Pitlo article on LM bass movement in Upper Miss

Does anyone know where I can find a paper John Pitlo did on seasonal movement of bass in the Upper Miss? It was a radio tagging study on a pool down south. Had some interesting info if I remember right. Thanks to anyone who can lead me in the right direction.

You could try sending a pm to fishsqzr…better known as John Pitlo.

Not sure where you can get the stuff. I’ve seen him talk at bass club meetings before. Study was done on Pool 12. Bottom line is that he believes LMB (and crappies and bluegills) have VERY specific requirements for overwintering habitat, as the bass often moved miles back to the same small areas for the winter regardless of where they spawned and spent the summer. These include a very narrow temperature range, little or no current, and adequate dissolved oxygen. Anymore, a lot of backwaters are too shallow to provide this kind of habitat. Pitlo will flat out say that if we lose these overwintering areas we will lose the LMB, crappies, and gills on the river. Period. That’s why the Corps has done dredging projects to attempt to restore the overwintering habitat. That’s also why the northern pools are better than the southern ones. More overwintering habitat is left. Also, more vegetation for young of the year bass to hide in. Other interesting things from his studies I remember: Some bass could return to the same stump from miles away year after year. Many bass spent the summer buried in heavy vegetaion, like arrowhead. He has never had a LMB with a transmitter cross the main channel. He also did a study in the Savanna Army Depot on gills and crappies. He captured fish throughout the complex in the summer and put transmitters in them. One ended up in an eagle’s nest (dinner), but the rest of the fish all went to one 40-acre area to spend the winter. Lose that area, and lose the panfish. He’s a cool guy to talk to. I really appreciate his work and wish the Corps and DNR had more money to work with.

Thanks for the info guys. I will pm John and see if he responds.

I am very interested in the migration. If the bass moved over a mile, do they go slow, from tree to tree to weed to lily, stopping along the way, or do they just start swimming and head straight home? When did the migration from the summer habitat to the winter begin? So many questions!!!

There is a good report in the infisherman handbook.
It has some data but it is incomplete in difficult to interpret properly. If you get the full report I’d be interested in a copy.
Thanks.
jc