Estimating Largemouth Bass Populations in Reservoirs from Catches in Angling Tournaments
We estimated populations of largemouth bass (Micropter salmoides) 12 inches tong or longer in total length by mark and recapture, using angling tournament catches on 28,200-acre Beaver Lake in 1974, and tournament catches and a supplemental creel census on 45,440-acre Bull Shoals Lake in 1975. Population estimates were 55,450 in Beaver Lake and 30,800 in Bull Shoals Lake. These estimates were in good agreement with those based on mark-recapture samples taken each spring by electrofishing near shore, and were correlated with harvest when applied to the lower reaches ofeach lake. Lakewide...
