MARKETING FACTS ABOUT FLORIDA
LARGEMOUTH BASS
Compiled by: Bob Wattendorf
- Florida is home to the Florida largemouth bass, Micropterus
salmoides floridanus, a subspecies of bass that is known for its fast
growth, large size and the greater challenge it provides to anglers
than its northern cousin.
- Florida has four different black bass species. In addition to the
Florida bass and an intergrade Florida-Northern largemouth bass, there
are shoal, spotted and Suwannee basses in Florida.
- Florida has a sub-tropical to temperate climate that increases the
growing season for bass and provides comfortable year round fishing.
- Florida has three-million acres of lakes, ponds and reservoirs, and
over 10.500 miles of rivers, streams and canals, comprising a wide
diversity of habitats. There are 7,710 named lakes within Florida,
including Lake Okeechobee, the second largest lake entirely within the
contiguous United States.
- Black bass fishing is the most popular type of fishing in the
United States, with 44% of all freshwater anglers considering
themselves to be bass anglers (1996, USFWS, Black Bass Fishing in the
US).
- In Florida, bass angler participation increased dramatically from
11.7 days to 19.1 days between 1991 and 1996, thus increasing effort
from 9.7 million to 12.6 million angling days of bass fishing
recreation in Florida. Black bass anglers constituted 58% of Florida
freshwater anglers and comprised 69% of the angling trips.
- Florida ranks second behind Texas in number of bass anglers and
number of bass fishing trips (1996, USFWS, Black Bass Fishing in the
US), although Texas has nearly five times the landmass of Florida and
has 30 percent more people (www.fedstats.gov).
- Florida bass anglers spend more days fishing per year than they do
in Texas, California, Georgia or Alabama.
- Florida’s official largemouth bass record is 17.27 pounds, but
others often cite an uncertified fish of 20.125 pounds (a fisheries
biologist did not physically see the fish to certify it). Only Alaska
does not have a state record for largemouth bass. Of the existing
records, Florida’s unofficial record ranks third, and the official
record ranks fifth.
- The net economic value per bass fishermen in the southeast region
is $52 (the difference between what they currently pay and would be
willing to pay), with a marginal value of $3.81 per bass (in other
words, every added bass caught—whether released or not—generates an
additional $3.81 in value to the angler). This is based on an average
of 59 bass caught per angler per year. (1996, USFWS, Net Economic
Values for Bass)
- Popularity and acceptance of catch-and-release fishing for
largemouth bass in Florida has helped encourage conservation of this
valuable resource.
- Resurgence of trophy-sized fish has been demonstrated in recent
tournament results, including the 2001 BASS Masters Top-150. In January
2001, Dean Rojas slammed through the 100-pound barrier during a Bass
Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) 4-day tournament on Lake
Tohopekaliga (Toho). No angler in the 34-year history of B.A.S.S.,
covering hundreds of events throughout the United States, had ever
caught 100 pounds in a single tournament. Rojas' final score was 108.12
pounds. What's more, many of the nation's leading fishermen in this
BASS Masters Top-150 event brought in dozens of bass weighing between
eight and 13 pounds each.
- More than half of Florida’s tourists participate in nature-related
activities while in Florida, and a third of Americans took an
outdoor-recreation vacation in 1996. Many tourists are interested in
including a bass fishing trip in their travel.
- Major opportunities exist for cooperative efforts between fisheries
agencies and state tourism agencies. Anglers (81%) and non-anglers
(45%) indicated they would fish more often if fishing were part of a
pre-paid vacation package.
- The Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF) is
implementing a five-year $50 million outreach effort to “increase
participation in recreational angling and boating and, thereby,
increase public awareness and appreciation of the need for protecting,
conserving and restoring this nation’s aquatic resources.”
- National Fishing and Boating Week was held for the first time in
June 2001. An event planning kit is available to potential sponsors
nationwide to solicit their involvement, and ads are carried on TV and
radio-stations, newspapers, and magazines. The event in 2002 will
generate numerous promotional and recreational opportunities in
Florida.
- Florida free freshwater fishing days are the first full weekend in
April each year, and many events provide families with extra incentives
to try fishing, such as free instructions, loaner tackle, prizes and
assorted family activities.
- Economic data from the 1996 USFWS survey indicate a non-resident
bass angler spends about $43.89 per hour! In 2005, the USFWS updated
this data based on the 2001 survey (see
http://library.fws.gov/Pubs/Black_Bass_Report_2001-10.pdf).
- Bass Tournament trails are becoming more popular and are being more
extensively covered on TV. ESPN recently acquired the Bass Anglers
Sportsman Society and moved their headquarters to Florida, and will be aggressively promoting their events. WalMart is now sponsoring the FLW tour, which is growing rapidly. Both
schedule major events in Florida each year.
- The Kissimmee/St. Cloud Convention and Visitor’s Bureau puts on a
major tournament for visitors that come to central Florida during
October-December each year letting them record their catch and compete
for great prizes.
- In addition to the privatized Visit Florida tourism agency, Florida
also has an active Florida Sports Foundation that recognizes the value
of recreational fishing in Florida as second only to golf in outdoor
activities.
- The International Game Fish Association is housed in Florida and
has a tourism facility.
- Bass Pro Shops now has three huge outlets in Florida that attract
visitors from long distances.
- Legislature has approved extra funding for Lake Restoration and by
taking advantage of recent low water levels we have made exceptional
progress in restoring habitat quality in a diversity of water bodies
across the state. Benefits will be realized with large numbers of
schooling bass in the next 2-3 years, and in the quality- to
trophy-sized bass categories in the next 6-10 years.
Bass Values
Bass Facts
GO
FISHING!
