Bass TOURNAMENT Mortality (This Might Shock You)

Bass Tournament Mortality is something that a lot of us know happens but we tend to shy away from it. In this video I talk about many different studies I have found relating to bass tournament mortality.

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Other YT Videos:
Where do Tournament Caught Bass Go? - https://rebrand.ly/x1es7le

Studies:
Champlain - https://rebrand.ly/8wlb9j7
Water Temp - https://rebrand.ly/2bpuomj
Texas Study - https://rebrand.ly/yrckwtv
Texas Tech Study - https://rebrand.ly/mk0rvi4
Lake Eufaula - https://rebrand.ly/nl9j9te
Catch & Release - https://rebrand.ly/20w544c
Natural Mortality - https://rebrand.ly/5jbe2hq
Catch & Release2 - https://rebrand.ly/n3pckfh

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Brian Latimer - https://rebrand.ly/hdf2q3k
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Anders Fishing - https://rebrand.ly/6ruiwaj
The Nature Of Fishing - https://rebrand.ly/pb1rtdd

When it comes to tournament fishing, we know that some bass die as a result of being caught, during tournaments, but what do the numbers tell us and what do these numbers actually mean?

In a tournament you have two types of mortality. Bass brought dead to weigh in are considered to be “initial mortality”. These fish may have died as a result from being hooked in sensitive areas or handled incorrectly.

You also have “delayed mortality”. This occurs to bass that appear to be healthy when released after weigh in, but die within a few hours or days, which most tournament anglers don’t see.

In one of the studies I spoke about in my “Where tournament bass go” video. Researchers looked at 9 high level tournaments that were held on lake Champlain over the course of 2 years, in which 2,300 bass were tagged. During this study the initial mortality rate of largemouth bass was 2.41% and smallmouth bass was 3.89%. Delayed mortality was 3.13% and 4.26% respectively.

With Lake Champlain being a northern clear water lake, lake temperatures typically stay pretty cool, even in the summer, which can greatly increase survival rates of bass. However, looking at other studies these numbers are not always the norm and mortality rates can be significantly higher.

One of the most popular studies ever done on this subject was done by a group of Texas Tech University Professors led by a man named Gene R Wilde. Their research compiled information from 130 tournaments that were held between 1972 and 1996.

Tournaments held during the 1970s, initial mortality was substantial, with a reported 19.5% of bass brought to the scales dead. However, during the 1980s and 1990s initial mortality decreased significantly to 6.6 and 6.5% respectively.

Again, initial mortality is only part of the equation, delayed mortality was 10.4% in the 1970s, 20.9% in the 1980s and 23.3% in the 1990s and overall mortality was 26.2% and 28.3%

At the time, this information was groundbreaking and it has served as the foundation for the B.A.S.S. booklet “Keeping Bass Alive” which since its release in 2002 has set the standard for bass tournaments and anglers.

Another study done on lake Eufaula in Alabama, researchers looked at 14 tournaments held between May and September and found that initial mortality ranged 2.4% to 18.5% with the average being 8.9%, and delayed mortality ranged from 1.3% to 50% with the average being 22%. This accumulated to a total mortality of 30.8%, ranging from 9.1% to 68.4% among the 14 tournaments.

Although these numbers are concerning, it's extremely important to know that these 14 tournaments were held in the 1990s and bass tournament technology and procedures have changed a lot since then. It is also important to know that these tournaments were also held in the HOTTEST months of the year in Alabama, when dissolved oxygen in lakes are at their lowest.

With that being said lets talk quick about the deadliest factor associated with tournament mortality rates, which is water temperature. After looking at all of these studies, there was a huge discrepancy among tournament mortality rates, ranging from 0% to nearly 70%.

HOWEVER, there was a statistic that was consistent in literally every single study. Water temperature! Water TEMP plays a huge role in bass mortality.

The hotter the water, the lower the dissolved oxygen, and the higher the tournament mortality rate. In every single article where temperature was mentioned, 25C or 77F came up almost every single time. Water temps hotter than 77F, bass mortality drastically increases and water temp lower than 77F, bass mortality can be extremely low..

For example, a study done in Connecticut, a northern state that stays relatively cool throughout the year, initial mortality for largemouth and smallmouth bass was 2.2% and 4.8% respectively and delayed mortality was only 1.0% and 2.8%. A lot different numbers than the Lake Eufuala study done in the summer.

Видео Bass TOURNAMENT Mortality (This Might Shock You) канала BassFishingHQ