Smallmouth Bass dispersal from a tournament release site in western Lake Erie

SBSMB

September 2018 - December 2021

Initially, this project evaluated Smallmouth Bass dispersal from a tournament release site in Sandusky Bay; 23 fish were tagged and released in Sept 2018. All fish dispersed from the immediate vicinity of the release site, taking 2 weeks (average) to disperse. However, only 58% of fish returned to the main lake after 2 months, indicating tournament displacement may partially function as harvest in large lake systems. In the subsequent two years, eight fish were tracked making long-distance movements (i.e., > 30 km) in the Western and Central Basins of Lake Erie, some crossing management boundaries into Ontario and Michigan waters. These fish moved an average distance of 109.9 ± 26.6 km per year. This movement scope is not well appreciated for centrarchids in large lake systems, indicating Smallmouth Bass spatial ecology remains understudied in those systems.

• Evaluate efficacy and ODNR ability to effectively implant tags into and track Smallmouth Bass in Sandusky Bay and greater Lake Erie.
• Assess dispersal of Smallmouth Bass from a popular tournament weigh-in site on Lake Erie.
• Assess ability of existing Lake Erie receiver grid to track Smallmouth Bass, a species previously though to be relatively sedentary in large lake systems.

• Success of this project (i.e., bass survive surgery and are trackable for 1 month) will provide a foundation for future bass tagging projects: larger, more consequential projects with potential external funding from ODW
• Inform future tournament release practices in Sandusky Bay and similar Great Lakes tournament sites

• Zak Slagle (Ohio Department of Natural Resources) - Zachary.Slagle@dnr.state.oh.us
• Matthew Faust (Ohio Department Of Natural Resources)

• Ohio Department of Natural Resources
• U.S. Geological Survey - Great Lakes Science Center - Lake Erie Biological Station

• Ohio Department of Natural Resources
• Sport Fish Restoration Fund

• Slagle, Z. J., and M. D. Faust. 2023. Are smallmouth bass more mobile in large lakes than once thought? J. Great Lakes Res. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2022.12.014
• Slagle, Z.J., Faust, M.D., Keretz, K.R., DuFour, M.R., 2020. Post-tournament dispersal of smallmouth bass in western Lake Erie. J. Great Lakes Res. 46, 198–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2019.10.021

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366947748_Are_smallmouth_bass_more_mobile_in_large_lakes_than_once_thought