Status of largemouth bass and sunfish in Lake Phelps - 2019

' NORTH N CAROLINA Fisheries Research Fact Sheet \ Status of Largemouth Bass and Sunfish in Lake Phelps -2019 March 2020 Photo: Katy Potoka The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) conducts annual elec¬ trofishing surveys for Largemouth Bass and Pumpkinseed at Lake Phelps. Lake Phelps is the second largest naturally formed lake (6,480 ha) in North Carolina and is surrounded by Pettigrew State Park, Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and a small portion of privately owned land. Over the past few decades, Lake Phelps has provided excellent fishing opportunities for Largemouth Bass and Pumpkinseed. Since 2002, Largemouth Bass in Lake Phelps have been managed under trophy bass regulations, with a minimum size limit of 14 inches and a protective slot limit between 16 and 20 inches. The daily creel limit for Largemouth Bass is five fish per day. An aggregate of 30 sunfish per day can be harvested with no minimum length limit. Project Objective: • These yearly surveys are conducted to assess the condition of Large¬ mouth Bass and sunfish populations within the lake. • The data collected will be used to further evaluate the effectiveness of current management regulations. Methods: Figure 1: Lake Phelps access areas (stars) and 2019 sampling locations (dots). • Shoreline electrofishing occurred at 12 sites in May 2019. Each site was sampled for approximately 20 minutes of electrofishing time. • At each site, all fish were netted for the first five minutes, after which only Largemouth Bass were netted. • Once netted, fish were placed into an oxygenated holding tank until they could be identified, measured and weighed. All fish were returned to the lake alive. Results: • Staff collected 167 Largemouth Bass (8 inches or greater) in 3.8 hours of sampling. Mean catch per unit effort (CPUE) was 46.9 fish per hour (fish/h) of electrofishing. CPUE has been stable since 2010, except in 2015 when sampling occurred in June (Figure 2). • Largemouth Bass ranged in length from 4 to 22 inches, with most of the fish over 12 inches. Fish that were available for harvest considering the existing regulations made up 19% of the total catch. Fish that were within the 16-20 inch protective slot were 19% of the total catch with only 2% of Figure 2: Mean CPUE of Largemouth Bass from 2010 to 2019. Error bars indicate the variance around the data. RESOURCES .COMVfSSKfl N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission Inland Fisheries Division ncwildlife.org