Tom-
Your inquiry relative to the condition of
Cedar Bluff Reservoir largemouth bass made it down the ranks to my
desk. I will answer your questions regarding their condition briefly,
and along with this note I'm attaching a comprehensive report that I
compiled during the summer of 2004, in response to numerous questions
and concerns posed to me by other bass anglers and the KS Bass Chapter
Federation.
If you've been fishing Cedar Bluff over the
past ten to twelve years, you've no doubt witnessed the rise and fall of
a tremendous fishery during that period. Unfortunately, the bass at
Cedar Bluff have seen better days and are currently best characterized
as headed "downhill." This will not change until environmental
conditions change, i.e., a significant water level rise. Since
2000-2001, the lake level has declined to a current level 11.62' low of
full. This has left a lot of habitat high and dry. Most importantly,
conditions for consistent recruitment of small bass into the fishery
have not been present since 2000.
Likewise, normal succession of the lake after
refilling during the 1990's has led to a sportfish switch-over from
structure oriented species like crappie, bass, and bluegill to
open-water species like walleye, white bass, wipers, and flathead
catfish.
The poor condition of bass you mentioned, is
nothing more than manifestation of the current state of the sportfish
community at Cedar Bluff. Along with the lesser numbers and tough
condition of bass, crappie numbers are at an all-time low, and bluegill
numbers are headed the same direction. You mentioned pressure exerted
on the bass fisheries...the period from 2000-2004 we averaged right at
60 tournaments per year here at Cedar. This is a lot of pressure, a lot
of handling, and coupled with pre-tournament angling efforts, perhaps
more than could be handled by any fishery yet remain at quality levels.
I'm not going to say that competitive events were the demise of the bass
situation here at Cedar Bluff, but it did play a part in hastening the
decline.
We studied tournament mortality in 1999 and
2001 here at Cedar Bluff, and several other reservoirs across the
state. We know the effect of tournaments. As a result of these
studies, we promoted various changes in live weigh-in procedures,
promoted the conducting of "paper" events, and even defined a "techno"
type of live weigh in utilizing digital cameras and computer software
projected weigh-ins.
Perhaps in the future, if Cedar Bluff
receives enough water to create another bass explosion, these principles
and practices will be more common place, all in an effort to maintain
the desired level of bass density and quality once enjoyed by all.
Thanks for your inquiry relative to Cedar
Bluff angling and associated opportunities. If you have additional
questions or concerns, feel free to contact me as per the information
below.
Lynn F. Davignon,
District Fisheries Biologist
Cedar Bluff Reservoir
RR 2 Box 76A
Ellis, KS 67637
(785) 726-3212
email:
lynnd@wp.state.ks.us
Detailed Biologist Report in Microsoft Word