Anglers will eliminate or greatly reduce the opportunities to catch fish, especially quality fish by inappropriately targeting big fish. I know this sounds extreme, but it is dangerously close to happening. I am concerned because of what fisheries research tells us. And we need to fix this thing before we cannot. Please agree or disagree as you read this. But more importantly, at least think about it. And at the end of this ask yourself this question: “Do I want to target big fish?”.

Scenario: You are sitting in your boat with your grandchild and have been fishing for several hours. You caught quite a few bluegills and perch, but just a couple of small bass. Suddenly, your line streaks through the water. As you reach for your rod, the water erupts and a very nice smallmouth bass clears the surface, smacks back down and disappears. Eventually you have that fish on board. Even though it is a very nice fish, it still is not the giant that you used to catch here when you were a teenager fishing with your grandfather. As a matter of fact, you never caught so few bass and so many pan fish. You wonder what is going on. What changed? Well, a lot has changed, but a lot of what has changed is driven by one angler action, and that is a problem.

The Problem: Targeting Big Fish:

Over time, targeting the biggest fish in a population diminishes the number of fish available, as well as the quality of those fish. There are several research studies that, when you combine their results, point to the problem of targeting bigger fish.

The Research:

Big fish are the most important resource in the establishment of strong fish recruitment, according to Dr. Bruce Tufts, a fisheries biologist, researcher, and tournament bass angler. Big, Old, Fat, Fertile, Female fish (BOFFFs), expend less energy growing and more energy preparing to spawn than do younger, smaller fish. BOFFFs produce exponentially more eggs than smaller females. For example, an eight-pound bass produces more eggs than 2 four-pound bass. The eggs are larger and healthier and have a greater success rate than those of smaller fish. They also tend to be genetically superior. This exponential increase has been documented in many species of fish. But large males are also vital to the fishery.

We know that black bass males build the spawning nests and provide the parental duties after the eggs are deposited, a period of about 5 weeks. Dr. David Phillips’ unique research on Opinicon Lake found that the biggest males are the most aggressive in defending the nest, and therefore the most successful. They also tend to guard the largest nests with the most eggs.

This protection is vital to survival. If the male is removed from the nest for any reason during this period, 50% of the nest or fry will be lost to predation in as little as 10 minutes. In 60 to 90 minutes, there will be no survivors.

Dr. Phillip’s study also noted that the more often a fish has been hooked, the more likely the fish will be to abandon the nest. Some abandon the nest after only being hooked once. Virtually all males abandon the nest if hooked three to four times. Unfortunately, hooking rates have gone up in the last few years. The average number of times that bass are hooked in the study lake is 3 – 4 times, resulting in an 80% nest abandonment rate.

This study also noted that the younger a male is when it starts participating in the reproduction process, the smaller the fish will become. The female chooses her mate, and they tend to love the big guys. If the biggest fish are gone, the next biggest fish is her choice. With that in mind, a fish that must first spawn at 3 years old will probably max out in size at 13 inches, a six-year-old fish will max at about 18 inches, and an eight-year-old fish will reach 20 inches.

The impact of Targeting Big Fish:

So we can see what the research says, but what does that mean for fishing? The research reveals that targeting the biggest fish in a population will eventually decrease the quantity and quality of available fish. Naturally reproducing fisheries are particularly at high risk because of the difficulty in replacing these big fish. The result for anglers is (1) reduced opportunity to catch fish, (2) fewer big fish and (3) a smaller average size of fish. We can see similar results in a stocked fishery.

Most musky fishing in my part of the country depends on yearly stocking. There is virtually no natural reproduction. Fortunately, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio have excellent stocking programs that provide us with many good fishing opportunities. But I believe that the quality of these opportunities is facing the growing threat of targeting fish. Let’s take a look at that.

If the largest fish are targeted, eventually the average size of the fish caught will decrease. Why? To start, delayed mortality, the number of muskies that die after being released is generally accepted to be 10 – 12 %. There are lakes near me where some people report catching 300 fish in a year. If an angler catches 300 muskies in a given year, targeting the biggest ones, even in a catch and release situation, at least 30 of those fish die. 30 of the biggest fish. If only 10 anglers do this, 300 of the biggest fish die. Chances are good that the average size of muskies in this lake will be less the following year and each year thereafter due to the same process. Add to this that it takes a stocked fish at least 15 years to reach 50 inches, more in most situations. So, at some point, the largest fish caught will be the ones that replaced the big fish in our theoretical first year. But the average size of fish in this lake will be reduced, because they will not get a chance to get to 50 inches. They will be the largest fish before that, and therefore, will be targeted. The lake is unlikely to ever yield another 50-inch fish. Remember, agencies need those big females to harvest the number and quality of eggs for the stocking program.

Do I know this as a scientific fact? No. Not yet. But common sense and simple math tell me we need to be concerned. I will concede that it is what I think. What do you think?

Here is another think to think about. I believe that the number of anglers targeting big fish will continue to increase in the next few years, especially as prices come down on technology. Eventually most fisherman will have forward-facing sonar (FFS). Some reports indicate that already 70% of fisherman are using FFS. When that many people have the technology and the technology gets better, will the mortality rate surpass the successful stocking rate? I think it could. Musky stocking programs are expensive, especially compared to other fish species and agency money is limited. There is a limit to what agencies can do.

To be fair, musky anglers do a great job of handling their fish and generally return healthy fish to the water. And the catch and release rate is nearly 100%. The problem is delayed mortality. Even with the best handling, delayed mortality occurs. Then there is also some mortality before a fish can be released. I once dropped a musky, and it started bleeding immediately when it hit the floor. I could not save that fish. These things happen, regardless of our best intentions. The fact remains that the more fish that are caught, the more fish that will die.

I have written about muskies and bass because that is where my experience is. They are the species that I have read the most about and fished the most. But I heard Dr. Sean Landsman note that he is concerned about the impact of targeting on walleyes and crappies, even more so than muskies. I have concerns for walleye and crappies as well. They are usually in a catch and take situation because they are such great eating. This angling pressure is added to the heavy tournament fishing that also occurs with these fish. Although bass and muskies also have tournament pressure, bass are not generally kept and muskies almost never.

There is always a danger in generalizing the results of research, as the results may not be the same in other situations and bodies of water. But I believe that these research results can legitimately be generalized to other situations. We can at least use them to guide our actions.

Angler Perspectives On Big Fish:

Most anglers want to catch big fish. It can get to the point where the measure of success is how many big fish we catch. Angler attitudes may be the biggest challenge to our fisheries. Look at it this way: If you had a 28-inch musky in the net and I asked you to just unhook it, snap a picture while it is in the net and release it, would you? What if it was a 42-inch fish? 49? 51? My guess is that the small fish would be released without any question, and maybe the 40 inch fish, with just a little hesitation. But for many anglers, probably that 42, and certainly the 49 and 51 are going to be media pictures with the angler proudly holding them.

I am just using this example to demonstrate how attitude impacts our actions. If you want your picture taken with your personal best muskie, by all means do it. Just do it in less than 30 seconds, please. I would.

So, then is targeting big fish really a problem? Here is how I see it. If I do not fish the area where there are active spawning beds, I cannot possibly kill a big fish. Also, I cannot cause the loss of a bed by removing any protecting fish or driving over and destroying the bed. But, if I fish the beds, I will cause some bass to die, which decreases the productivity of the spawn.

Another scenario: If I do not target the biggest muskies, and I catch 10 muskies, and one of them is the biggest fish around, or even two of them, there is a 10% or 20% chance that the biggest fish will die. That is what the known delayed mortality rates tell me. And I did catch one big fish. But if I had not caught any big fish, which is usually the case, no trophies would have died.

If another angler’s approach is to target only big fish, and all 10 of the fish that he or she catches are the biggest fish in the lake, there is a near 100% chance that one of biggest fish in the lake died. You can argue that the angler did catch 10 big fish to my 1. Now trust me on this. I had as much or more fun and satisfaction as that angler did, and I believe that I did less harm to the fishery.

Conclusion: Let’s review.

1. Targeting big fish has the potential to negatively impact a fishery. Big fish provide a more viable quality fish population. Big females produce more and superior eggs than smaller females. In bass, bigger males are more successful in protecting the young. Removing the males from the nest reduces the number of fry that survive. Removing the females from the population results in a lower quality and less successful recruitment. In stocked fisheries, removing the biggest fish may result in the decline in the overall size and number of fish.

2. The increase in the frequency of targeting big fish has increased as technology becomes better and more affordable and as the proliferation of fishing tournaments continues to grow.

3. Targeting big will also continue to grow if anglers continue to believe that catching big fish is the point of angling.

What do you think? Is this a growing problem to you? Did you ask yourself that “Do I want to target big fish?” Share your thoughts, please.

Coming Up:

In the next blog I will present some possible solutions. The challenge is to protect big fish and the fishery while still allowing for the opportunity to catch a big fish. I think it can be done, if we want to do it.

Acknowledgement: Most of the scientific material in this blog comes from podcasts. On the Doc Talks Fishing Podcast, Gord Pyzer and Liam Whetter interview well known fish researchers and talk about their findings. The information for this blog has been largely derived from three of their podcasts: E5 with Dr. Bruce Tufts on why big fish matter, E13 with Dr, Sean Landsman on muskie behavior, and E18 with Dr. David Phillip and the unique study of bass on Omnicon Lake. Also, Episode S4:E77 of 120 Outdoors , a podcast hosted by Don Clowes and Chris DePaula, provided insights into the use of forward-facing sonar. You can find these podcasts on most platforms, such as Spotify and Apple.

As always, wear your PFD, have fun, and go fishing.