Local Bass origins

[sturgeongenerall]

I've never claimed to be a bass or bassing expert, but I did have a friendly disagreement with a fishing partner recently. I commented that part of the reason I enjoy bass fishing is because they are the naturally occuring apex predator in nearly all the local waters where I pursue them (King, Pierce, Thurston counties). He disagreed, saying that a lot of these lakes had been stocked with bass years ago. We were in my boat, so I won.
What do you think?
SG

[Amx]

Stocked, MANY years ago, say about 100 years ago. Naturaly occuring only in the southeast and northeast.

The train crews stocked lakes and ponds when they were building the railroads so the crews could have some sport/fun.

And other reasons and people for stocking them.

[yooper_fisher]

I am of the impression, but have no real idea, that they were stocked at some point. My question is, what would have been the naturally occurring apex predator before bass were introduced?

[Amx]

Tiger Musky. [img=http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ima ... /devil.gif]3[/img] Oh ya, they were stocked too. And they aren't even natural, they are manmade.

Walleye. Hmm [img=http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ima ... chchin.gif]2[/img]Nope, stocked.

Looks like perch and trout, those are all that's big enough to eat most anything. Not to mention otters.

[sturgeongenerall]

Thanks for the replies,guys. But I guess its just hard for me to see someone, or even a large group, stocking all these little lakes, and the large ones, with sustainable numbers of fish,considering the technology, transportation, communication, etc. available at the time. Thats a big job. My hat's off to them.

[yooper_fisher]

Stacey may be able to shed some light on this for us

[rockjiggr]

Yellow perch are transplants too from the midwest/Great Lakes area. The only natural top predator in local waters is the larger trout and salmon that migrate into stream drained lakes.

[f1sh1nf00l]

It has happened over many years, and by many different means. Lakes have been stocked, and restocked over the years. Some by the state, some by clubs sanctioned by the state(which is how the first major stockings in this state occured over 100 years ago), and some by anglers deciding that they wanted bass in their local body of water(which is not leagal). American lake for example was stocked with smb in 1998, and it's population has grown pretty healthy in a short period of time, despite growing pressure on the bass in that lake. I believe Alder is one that was stocked with lmb after it was originally filled, and was illegally planted with smb later. Now the smb have exploded and you catch them more than you do the lmb. Same story at Summit lake. Bass are very hardy fish, and will overcome many obstacles to reproduce and thrive in any given water.

[rockjiggr]

Indidentally, bass and panfish, although they were planted into our West of the Rockies waters, are the only viable naturally reproducing sport fish around. In the lakes in Western Washington it is rare to see any naturally reproducing trout at all unless there is a sizable stream flowing into the lake. And, with degraded stream habitat, the trout spawn is not large enough to sustain a sport fishery. That is for sure.

[G-Man]

Apex predators of northwest lakes would have been cutthroat and bull trout. Fresh water lings also take their fair share of fish. Spiny rays, carp and pike are all invasive species that were introduced to northwest waters by man.

[iThe first authenticated planting of bass in the Northwest took place in 1888, in Oregon’s Willamette River. In Washington, the United States Fish Commission in 1890 distributed 1,220 largemouth among Lake Washington on the west side, and Lake Colville (now known as Sprague Lake) and Loon Lake on the east side. In 1891 Loon and Liberty lakes shared another 125 fish. In 1892 Clear, McDonald, American, Loon, Deer, Liberty and Gravelly lakes divided 3,457 largemouths. (Note: there are now at least 17 Clear lakes in Washington; it’s not “clear” which of these is referred to.) 1893 saw another 400 largemouth shared by Clear, Padden and Shepherd lakes and an unnamed public lake in Skagit County. In 1895, Loon, Cavanaugh, Silver (not specifically identified, probably Cowlitz County; we have 11 or more Silver Lakes), St. Clair, Welty and Clear lakes split 625 fish. Within a few years of the first introduction, largemouths were reportedly being sold in Spokane fish stalls for 15 to 17 cents a pound.

In the years since, largemouth bass have been extensively transplanted throughout the state. Our most popular and productive largemouth waters include all of the major reservoirs of the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project, including Banks Lake, Moses Lake and Potholes Reservoir (Grant County). Silver Lake (Cowlitz County), Eloika and Long lakes (Spokane County) and Sprague Lake (Adams County) are other good producers. Largemouths are also found in both free flowing and impounded parts of the Columbia and Snake rivers, and in hundreds of smaller lakes, ponds and slow-moving streams throughout the state. [/i]

[Amx]

Yup, lots of local lakes never had trout in them either.

[yooper_fisher]

Yup, lots of local lakes never had trout in them either.

Very True! Many alpine lakes never had ANY fish in them until man put them there, and now many of them have problems with over populations of stunted fish.

[rockjiggr]

My grandfather, who lived in Centralia most of his life and died in the 80's, once told me about his "bucket biology" espcapades in the 60's. He used to fish the many small lakes in Thurston County like Munn, Susan, Ward, Trails End, etc. The state decided to clean up the lakes and reintroduce rainbows to several of the lakes that he fished. A few weeks after they poisoned off the panfish, my grandfather started fishing those lakes that did still have bass and transplant them into the lakes that did not. I can claim that the largemouth bass in Munn Lake to this day are descended from the fish that he put in there way back when.

While I don't condone transplanting fish at all, I am grateful that he did back then as there are some very nice largemouth in Munn which is now a selective gear lake.

[Anglinarcher]

Tiger Musky. [img=http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ima ... /devil.gif]3[/img] Oh ya, they were stocked too. And they aren't even natural, they are manmade.

Walleye. Hmm [img=http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ima ... chchin.gif]2[/img]Nope, stocked.

Looks like perch and trout, those are all that's big enough to eat most anything. Not to mention otters.

Nope, perch are also an import from the other side of the divide.

Trout, not so much. Yes, in streams and rivers, there was Westslope cutts, perhaps Bull Trout, and Steelhead during some seasons, but Steel are not really that much of a predator once they leave Salt. Rainbow Trout are not native either, but a result mostly of fish taken from Fall River in California. Most now have a great deal of Steelhead in them, and in fact if they don't or cannot get to the Salt, Steelhead become Rainbow. I guess the argument about Rainbow is circular, and one I have read so many different views about that I am now confused.

Perhaps it was Northern Pikeminnow (AKA Squawfish).

[f1sh1nf00l]

I was incorrect. It wasn't until 1938 that the Western Bass Club started helping with the stocking of bass in this state. Sorry....

[Stacie Kelsey]

Yes we stocked a lot of bass even within the past 2-3 decades. From there, most lakes were illegally stocked.

[yooper_fisher]

Perhaps it was Northern Pikeminnow (AKA Squawfish).

I was sitting in the boat thinking this same thing yesterday.

[Nik]

Pikeminnow were very likely among the apex predators, though I don't believe I've ever caught one on anything but a river or reservoir. Not sure how many ever existed in lakes.

From the WDFW website: "Before the late 1800s, the only resident freshwater fish living in Washington State were trout (cutthroat and rainbow), char (bull trout and Dolly Varden), nonanadromous salmon (kokanee), whitefish, burbot, northern pikeminnow, suckers and smaller fish generally unimportant to anglers".

Speaking on trout being able to reproduce in our lakes, I'm no trout expert by any stretch, but earlier this year when the water was still in the 40s, I caught 2 nice sized, very red colored rainbows. These fish were extremely shallow and their tails were worn almost completely off. It sure looked like they were spawning. I caught them on bass lures on a slow sloping gravel bank, a bank where later in the year I see lots of smallmouth beds. This was at Deer lake where there is an inlet stream, but it's very slow moving, deep, and muddy. Not exactly ideal trout spawning habitat. Plus these trout were caught across the lake from the stream. I've also noticed some very small rainbows there schooled on the surface, way too small to be stockers (2-3 inches).

[fishingboy]

I believe bass (both species) were stocked and NOT stocked in certain lakes! Like the mini park in lynnwood or scriber lake are natural! plus its hard to breed lariges in a hatchery!

[JS]

@fishingboy, it is a FACT that all bass in the northwest have been planted or are the offspring of planted bass.