Bacterial Diseases and Mortality of Angler-Caught Largemouth Bass Released after Tournaments on Walter F. George Reservoir, Alabama–Georgia

Largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides caught in each of eight tournaments during May-September, then released into cages and held for 4 d afterward, had postrelease mortalities averaging 25.4 ± 4.4% (±SE; N = 660), compared with 2.9 ± 1.8% postrelease mortality for largemouth bass collected by electrofishing (N = 70). On average, 8.2 ± 1.5% of fish died before the weigh-in at the tournament (initial mortality); thus, the total mortality (initial plus postrelease mortalities) of fish caught in tournaments was 33.1 ± 4.3%. In total, 242 tournament fish and 33 control fish were examined for external lesions after the 4-d holding periods. Pathogenic bacteria isolated from caged fish (tournament-caught and control) with external lesions were Aeromonas hydrophila complex, Pseudomonas spp., and Edwardsiella tarda. In addition, Flexibacter (Cytophaga) columnaris was identified in wet mounts ofgills and skin lesions. A bacterial pathogen was found in 42 of 76 tournament fish with skin lesions, but only 4 ...