Shoal bass research continues in southwest Georgia
Special Photo
By David Dixon
Special to The Albany Herald
ALBANY — This summer a team from Auburn University, led by Fisheries Biology graduate student Jamie Rogers, has continued its research of shoal bass in the lower Flint River watershed.
The shoal bass (Micropterus cataractae) is a species of black bass endemic to the Flint River and a few other watersheds in Georgia. It is a highly sought after game fish because of its fighting ability and beauty. Recently it was named the official state riverine sportfish by the Georgia legislature.
Sometimes mistakenly called small mouth bass, anglers from all over the world have traveled to the Flint to try their luck catching the “shoalie.”
The adult fish live in or near the many rocky shoals along the entire length of the Flint River, and they have also been seen on several of the larger creeks in this area that have shoal habitat. While quite a bit is known about the adult fish, in reference to where to fish for them, less is known about their life cycle. Rogers is finishing her research to collect more information to improve knowledge on how these fish live.
The researchers are in the School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences at Auburn. They are working under the guidance of Stephen Golladay at the Jones Center of Ichaway, Steve Sammons at Auburn, and Shannon Brewer of the USGS Alabama Cooperative Unit. The research is funded by a grant from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Jones Center at Ichauway.
The research is a collaboration effort between Auburn University, the Jones Center at Ichauway, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and the USGS — Alabama Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.
The research this summer has centered on one particular item: Where are juveniles found?
Juvenile shoal bass were recorded last year in the Muckalee Creek, Ichawaynochaway Creek and the Flint River. The collection of the small fish in the Flint River at the Abram’s Shoals area, below the Highway 32 Bridge, yielded more than 100 fish.
Collections on the feeder creeks have so far this year been in the single digits; however, the researchers have been able to document actual reproduction in the creeks. The team has tried, so far without success, to document juveniles in the Kinchafoonee Creek; however, adults have been caught there, so the little fish are probably there also.
“The team is grateful to all the organizations, student assistants from Auburn, and especially the local residents and land owners who have provided water access for this research,” Rogers said. “Thanks to land owners in Lee County, we have been able to add four new shoal habitat stretches of the Muckalee and Kinchafoonee Creeks for the research.”
Collecting the fish is normally done by shocking the water in a small area. The stunned fish float to the surface and are tagged or collected by the researchers. Additionally, seining and other techniques are employed. The researchers operate from a specialized research boat, while also wading or snorkeling around the shoals to locate the fish. Because little data are available other than 2022 collections, many of the juvenile specimens will be taken back to Auburn for age and growth analysis.
By the end of summer, the research team will be finished with this initial study, hopefully, they say, with a better understanding of the shoal bass life history in the Lower Flint River.
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