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setting up for habitat restoration looking forward to fisheries management division successes in 2024
By Steven Bardin and Gary Klein
Preparation for the upcoming Bass Pro Tour season is well underway for the MLF Fisheries Management Division in Partnership with Berkley Labs .
Fall and winter might mark the offseason for most tournament trails , but it ' s a busy time for us biologists . Just like anglers often use this time of year to scout and research the competition venues for next season , the MLF FMD is hard at work preparing for a 2024 campaign that is chock full of new fisheries .
With the start of the sixth Bass Pro Tour season right around the corner , one task at hand is determining the minimum scorable bass weight for each event .
When Major League Fishing first started – way back in the Cup days of 2011 – all bass added to anglers ’ total weight . That quickly evolved to 1-pound fish or better being scorable ; in 2019 , when the BPT started , that was the minimum weight used . Anglers and fans wanted to see tougher competition , so in 2020 , the variable minimum weight system began . This system provides a science-based minimum scorable weight for each event . Decided by factors like average weight of a legal bass in the fishery , time of year and competition format , the minimum weight has ranged from 1 pound , 4 ounces to 2 pounds .
The MLF FMD will continue its science-based process to set Bass Pro Tour scorable bass minimums in 2024 .
PHOTO BY PHOENIX MOORE
The MLF FMD has developed a mathematical way to determine the suggested minimum weight using survey data from state agencies . Starting with a data set that may include several hundred fish caught via electrofishing in recent years , we filter out all fish that are not of legal length for anglers to possess . That usually leaves us with a few hundred . From there , we determine average weight at legal length , average weight overall and variance from legal to heaviest fish . The results go into a formula that produces a minimum weight designed to target around 75 % of legal fish . We then submit that to the anglers and let them debate and approve the final number .
setting habitat restoration in motion
That ’ s not the only project being tackled by the MLF FMD during the offseason . Each fall , we also begin planning for the following spring ’ s REDCREST and submit proposals for the upcoming year ’ s Minn Kota Habitat Restoration Projects . It might surprise most anglers to know that your state fisheries biologist likely doesn ’ t have complete control over the habitat within your favorite fishery . Instead , each waterway has an “ authority ,” or owner . This could be a river authority , the U . S . Corps of Engineers , a power company or a city . Those organizations hold the final say on most habitatrelated questions , including where , when and what can be used as habitat , as well as vegetation management .
As a result , planning a Habitat Restoration Project is not as simple as showing up to a lake with some new cover . The first step is working with state fisheries biologists to identify opportunities in or near a community hosting a BPT event . Our criteria are simple : We want to do projects on fisheries that need improvement , have measurable outcomes or regular surveys , focus on specific types of habitat ( like recovery habitat for fish released following tournaments ), and the ability to publish the GPS location of the project for public access . If we find something promising , we take our proposal to the organization that has authority over the fishery .
That organization might have a permitting process . If so , to plan the project , we ’ ll need to hold a couple of meetings , fill out the permit and potentially wait a few months to get it approved . If there ’ s no permit needed , a standing permit , or a project in place , we can usually get approval right away .
Once we ’ re approved , the excitement begins . We work with both biologists and the water authority to select materials and locations plus set dates for the build and deployment . With BPT pros often volunteering to help during their days off from competition , we prefer to find a build site within an hour of competition waters .
10 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | DECEMBER-JANUARY 2024