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Friday, 07 March 2008 |
By B.J. BETHEL
Assistant Managing Editor
COLUMBUS — The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife is starting a program to promote the spawning of bass in Lake Loramie.
ODNR, along with the Ohio Valley Bass Masters and the Shelby County Bass Masters, will be placing 100 spawning nests in the lake March 15. The nests are part of a Spawning Habitat Improvement Partnership, which is in its final phase.
The program is modeled off a similar program that took place in Buckeye Lake in 2005.
Being a canal lake, sedimentation has reduced the available bass-spawning habitat in the body of water.
“It’s a canal lake and so there is a lot of siltation in the lake,” ODNR spokesperson Rich Carter said. “Bass populations are very tied to the quality of habitat. What we are trying to do is improve the spawning habitat for bass by constructing these nesting boxes.”
The nesting boxes are constructed out of plastic 55-gallon drums. The drums are cut in half with the front and back walls removed. A layer of substrate, which is concrete with cobble placed on top of it, is laid in the bottom of the box. The cobble serves as a spawning substrate for a bass. A piece of timber is then placed on top of the box to give the bass a sense of protection and allow for ease in putting the box in the lake.
The design of the boxes should promote spawning by the bass.
“You are providing a good substrate and the configuration of the nesting boxes allows the bass to be able to protect its spawn in the early stages of development.”
Young bass often gather around weeds to feed. Carter said there are plenty of weeds in Lake Loramie for the young bass and the nesting boxes fill that hole of their life cycle.
The Department of Wildlife will monitor the bass population over the next several years, using electrofishing surveys to assess and track the population each spring.
Whether the project works or not remains to be seen. Carter said it takes several years of monitoring the bass population to determine if it has been successful. There are also other factors involved in affecting the population, such as weather, water temperature and water levels.
“It could take two to six years,” Carter said. “You also need the right amount of plankton in the water that young fish feed on. That’s usually not a problem but it’s one of the factors. It’s typically water factors that are key to the survival of young fish.”
In conjunction with the SHIP program there will be a Bass School for youth anglers ages 6 to 18. Young anglers can be educated in fishing as well as conservation. The school will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. March 15. The event will be held inside the lake’s main launch ramp pavilion with lunch provided. Participants must pre-register by calling 937-295-2011.
“It’s important to tie the SHIP event into something that’s meaningful for kids,” Carter said. “It ties the importance of the SHIP program to conservation.” |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 11 March 2008 )
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