Biology of White Bass in Eastern South Dakota Glacial Lakes

Abstract

A series of investigations were undertaken to better understand the biology of white bass Morone chrysops in natural lakes of glacial origin in eastern South Dakota. White bass recruitment was erratic in these lakes. The relative abundance of age-0 white bass, as determined by means of bottom trawling during late summer and early fall, was positively related to both precipitation and air temperature during the previous spring. Based on its otolith, the oldest white bass collected was age 14. Growth through age 6 was faster in the lakes studied than an average for eight Midwestern states despite the lack of gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum as a prey base in those lakes. White bass and walleyes Stizostedion vitreum coexist in most of the large glacial lakes in eastern South Dakota. Diet overlap between age-0 white bass and age-0 walleyes in one study lake was high in July but then declined through September. Diet overlap between age-1 and older walleyes and white bass was at a seasonal high during May and declined throughout the summer. In both May and September, diet overlap decreased as fish length increased; white bass relied more on macroinvertebrates, while walleyes were more piscivorous. Biotelemetry was used to track the daily and monthly distributions of white bass in Lake Poinsett. Fish were offshore during the summer and winter; during the spring and fall, they were in shallow waters near shore, which may be related to spawning and feeding activities. White bass tended to be closer to shore during the evening crepuscular period across seasons. Significant (P ≤ 0.05) but weak (r ≤ 0.50) correlations were found between the distance of white bass from shore and environmental variables (temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, and moon phase), but no multiple regression model explained more than 26% of the white bass distribution. Harvesting of white bass by anglers was seasonal, with the highest catches in the spring.