Great Lakes Fishery Commission

Updated 2021-09-14 19:09:22

Lake Erie -> 2.0 Other Managed Species -> Black Bass

Maintain catch rates of black bass of at least 0.50 fish per hour

Black bass (smallmouth (Micropterus dolomieu) and largemouth (M. salmoides) bass) are an important sportfish species across the Lake Erie Basin. Historically, smallmouth were the dominant species lake-wide, but in recent years largemouth bass have become more prevalent in the west basin fishery. The Lake Erie Committee has established a target catch rate of at least 0.50 fish per angler hour (fish/hr) for black bass across Lake Erie. In general, the fishery has met this target for the past 20 years. During the 2016-2020 reporting period, average catch rates were above target for all Lake Erie basins (west: 0.62, central: 0.58, east: 1.00 fish/hr; Figure 1) and Lake St. Clair (0.70 fish/hr; Figure 2). Annual catch rates of black bass were generally variable with a declining trend in the west basin and no evident trend in the central basin, east basin, or Lake St. Clair. 

Figure 1. Average angler catch rates (fish/hr) of black bass in Lake Erie by basin, 1999-2020. The target catch rate is at least 0.50 fish/hr.

Figure 2. Average angler catch rates (fish/hr) of black bass in Lake St. Clair (Michigan data only), 2016-2019. The target catch rate is at least 0.50 fish/hr.