Yellow Bass are becoming better known in Iowa as a variety of lakes have discovered these in their waters. Some anglers enjoy the catch since even the small ones, less than six inches, put up a fight before they can be reeled in. Considered a pan fish, the yellow bass can become a nuisance. It is found in waters from Minnesota to Louisiana including the Mississippi River.
According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) yellow bass can reproduce at 5-6 inches. They aggressively feed on the eggs of nest laying fish like largemouth bass and bluegills. They also eat the newly hatched larvae of those species.
Lake Anita in southern Iowa is a manmade lake that became inundated with yellow bass a few years ago. In 2004, at the direction of the IDNR the lake was renovated. It had to be restocked with largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie and channel catfish. It took a few years for the fish to grow enough for anglers. Before the yellow bass took over Lake Anita, an estimated $750,000 was spent in the community each year from campers, fishermen and outdoor enthusiasts. That impact was felt until the lake once again became a destination for fishing.
At about the same time Lake Icaria, north of Corning was being watched by the IDNR. At one point it was estimated that largemouth bass were outnumbered 2000 to 1 by yellow bass. In 2005 the DNR estimated that there were 393 largemouth bass in the lake along with 668 walleyes, 12,600 bluegill and 784,000 yellow bass.
Renovation of a lake is expensive and will impact economies for up to three years and possibly longer according to the IDNR.
Four years ago, yellow bass were spotted in Five Island Lake. The start of the Yellow Bass Tournament was a way to begin thinning the numbers. This year with 100 teams it was estimated that each team averaged 250 yellow bass. That amounts to 25,000 that were removed. It is always a guess if it made a difference in the numbers.
Fisheries biologist Mike Hawkins who works out of Spirit Lake had this to say about the lake. “Yellow bass are a big concern for us at Five Island Lake and a few other lakes in the region. We've been watching this population closely. Through the last couple of years, we were seeing pretty good growth of yellow bass at Five Island even at high densities, but this new bunch of fish is very dense and their growth could be slowing. We will be sampling the lake again next season to check in. We can age the fish and determine if they are just young or if their growth has slowed due to over population. This is a new problem for fisheries managers - 15 years ago, there were no yellow bass in our natural lakes.”
Previous question’s answer: It was in the 1980’s that a lake study was done by Economic Research Associates. The study concluded that Five Island Lake would “become useless in twenty to twenty-five years” .
Question: Who was the president of the Medium Lake Improvement Company when its Articles of Incorporation were filed on March 8, 1909?
Written by: Diane Weiland
Bình luận