I forgot where I read it but I believe it was in some DEP literature that something like 50 - 60% of a lakes biomass dies of natural causes yearly. If that is true, and the fishing remains decent, I believe that it shows how strong and resilient nature, and a lakes ecosystem is.

Certaintly we have a much higher percentage of fishermen practicing catch & release now more than ever, and that's a good thing. Maybe, taking a few fish on occasion isn't as detrimental as it may seem. The DEP recently started to look at each lake as an independant ecosystem which is no doubt that best way to monitor and manage our resources. In some of our larger lakes, I think I would be hard pressed to believe that a couple of people over a season keeping their limit of bass or other gamefish could have a negative impact on the overall health of the fishery. Now, the same scenario on a small pond might be a whole different story. I guess what I'm saying is that the DEP needs to continue to look at our waters independently and create regulations to address that specific body of water.

I have a theory about Candlewood lake. It seems that over the last few years, the smallmouth population has been increasing at Candlewood. Is it possible that the mortality rate of Largemouth bass has hit a point high enough that the more elusive smallmouth bass is now filling a nich as the top predator in the lake?

Another thing that the DEP should be looking into is the effect of winter drawdowns and aquatic vegetation erradication on an overall health/ecosystem of a body of water. From a fishermans point of veiw, we seem to be noticing some shifts in fish habits and populations. Of course observations are a bit ancedotal at best. It does seem strange though that in some lakes that have had their weeds die off, it almost looks like the smallmouth populations are growing. Why does Candlewood have virtually no pickeral? Is it because of the winter drawdon eliminating suitable spawn habitat while at the same time creating more suitable areas for th smallmouth?

I've mentioned this before but it has appeared to me that during the ice fishing season is when I notice the highest rate of fish retention. If that is the case, how about a seasonal creel limit reduction? From Dec. 31 to March 15 of 2 bass with a slot limit of 16" to 22"? This would protect the larger predators while still allowing someone to keep a few smaller ones for the dinner plate.

Just a few ideas to chew on.