TIBF Conservation Page

Recent Conservation Projects!

For 2017 TIBF is assisting Idaho Dept of Fish & Game with a smallmouth bass tagging / tracking study on tributaries of the Snake River between Brownlee Reservoir and Swan Falls. More photos and a more complete description of the study are coming, but here are some pictures to start:

Here is a must-read for all bass anglers and tournament directors: Report on oxygen levels during a tournament on Milner Reservoir. Everyone that holds tournaments need to look at finding ways to keep the oxygen levels up for the bass being weighed in.
Bass Rules, Bad Behavior and Lake Lowell
By Evin Oneale, Regional Conservation Educator, Southwest Region
Ask any bass fisherman in the know and they will tell you – largemouth bass fishing has never been better at Lake Lowell. Larger bass are numerous, and both bank and boat anglers are regularly catching four- and five-pound fish. Smaller, two- and three-pound fish are even more plentiful.

But all is not rosy at Lake Lowell. Rules that have helped produce the reservoir’s robust fishery are being ignored by too many anglers. In response, Fish and Game staff have stepped up efforts to minimize this behavior.

Unlike most water bodies in Idaho where general six bass limits apply, Lake Lowell’s bass population is managed under special rules. While bass fishing is allowed year-round, a catch and release provision is in place from January 1 through June 30. The second half of the year, a “slot limit” allows for a daily harvest of two bass, but none between 12 and 16 inches. The slot limit rule allows the reservoir’s slow-growing bass to reach maturity and reproduce, and so perpetuate Lake Lowell’s bass population into the future.

In 2013, Lake Lowell’s bass fishing was nearly as good as it is this year, and too many anglers either didn’t know the rules or simply chose not to abide by them. Fish and Game officers stayed busy contacting and educating anglers about the special rules. Both warnings and citations were issued to offenders.

Anticipating a robust bass fishery in 2014, Fish and Game ramped up enforcement efforts beginning April 15th, in cooperation with the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It’s safe to say that Lake Lowell received more enforcement attention this spring than ever before. The high visibility enforcement effort resulted in more than 500 anglers being contacted, both on shore and on the water. Responsible anglers helped in the effort, by calling the Citizens Against Poaching hotline when they suspected illegal bass harvest. Officers were diligent in their efforts to balance education with enforcement; tickets were written as were warnings in some cases.

During the effort, many illegal, but live, fish were documented and returned to Lake Lowell. In other cases, illegal dead fish were discovered and confiscated. Officers engaged in one of several early June boat patrols discovered ten bass in two live wells. Remember that catch-and-release rules require that fish be released immediately upon being landed.

From April 15th through June 30th, 63 bass fishing violations were detected at Lake Lowell, ranging from fishing without a license to possession of illegal bass. Forty-one of those violations led to citations; warnings were written for the remainder. Sadly, most of the anglers found in violation were fully aware of the rules.

Things didn’t improve much after July 1, when the harvest and slot limit rules came to bear. Multiple violations of the slot limit were detected, clear evidence that additional education efforts are needed. To help in this effort, a new business card-sized rule card has been produced and is being distributed by enforcement and other personnel to every Lake Lowell angler contacted.

As with most enforcement efforts, responsible anglers remain a good line of defense. If you witness a suspected violation, get the details – a boat registration number or a license plate number – then call the Citizens Against Poaching hotline, 1-800-632-5999.
Updates and Repairs to TIBF Release Boat
For our 2012 conservation project, the Federation decided to upgrade and repair our release boat that we use to hold bass weighed in during tournaments and then take them back out onto the lake for release. The boat was getting pretty ragged looking, the console was wobbly, the carpet was shot and the decking was getting soft in spots. A bunch of photos and some comments are available on the TIBF Release Boat Upgrade page. A big thanks goes out to everyone that helped make this project a success!
2011 Cascade Structure Plant

For the second year, TIBF made and planted structures in Cascade Reservoir to benefit the perch and bass in the reservoir. There were 20 volunteers who met at Olsons/Road Runner in Cascade to build structures for the Cascade Structure plant. The structures will be planted Cascade Reservoir after the ice melts cooperatively with Fish and Game and TIBF members. Thank you to the following volunteers for March 12 participation: Steve Jones, Sandy Jones, Tammy Shuyler, Tony Shuyler, Ron Shuyler, Gary Hill, Matt Roth, Josh Carver, Ryan Wilson, Roger Sheltrown, Mark Roberts, Bev Roberts, Steve Kass, Pat Patterson, Roy Goff, Gunner Goff, Aaron Watkins, Julie Davis, Ernie Davis, Keith Schultz.

Cascade Structure Plant was completed on May 15. The Snake River Bassmasters assisted Fish and Game by planting over 150 structures on the west side of the reservoir.
C.J. Strike Crappie Transplant Day CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER!
IDFG is asking people to go to C.J. Strike Reservoir on May 1 to catch crappies for transplanting into Lake Lowell. IDFG will have fishing holding nets at the docks and a transport tank to haul the fish to Lowell. Anglers catch a bunch of crappies, haul them to the dock in their livewell, then dump the crappies into the holding net; repeat numerous times. There is no official sign-up and the event should run 8:00 - 5:00.
2010 Cascade Structure Plant

Saturday morning March 13th, 2009 was not the kind of day that many of us enjoy in early spring. The morning started with a rain-snow mix in the Boise valley with a slight breeze. That didn’t stop 11 hearty members of The Idaho Bass Federation from their intended task for that day. Jim Clapp from Nyssa met Pat Patterson from Payette and they drove to Horseshoe Bend to meet Steve Kass and Rob Wolfe from Boise. Travis Henderson and Bruce Flesher met in Meridian while Chris Felty, Tony Shuyler and Tammy Shuyler left from Eagle. John Rolles and his wife left Meridian and this group all met in Horseshoe Bend. Mark and Bev Roberts left from their property in Garden Valley and everyone met Bob Minter of Cascade (Bob made all of the arrangements for this project in Cascade) at Roadrunner Concrete just south of Cascade. By the time the crew arrived the threatening weather had receded even though the wind persisted. On arrival part of the crew began the task of setting out 85 cinder blocks while others began cutting 7 to 8 foot pieces of ¾” poly-pipe. Meanwhile Tom Olson owner of Roadrunner Concrete began mixing a batch of concrete. Once the concrete was mixed several members began filling the cinder blocks while others bent the pipe in half and began inserting the pieces into the wet concrete. Once 85 cinder blocks were filled the remainder of the concrete was put into nursery pots and they were filled with pipe. From start to finish the task took slightly more than 90 minutes.

The crew then went into Cascade to Highway 55 Café and enjoyed a pleasant lunch with friends. About the end of April, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game will make their barge available and we will make another trip to Cascade and these pieces of structure will be dropped into the lake for the benefit of all species of fish that live in that water. Special thanks to Pat Patterson for procuring 6,000 feet of poly pipe and the nursery pots for the project and to Tom Olson for opening his plant on a Saturday in March to help us with this project.

Two weeks prior to this project members of Idaho Walleye Unlimited did the same type of structure build for eventual planting in Salmon Falls Dam Reservoir.

Thank you to all of our members who care for the resource. Here are some more pictures from the structure building project.
Milner Bass tagging and tracking project May 2009.

Past Conservation Projects!

Lake Lowell Fish Salvage, Caldwell Side
TIBF salvaged a bunch of fish from the Caldwell side irrigation canal after the water was shut off on October 7, 2002. Report with pictures.
Lake Lowell Fish Salvage, Nampa Side
TIBF salvaged a bunch of fish from the Nampa side irrigation canal after the water was shut off on September 23, 2002. Report with pictures.
Over the years, The Idaho Bass Federation has participated in many local conservation efforts in the form of cleanup projects, fish relocation projects, and structure planting projects.
All Federation qualifier tournaments are catch-and-release tournaments to help preserve and promote healthy warm-water fisheries in the area. Our Federation encourages the use of catch-and-release chemicals to keep fish in livewells healthy and calm during tournaments.
The Idaho Bass Federation, a church group called the Pathfinders and the Oregon Dept of Parks and Recreation did a trash cleanup project on April 21, 2001 on Lake Owyhee in Oregon. We picked up all of the trash along the shore of the lake from the dam up to Indian Creek Marina; about 6 miles of shoreline. Check it out!
The Idaho Bass Federation, Idaho Power and Idaho Dept. of Fish and Game did a structure plant on November 11, 2000 on C.J. Strike Reservoir. This structure plant used a new process that doesn't involve rocks or Christmas trees, but PVC pipe and vinyl fencing. This project put 70 pieces of structure in C.J. Strike Reservoir. Check it out here.
In 1999 our Federation did a rip-rap structure plant along the boat ramps at the Caldwell Dam on Lake Lowell. This is expected to help improve habitat for bass and other fish.
The Federation developed a sign to post on bodies of water with big bass to encourage catch and release of the big bass. Click here for more information.

Comments/Questions? Send E-Mail to the Federation's Conservation Officer