Evaluation of Slot Length Limits for Largemouth Bass in Two Delaware Ponds

Abstract

Abstract I assessed the utility of two protected slot limits in restructuring populations of largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides in small, shallow ponds in Delaware, A multifaceted angler education program was an integral part of the slot-limit program. Proportions of large largemouth bass and catch per unit effort by electrofishing increased in one pond following imposition of a protected 300–380-mm total length slot limit. Electrofishing catch per unit effort of largemouth bass larger than 380 mm declined in another pond where a higher slot limit should have protected 380–457-mm fish. Despite an angler education program, angler harvest rates of largemouth bass shorter than the protected slot limits were too low to restructure the largemouth bass population in either pond. Angler cooperation is crucial to interactive management techniques such as slot limits.