Zero fanfare surrounded the opening day of Minnesota's bass harvest Saturday, but smallmouth and largemouth anglers are carrying on in larger numbers year after year.
"The number of bass tournaments has gone ballistic," said Eric Altena, area fisheries supervisor in Little Falls for the Department of Natural Resources.
Habitat, too, is on the rise for bass in Minnesota, he said. More than 2,000 Minnesota lakes support largemouth bass populations. More than 500 support smallmouth bass, with many of those tied to river systems such as the Zumbro, Red, St. Croix, Rum, Kawishiwi, Crow and Sauk.
"Smallies are not as prevalent [as largemouth], but if you look at lakes that smallies are in … it's growing some," Altena said.
Dick Beardsley is a fishing guide in the Bemidji area who also sits on the DNR's citizens' bass advisory panel. If his fishing clients don't have a preference for what species they want to target, he'll take them out for bass.
"If something is pulling on the end of their line they are happy," Beardsley said. "The bass population is as big as I've ever seen it in this part of Minnesota."
All bass populations in the state are self-sustaining, with no stocking required unless there's a freezeout or other large fish kill. Professional angler Al Grabowski, who sits on the bass advisory panel, said there are new fish handling rules this year for tournaments.
The standards, including mandatory use of double-lined weigh-in bags, will keep bass safer by mainstreaming the best practices, he said. At large tournaments, for instance, a maximum of 20 weigh-in bags will be in use at any one time. Large events also will be required to operate aerated or oxygenated water holding tanks for use during the weigh-in periods.
