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Big Rideau Lake Association - BRLA
Environmental Programs | Past Programs | Bass Education
The health of our fisheries plays a major part in the health of our lake. Bass are one of the most popular targets for anglers; the Bass Education program provides insight into how to keep the bass population strong and healthy, and the fishing good.
Photo: BRLA
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In the past several years the issue of pre-season fishing has become a great concern for anglers and lake residents. With more education and enforcement, poaching can be stopped.
Every year many anglers cannot wait for bass season to open. Poachers are often seen on the Big Rideau Lake and on many other lakes in the region. It is important that everyone, including anglers are informed about the negative impacts that fishing for bass out of season has on the fish. Below are several examples of how BRLA dealt with pre-season bass education this season.
This brochure is very popular with bass activists in this region. Local environmental groups, bait shops owners, bass tournament organizations and campground managers are more than willing to distribute the brochures to their customers. This year we asked all bait shop owners to handout a brochure with every fishing license they sold. We will make this same recommendation next year.
To get the message to actual anglers who are on the lake before the bass season starts, windshield posters were placed on all vehicles with a trailer at the boat launches.
These posters are very effective when put up just about anywhere. These posters have been distributed to lake residences to attach to their docks or boat houses to remind anglers that are close to shore that it is ILLEGAL to fish for bass before the last Saturday in June.
Most smallmouth bass in the Rideau Lake are still spawning well into the season. Since the BRLA has no legal ground to prevent anglers from fishing after the season is open, another windshield poster was created. This poster was geared towards both anglers and non-anglers. It asks anglers not to fish for bass in six feet of water or less while males are still on the nest (usually to mid-July). The reasons for this are clearly stated in the poster. Non-anglers are asked to be careful not to disturb nesting bass when boating or swimming. These posters were placed on windshields of vehicles parked at boat launches.
Pre-season angling is believed to have a profound negative effect on the nesting behaviour and ultimately the nesting success of these highly sought sport fish species. It has been proven by many studies that if adult male bass are caught and removed from the nest, the eggs or fry (young bass) become easy prey for small predators such as panfish and perch. In just the few minutes that it takes anglers to catch and release the bass, the nest may be completely wiped out. Even if the nest is not predated upon, the male may abandon their nest after being released.
In response to this problem in Ontario, the MNR and lake/cottage associations implemented bass conservation zones. Since 1994, 13 lakes have adopted this idea and have had great success with the program. With awareness and proper education, the compliance rates in the voluntary sanctuaries ranged from 90% to 99%.
It is this successful compliance rate that has motivated the Big Rideau Lake Association to implement six voluntary bass sanctuaries on the Rideau Lake. The locations of the proposed sanctuaries have been designated based upon the data collected annually since 1991 as part of the BRLA bass spawning monitoring program.
The results from the 1996-1998 largemouth bass displacement study demonstrated that they have a very small home range and the vast majority do not return home after being displaced more than 8 km. With these results in mind, the BRLA has decided to take action.
By joining with bass tournament organizations, anglers, and MNR biologists, the BRLA has hosted meetings to discuss and find new release measures to minimize displacement. A fall meeting on November 17th, 1999 proved that everyone shared a common interest: to protect the future of bass on the Rideau Lakes. Another meeting in the spring on May 30th, 2000 was scheduled to find release methods for the fish after tournaments. During the summer, Art Cunningham from Kingston Bass Anglers approached the BRLA with a zonal release system.
The summer of 2000 had four tournaments scheduled on the lake. Out of the four tournaments, two implemented the zonal release system. Eastern Ontario Bassmasters were the first to test this new release system. This tournament also marked a first as it was hosted out of Portland. This tournament proved very successful as the location was very suitable for a tournament of their size (20 boats). The second tournament, which was held out of Rideau Ferry, conducted a survey of the zonal release system.
The BRLA will continue to work with tournament organizations to benefit the future of the bass fishery.
Largemouth Bass Displacement Study
In 1996, a 3 year largemouth bass tracking and displacement study was initiated in conjunction with the Harkness Fisheries Research Station (Ministry of Natural Resources) in Algonquin Park. The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of catch-and-release angling practices on the movement of largemouth bass populations. Sonar and radio tags were used to follow 50 largemouth that were displaced up to 15km away from their homes.
The study, completed in 1998, showed that largemouth bass have very small home ranges. Of the fish that were displaced 79% did not return home. This information is being used to increase awareness of the importance of releasing fish at the site where they were caught.
Smallmouth Bass Displacement Study
The BRLA is also conducted a similar study with smallmouth bass to see if displacement affects their ability to return to their home range. Although there are some preliminary results, it is too early to draw any scientific conclusions at this time. See photos of the surgery to implant transmitters in the smallmouth bass.
In past years, concerns has been raised about the success of bass spawning on the Rideau Lake. Since 1992, the BRLA has been monitoring nesting sites to determine if the opening date of fishing season is late enough to prevent disturbance to the fish during spawning and growth stages.
Whether intentional or accidental, angling for bass out of season is illegal. During spawning periods, guard bass are aggressive and will strike at anything that threatens the nest. If the guard bass is removed, the eggs or fry become highly vulnerable to predators. Even if a bass is caught and subsequently released, it may abandon the nest prematurely as a result of this disturbance, leaving the young unguarded. Unfortunately, the aggressive behaviour of guard bass makes them an easy target for anglers. Therefore, anglers that do not understand the threat they pose, or simply neglect the law, can seriously affect the bass population.
04/06/05 2:27 PM
Telephone: 1-613-272-3629 | E-mail: