Do Alabama Bass (ALB) really pose that much of the threat to our Smallmouth Bass populations?
Many seem to think so.
While thus far the Alabama Bass have not have made their way into all quarters of our region they certainly are showing up more and more in southwestern Virginia. The Smallie Chaser River Bassin Series for kayak anglers is one event that is encouraging anglers to remove the Alabama Bass from the river systems it fishes within its series and has offered up a bounty of sorts for those that catch the Alabama Bass and immediately remove them.
Often times we have seen over reactions to expanded ranges of non native fish species within the region. Many times the reactions end up unfounded but in the case of ALB it appears very different. We have seen over reactions with Snakeheads and Flathead Catfish which may have caused us to not pay as much attention to the alarm bells of the ALB but this would be a huge mistake.After all, Smallmouth are not native to all our regions rivers either and at some point were introduced either randomly through nature or by individuals over time. It begs the question what would have been said about Smallmouth fifty or hundred years ago if the same standards applied today were applied back then.
But, do Alabama Bass (ALB) -Pictured above- expanding ranges differ than those other species? Will this expansion have a greater impact on Smallmouth Bass populations than Largemouth in the future? There are a few factors that make this threat quite different for Smallmouth than Largemouth but both species are very susceptible to harm as a direct result of the ALB.
Concerns over Alabama Bass most likely stem from the fact that the bass even though part of the Black Bass family has some attributes that others within the family do not and a few of these alarm biologists. The biggest one is the fact that Alabama Bass will hybridize with Smallmouth and Spotted Bass. This alone moves it well ahead of Snakehead or Flathead Catfish where the question becomes more about territorial impacts not genetics or hybridization of species.
It can be very hard to determine the difference between the Spotted Bass and the Alabama Bass. The Alabama native areas are Georgia and Alabama and basically for a long time were just considered a sub group of the Spotted Bass by most. In Virginia we have had the other sub group of Spotted Bass for quite some time known as the Kentucky Spotted Bass in many rivers system in the western stretches of Virginia.
Virginia differentiates these black bass in terms of the jaw and the lateral lines. “The jaw of Alabama Bass lines up with the middle rear of the eye, while Largemouth Bass jaws extend past the eye. Alabama Bass have a dark, blotchy lateral band from head to tail, and have spots below this band. Largemouth Bass have a more continuous lateral band. Alabama Bass also typically have a tooth patch on their tongue, which is rare in Largemouth Bass. Alabama and Spotted Bass are differentiated by differences in lateral line scale counts or genetic analysis.”
The Alabama Bass have been making their way north through North Carolina mostly into Virginia river systems for years now but what is alarming is the rate in which they are now being caught or found deeper into areas than every before. The New River is probably the most recent river system threatened by the Alabama Bass expansion and the hope has been that the Claytor Dam area will act as a boundary or blockage of the bass from reaching down river through Radford, VA and on to points in West River on the river.
The impact of the Alabama Bass is no longer suspicions rather biologists have identified the species impact in previous ranges whether river systems or reservoirs now being populated over the last few decades. The first real glaringly obvious shifts pertaining to ALB was Chatuge in North Carolina which was once dominated by Largemouth bass and Smallmouth. Now the Smallmouth are virtually extinct in Chatuge and the Largemouth are only about 20% of the overall black bass population density.
Lake Norman, NC is probably the most well known because of the exposure the lake has had with professional bass fishing organization like Bassmaster and Major League Fishing. “The first detection of Alabama Bass in NC was in Lake Norman in 2001. Within 5 years, Alabama Bass densities in Lake Norman surveys were higher than Largemouth Bass densities and that disparity has never changed with Alabama Bass being 10-20X more abundant than Largemouth Bass since 2006” ( NC Wildlife). Ultimately the (ALB) did not stop with Norman but moves down stream to Mountain Island and Wylie.
North Carolina is also experiencing declines of Smallmouth density in the Catawba River Basin especially in places like Lake James but the threat is even greater when you consider now we know the ALB has found its way into Lake Gaston as well as Kerr. This can only mean it is only a matter of time before the ALB move into areas like the Roanoke River and Chowan River systems. The Dan River Smallmouth population in both North Carolina and Virginia very well may be the next major system to experience the impact of the ALB which could result in the complete decimation of the gentically pure Smallmouth bass. North Carolina may also have to deal with the ALB expansion into the Yadkin River system posing a massive threat that that systems Smallmouth.
We know that in Virginia that the ALB expansion has happened in places like the James River and Chickahominy Rivers near Richmond, Virginia but we are not truly sure of the rate in which they are impacting the fisheries there just yet. Basically history has shown us that wherever the ALB expands the specie lays waste to other black bass populations and thus is a massive threat the the future of both Largemouth and Smallmouth fishing in Virginia.
If anglers do nothing or fail to engage in working with the state to interdict than it will only be a generation or two before the quality of bass fishing in places like Lake Anna or Smith Mountain Lake let alone our river systems are changed dramatically forever.
Recently one of our favorite groups on Facebook, American Fisheries Society Black Bass Conservation Committee posted an intriguing questions regarding black bass. Every Wednesday the page poses questions typically about fish identification challenges and this one stumped alot of people in large part because of the ALB issues and hybridization.
Which one of these Black Bass is different?
The answer is not only an answer BUT A WARNING !!
"One of the fish is not like the other fish...one of these fish just doesn't belong." Stuff it Elmo! Which one is the ringer here?!
So obviously these all look like Smallmouth Bass. Brown color, vertical barring, small mouth, they all look good. And that is the problem. They all really DO look good. Noting to see here, move along, just another smallmouth bass. Except when you run genetics, you find out that the top fish is a wolf in sheep's clothing. It is only 73% Smallmouth. The rest of it is a mix between Alabama Bass and Spotted Bass. So what? What's a little 23% among friends? That's what you say late at night at a bar sipping cheap whiskey and look how that usually ends....
This highlights one of the hidden costs of moving non-native bass around, and it is one that you, as anglers, are actually paying. The top fish was collected during a broodfish expedition by North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to collect Smallmouth Bass to propagate in the hatchery so the progeny could be released to bolster fisheries, particularly to try and keep some pure Smallmouth in western NC reservoirs where they are rapidly being eliminated by introduced Alabama Bass. Broodfish collection is usually pretty straightforward, go out with a shock boat, collect big males/females, bring back tot he hatchery, and spawn them out. Only now, you also have to hold the broods, tagged in some way for ID, and then genetically screen each one. 15 years ago, NCWRC did not have to do that. Now, they do, as the pool of places where no hybrids swim in that state is rapidly diminishing. If you unintentionally stock hybrids, you are making the problem worse. So all the broods have to be screened. That costs money. And as long-time followers of this page have seen repeatedly, hybrids are both hard to tell in hand and pretty damn common, so odds are high that a fair number of broods thought to be pure are in fact not and must be discarded. So they have to make additional trips to get more and screen those. That also costs money.
Who pays for this? Well, you, the anglers, do as part of your license fees and the excise tax given to the states every year by the federal government as part of the Sportfish Restoration Program. So it is costing you substantially more to be able to have the same level fishing quality that you enjoyed in the past. Also consider the opportunity cost of these introductions. Opportunity cost is a measure of lost time used by economists to show true value (or loss). If fisheries managers have to spend 2-3x longer to collect broodstock due to repeated discarding of hybrids, that is time they could have spent doing something else, such as sinking habitat structure or building piers or better boat ramps. That is opportunity cost and again, it directly affects the anglers of these states in lost opportunity.
All because some people wanted to have Alabama Bass in their local reservoirs rather than make the drive to catch them in their native habitat. This is a real as it gets, friends. Moving bass around is a losing proposition for just about everyone, including your state agencies. This is another reason why we stress the dangers of moving fish around so much on this page. Because we will all be paying these costs forever, and even worse, passing them onto future generations who had no say in whether or not these fish should be moved.
Incidentally, the fact that this fish was a three-way cross of Spotted Bass, Alabama Bass, and Smallmouth Bass is likely a result of a hybrid Alabama-Spotted Bass crossing with a pure Smallmouth. These two species really hybridize and cannot be told apart from a pure individual without genetics no mater who you are.
Choices have consequences. Choose wisely. Thanks to all those who help us get the word out: NEVER MOVE BASS! EVER!!”
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There are certainly ways to determine which specie of bass is being identified all be it very tedious and most likely are not going to take the time but fortunately in VA working with the VaDWR anglers now have a envelope available to them where they can send in samples of tissue from the bass for examination to identify the reach of the invasive Alabama Bass in river systems. The fact of the matter is the risks associated with doing nothing to a smallmouth fishery can be devastating and in the interests of preserving our smallmouth river systems from the onslaught of the invasive Alabama Bass such actions must be taken. The reproductive rates can decimate smallmouth populations as well as we have seen with other black bass create even more hybridization within a fishery. While I understand the point being made regarding KY Spots the more anglers come in contact with the Alabama Bass the easier it will be for identification over the long run. There is a notion out there that somehow Snakehead must be treated differently than Alabama Bass but this is not being consistent and one could certainly argue that the Alabama Bass are a far greater threat to our river systems and lakes if NC is examined.
Virtually impossible for a VA angler to tell the difference between a KY Spotted Bass and an Alabama Spot. I have seen a lot of posts suggesting the caught spotted bass be harvested as they are sure it is an Alabama bass. KY spotted bass are in all of the large VA rivers (James, New, Shenandoah) as well as many of the smaller river such as the Rivanna and they have been there for years. They are fierce fighters and deserve better treatment than just being killed - harvest and eat if you must. Catch and release is a much better way to go, your mileage may vary.