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Smallmouth Bass: What Does the Future Hold
By Jonn Graham, "Camp Smallmouth" Guide
There is little doubt that, in many parts of the country, smallmouth populations are at an all-time high. Because of this the smallmouth bass is readily available to countless anglers. It seems that the angling community has "caught" the "smallmouth bug". You might say that we are in the midst of a brownfish renaissance! A few years back, In-Fisherman magazine coined the recent boom in smallmouth fishing, The Bronze Age! Call it what you like, there is no denying that the venerable smallmouth bass is "hot"!
The present popularity of the bronzeback is a far cry from its level in the past (at least here in Illinois). When I was young, and first started to target stream smallies about twenty years ago, I rarely saw or heard of any other anglers who shared in my pursuits. The Largemouth Bass was king and whenever a fisherman uttered the words, bass fishing, you knew he was referring to the "big ugly green fish". There were very few television fishing shows that featured smallmouth segments on a regular basis. In addition, magazines articles dedicated to the pursuit of smallmouth, were rarely seen. Presently, and fortunately, smallmouth bass exposure is huge! It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out what brought about the smallmouth bass' rebirth. The population explosion has put the smallmouth under the nose of most bass anglers. Matter of fact, many anglers who targeted largemouth for years and years, have made a dramatic conversion to the world according to the smallie.
What has caused the boom in smallmouth populations over the past ten to twenty years? Well, many factors have contributed with the largest influence coming from the enactment of the Clean Water Act in the 1970's. It is no secret that our nation's rivers were in peril before this governmental decree saved the day. With this act, our nation's rivers (especially here in Illinois) began to bounce back! The smallmouth bass began to show up again in places where it had not been seen in years. It did not happen overnight, but little by little our streams became cleaner and water clarities began to improve as well. A second big factor that has led to recent smallmouth prosperity is that of CATCH-N-RELEASE. The past twenty years has seen the birth and continued growth of this, "put 'em back, let 'em grow", attitude. I do not feel this prosperity factor can be over-stated! There are just so many more bass that are returned into the water alive than in past years. The continued practice of catch-n-release will be vital in the continued prosperity of the smallmouth bass!
While we are presently in the midst of brownfish glory days, there are still environmental factors that, if not kept in check, may spell the end of continued prosperity. These threats will be the thrust of this month's article.
While our state's rivers and streams face many obstacles, (with many streams having their own unique problems) the biggest overall problem seems to be, without a doubt, the continued accumulation of unneeded SEDIMENT in our streams. Excess sediment causes many problems. For my money, the biggest of which is the filling in, or covering, of prime smallmouth habitat. Nothing is more disheartening than returning to a hole that has proven to be a smallie hotspot for years, only to see that the hole is now only a foot deep! It can happen in some instances quicker than one would think! In addition, a heavy silt load during the bass' spawning time can make life difficult for the male bass, as keeping the eggs free from silt can be a real chore. Finally, the siltation process can cover and kill many of the macroinvertabrates that smallmouth rely on (especially juvenile fish) to sustain a healthy life.
So the question becomes, where does all this silt come from, or in other words, what is the cause of this problem? In most cases the unwanted silt is a direct result of poor landowner practices. These poor environmental choices take many forms and many of them are directly related to one another. Generally speaking, the siltation problem can trace its roots to the "get the water off my property NOW" attitude. It seems many landowners care little about the damage their excessive water flow and silt are doing to environments and ecosystems downstream. They only want their property drained as quickly as possible. Because of this, water is force-flushed off of surrounding lands and directly into our state's streams. The problem is that many of our streams and rivers are not large enough to handle the amount of water flow that is constantly being spewed into them after heavy rains. The results are heavy flooding and as a result of this, copious amounts of silt are laid into our streams. Now, you may be asking why are flows and silt so heavy now when the amount of rain received each year mirrors that which we have received for hundreds of years? Well, the answer is simple. A hundred years ago the land surrounding many streams (a watershed) worked like a sponge and a filter. Of course, there was a lot less land that was being used for production farming. Thus, this land (in the form of timber, pasture, grasslands, etc.), in many cases served as a filter and a sponge, allowing excessive rain water to soak into the ground before reaching a stream or river. Now it seems that many landowners are clearly their property of any trees, grass strips, and lowland marshes. All of these areas help in reducing siltation loads in our state's streams. Now, I understand that farmers need to make a living, and being a farmer is not an easy occupation, but in many instances their practices result in much more negative effects than the positives imparted to the farmer.
For instance, many landowners choose to establish row crops right up to the edge of the stream or creek. This in turn means there is no strip, or buffer zone, between the field and the waterway. These strips are very instrumental in the overall health of a stream. What quite often happens is in just a few years time, the planting of crops right next to the stream causes the adjacent stream bank to fail. In other words, extreme bank erosion is the result. Then as the bank begins to fail and erosion takes over, guess what happens to the farmer's field? Yes, you guessed it, by trying to plant a few more rows next to the stream, he loses precious land (and rows of crops) due to erosion. This Illinois soil (some of the best growing soil in the world) is deposited into the stream, further adding to the silt load the stream must overcome.
In addition, it seems to have become a common practice to clear-cut all the trees and low-growing vegetation that commonly grows along a river's banks. This practice may relate back to the idea of adding additional rows of crops, but in many cases I wonder if it is just a cosmetic "fix" for the landowner. Whatever the reason, clearing riparian vegetation is not beneficial to the adjacent stream. Trees and other plant life along a stream provide countless benefits one of which is providing root systems that, in turn, help hold the soil in place which, in turn, reduces erosion!
Lastly, another farming practice that seems to have gone by the way side is that of waterways. When I was young it seems that most, if not all landowners utilized waterways wherever there was a low spot in a field. As you can surmise these low spots are where the water runs during heavy rainfall events. By leaving them in grass, and not plowing them up for production sake, the landowner was helping reduce the silt and run-off produced water load. Unfortunately, it seems these waterways are getting plowed under at an alarming rate. Once again, water and silt are rushed off of fields and into rivers which are not able to handle the load.
While sedimentation is an enormous problem, it is not the only negative windfall that effects the stream smallmouth. Another factor that jeopardizes the future of stream smallmouth populations is that of STREAM ALTERATIONS. The most popular of which is channelization. Channelization is the straightening of a stream or sections of a stream. While the practice of channelizing a stream is not as prevalent as in years past, its effects on bass populations are still very pertinent. Matter of fact, many of our waterways that were channelized many moons ago have never returned to their past smallmouth-producing glory. So what happens when a river, creek, or ditch is channelized? First of all, a channelized waterway usually produces extremely fast current speeds during heavy rains. These heavy currents make life difficult on a smallmouth bass as he tries to find respite from the raging torrent. In addition a straightened stream is a flat, featureless stream! When a river is straightened, all of the natural bends and curves are removed leaving a barren wasteland. Gone are the holes, riffles, chutes, and outside bends that produce such great smallmouth bass habitat. In place of this you have a stream that has a uniform bottom (usually made up of sand or muck) with consistently shallow water depths. Smallmouth bass rarely thrive in channelized sections of rivers. Now, there may be a small population of fish, but these sections rarely provide the necessary ingredients for hosting an independent population. Channelized sections usually contain a few small, juvenile bass. Rarely do larger, more mature smallmouth find this type of environment to their liking.
Another stream alteration that continues to effect the health of stream smallies is that of dams. While the building of new dams is fairly rare, those that are still standing continue to alter the life of many fish species. While dams may have served a purpose in years past, they are of little use now. In my opinion, dams only further restrict the natural movements of the bass up and down the river. This in turn causes fish to congregate at dams making them easy pickings for consumptive anglers. In addition, every year many drownings can be attributed or are associated with dams and their effects. Many groups, including the Illinois Smallmouth Alliance, are pushing to have dams removed in order to improve the health of stream smallmouth populations.
A fairly new environmental problem that is presently threatening the health and well-being of our state's streams and consequently the smallmouth which inhabit them, is that of URBAN ENCROACHMENT! I term urban encroachment as the building of houses, buildings, parking lots, etc. too close to a stream. Now, this encroachment, of course, is much more prevalent in heavily urbanized areas such as is found in and around the Chicagoland area. The idea of building near a river is not the real problem, but the disregard for the effect it has on local waterways is the problem. It seems, if done right, building or expanding along a stream can be a viable option. But, truth be know, many times this expansion is done in haste, which results in environmental degradation. Unfortunately, it has become a common practice to pump unwanted materials and/or pollutants into the waterways that borders these urban expansions. Many times the heaviest of the dumping occurs during the construction phase of the project. Once the project is completed, problems still arise. One of which is that of parking lots and storm drains. Parking lots of some kind usually are associated with urban expansion. In addition, these parking lots normally have storm drains that are used to drain the parking lots during heavy rainfall events. Unfortunately, the water flowing off of a parking lot (and streets for that matter) can be laced with toxic chemicals that leak from the automobiles that use the parking lots and streets everyday. And, as one might guess, these storm drains are quite often sending their water directly to the local stream. This, of course, does not bode well for the adjoining stream as water quality issues may arise, which may cause smallmouth bass to vacate the stream or remain in place and suffer the effects of poor water quality.
So, with all of these environmental concerns that threaten the future of our stream fisheries, what can you and I do? Well, there are many great options! First, all anglers should be stewards of the land. In other words, take care of the places you fish. For example, pick up trash along your stream whenever possible and educate those who are not aware of the perils our streams face everyday. In other words, anglers should set a good example and lead by this same example! In addition, all stream anglers should develop a watch dog mentality. If you see anything along your particular waterway that does not look positive, give the local EPA, DNR, or soil and water conservation district a call. Lastly, if you are concerned about the future of our stream bass fisheries, join a group that works to protect the future of our state's streams. A few examples of such groups include, the Illinois Smallmouth Alliance, Northern Illinois Anglers Association, and the Des Plaines River Rats. Groups like this provide a unified stand against anything that threatens the health of a stream and its inhabitants.
In conclusion, anglers continue to rejoice and reap the benefits of this seemingly "Bronze Age". Smallmouth bass populations are at an all-time high in many parts of the country. Though times are good, environmental factors do exist that could turn our glory days into dark days. Sedimentation seems to be our biggest concern with urban encroachment climbing the scale. Man's influence on the natural flow of our rivers and streams continues to wreak havoc with the smallmouth populations that are forced to live within these altered environments. If continued healthy smallmouth populations are our desire, then we as anglers must become the smallmouth bass' best ally.
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