Retention of Floy FD-94 Anchor Tags and Effect on Growth and Condition of Northern Pike and Largemouth Bass

Abstract

ABSTRACT Between May 1994 and October 1995, 315 largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and 170 northern pike (Esox lucius) were captured from three small impoundments in western South Dakota, tagged with Floy FD-94 (T-bar) anchor tags, fm clipped, and released. The number of days-at-large ranged from one to 512 days, with median time periods before final recapture of 63 days for 1994 and 376 days for 1995. No significant (P = 0.05) differences in growth or relative weight (Wr) were detected between tagged and untagged northern pike at-large from 345 to 387 days. Similarly, there were no significant (P = 0.05) differences in growth or Wr of largemouth bass at large from 355 to 395 days. Tag retention was 88% for largemouth bass tagged and recaptured in 1994, and 92% for bass recovered in 1995 from the 1994 tagged group. Similarly, tag retention was 92% for northern pike tagged and recaptured in 1994, and 87% for pike recovered in 1995 from the 1994 tagged group. Floy FD-94 tag losses detected in this study were slightly lower for largemouth bass and slightly higher for northern pike in comparison with previous studies using similar anchor tagging systems.