Executive Summary

A mail survey was sent to 848 anglers who fished Lake Fork Reservoir between June, 1994 and May, 1995. Anglers were intercepted during creel surveys conducted by the Inland Fisheries Division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and they were asked to participate in the survey and provide their address information. The mail survey was developed and administered by the Human Dimensions of Fisheries Research Laboratory at Texas A&M University. There were 609 anglers (160 local anglers, 230 non-local Texans, and 219 non-residents) who returned usable questionnaires for an effective response rate of 74% after non-deliverables were excluded. Anglers were asked a variety of questions about their fishing activity in general, their attitudes and opinions about Lake Fork Reservoir and its management, and their expenditures on the trip when they were asked to participate in the survey. Summary information is presented for all anglers. Expenditure information is presented for local, non-local, border state, and other non-resident groups.  This study was funded by and completed for the Inland Fisheries Branch of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Sabine River Authority of Texas.

This section deals with anglers overall fishing; not just their fishing at Lake Fork

General Characteristics of Lake Fork Anglers

Almost all anglers were male (98%). Their average age was 42 years. Most Lake Fork anglers rated themselves equally skilled when compared to other freshwater anglers (64%). About 30% felt they were more skilled. About 34% of anglers indicated they were members of a fishing club or organization. Over 57% of anglers reported they have participated in fishing tournaments. Tournament anglers reported fishing an average of 9 tournaments in the previous year. Most anglers (87%) indicated largemouth bass as their most preferred freshwater species; about 9% indicated crappie as their most preferred species. Anglers spent an average of 62 days fishing in freshwater in the previous year. Of this total, 50 days were spent fishing in lakes and/or reservoirs. On average, Lake Fork anglers had over $13,000 invested in fishing boats, rods, reels, tackle, and electronic equipment

The next three sections deals with the trip anglers were on when they were asked to participate in the survey

Lake Fork Trip Characteristics

Creel and angler survey results indicated there were 204,739 fishing trips taken to Lake Fork between June, 1994 and May, 1995. About 11% of anglers were from the local area, 74% were non-local Texas anglers, 10% were anglers from Arkansas, Louisiana, or Oklahoma (border anglers), and 5% were anglers from states other than border states. Border state anglers traveled an average of 245 miles one-way to fish Lake Fork, other non-residents traveled 615 miles. Non-local Texas residents traveled about 87 miles, and local anglers traveled about 15 miles. Border state anglers spent an average of 3 days fishing on a trip to Lake Fork; other non-residents spent about 6 days fishing on a Lake Fork trip. Both local and non-local Texas residents spent about 1.5 days per trip. About 2% of Texas anglers, and about 22% of non-resident anglers indicated that this was their first trip to Lake Fork. Over 51% of anglers reported fishing with friends on their trip to Lake Fork; Only 29% indicated fishing with family. Over 88% of anglers indicated they fished mostly for largemouth bass on their trip; about 9% indicated they fished most for crappie.

Economics of Lake Fork Fishing Trips

Lake Fork Trip Evaluation

When asked about their reasons for fishing Lake Fork on their trip, most anglers rated For the challenge or sport (83%), For relaxation (81%), To get away from the regular routine (74%), and for the Experience of the catch (72%) as very or extremely important. When asked how satisfied they were with their fishing trip, 87% indicated they were moderately to extremely satisfied. However, 33% of anglers indicated they were disappointed with some aspects of their trip. When asked to agree or disagree with various aspects of their trip, most anglers agreed with the statements: The facilities met my needs (85%), I thoroughly enjoyed this trip (81%), The trip was well worth the money spent (62%), and My fishing skills were tested on this trip (57%). Only 16% of anglers agreed with the statements I caught more fish than I expected on this trip , and I cannot imagine a better fishing trip . About 10% of anglers indicated they caught a trophy fish on their trip (about 87% of anglers indicated a trophy bass to them weighs between 8 and 13 pounds). About 88% of anglers agreed with the statement I d like to fish other lakes like Lake Fork .

This section deals with anglers overall experiences and opinions about Lake Fork.

Overall Fishing Activity, Attitudes, and Preferences for Management at Lake Fork

Anglers indicated they have been fishing Lake Fork for an average of 5.5 years. Anglers indicated fishing Lake Fork an average of 24 days in the previous year. Most Lake Fork anglers agreed or strongly agreed with the statements: I like to fish where I know I have a chance to catch a trophy fish (83%); I m just as happy if I don t keep the fish I catch (80%); I m just as happy if I release the fish I catch (80%); I catch fish for sport and pleasure rather than for food (75%); and The more fish I catch, the happier I am (74%).

Over 44% of anglers reported they have participated in a fishing tournament on Lake Fork. These tournament anglers fished an average of 3 tournaments on Lake Fork in the previous year. Over 78% indicated they had fished Lake Fork while a tournament was in progress. Of these anglers, about 41% thought the tournament negatively affected the quality of their fishing. Over 48% of anglers supported the idea of organized fishing tournaments at Lake Fork. Only 39% of anglers supported tournaments with large cash prizes. Over 51% of anglers supported a requirement that tournaments have a permit from TPWD. About 54% supported a requirement that tournaments return a percentage of their purse to TPWD in support of management activities.

About 80% of anglers supported the current slot-length limit (14"-21") on largemouth bass, and 75% supported the 3 fish bag limit on bass. Over 55% supported increasing the daily bag limit on bass to 5 fish. About 62% of anglers indicated there should be a limit on the number of big bass (>21") that can be retained by anglers, but only 22% supported the idea that all big bass should be released. Over 40% would agree to this restriction if they were allowed to weigh the fish before releasing. Only 38% of anglers indicated support for restricting the use of live bait for bass fishing, and only 35% supported closing certain areas to fishing while bass are spawning. About 72% of anglers supported the 10" size limit on crappie. Over 76% supported the 25-fish bag limit on crappie, and 65% supported the mandatory harvest regulation for crappie between the months of December and February. Over 56% of anglers supported the 9" size limit for catfish, and about 60% supported the 25-fish bag limit.

Lake Fork anglers were presented with a probable catch scenario at the reservoir to explore their harvest behavior associated with largemouth bass. They were asked to indicate whether they would harvest any of five bass (10", 12", 13", 22", and 24") under the current management regime (3 bass daily bag limit). Overall, 58% of Lake Fork anglers indicated they would not keep any fish. Of the 42% who indicated they would keep some fish, only 28% indicated they would keep a 13" fish, 22% a 12" fish, and only 6% would keep a 10" bass. However, an overwhelming 69% of anglers indicated they would keep a 24" bass. While these results show that some anglers would keep some small bass, anglers are more likely to retain a larger fish. Furthermore, the low percent of anglers who intend to keep sub-slot bass shows that there is potential for stunting (i.e., slower growth rates) of largemouth bass to occur in the reservoir.

Discussion

As a group, Lake Fork anglers were quite different from the statewide population of black bass anglers as studied previously. In particular, the former group had over twice the level of investment in fishing equipment and fished over twice as many days in the previous twelve months. Further, they were more likely to rate themselves as more skilled at fishing, to belong to fishing clubs and organizations and participate in tournaments. In this regard a disproportionate number of Lake Fork anglers studied fit the profile of high specialization anglers, i.e., people for whom fishing is a central life interest than among the general population of black bass anglers.

The strong catch and release ethic exhibited at Lake Fork Reservoir portends both opportunities and problems. It is an opportunity especially when large bass are not removed because it helps maintain a high abundance of such fish and increases the opportunity for others to have this type of fishing experience. This can stimulate repeat business and enhance angler satisfaction. It can be a problem, however, when anglers who do not release trophy-size bass (there is no state regulation that they do so!) Are sanctioned by other anglers. Our results confirmed that catch and release has been adopted as the preferred means of dealing with small sub-slot limit bass as well. This can have the same affect as overharvesting trophy-size fish, namely, a reduction in the attractiveness of Lake Fork as a fishing destination with local businesses impacted accordingly. If anglers will not voluntarily remove small bass from the system (the daily bag limit has been increased to five bass to encourage this!), alternate approaches by all parties with a stake in the fishery will merit consideration.