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[Sterling C]

Hey Bryan, any idea when thats going to take place?

[bbronswyk2000]

Once the other organizer gets a date he can come down we will have something set. Hoping its within a months time.

[Muddler]

Be prepared for the opposition you will face organizing an open "cull" style event on any species. Non-native or not some people will appreciate the species and will be very well prepared to defend it. A club like the WCBA will be very prepared to take on an event like this, therefore I recommend you really do your homework before you get the media involved. Also, I would place very special attention to where you hold this event because 100 people in an environmentally sensitive like the sloughs of the lower mainland can do large amounts of damage. Furthermore, if you hold this event on waters highly prized by bass anglers your opposition will be even greater and perhaps even more extreme. I am not affiliated with the WCBA and I honestly need to see more scientific data before i pick a side on the bass issue in BC.

[Fish Assassin]

Good points Muddler.

[bbronswyk2000]

I have done my homework thanks. I have already spoken to the fisheries and they are very interested in our findings. Also the WCBA is only a club with like 30 members where we will have almost 100 people involved in this event. I also have a local tackle shop sponsering the event. We are abiding by the regulations and only killing 4 per person like the regulations state so how can anyone put up a fight if we are obeying the laws? Maybe you are not a member of the WCBA but you certainly sound like you dont have a problem with people comming in with the bucket brigade, which could lead to future trout and salmon stocks depleted from our river systems.

[Muddler]

Now hold on a second here! I did not say anywhere in my post that I am in favour of the bucket brigade. I definately agree that illegal stocking of lakes is horrible and should not be done. Now in the case of the lower mainland people really find it easy to blame the bucket brigade fro stocking all the waters. This may be true in the case of isolated lakes, but bass will migrate through the fraser from places like Hatzic. So just because its easy to blame the bucket brigade it does not mean that they stock all these new waters. Also, don't use numbers (ie 30 members to 100 upset anglers frustrated about bass fishing). Just because you have done your homework (which is a great thing) doesn't mean the other 99 people showing up are going to know anything about the bass other than the fact that they are fry eating invaders and anyone with a computer can find that out. The only reason I said do your homework is because when it comes down to it the media presence could really favour the bass fisherman when they facts and accusations start slinging. 

[Rodney]

I honestly need to see more scientific data before i pick a side on the bass issue in BC.

Then...

Maybe you are not a member of the WCBA but you certainly sound like you dont have a problem with people comming in with the bucket brigade, which could lead to future trout and salmon stocks depleted from our river systems.

Not a good idea to assume. Muddler and many others are looking for sound science, which means peer reviewed studies that are published in scientific journals. To date, there hasn't been any. Assuming largemouth bass would have the significant cause of depletion of salmonid population simply based on its predatory status is not sufficient enough as proof. Between northern pikeminnow and largemouth bass, which of the two species have a larger impact on salmon and trout stocks? Is it possible that largemouth bass are heavily predating on juvenile northern pikeminnow, which leads to less predation of salmonids? Why is it reasonable to have bass in a closed system, which maybe inhabhited by more threatened species such as pacific giant salamander, various native minnow species and different genetic populations of post glacial evolved sticklebacks? When is this derby going to take place? The reason I ask is that spawning season is already over. Wouldn't it be more effective to conduct a cull before the large spawners lay thousands of eggs? Is the objective of the cull to actually have an impact on the bass population of a water body? What is the estimated population of bass in that water body? If all 100 participants kill their quotas (400 fish), is that number anywhere near the actual population?

There are many unanswered questions around this issue. If a group suddenly decides to go out and kill them off before these are answered, to most it would almost seem as a witch hunt.

[bbronswyk2000]

You bring up some very good questions Rodney. I agree with you that not enough research has been done. When is it going to take place? Well I wanted it to take place early this month but because the other person organizing it does not live in the LM we are having scheduling conflicts. The reason for the cull is not to make a dent in the population of bass. It is to raise awarness of this species and the potential harm it can have on our native fish species. Actually we are not targeting one body of water. This is how it works we have a weigh in station at my sponsers tackle shop at around 6pm that day. Everyone gets into groups of 2-4 people and tries various Lower Mainland/Fraser Valley Lakes and sloughs untill they have culled their 4 fish. Once its 6pm everyone must be at the weigh-in station to weigh their  catch. We are having various prizes for weights. I have fisheries on board and they would like a report on our findings. Here is the exact e-mail I received from Jim Roberts-Fisheries Bioligist

"Bryan.....
I was forwarded your email by Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection
Fisheries staff in Victoria.  On behalf of the Ministry, thanks for
contacting us and providing notification of your plans to hold a bass derby
on April 23rd in the Lower Mainland Region (Region 2).
As a fisheries biologist based out of the regional office in Surrey, I have
been actively involved in the study of non-native fish species in the Lower
Mainland Region since last summer.  The main objective of my work is to gain
a better understanding of non-native fish distribution and ecology in the
Region, in particular within the Lower Fraser River watershed.  Further to
this work, I would certainly be interested in receiving a report from you
about the results of your proposed bass derby.
In particular, any new information that you might be able to gather on bass
distribution in the Lower Fraser River watershed would be valuable.  I can
provide a list of water features known by my Ministry to be inhabited by
largemouth bass, upon request.
Other information that would be of value would be catch per unit effort
(i.e. fish/hour, by angler), weight, and fork length of any retained fish.
If you have any questions and would like to contact me in advance of April
23rd, please don't hesitate to do so.  My contact information is provided
below.  Thanks.
Jim Roberts, R.P.Bio
Fisheries Biologist
Fish and Wildlife - Science and Allocation
Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection
Lower Mainland Region

[Muddler]

That sounds like a well thought out plan for your derby. I hope it's successful and maybe fisheries will actually fund studies based on your results.

[bbronswyk2000]

Thanks for the kind words. I hope it goes over well.

[newsman]

Been busy for the last fwe days working, teaching, writing. A derby sounds like a great idea. There are always nay sayers out there "Don't listen to them!" Just do it you will be surprised at how much support a doer receives. When I made my coment about litigation I was trying to say I a round about way what Rod said. Don't accuse or assume with out a reasonable amount of proof.

Anyway, back to derby: Change the name derby is a negative with some people, try calling it a Bass Fishing Championship. When I first proposed a youth fly fishing championship, back in the day when I was a youth fly fishing club coordiator I had all kinds of people tell me how bad the idea was. I did with a lot of help pushed through the first Frazer Valley Middle & High School Fly Fishing Championship back in June of 1998. And we did 5 more after that. Results lots of happy kids who won great prizes, lots of happy parents, good PR for the tackle shops who donated the prizes, and won really happy young lad who was scouted for and made Team Canada, which took him to Ireland for a World Youth Fly Fishing Championship.

So Do It! If you want press you will get press. Just do it!

[bbronswyk2000]

Well this is great support thanks guys. I will talk to my co-organizer and maybe we can get a few of these fishing sites on board. I belong to 3 sites so with members from all 3 sites combined I am sure it wont be hard to get 100 people into this tournament.