6/4/2007

Lake Sharpe Smallmouth Bass Study Update Available on GFP Web site

PIERRE, S.D.--Smallmouth bass regulations for Lake Sharpe were changed in 2003 as part of a new management objective and progress toward that objective is being annually monitored. A preliminary report on changes in the Lake Sharpe fishery during the first four years of those regulations is currently available on the S.D. Game, Fish and Parks Department Web site at http://www.sdgfp.info/Wildlife/fishing/LakeSharpe/Sharpebass.pdf.

Length limits for smallmouth bass on Sharpe have been in effect since 2003 and require all bass equal to or longer than 12 inches and less than 18 inches to be immediately released. Smallmouth bass shorter than 12 inches may be kept and at most one bass 18 inches or longer may be kept as part of the five fish daily limit.

“The objective of the new regulations is to increase the number of smallmouth bass longer than 16 inches in Lake Sharpe but not increase the actual number of fish,” said John Lott, a GFP fisheries biologist in Pierre. “The idea was to protect larger fish and encourage harvest of smaller fish, to accomplish the new objective.” 

“A lot of anglers have questions about how the regulations are working and if Game, Fish and Parks has documented an increase in the average size or number of bass in Lake Sharpe or any negative impacts on other species,” said Lott. “That’s why we’ve placed an update of this project on the Game, Fish and Parks Web site under the Lake Sharpe fishing forecast.”

Lott said reaction to the new regulations has been mixed.  About 60 percent of anglers interviewed last year had no opinion on the smallmouth bass regulations while the rest of anglers interviewed were equally split between those opposing and favoring the regulations.

“Some anglers think protecting larger bass is the best thing Game, Fish, and Parks has ever done for fisheries, while other anglers think we are ruining the walleye fishing by protecting bass,” Lott said. “Other anglers would just like to keep a few of the fish that are protected during periods of the year when walleyes or other species may be hard to catch.”

Data collected so far does not support the idea some anglers have that smallmouth bass are hurting the walleye fishing on Lake Sharpe. “Changes in the walleye fishing from year to year, in terms of the number and sizes of walleyes anglers catch, is more tied to how production of young walleye was three to four years previous than the influence of smallmouth bass or any other fish species on walleyes,” Lott said.  The highest production of young walleyes since the mid 1990s occurred in 2005 and 2006 in Lake Sharpe, at a time when some anglers believed smallmouth bass numbers were increasing.

“Some anglers believe smallmouth bass must be eating a lot of young walleyes each year and competing with walleyes for food,” said Lott.

The eating habits of fish are a topic of research with South Dakota State University in the second year of conducting an intensive study of the diets of predator fish in Lake Sharpe.  While shad are certainly the main food fish eaten by both smallmouth bass and walleyes, there are generally enough shad produced each year to meet the needs of all predator fish.  However, young shad become large enough for predators to eat by July and the majority of young shad die during the winter because they do not do well at cold water temperatures. 

“This means walleyes and smallmouth bass will both be on the bite during May and June, as will white bass, another species that feeds on shad,” Lott said.

Initial plans were to leave the regulations in place for at least five years and 2007 is the fifth year. 

“We are considering a few different management options for the smallmouth fishery in Lake Sharpe,” Lott said. “The decision-making process will include information gathered  from anglers at boat ramps, information from the SDSU diet study and fish population surveys,” said Lott.

--GFP--