Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) biologists will monitor eight bass fishing tournaments at seven northern Indiana natural lakes during the summer, to examine the long-term effects of current fishing rules on bass tournaments.

Biologists will be on hand to count and measure bass brought to weigh-ins by tournament participants at Winona Lake in Kosciusko County, Lake George and Hamilton Lake in Steuben County, Pine/Stone lakes in LaPorte County and Lake Maxinkuckee in Marshall County. Two tournaments at Lake Wawasee in Kosciusko County will also be monitored.

The DNR conducted a similar survey in 2001, one year after the imposition of a 14-inch minimum size limit on bass.

“We can learn a lot about bass populations in Indiana lakes by monitoring tournaments,” said Jed Pearson, DNR biologist. “They provide data on bass numbers, bass sizes and angler catch rates.”

Ten years ago, the number of participants in monitored tournaments averaged one angler per 57 acres of water. Tournament anglers fished an average of 300 hours per event. Back then, the number of bass brought to weigh-ins ranged from four bass to 192.

The average number of bass brought to weigh-ins 10 years ago was 50. Of 762 fish examined by DNR biologists, 95 percent were 14-18 inches long and 5 percent were 18 inches or larger.

Despite the high number of bass handled by tournament anglers, only 11 were either dead or showed signs of stress and were not released after the weigh-ins.

“It’s going to be interesting to see if tournament fishing has changed over the years,” Pearson said. “I expect we’ll find the same level of fishing effort, but we should also see more bass caught. Since the 14-inch limit went into effect, we now have many more bass in our lakes.”

According to Pearson, bass tournaments were controversial many years ago. Non–tournament anglers and other lake users complained tournament anglers crowded lakes and harmed bass populations.

In response to complaints, tournament organizers improved efforts to coordinate their schedules, improved weigh-in procedures to reduce stress on the fish and emphasized the importance of good boating and fishing ethics by tournament participants.

Least tern success highlights Endangered Species Day
Endangered Species Day, celebrated May 20, recognizes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and several other national conservation organizations for their nationwide work to protect the United States’ threatened and endangered species.

The day also is a time to honor state agencies working closely with FWS, such as the DNR. Indiana’s DNR is one of many state agencies providing the first line of defense to keep species on the decline from needing federal protection.
In recent years, the DNR has successfully reintroduced river otters, bald eagles, ospreys and peregrine falcons in Indiana. One of today’s success stories is the resurgence of the least tern, the only federally endangered bird nesting in Indiana.

Since the discovery of one pair of the petite and active water birds in Gibson County in 1986, the nesting colony has grown tremendously, and additional sites have been found in southwestern Indiana.

“Endangered Species Day celebrates the diversity of wildlife in the United States. It is a great opportunity to look at how far we have come in working together to prevent extinction,” said Scott Pruitt, field supervisor of the FWS Bloomington office.

“The least tern is an excellent example of the power of partnership in conservation as business, government and citizen cooperators came together to save a piece of Indiana’s natural heritage.”

The original and largest colony of least terns in Indiana is the Gibson County site, where the birds are present on properties owned and managed by Duke Energy, the FWS’ Cane Ridge Wildlife Management Area and the DNR’s Tern Bar Slough.

A record 220 least tern adults were present in 2009, but somewhat fewer (150) showed up in 2010. The number of least tern chicks raised in 2010 reached an all-time high of approximately 165 produced, compared to the previous record of 115 in 2009.

“This astounding growth is the result of hard work by government agencies and business partners cooperating to provide appropriate habitat, and protecting the birds from disturbance and predators,” said John Castrale, DNR non-game bird biologist.

“As long as we have the resources to work with this endangered bird, the long-term outlook for least terns in Indiana is optimistic.”
Much of the work is done by DNR Fish & Wildlife’s Wildlife Diversity Program, which is funded primarily by private donations to the DNR’s Nongame Fund, as well as by many Indiana conservation partners.

To learn more about the program’s work, go online to www.EndangeredWildlife.IN.gov – at the website, individuals’ can make donations to help endangered species all year long.

Additional rainbow trout stream stockings for Indiana

Five northern Indiana streams will be stocked with additional trout before Memorial Day weekend.

Indiana DNR Fish & Wildlife will stock trout in Pigeon River in Steuben and LaGrange counties, Turkey Creek in LaGrange County, Little Elkhart River in Elkhart County, Little Kankakee River in LaPorte County and Potato Creek in St. Joseph County.

The Fishery Division will stock Pigeon River at County Road 175 North and at County Line Road. Turkey Creek will be stocked at County Road 150 North. Both stream crossings are located on Pigeon River Fish & Wildlife Area.
The stocking scheduled for the Little Elkhart River will take place at the Bonneyville Mill County Park, and the Little Kankakee River will be stocked with additional trout at County Road 100 South.

Potato Creek trout will be stocked within Potato Creek State Park near the paved bicycle trail creek crossing. Parking is available at the West lot. Anglers targeting the fish will have to hike or bike approximately one mile along the bicycle trail to get to the area, but will be rewarded with unrestricted access along a naturally scenic stream.

Although the sites will be the only areas to receive additional trout in May, fish from the initial releases in late April are still available in most of northern Indiana’s trout streams, as high water during the opening days of inland trout season provided tough fishing conditions.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Jack Spaulding may contact him by e-mail at jackspaulding@hughes.net or by writing to him in care of this publication.