June 16, 2014
Newton, Ill. — Science and opinions considered evenly, it’s quite possible Illinois is smack in the middle of a Micropterus salmoides renaissance.
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Texas Tech University biologist Gene Wilde, who spent more than a decade studying fish deaths after tournaments, said the bass are believed to die from a combination of conditions. So in Illinois, which has developed a solid bass fishery, DNR biologists are hoping to be proactive, looking at timing of tournaments on some popular lakes and studying how tournaments affect bass – and what can be done to improve mortality.