Today on Bass Fishing for Noobs, we take a break from tips and tactics and learn about a cool new tournament that benefits our fisheries and the fish in them as much as it does for us anglers. We have the privilege of sitting down with Sean Simmons, from Anglers Atlas and the MyCatch app, Cynthia Holt, Fish Biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife, and Luke Iwanowics, Research Biologist with US Geologic Society, Eastern Ecology Science Center to talk about a really innovative way they came up with to study a condition that started to show in the black bass species, called the blotchy bass syndrome.

This syndrome consists of black splotches on the skin/scales of predominantly largemouth and smallmouth bass, but also other members of the black bass family. When this condition initially started showing up it was hard for scientists to track the syndrome consistently due to the just the large scale needed to accurately monitor the frequency and consistency of the blotchy bass syndrome within fisheries.

To tackle this challenge, the group of scientists decided to work hand in hand with Sean Simmons, and Anglers Atlas to use us anglers to help with immense task of gathering data to study this condition, while helping us anglers get involved in what Sean refers to as “citizen science”, allowing anglers to play an integral part in the research and management of our fisheries. They developed a type of tournament they call the Blotchy Bass Bonanza, where anglers use a smartphone app to log our fishing trips and catches, while also giving away awesome prizes for participating in the study and tournament. They lined up some great sponsors like Aftco, Bass Pro Shops, and Major League Fishing (MLF) as well!

Together Sean and the Blotch Bass Bonanza team talk about how this type of data gathering can be used in other creative ways and applications to help scientists study all kinds of conditions and solve problems that they otherwise might not have the resources to tackle.

So the next time you head out to fish, open up the Blotchy Bass Bonanza app, catch some fish, help scientists improve the fish we catch and the fisheries we all love, and possibly win some awesome prizes in the process!

Get signed up for the Blotchy Bass Bonanza for free on Anglers Atlas here: https://www.anglersatlas.com/event/695/2023-blotchy-bass-bonanza-2023

You can follow along with the Blotch Bass Syndrome here:

https://www.usgs.gov/centers/eesc/science/investigating-blotchy-bass-syndrome-black-basses

For other ways to support our fisheries, check out: https://fisheries.org/

Be sure to check out some of the other great supporters of the Blotchy Bass Bonanza:

AFTCO - https://www.aftco.com/

Bass Pro Shops - https://www.basspro.com/shop/en

Major League Fishing - https://majorleaguefishing.com/

West Virginia University - https://www.wvu.edu/

Dale Hollow Lodging- www.eastport.info

Waypoint TV- https://waypointtv.com

Podcast & Website- www.paddlenfin.com

YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/paddlenfin

Email- [email protected]

Social Media- @paddlenfin

Yak Gadget- www.yakgadget.com

Pelican Professional- www.pelican.com

Rocktown paddlesports - rocktownadventures.com

JigMasters Jigs- https://jigmasters.com

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