Here again, the 15-inch size limit is aimed at keeping the general quality of the largemouth populations better than they would be under the general statewide 12-inch limit.

Said Ross, "One development we've had on Dewey, which might help improve the growth of small bass, is the growth of weedbeds over the last year or two.

"We've got zebra mussels in Dewey now, and Kevin Frey -- our district biologist -- reports they're clearing the water up enough for some of the rooted aquatic plants to take hold.

"Small bass find food easier and in more abundance around shoreline vegetation, as long as it doesn't get completely out of control," Ross said.

Early and late in the day in the summertime, bass anglers will find fish around vegetation and can catch them on several types of lures.

Topwaters and floating worms, along with spinnerbaits, get a lot of attention from bass cruising close to weedbeds looking for baitfish that have been spooked.

Of course, the more the bass have to eat, the bigger they grow. And growth rates play a big role in whether a 15-inch limit works.

In a lake where bass take 10 years to reach 15 inches, the idea of getting more fish up to that size is going to flop. Too many will die of natural causes, and very, very few will ever be available to be taken home.

"A 15-inch limit needs the support of a good growth rate for maximum benefit," said black bass biologist Ryan Oster. "And Dewey is doing well, given all the factors involved,"

CARR CREEK LAKE
Biologists have been evaluating the 15-inch limit on Carr Creek Lake, which until recently has very low productivity for largemouths and limited forage.

Biologists Ross and Oster report that alewives have found their way into Carr Creek, becoming the dominant forage species over gizzard shad.

"Alewives are pretty aggressive at the early stages and they grow quite fast," said Ross. "That translates to two possibilities of their effects on bass in Carr Creek.

"They may compete with fingerlings for food -- which is already limited -- and may not help the first-year bass that much as a food source, because they get too big for the little bass to eat that first year.

"If there's an upside to that species of forage being there," Ross went on, "it might be that since the alewives don't ultimately get as big as gizzard shad, when bass do reach that intermediate range, their growth rates may kick back in, due to more food fish in the system that they can swallow.

"We just have to watch and see how things develop," said Ross.

"Bass have a tough time in Carr Creek, but we want to try to make the fishing the best we can so that opportunity continues."

Each time a new factor arises, it has an effect on all the fisheries in the lake. Sometimes it turns out to be good and other times, not so good.

Biologists are charged with juggling all these factors and reacting to changing conditions, whether created by nature, the activities or attitudes of the angling public, by swings in fishing pressure or the results of regulatory changes.