AMERICAN IN AFRICA: American Based Bass Study Included South Africa
WORDS: George Robey III*
In younger years my friends sometime called me a nerd, but they assured me it had nothing to do with bookish good looks or public timidity, but because of my fascination for fisheries and wildlife science. Today that would still be true.
A freshly minted research paper from the University of Florida (UF) captured my attention. The study, spearheaded by Dr. John Hargrove and American UF colleagues, in concert with our very own Dr. Olaf Weyl from South Africa (deceased), measured the motivations and general knowledge of both American and South African tourney anglers who bed fish for bass.
The research effort represented the first assessment of bass tourney angler behaviour outside the USA. South Africa was selected because of similarities in competitive fishing style and conversely, because of differences in regulatory fisheries management. The scientific panel recognized that no formal inland fisheries programme operated in South Africa while American waters remained highly regulated.
The study measured the frequency tournament anglers engaged in bed fishing, their motivations for targeting beds (to catch nest-guarding males or larger females), angler opinions about the technique and finally, attitudinal differences among anglers in highly regulated environments (USA) and non-regulated ones (SA).
Fisheries professionals and anglers alike expressed concern about the impact of bed fishing and the subsequent reproductive success of Largemouth Bass, and in fact, a few previous studies indicated that nesting bass are vulnerable and potentially exploited during the spring period. Some findings from the latest proved interesting, especially for SA anglers, and of course for me as well!
Scientists found that among both American and SA anglers few trips during the spring spawn period were focused exclusively on bed fishing. However, among the anglers who engaged in bed fishing, a greater proportion (50%) of South African anglers spent “half” or “most” of their trips focused on nesting bass, compared to 40% for their U.S. counterparts.
Survey results identified the capture of trophy bass as the major motivation for bed fishing, with nearly two-thirds of anglers from both the United States and South Africa agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statement “I bed fish to capture trophy fish.” Sixty-three percent of anglers “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that capturing a “few, large bass” while bed fishing was preferable to capturing “many smaller bass.”
South African tournament anglers expressed higher levels of concern than their USA counterparts about the effects of bed fishing. At the same time, South African anglers reported higher levels of engagement in bed fishing. Researchers suggested the absence of fisheries management programmes in South Africa may be the reason SA anglers expressed heightened alarm.
Interestingly, researchers found that anglers from South Africa and USA are equally knowledgeable about bass reproductive biology. The importance of this information is that angler knowledge proves a positive predictor for strong conservation ethos. Well-informed anglers consistently engaged in personal conservation-minded behaviour.
The new data did not provide a final word on the spawn fishing debate, and indeed, until today it’s not that easy. Scientific enquiry addresses a narrow line of questioning that often yields more questions than answers. The process can be tedious and frustrating to the average angler but remains part of the groundwork for future, robust management policies.
Scientists from UF express a willingness to someday answer the question: why SA anglers direct greater effort toward bed fishing than American anglers while they perceive it a technique that inflicts greater harm to the environment? I bet every passionate bass angler has an idea, or two?
My non-scientific fishing pals famously snipe, “Forget science, let’s catch fish!”
There’s a lot of truth to their wordplay . . . fishing should not be built around theories, methodology, correlation coefficients or popular consensus, but undertaken as often as possible, but for those of us with a curious mind it’s a bonus to understand the nuance.
*George Robey III relocated from his native Ohio with wife Catherine several years ago. An accomplished and recognised outdoor journalist and angler, he is the Africa agent for Venom Lures and operates the Venom Safari fishing guiding service from his home in the countryside north of Pretoria. Contact him on: Info@venomluresafrica.com; George 082 393 1229; WA Whatsapp Nick 076 821 8294.
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