Hooking Mortality of Smallmouth Bass Caught on Live Minnows and Artificial Spinners

The success of no-kill regulations for salmonid fisheries has led to increased interest in applying them to warmwater fisheries. Hooking mortality often makes gear restrictions critical to the success of these regulations. The objective of this study was to determine the probability of death (hooking mortality) for smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieui caught on live minnows and artificial spinners. We collected 55 wild smallmouth bass from 6.3 to 12.6 in long and tagged them for individual recognition. We divided them into approximately equal groups and released them into artificial stream channels. During four 2-week test periods, we hooked and released fish in one channel using live minnows on a single hook and in the other channel using a spinner with a treble hook. Some fish in each channel were not hooked during the study. Mortality was 11% for smallmouth bass hooked on minnows, 0% for those hooked on spinners, and 4% for those not hooked. Mortality of fish hooked with minnows was significantly greater than mortality of either spinner-hooked or unhooked fish (P < 0.05); the latter two mortalities did not differ significantly. Some fish were caught numerous times, and others were never caught. If other types of natural baits and artificial lures also give similar results, it may be necessary to restrict fishing gear to artificial lures to ensure success of no-kill fishing regulations for smallmouth bass.