The rapid increase of Florida anglers, coupled with improved fishing expertise, has resulted in unprecedented demands on available fish resources. Recent survey results also indicate most largemouth bass anglers desire to catch more fish of quality sizes, and want better opportunities to catch trophy-sized bass. To meet these needs, progressive research strategies and management techniques for bass and other sportfishes have become necessary to ensure the future of Florida fishing.

Fishery research at Tenoroc originally focused on restrictive regulations to limit harvest of largemouth bass and attempt to meet high angler expectations. A wide variety of experimental bass harvest regulations were evaluated including various length limits, reduced bag limits, total catch-and-release, and gear restrictions. Fishing quotas were also established for each lake to keep fishing pressure at controlled levels. By rigidly controlling bass harvest, biologists found that bass lived longer, and as a result, grew larger. Research also revealed higher catch rates were maintained by releasing bass, which were often "recycled" and caught again and again by other anglers. Since many bass fishermen were already practicing "catch-and-release", this approach to regulating fisheries quickly became popular with Tenoroc anglers.

Research findings revealed that restrictive harvest regulations were extremely beneficial in maintaining better quality bass fisheries and angler success. By comparison, in other "control" lakes with liberal state regulations that allowed more bass to be harvested, bass populations and catch rates deteriorated rapidly. Of all the bass regulations evaluated, however, the no-harvest restriction proved to produce the most positive and consistent results. Based on this research and the support of Tenoroc fishermen, our current management strategy now relies on total catch-and-release, or very limited harvest of largemouth bass.

Tenoroc research also determined that black crappie (speckled perch) populations were drastically reduced by excessive harvest, Although crappie are much less susceptible to over fishing than largemouth bass, it became necessary to implement special, restrictive size and bag limits on this fishery. As a result, biologists expect crappie fishing success to improve to previous levels. By restricting the number and size of crappie that anglers may take home, our goal is to increase average sizes and extend the duration of these typically cyclic fisheries.

Other sportfish and food fish species at Tenoroc, including bluegill, redear sunfish (shellcracker), white catfish, and yellow and brown bullhead, are much less affected by fishing pressure and require little management. Channel catfish and sunshine bass (striped bass hybrids) are also stocked periodically in several lakes as additional food fish species.