. Growth was rapid, with mean weight increasing from 1.8 g to 200-273 g in 300 days. Faster growing largemouth bass expressed greater relative weights. Catch rates of small (75 to 130 mm) bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus...