Does Clear Lake have too many bass? That’s a question many anglers are asking.
A typical day on the lake results in a fisherman catching anywhere from 15-60 bass, which is what the results from last weekend’s Triton Boat Owners Team Tournament showed. Just about every team caught limits both days although the weights were down (with the exception of the leaders). While plentiful, most of the bass are weighing only 1-3 pounds. However, there are larger bass being caught, just not in the numbers everyone expects. For years Clear Lake has had the reputation of being a trophy bass lake.
The likely answer is the lake is undergoing a typical transition in regard to its bass fishery. In fact, a fishery biologist recently told me the lake probably has too many bass and it would help the fishery if some died off. He said there is only so much food in the lake and if a die-off occurred among the bait fish it would reflect on the bass fishery. It’s also obvious that the older, larger fish are dying off. Many of the fisherman who are out on the lake frequently have noticed a decline in the number of big fish they are catching, something that has been going on for the last three months.
All the bass in Clear Lake are either Florida-strain bass or Florida-northern largemouth mixes. A Florida-strain bass can live as long as 17 years, but like all creatures in the wild less than 5 percent ever live that long. Most live less than 10 years and die because of stress, disease and other factors.
In most lakes there is a cross section of ages of bass. As the older ones die there are younger ones to take their place and the average weight per fish stays fairly constant.
Approximately 15 years ago Clear Lake had an abundance of large bass weighing more than 5 pounds but few juveniles. In other words, the scales were tipped toward the larger fish. The lack of juvenile fish was blamed on several factors ranging from too many threadfin shad competing with the young bass for food and not enough cover. In those days there were fewer weeds and biologists said one reason for the lack of small bass was because they were easy prey for the larger bass.
After a couple of years of excellent spawns, young bass now dominate the lake. Fishermen report they have never seen so many small bass. What this indicates is that the lake is healthier than ever and the future looks bright.
For most fishermen it’s a matter of quantity over quality as the 1- and 2-pounders make up the majority of the catch. Whereas the tournament fishermen may not be happy with the smaller fish, the recreational anglers are having a field day. With the exception of the tournament anglers, most fishermen would rather catch 20 smaller bass per day in comparison to only three or four large ones.
The next three years should see most of these smaller bass grow into trophy-sized fish. By next summer many of those 1-pounders could weigh close to 3 pounds. There should also be an increase bass between 5-8 pounds. Clear Lake presently has a phenomenal food supply for the bass as the lake is literally swarming with threadfin shad and crawfish.
What many fishermen don’t realize is that Clear Lake undergoes changes faster than other lakes. The fishery peaks and dips within a few short years. Presently the bass fishery is on the increase and if only a small percentage of these smaller fish survive the winter, the fishing during the next few years should be incredible.
