Movements by Young-of-Year and Yearling Largemouth Bass and Their Implications for Supplemental Stocking

Abstract

Abstract Young-of-year (age-0) largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides from the Little Beaver Creek embayment of B. Everett Jordan Lake, North Carolina, were individually tagged with magnetic binary-coded wire tags in 1989 and 1990. Fish were recaptured during electrofishing and seine sampling in the year of tagging and the following year. In 1989, 529 age-0 largemouth bass were tagged, of which 40 were recaptured. Of these, only 2 of 31 age-0 and 2 of 9 yearling fish had moved out of their tagging coves. In 1990, 1,090 age-0 largemouth bass were tagged, of which 47 were recaptured. Of 15 recaptured largemouth bass that had been tagged in coves, only 2 age-0 fish had moved from their tagging coves. Of 32 recaptured largemouth bass that had been tagged outside coves, only 2 age-0 and 1 yearling fish had moved into cove areas. No tagged age-0 or yearling largemouth bass were recaptured outside the embayment. Because most fish seem to stay near their tagging site, localized supplemental stocking of fingerlings...