Executive Summary

A survey of Texas black bass (largemouth, smallmouth, spotted, and Guadalupe) anglers was conducted to provide information on the characteristics, fishing habits, motivations, attitudes, opinions, and economic effects of resident bass anglers in Texas. A self-administered mail questionnaire was sent to 2,241 black bass anglers in the spring of 1995. Anglers were selected if they listed black bass as their most preferred freshwater species in the 1994 Texas Statewide Angler Survey. Overall, 1,167 anglers returned questionnaires for an effective response rate of 58% (after excluding non-deliverables). Results were adjusted for non-response bias and expanded to provide population estimates for Texas black bass anglers. The survey was designed and administered by the Human Dimensions of Fisheries Research Laboratory of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at Texas A&M University.

Fishing Participation

Most (82%) black bass anglers preferred to fish for largemouth bass. Further, 3% preferred to fish for smallmouth bass; less than 1% of anglers preferred Guadalupe bass or spotted bass. About 14% indicated they had no preference for a particular species of bass. Between January 1, 1994, and December 31, 1994, anglers spent an average of 35 days fishing. Of those days, 31 were spent fishing in freshwater and 4 in saltwater. Of the 31 days anglers spent freshwater fishing in 1994, an average of 29 days were devoted to black bass fishing. Anglers indicated they had fished in freshwater for an average of 30 years; they fished for black bass an average of 22 years.

Most (57%) anglers thought they were equally skilled in their fishing abilities when compared to other black bass anglers. Only 15% indicated they were members of a bass fishing club or organization. When asked what type of group they went bass fishing with most often, 30% said they fished with friends, 27% with family, 27% with family and friends, 14% by themselves, and 3% with a club. About 23% indicated they had fished previously with a fishing guide, but only 14% indicated they fished with a guide in 1994; those who did spent an average of 2.4 days fishing with a guide.

Motivations and Attitudes

When asked about their reasons for fishing, over 65% of anglers rated "for relaxation" (86%), "to be outdoors" (84%), "to get away from the regular routine" (78%), "for the experience of the catch" (77%), "to experience unpolluted natural environments" (73%), and "to get away from the demands of other people" (69%) as very to extremely important. Other items rated very to extremely important by most anglers included "for the challenge or sport" (64%), "to be with friends" (61%), "to experience adventure and excitement" (59%), "for family recreation" (56%), and "to be close to the water" (54%). A plurality (a greater number but not a majority) of anglers rated "to develop my skills" (40%), and "to experience new and different things" (37%) as very to extremely important. Most anglers rated "to win a trophy or prize" (74%), "to obtain fish for eating" (61%), "to test my equipment" (55%) and "to obtain a trophy fish" (51%) as not at all or only slightly important to them as a reason for bass fishing.

When asked to agree or disagree with various items related to recreational fishing, most agreed or strongly agreed that "a fishing trip can be successful even if no fish are caught" (73%), "I'm just as happy if I don't keep the fish I catch" (71%), "I'm just as happy if I release the fish I catch" (71%), "I like to fish where there are several kinds of fish to catch" (70%), "I'm happiest with a fishing trip if I catch a challenging game fish" (65%), and "the more fish I catch, the happier I am" (62%). Most (81%) anglers disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement "I want to keep all the fish I catch". Over 55% disagreed with the statement, "if I thought I wouldn't catch any fish, I wouldn't go fishing".

Where Do Anglers Get Their Fishing Information?

Magazine articles (31%) and newspaper articles (27%) were the sources anglers relied on most for black bass information. Additionally, when asked what sources of information about black bass fishing they had used in the last 30 days, television fishing shows (61%), newspaper articles (58%), and magazine articles (56%) were used most often.

Economics of Black Bass Fishing

According to angler self-reports, the typical black bass fishing trip consisted of 2.4 days of fishing, and occurred an average of 92 one-way miles from home. On this trip, bass anglers spent an average of $132, or about $55 per day, for items such as lodging, gas, groceries, ice, and restaurant meals.

If anglers had to replace all their bass fishing equipment with similar equipment, it would cost anglers an average of $291, $240, $368, $265, and $5,076 to replace their reels, rods, tackle, electronic equipment, and boat, motor, and trailer, respectively. Altogether, black bass anglers had an average of $6,555 invested in their fishing equipment.

Support for Management Options

On the matter of limiting the taking of big bass so more people have an opportunity to catch one, several alternatives were presented to anglers for their consideration. Most (63%) anglers supported or strongly supported a "limit on the number of big bass (over 21 inches) an angler can keep per year", but most (55%) opposed or strongly opposed a "requirement that all bass over 21 inches be released". A plurality (40%) of anglers supported the alternative of a "catch and release requirement for big bass if you could keep it in your live well until weighed".

Most (64%) anglers supported or strongly supported an "approach to bass management where fishing regulations are customized for an individual water body". Only 31% supported an "approach to bass management where fishing regulations are standardized statewide by species". Regarding slot-length limits, a plurality (41%) indicated they supported designation of "additional Texas lakes with a slot limit for bass between 14 and 18 inches in length"; 35% were neutral and the remainder opposed. Only 35% supported designation of "additional Texas lakes with a slot limit for bass between 14 and 21 inches in length" with 36% neutral.

About 39% of anglers supported or strongly supported the designation "of additional Texas lakes for catch and release fishing for largemouth bass" with 27% neutral to the idea. However, 44% opposed and 24% were neutral on the designation "of their favorite bass fishing lake as a catch and release lake". About 44% supported or strongly supported the designation "of additional Texas lakes with a minimum length limit of 16 inches"; 29% opposed the designation and 21% were neutral. About 43% opposed or strongly opposed the designation of "additional Texas lakes with a minimum length limit of 18 inches"; 29% were neutral and 28% supported the designation.

Fishing Participation/Behavior

Bass anglers were presented with a catch scenario under a 14" minimum size limit. They were asked, "If there were a 5 bass per day bag limit on a lake with a 14" minimum size limit, and you caught the following sized bass (14", 16", 18", 20", 22", 24", and 26" bass), which ones would you keep, if any?" About 67% indicated they would keep some bass, 33% would keep none. Of those who would keep their catch, about 57% would keep a 26" bass, 55% would keep an 18" bass, and 51% would keep a 20" bass. Over 40% indicated they would harvest a 22" or 24" bass. Only 31% of anglers would harvest a 16" bass, and only 23% would harvest a 14" bass. When they were asked what length and weight a "trophy" bass was to them, most considered a "trophy" bass to be 24-26 inches in length (55%) and weigh between 8-10 pounds (57%).

About Tournaments

About 21% of anglers indicated they participated previously in a black bass fishing tournament. Those who participated in tournaments in 1994 fished an average of seven tournaments in Texas and one tournament out-of-state.

Over 60% of all bass anglers indicated they have been fishing on a lake while a bass fishing tournament was in progress and they were not a participant. On average, they fished 6 days on lakes while tournaments were in progress, or about 1/5 of their total days bass fishing. Whereas most (61%) felt the tournaments did not negatively affect the quality of their fishing on those days, 39% indicated the quality of their fishing had been negatively affected.

When anglers were asked if they feel most fish that are released after tournament weigh-ins survive, most (73%) answered in the affirmative. Most anglers supported a "requirement that tournaments return a percentage of their tournament purse to TPWD in support of bass management activities" (61%), and a "requirement that tournaments have a permit from TPWD" (58%). A plurality of anglers supported the "idea of organized bass fishing tournaments in Texas waters" (48%); 37% were neutral on the matter. Likewise, a plurality supported "exempting anglers in tournaments from length limits if fish are released after weigh-in" (40%); 36% opposed and 24% were neutral. Finally, 39% were neutral on the "idea of organized bass fishing tournaments in Texas waters that offer large cash prizes"; another 39% supported the idea.

Live Bait Use and Attitudes

Just over 32% of anglers said they used live bait to fish for bass in 1994. Those who used live bait did so for over one-third of the days they fished for bass (10 of 27 days). Minnows, shad, and shiners were the most popular live baits. They were used most often by 86% of live bait anglers. Other baits used by anglers included waterdogs (7%), crayfish (5%), and grasshoppers and earthworms (3%).

When all black bass anglers (those who used and did not use live bait) were asked if they supported restrictions on the use of live bait, most indicated they did not support restrictions. Only 23% of anglers supported restrictions on the use of live shiners, shad, or minnows for bass fishing; a plurality of anglers (42%) opposed restrictions, and 35% remained neutral. Additionally, only 21% of anglers supported restrictions on the use of waterdogs; a plurality (45%) were neutral, and 35% opposed restrictions.

Importance of Bass Fishing to Anglers

When compared to other outdoor recreation activities (such as hunting, camping, etc.), 30% of anglers rated black bass fishing as their most important outdoor activity, 22% rated it second, and less than 10% rated it third. Over 39% of anglers rated black bass fishing as only one of many outdoor activities.

Over 36% of anglers felt that black bass fishing was a very to extremely important source of satisfaction in their life. About 38% felt it was moderately important, and 25% felt it was slightly to not at all important as a source of satisfaction.

Satisfaction with Black Bass Fishing

Overall, 45% of anglers said they were very to extremely satisfied with black bass fishing in Texas. Also, 56% said they were very to extremely satisfied with fishing in general in Texas.

Discussion

Of particular concern for this study were 1) trends in anglers' attitudes and support for management tools between this study and a similar study conducted by TPWD in 1992, 2) anglers' use of live bait and their attitudes toward restricting live bait use, and 3) anglers' participation in bass fishing tournaments and their attitudes toward a variety of tournament issues.

Results from this study were much the same as results from the 1992 Black Bass Angler Survey. Bass anglers are participating with the same frequency in 1995 as in 1992, and were relatively consistent in their motives, attitudes, and support for most management tools. However, there were some notable exceptions. First, membership in fishing clubs or organizations seems to be on the rise. About 5% more bass anglers belong to clubs/organizations in 1995 than in 1992. Also, while there is not a higher percentage of tournament anglers in the state, anglers who fish in tournaments are fishing twice as many tournaments as they were in 1992. With regard to management tools used by TPWD, there was less support in 1995 for standardized statewide fishing regulations for bass; most anglers prefer regulations customized for individual water bodies.

Additionally, there was less support for designating additional lakes as 14" to 21" slot-length limit lakes in 1995 than in 1992. Future bass angler studies need to explore angler harvest behavior under a slot-length limit scenario. Results from the minimum size limit scenario presented to anglers in both 1992 and 1995 show anglers are least likely to keep smaller fish. If this is transferable to their harvest behavior on slot-length limit lakes, and with the success of slot length limits dependent on the harvest of small bass, this may create debate about what to do about excess numbers of smaller fish which prohibit slot-sized fish from growing into a trophy category. This is particularly important with anglers' propensity to harvest trophy-sized fish.

Over recent years, some bass fishing constituency groups and individual anglers have expressed concerns over possible excessive hooking mortality on black bass from the use of live bait. Results indicated only a small percentage of anglers support restrictions on the use of live shiners, shad, minnows, or waterdogs for black bass fishing; hence the "live bait" issue is not a major concern to the population of Texas black bass anglers. These results appear to complement those from a recent TPWD hooking mortality study which indicated that bass caught on live bait are no more likely to die than bass caught on artificial baits (Poarch and Forshage In Prep.).

Tournament bass fishing has been enjoyed by over one-fifth of Texas black bass anglers. However, open-ended comments in previous Texas angler surveys have surfaced concerns about crowding at fishing areas and boat ramps, and about the survival of fish released after tournament weigh in. Results from this study indicate that while there is a significant amount of contact (6 days) between tournament and non-tournament anglers, most (61%) non-tournament anglers indicated they did not feel that the tournaments negatively affected the quality of their fishing. Also, most anglers felt that black bass survived their release after tournament weigh-ins. Although some anglers oppose the idea of bass fishing tournaments, most anglers seem tolerant of black bass fishing tournaments in Texas waters.